Children with foreign bodies requiring extraction are usually between the ages of 2-7 and I suspect they are curious as to whether or not the item will fit in the space; they never think about the inevitable removal process. They probably swallow coins or marbles for the same reasons; not thinking about the potential consequences. Sometimes, the foreign object ends up in its unexpected location completely by accident.
“My eyes are burning, oh my eyes. Mommy, help me.” My daughter was upset and screaming in pain. I went tearing out of my room and ran into the bathroom. “Ow, my eyes are stinging.” It was hard to decipher exactly what she was saying besides having pain in her eyes. “What happened?” I asked, thinking to myself, how did you damage yourself unattended in less than 60 seconds? “It sprayed me.”
The take home point is weapons used in play can be fun and even constructive, but if used to hurt others can be damaging over the long term. Teaching children the significant differences between the two is crucial. So my slightly apprehensive self, did indeed, find the very important “weapon” for my son’s Lego man. And yes, I confess, it was a small gun. He made lots of “bang-bang” noises right after I handed it to him and it freaks me out less now than it did before writing this.
According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, a child dies every two weeks in this country from a tip over incident involving a TV, a piece of furniture, or a combination of the two. Every 24 minutes a child is admitted to the emergency room because of a TV or a furniture tip over.
“Mom, I know you care about people and try to help them when they are hurt,” said my 6 year old the next morning at breakfast while we discussed the previous day’s events. Based on this experience, I have come to the conclusion physicians have a duty to respond to emergencies if they can. When an accident occurs literally next to me and I do not to respond, what am I teaching other people about physicians? More importantly, what message am I sending to my own children?
Influenza is the seventh leading cause of death in children under the age of 14 in the United States. Illness can be life-threatening and needs to be taken seriously. A flu vaccine is developed each year to keep up with the ever changing strains that are circulating. This year 2015-2016, the strains circulating match the vaccine accurately. Last year 2014-2015, the vaccine was less than 50% preventative. I hope you find this information helpful.
