Blog - Page 3 of 6 - Kids' Health

Public pools can be crowded and dirty, posing risks to your child’s health. Here’s how to mitigate these risks and enjoy a cool swim this summer. While taking a dip in cool, chlorinated water may come as much-needed relief on a hot summer day, public pools aren’t without their downsides. Firstly, there’s the question of safety. Not all pools have lifeguards, and those that do may be so crowded that the lifeguard will be slow to spot a child in need of assistance. Secondly, there’s the question of cleanliness. Any body of water that’s shared by hundreds of people is bound to contain...

Parents are right to worry — the use of e-cigarettes and non-combustible tobacco products amongst teenagers is on the rise. Emerging research shows that, although e-cigarettes may be an effective method of harm reduction for traditional smokers, e-cigarettes themselves are far from harmless. Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) are a new frontier in smoking, and parents are smart to protect their teens from the scarcely publicized dark side of e-cigarettes.  With a variety of device shapes and vapor flavors, e-cigarettes are gaining popularity with minors in part because they may seem fun or tas...

Excessive sugar intake can have a range of adverse effects on kids’ well-being, from increasing their risk of obesity and high blood pressure to compromising their dental health and possibly even their ability to focus. If your child has a sweet tooth, you may be concerned about their sugar intake. After all, sugar can contribute to a number of potentially serious health conditions, including Type II diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Additionally, there’s long been speculation that sugar can make children hyperactive or even contribute to their risk of developing ADHD. The difficult truth is that most children are consuming more sugar than they sho...

As long as they take the proper precautions before and during physical activity, kids with exercise-induced asthma don’t have to stick to the sidelines. Most of the 7 million children in the United States who suffer from asthma experience symptoms during prolonged periods of exercise or physical exertion. That said, some children only experience asthma symptoms during or after exercise. In most cases, these children actually have a separate condition altogether: exercise-induced asthma (EIA). Also known as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, EIA occurs when the muscle bands around the throat’s airway are overly sensitive to changes in temperature and humid...

If your child was prescribed albuterol for asthma or another respiratory condition, here’s what you need to know about the medicine. The bronchial tubes, the tubes leading to the lungs, are supposed to be open and relaxed, but many children have illnesses that cause the muscles around the bronchial tubes to squeeze tight and restrict airflow. Because this makes it more difficult for kids to get air in and out, children experiencing this problem will wheeze or cough.  Albuterol is a prescription drug that is used as a “bronchodilator,” meaning that it opens up the bronchial tubes to allow air to flow in and out ...