Disposal of Prescription Drugs

Death from legal prescription drugs is becoming more and more common in Utah today. Seven people per week in Utah are dying from use of legal prescriptions. Part of the problem is that adolescents do not perceive the use of prescription drugs as "drug abuse". From 1992-2003, opioid abuse by teens increased by 542%, and from 1999 to 2004, unintentional drug overdose deaths increased by 68%.

**Congress recently passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 to give consumers a safe and responsible way to dispose of unused prescription drugs. Consumers currently seeking to reduce the amount of expired or unwanted prescription drugs in their homes have few disposal options, increasing the risk drug abuse and poisonings. The Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 seeks to reduce these risks by permitting individuals to deliver their unused medications to responsible state and private drug take-back programs.

Up to 17 percent of prescribed medication goes unused, and if improperly disposed, may contribute to drug diversion and environmental problems. The bill would allow consumers to give controlled substances to specially designated individuals for disposal, such as law enforcement officials. It also would allow long-term care facilities to dispose of certain prescription drugs on behalf of their residents.

Teenagers now abuse prescription drugs more than any other illegal drug except for marijuana, and the majority of teens who abuse these drugs get them for free, usually from friends and relatives and often without their knowledge.

The doctors of Willow Creek Pediatrics want to stress the importance of proper disposal of ANY leftover prescription medication. There are numerous locations all over the valley for disposal. You can visit http://www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov/permanentsites.htm for permanent locations all over the state for prescription medication disposal. Everyone should join in the battle of abuse of prescription drugs. Be proactive in your house and clean out your medicine cabinet today!

**Information provided by http://www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov/index.htm

***Statistics provided by Dr. Jay Bischoff, to educate medical providers about the dangers of prescribing more narcotics for pain than necessary

****For information on "Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day", on October 29th, 2011, visit http://www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov/cleanoutcabinet.htm, and watch here for future posts!

Fact Friday: 1/3 of Children's diet is cooked outside the home

                    Study found a third of food eaten now is cooked outside the home

The amount of calories children ages 2 to 18 consumed from take-out foods increased significantly between 1977 and 2006, with the calorie percentage from fast foods higher than that from school-based meals, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. "We cannot control where these eateries are located or how they prepare their foods, but we can decide to cook more at home, which will ultimately save money and help keep our families healthy," dietitian Samantha Heller said.

**info from Healthday News

Recently HealthDay News Printed this article about the concern of children eating take-out food or fast food.(click here for full article) We want to remind you of some great websites that help support good eating habits. We recently posted an article about the New Food Pyramid and also about The Sneaky Chef. What are you doing to help your children have good idea habits? How many home cooked meals do your children get? Is your child getting a healthy and balanced diet? We know this can be hard but hopefully a few of these websites will give you some great suggestions. Thanks to Dr Jopling for providing our HealthDay News article. Hope you are having a great summer.

Excercising Children in Heat

Keeping your family safe this summer has been one of our priorities. We know many of our patients have started or are already playing outdoor summer sports. We thought this was a great reminder on how to beat the heat this summer and help your children stay hydrated. Remember if you have any questions you can call us and speak to a nurse or your pediatrician.

Heat Stress in Exercising Children

• The intensity of activities that last 15 minutes or more should be reduced whenever high heat and humidity reach critical levels.
• At the beginning of a strenuous exercise program or after traveling to a warmer climate, the intensity and duration of exercise should be limited initially and then gradually increased during a period of 7 to 14 days to acclimatize to the heat, particularly if it is very humid.
• Before prolonged physical activity, children should be well-hydrated and should not feel thirsty. For the first hour of exercise, water alone can be used. Kids should have water or a sports drink always available and drink every 20 minutes while exercising in the heat. Excessively hot and humid environments, more prolonged and strenuous exercise, and copious sweating should be reasons for children to substantially increase their fluid intake. After an hour of exercise, children need to drink a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage to replace electrolytes lost in sweat and provide carbohydrates for energy.
• Clothing should be light-colored and lightweight and limited to one layer of absorbent material to facilitate evaporation of sweat. Sweat-saturated shirts should be replaced by dry clothing.
• Practices and games played in the heat should be shortened and more frequent water/hydration breaks should be instituted. Children should seek cooler environments if they feel excessively hot or fatigue.

**to read full article click here
*thanks to AAP for the current information

Fact Friday - Infants' Acetaminophen Concentration Change

There has recently been a change in the concentration of Infants' Acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol). It has changed from 80 mg/0.8 mL to 160 mg/5 mL. This will mean a change in the dosage you are used to giving your infant. Click on the images above to view the old concentration dosages versus the new concentration dosages and be sure you verify which concentration you are giving your child before actually giving it to them.

If you have any questions regarding which dosage you should be giving your child, please feel free to contact the office!

We hope you have a great weekend!

Summer Tip: Playground Safety

Here is another tip from our Summer Safety Ideas for the summer : We hope you are all having a great and safe summer!

Playground Safety

The playground should have safety-tested mats or loose-fill materials (shredded rubber, sand, wood chips, or bark) maintained to a depth of at least 9 inches (6 inches for shredded rubber). The protective surface should be installed at least 6 feet (more for swings and slides) in all directions from the equipment.

• Equipment should be carefully maintained. Open “S” hooks or protruding bolt ends can be hazardous.
• Swing seats should be made of soft materials such as rubber, plastic or canvas.
• Make sure children cannot reach any moving parts that might pinch or trap any body part.
• Never attach—or allow children to attach—ropes, jump ropes, leashes, or similar items to play equipment; children can strangle on these.  If you see something tied to the playground, remove it or call the playground operator to remove it.
• Make sure your children remove helmets and anything looped around their necks.
• Metal, rubber and plastic products can get very hot in the summer, especially under direct sun.
• Make sure slides are cool to prevent children’s legs from getting burned.
• Do not allow children to play barefoot on the playground.
• Parents should never purchase a home trampoline or allow children to use home trampolines.
• Parents should supervise children on play equipment to make sure they are safe.

To read more or see the full article click here
**Info from AAP

Fact Friday - Holiday Hours

The Willow Creek office will be open on Sunday, July 24th to see patients with urgent problems. You can call the office after 9:30 to schedule an appointment or for medical advice. Monday, July 25th, we will also be open for urgent care only. You can call Monday morning after 9:00 to schedule an appointment or for medical advice. We will be back in the office for regular office hours on Tuesday, July 26th, if you are in need of medication refills or immunization records.

The doctors and staff of Willow Creek Pediatrics would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Childhood Obesity and the "Media Diet."

     "Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America – with 17 percent of children aged 2 to 19 obese," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The huge increase is more than three times the 1980 childhood obesity rate."      A report released in June by the American Academy of Pediatrics "has a new suggestion: ban companies from advertising junk food during children's television programs." The AAP has long called for "parents to put their kids on a 'media diet'"; and now the organization is "going a step further by calling on Congress to ban fast food and junk food ads" during shows directed at children. The statement also "cites several studies" establishing that "TV ads prime children to prefer and request high-fat and high-sugar foods" and that poor "snacking habits while watching TV may contribute to weight gain."
     Since that plea from the AAP and CDC, 17 US food and beverage companies including Kraft, Nestle and Coca-Cola, presented self-imposed regulations designed to adjust the products they advertise and market to children.  According to the regulations, the companies would have to choose to make there products healthier or cease advertising them to children after Dec. 31, 2013. The move comes from the response to federal calls to create advertising guidelines to combat childhood obesity.
To read the full articles click here and here
Thanks to Dr Jopling and Dr Lynch for there great articles and we hope more companies will start making there own self-imposed regulations to benefit children.

Info from**
 Los Angeles Times (7/15)
ABC News (6/28) reports,