Scientists have found that a large proportion of infants who suffer from bronchiolitis have an inherent pre-disposition to the disease.
The disease is the most prevalent acute wheezing disorder in infants and is the most common cause of admission to hospital in the first year of life in the developed world. Around 25 in every 1,000 babies are admitted to hospital for bronchiolitis - needing oxygen and help with feeding - and of these, 10% need the support of a ventilator.
Bronchiolitis frequently develops in infants suffering from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Although most infants infected with RSV have only mild symptoms such as a cough and wheeze some develop potentially life-threatening bronchiolitis. Babies born prematurely are particularly susceptible to the condition but what has puzzled scientists is that the majority of babies admitted to hospital are previously healthy and have not had an obvious reason for becoming so ill.
Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening.
The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
There are no national figures on how many middle schools, where most students range in age from 11 to 13, provide such services.
WASHINGTON - Cold and cough medicines don't work in children and shouldn't be used in those younger than 6, federal health advisers recommended Friday.
The over-the-counter medicines should be studied further, even after decades in which children have received billions of doses a year, the outside experts told the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA isn't required to follow the advice of its panels of outside experts but does so most of the time.
Falling numbers of NHS dentists are forcing many patients to go without treatment or even try pulling out their own teeth, a study found today.
Many meals in fast-food restaurants contain "shockingly" high levels of salt, with Pizza Hut the worst offender, according to a report by campaigners.
Greece's failure to adopt an effective illness prevention program, combined with unhealthy eating practices and high rates of smoking among others, have led to the life expectancy of Greeks to slide down the European scale over the last 10 years, according to a study released yesterday.
LONDON - Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers.
Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of East Anglia, and graduate Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and assessed its implications for managers.
They assessed that swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye.
Gene Emery
ReutersThu, 18 Oct 2007 14:47 UTC
A test that looks for the virus found in 99 percent of cervical tumors is far more effective than a Pap smear for detecting the early stages of cervical cancer, Canadian researchers said on Wednesday.
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A snapshot of an average day in the lives of U.S. teens shows hundreds of thousands are smoking, drinking and ingesting illegal drugs, according to a report from the federal government.
On an average day, nearly 1.2 million teenagers smoked cigarettes, 631,000 drank and 586,000 used marijuana, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found.
BOSTON - Sabrina Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the vaccinations required to enter preschool.
Comment: For more important information on the Gardasil vaccine, read:
Judicial Watch Uncovers Three Deaths Relating to HPV Vaccine
Gardasil Vaccine linked to sickness, Parents Urged Not To Panic
Outrageous: 8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccine