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 This week in

Briefly Health:

By Bryan K. Pruitt, Editor

 NursePLUS.com

Low child immunization rates

8/6/03

August is "immunization awareness month." In 2002, more than 30 percent of toddlers in California weren't getting the protective series of shots on time -- a shocking statistic for the sixth largest economy in the world. Massachusetts did the best job, immunizing 86 percent of toddlers on time.

The full immunization series includes four or more doses of DTP, three or more doses of Polio vaccine, one or more doses of any MCV, three or more doses of Hib, and three or more doses of Hep B.

The Associated Press reported: "About 75 percent of the nation's toddlers are getting vaccinated on time, but pockets of the country are doing significantly worse, new government data show."

Here are the data tables from the CDC's Immunization Program, including state by state by vaccination and some urban areas. They list the vaccinations available, plus the series –in other words first DPT and 2nd DPT and so on.

One in 10 Children Have a Mental Illness

8/6/03

The number seems so high my first knee-jerk response is to dismiss it as not being possible. But if the numbers are anywhere near that high it would still be an enormous issue.

ABC News reports: "According to the Office of the Surgeon General, one in 10 children under the age of 18 'suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment.'

The National Institute of Mental Health, in its fact sheet for physicians Depression in Children and Adolescents, cited studies that found as many as 2.5 percent of children and 8.3 percent of teenagers suffer from depression.

The report states, "Some psychiatrists say those numbers may even be conservative, suggesting that as many as one in five children will go through extended periods when they show the symptoms of significant emotional problems by the time they turn 18."

The National Institute of Mental Health website cites a 1999 study that says mental health will become a leading cause of disability and even death for children in the next 20 years. The study says, "The future of our country depends on the mental health and strength of our young people. However, many children have mental health problems that interfere with normal development and functioning. A 1999 study estimated that almost 21 percent of U.S. children ages 9 to 17 had a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder that caused at least some impairment. When diagnostic criteria were limited to significant functional impairment, the estimate dropped to 11 percent. Moreover, in any given year, it is estimated that fewer than one in five of these youth receives needed treatment. Recent evidence compiled by the World Health Organization indicates that by the year 2020, childhood neuropsychiatric disorders will rise proportionately by over 50 percent, internationally, to become one of the five most common causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability among children."

The Cincinnati Enquirer just published a story about a new Ohio study that queried 21, 915 students in 52 public schools about their emotional wellbeing. Some 63 percent of children said they felt sad or depressed at least once in the past 30 days. Thirty-seven percent said they thought or talked about death, while 20 percent admitted intentionally hurting themselves at least once in the same 30 day period.

It's clearly a growing nationwide problem that nurses need to be aware of.    

Deadly mosquito candles

7/29/03
 
Citronella. It's the stuff in those candles and torches that people burn to fight off mosquitos. While effective on mosquitos, if humans spend too too much time around this nasty chemical potpourri, the very stuff that mosquitoes don't like can cause discomfort for you.

The Oconomowoc (Wisc.) Focus says, "Citronella is a mucus-membrane irritant, meaning it irritates the nose, eyes, and throat. It causes a burning irritation in the eyes, an irritated throat and nose, nausea and vomiting if the liquid form is digested. In more extreme circumstances, citronella also can affect the central nervous system with long-term exposure."

I suppose that you would have to inhale a LOT of this before it would harm you, wouldn't you? But then, I haven't been able to find any testing on the issue.

More Briefly Health stories can be found at www.nursePLUS.com.

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