11 May 2020
MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As parts of the United States begin to reopen, two big questions loom for parents -- how quickly can kids get back to school and can it be done safely?
Many factors need to be considered and worked out in partnership with local health departments before individual school districts can open again, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
In newly released guidance, the AAP highlighted some of those factors, such as how do you keep kids at a safe distance from each other when in the classroom or on a playground, and when schools will need to shut down again if infection rates rise.
"From a health perspective, the health of kids and the health of staff has to be thought through before schools reopen," explained pediatrician Dr....
11 May 2020
MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Efforts to create a COVID-19 vaccine are proceeding at an unprecedented pace, with eight different candidates now being tested in humans around the world.
But to have a vaccine available for widespread use by early next year could entail bending some rules regarding safety and testing -- actions that might put the health, and possibly the lives, of test volunteers at risk.
"It is possible to have a vaccine by the fall or winter," said Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "It is not possible to have a vaccine by fall or winter that has gone through the usual safety testing. Speed is a tradeoff with safety."
The government's leading vaccine expert -- Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the...
10 May 2020
SUNDAY, May 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Asking your child to mow the lawn is a risky proposition, a new study suggests.
About 9,400 American kids are injured by lawn mowers each year, and mowers cause 12% to 29% of all traumatic amputations among them, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Toe and foot amputations are the most common.
"Lawn mower injuries are largely preventable, but despite increased awareness, my colleagues and I continue to see a significant number of cases from May through October, some of which can be truly devastating," said study senior author Dr. Theodore Ganley, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
His team analyzed data on more than 1,300 patients under age 18 who were treated for lawn mower injuries at 49...
8 May 2020
FRIDAY, May 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A testosterone-lowering drug can reduce male pedophiles' risk of sexually abusing children, according to a new Swedish study.
The drug, called degarelix, is used to treat prostate cancer and turns off production of testosterone. It's given by injection every three months and can lower testosterone levels within hours, according to researchers.
The study included 52 male pedophiles in Sweden who received either degarelix or a placebo. Treatment with degarelix reduced high sexual desire and sexual attraction to children -- two major risk factors for committing child sexual abuse. These effects were noticeable within two weeks, the study found.
Many of the men who received the drug said they developed an inner calm, that thoughts of sex were no...