Urgent Care or Emergency Room?
For my own girls, childhood has been marked by more than just a few visits to the local emergency room or urgent care clinic. Many times, when kids' injuries and illnesses disrupt our routines, the local doctor's office is closed. When this happens, most parents are left asking whether to steer the car in the direction of the local emergency room or an urgent care clinic.
Wandering in the dark: Is your child sleepwalking?
It's nighttime and your son already has gone to bed. A few hours later, you see him wandering around the house. His eyes are open, but he looks confused. He's walking in his sleep.
Sleepwalking is a very common sleep behavior. Studies estimate that many children walk in their sleep at least once. The cause isn't known, but it seems to run in families. Sleepwalking can involve common activities like walking into another room in the house or more dangerous activities like turning on appliances in the kitchen or trying to walk outside. Kids usually have no memory of it the next day.
Sleepwalking can be caused by things like:
- Not enough sleep or changes in a child's sleep schedule.
- Sleeping in a noisy or different place.
- Stress.
- Illnesses or fever.
- Some medications.
A clean house benefits everyone
Open your windows, the warm weather has arrived! Wait a minute…look at all that dust and dirt that’s built up over the winter. Yuck! It’s time to wash windows and clean dust bunnies out from under the bed. But did you know that many cleaning supplies may trigger breathing problems for kids (and adults) with asthma?
Drowsy driving is dangerous
The school year is winding down and there’s an excited buzz among high school students. Summer vacation is coming, but with all the excitement comes added stress and too little sleep as students finish up school projects and study for final exams. Too many responsibilities and activities can put teens in a dangerous position: driving while sleepy.
More than 80 percent of all teens get less than the recommended nine hours of sleep each night. What’s even scarier is that less than half of these teens realize that being tired makes a difference in driving safely.
Check out these eye-opening statistics about sleepy driving:
- One night of no sleep has the same impact as driving drunk.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found teen drivers are four times more likely to be in a fatal car accident.
The ABCs of skin protection
Did you know that UV rays actually begin increasing in April, even though it’s not that warm outside yet? Many people think a suntan is a healthy glow, but parents need to understand that tanned skin actually is damaged skin.
