The annual survey of US teen drug use, conducted by the University of Michigan also found continuing declines in smoking and drinking.

The survey found that marijuana use increased slighly, use of illicit drus use increased, but the survey itself found a decline in overall teen drug use.

Ex-President George Bush stated, “No question there’s still work to do in America, but we are making progress. And one way to note the progress is this statistic — since 2001, teen-age use has declined by 25 percent. That means 900,000 fewer teens on drugs.”

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Teen Marijuana Use Not Declining

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman says the revised law protects only newborn babies like the law was originally supposed to.

Although lawmakers approved the revision they do know they have a bigger problem with mental health care and human services.

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Nebraska’s Revision of Safe Haven Law

This is your friendly reminder to schedule your family’s flu shots, now.

The cold and flu season are about to begin, and I’m all about protecting your family against influenza and its complication.

Should your family member get vaccinated? 

Yes, if he is high risk for complications of the flu. No, if he falls under this category of people.

• Children up to 9 years old who are getting the shots for the first time should receive two shots, and one shot every year thereafter.
• Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children need to be vaccinated as well. Yes, that means up parents, grandparents, teachers and baby sitters in regular contact with children.
• Flu Mists are OK for healthy toddlers.
• Flu vaccine is now recommended for older children and teens too.

Pregnant? Consult your doctor.

Remember, vaccines do not cause autism. Studies have shown no scientific evidence that autism is caused by vaccine or thimerosal itself. But if you’re concered about this, talk to your doctor about getting a “preservative-free” vaccine.

source: Flickr

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Have you scheduled flu shots yet?

In a television event like no other, celebrities and ordinary folks will come together this Friday, September 5, in an unprecedented primetime show called Stand Up To Cancer to raise cutting-edge funds for cancer research.

When you tune in to the three major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC,  you will see one simultaneous telecast from 8 pm EDT and PDT on September 5, where the three television anchors, Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams, and major celebrities rally the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death.

There will be live performances by today’s diva recording artists, including Bejonce, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey and Ashanti, and many more in the single “Just Stand Up“, the song that raises awareness about cancer.  Listen.

More than 60 celebrities are going to answer the phones in a live fundraising special, including Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Kate Bosworth, Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Garner, Keanu Reeves, Jack Black, Ellen DeGeneres, America Ferrera, Masi Oka, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, and more.

Why the need for such a major fundraising? Treatment for cancer needs funding. But without funding, you can’t do experiments or discoveries. Without discoveries, you can’t deliver treatments to patients that may have given up all hope.

So, the big question is – what can YOU/WE do? Aside from watching the show, we can certainly donate! You can even join a team at the SU2C website, and watch as your team’s donation grows. Right now, the leading team is Crush Kids’ Cancer, where random people have donated more than almost $19,000 in a span of two weeks to fight against pediatric cancer.

(Post bumped up from May)

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Stand Up to Cancer this Friday

Well, here they are. The national universities in the United States have been ranked, and Harvard gets top honors. The best schools offer all levels of degrees and produce groundbreaking research. Plus, you might be surprised just how many students get some kind of funding or grant.

The top ten colleges and universities in the US:

Incidentally, the top six universities also earn the “best value“, where close to 50% of students receive grants based on needs. On average, the tuition fee is reduced by up to 68% at Harvard.

source: US News and World Report

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Top colleges and universities in the US

When a television is on, it interferes with a child’s ability to focus on an activity, scientists reported in the July/August issue of Child Development.

It seems that TV becomes a background noise and toddlers get so distracted by it that it reduces the length and focused attention of their play, even when they are not actively watching TV. The authors add that “these findings have implications for subsequent cognitive development.”

Unfortunately, I do notice this in my own home. My daughter likes to turn the DVD on, but would not really be watching it. And yet, she can’t totally concentrate on playing. Come to think of it, she doesn’t pay attention to me either when I call to her. Hmm.

Maybe I should really lock the TV and remote away. 

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Even background TV is bad for a child’s health

UK’s Health Protection Agency crunched some alarming rates:

This age group (ages 18-24) suffered 65 percent of all chlamydia cases, 55 percent of all genital warts and 50 percent of gonorrhoeae infections diagnosed in genito-urinary clinics last year.

The total number of STIs diagnosed reached 397,990 in 2007, up from 375,843 the year before.

The agency issued a warning that young persons need to get tested for chlamydia and other sexually-transmitted disease every year, and every time they change partners. The UK fears it would impact the control of sexually transmitted infections if a large number remains untested.

Well, yeah. And I still say, sticking with a clean partner or abstaining is the best way to prevent infection. That’s why it’s called “sexually-transmitted”.

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Is STD an epidemic among Britain’s young adult?

Children are getting more lethargic, and falling behind on the recommended amount of physical activity of one hour or more each day. Girls have it worse than boys but both ages are still in peril of declining activity by the time they reach age 15.

Unfortunately, it’s harder to establish fitness once a child has gotten so used to being unfit when they were younger. Blame it on the video games and television all day long, I say. But the researchers say there’s more blame to go around – a school system that cut back on PhysEd, less recreational facitilies per square miles (and dangerous places too, if there were), couch-potato parents, and less time or permission to go outside and play.

I remember growing up that  we can go out of the house when the sun rises, play outside the whole day and come back in time for lunch, out again and then back home again for dinner. Everyday all summer. These days, the fear of predators and skin cancer (and rightly so) have kept our children indoors, where there may not be enough space to play.

How do we get our children moving and spending active play outside? That’s the question that parents, researchers and lawmakers probably need to address to keep childhood obesity at bay.

The study was published by the Journal of Medical Association on July 15, 2008.

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Children exercise less as they reach teen years

However a recent study has revealed heartbreaking news: Because a premature baby still has immature and uncoordinated facial muscles, the facial expressions may not accurately show the level of discomfort the infant is actually feeling. A pain response occurs in the brain, but not on the face.

What’s even more dramatic is this study that showed neonates in intensive care units who undergo painful procedures rarely receive analgesia! This practice is so callous given that sensitivity to pain is highest in the first four weeks of life.

The researchers and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend drastic changes in clinical practice involving premature infants, including reducing the number of unnecessary lab tests and bundling tests together.

image: sxc

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Managing pain when preemies can’t say "Ouch!"

Researchers interviewed mothers from 10 states, including Utah, where it is more prevalent than the rest of the nation. The study showed that women who had UTI and STD infections one month prior to pregnancy or during pregnancy increases the risk of developing gastroschisis up to 4 times.

What can be done about it? Early intervention to treat these infections can prevent other complications, but there is no way to know if the fetus is or will develop the defect. So the best intervention is before conception – making sure a woman knows that there is a risk for birth defects if she has urinary tract infection and sexually transmitted disease.

source; image:newscom

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In Utah, STD + UTI = birth defect