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Typically, when stung by an insect, a person will have no reaction or a mild local reaction, such as redness, swelling or itching at the site of the sting.

However, some people experience a more widespread reaction, such as a drop in blood pressure, lightheadedness or hives all over.In the most serious cases, a person can go into anaphylaxis, a condition in which he or she may have difficulty breathing.

Other symptoms include swelling of the mouth or throat, itchy skin, wheezing, cough and localized pain, said Dr. Clifford Bassett, medical director of Allergy and Asthma Care of New York.

Capes advises people who experience a systemic reaction to call 911 and wait for an ambulance, because it will have medicine to treat the reaction immediately. An antihistamine such as Benadryl will be given and, in severe cases, a shot of epinephrine.Even if the reaction is not severe, Benadryl will help with normal symptoms of insect stings, Capes said.

Those who have had allergic reactions to insects should always carry an antihistamine and an epinephrine auto-injector for emergencies, experts said.Insect allergies may be harder to control than some food allergies because it's not always possible to predict when bees, wasps and other stinging bugs are around, Capes said.

Severe reactions don't usually happen the very first time a person gets stung, Capes said."The thing about allergic reactions that is interesting, or scary, is that we never know what the next allergic reaction is going to be," he said.For those who have a history of anaphylactic reactions to insects, vaccines are available for yellow jackets, wasps, honey bees and fire ants, Bassett said.

The immunization process takes three to five years, he said.There are also blood and skin tests that people can take to determine whether they are sensitive to these insects, he said.Besides anaphylaxis, people may experience other kinds of reactions, Bassett said. If a person is stung hundreds of times at once, he or she may need emergency care, as the venom may lead to seizures, shock and even death, he said.

There is also a rare reaction called serum sickness that includes joint pain and flu-like illness that may result from insect stings, and has allergy-like symptoms, Bassett said.In rare cases, even mosquito bites can lead to anaphylaxis, Bassett said. There is no treatment for mosquito allergies, but there is a diagnostic test, he said.

Bassett offers the following tips to reduce the danger of insects:

• Stay away from stinging insect nests when possible.

• Consider wearing closed-toed shoes in an area where there may be many stinging insects.

• Remain calm and quiet around a stinging insect, and move slowly away from it.• Avoid brightly colored clothing, as well as perfumes and scented hair products and lotions.

• Avoid loose-fitting clothing, which can accidentally trap the insect.

• Use caution when eating outdoors, especially when sodas or other sweetened drinks are available.

For more tips on managing insect allergies, visit the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Web site. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology can also help you find an allergist.

allergy, insect, awareness, parenting resources, health

PROclaim 2009 from parentalrights.org on Vimeo.

Awards & Prizes1st Place (1 per category) $250

2nd Place (1 per category) $150

3rd Place (1 per category) $50

How to PROclaim . . .

1. Make a video, telling America why it's important to preserve parenthood. Your video can be from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. Act out a story or give a speech. Use music, photos, video, text, animation! We want to know why YOU support parental rights.

2. Upload your video to the ParentalRights.org group on Vimeo.

3. Fill out the online PROclaim Entry Form. (Submissions will be accepted from August 17th, 2009 - September 9, 2009.)

4. Submit your $15 entry fee.

Not a member of ParentalRights.Org? Become one today!

parental rights, un convention on the rights of the child, parenting, resources, awareness, politics, family

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Modern mobile phones come with a built-in dictionary which enables them to predict what word a user wants from only a few key presses.Each key represents three letters.

It differs from an older system in which users had to hit keys several times per letter, for example pressing the 5 key three times for the letter L.

But it can lead to embarrassing miscommunications because some words use the same keys. For example, it is easy to end up asking a friend out for a quick riot (pint) or telling them about being stuck in a Steve (queue).

The study compared the mobile phone use of children aged between 11 and 14 with the results of IQ-style tests they took on computers.

A quarter of the children made more than 15 calls a week and a quarter wrote more than 20 text messages a week.

Professor Michael Abramson, an epidemiologist who carried out the research, said: 'The children who used their phones a lot were faster on some of the tests but were less accurate.'

We suspect that using mobile phones a lot, particularly tools like predictive text, is behind this.'Their brains are still developing so if there are effects then potentially they could impact down the line, especially given that the exposure is now almost universal.'

The use of mobile phones is changing the way children learn and pushing them to become more impulsive in the way they behave.'

He added that the effects could have dangerous repercussions for a whole generation.Experts concerned about the possible impact of mobile phone radiation on developing brains say that parents should be wary of allowing their children to use mobile phones too much.

But the researchers said the amount of radiation transmitted when texting is a mere 0.03 per cent of that transmitted during voice calls, suggesting radiation is not to blame for the brain effects.Instead, Professor Abramson, from Monash University, Melbourne, believes functions such as predictive texting pose more of a risk for those whose brains are still developing.'

We don't think mobile phones are frying their brains,' he said. 'If you're used to operating in that environment and entering a couple of letters and getting the word you want, you expect everything to be like that.'

The study, which is published in the journal Bioelectromagnetics, will now be extended to look at the impact of mobile phone use on primary school children.

teens, awareness, parents, text messaging, child development

Image via CrunchBase

What are your kids looking for when they surf the Web? The computer security firm Symantec Corp recently found that kids were interested in “Michael Jackson, eBay, Wikipedia, Miley Cyrus who plays Hannah Montana in the hit Disney series, Taylor Swift, Webkinz, Club Penguin, and the Black Eyed Peas' song ‘Boom Boom Pow.’” Oh, and “sex” and “porn.”

According to an August 12 Reuters report, Symantec “studied 3.5million searches and “identified the top 100 searches conducted between February and July through its family safety service OnlineFamily.Norton, which monitors children's and teenager's Internet use,” Reuters explained.

The company’s Family Resources blog listed the top 10 searches:
1. YouTube
2. Google
3. FaceBook
4. Sex
5. MySpace
6. Porn
7. Yahoo
8. Michael Jackson Fred (A popular fictional character whose YouTube channel has become a hit among kids.)
9. eBay

If CMI’s research is an indication, children aren’t having much trouble finding “sex” and “porn.” Not if they’re looking on YouTube.

Learn more about this study here:Web Study: Kids Turn to YouTube 'Sex,' 'Porn'

awareness, teens, parents, internet safety

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I received this in an email recently and wanted to share it with you. Please read this important message from Shared Hope International exposing the sex-trafficking epidemic in the US!

You'd like to think of him as evil ... Ugly, scarred, dirty - smirking grin.  Hollow eyes.

You'd like to think of her as bad - knowing, taunting, provocative ... She "had it coming," right?

But here's the awful truth.  She's just 13.  She could've been your daughter's best friend.  You know the one - the seventh grader with the long blond hair and pretty smile. 

He's the friendly-looking man who waves from his car.  His ball cap is well-worn; it shouts "all-American guy."

But he's a pimp.  He preys on her innocence - capitalizes on her youth.  And now, she's his victim.  Trapped.  Subject to every sexual whim and fantasy.  Bought and sold at truck stops and on street corners.

Take action! Stand with Shared Hope International to confront America's life-shattering sex-trafficking epidemic.

I was a member of the United States Congress when I first discovered this sickening epidemic - women and children held against their will in sexual slavery.

But when I began to investigate - and saw the absolutely astonishing scope of the problem I left politics and founded Shared Hope International (SHI).

For almost a decade, SHI has served the world's most destitute - young girls forced into prostitution.  We work diligently around the globe to prevent, rescue, and restore.

No child in the United States of America should ever be taken, used, and destroyed by sexual predators.

Take action with Shared Hope International! Stand and say, "NOT IN MY CITY!"
Reports estimate that 100,000 to 300,000 American children are being used at any one time for commercial sex in the U.S. ... Pornography, prostitution, strip clubs, and other adult venues.

SHI has gained a tough reputation for prompting legal and political reform against trafficking around the world - and we're going to put it increasingly to work here at home.  For the sake of our daughters and granddaughters.

Our domestic strategy is three-fold:

• Prosecute those who sexually exploit our youth.
  
• Protect the vulnerable from the control of the trafficker/pimp.
  
• Prevent through public awareness and training of law enforcement officers.

With your help, we will EXPOSE and STOP this ongoing American tragedy. 

Watch the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking video NOW and take action!  Understand how Shared Hope is fighting sex trafficking across the United States. 

Thank you for not looking away - for being willing to take action to protect your family and your community against the ravages of the commercial sex industry.

 

Linda Smith

Founder and President

Shared Hope International

Image by Dan Queiroz via Flickr

With back-to-school season just around the corner, federal health and education officials today are not suggesting drastic K-12 schools closures where students have already caught swine flu.ShareUnless H1N1 becomes more deadly, schools will likely stay open during outbreaks.Instead they're releasing guidance for schools that outlines what schools can do while keeping doors open -- and have loosened their recommendation for the amount of time sick students and teachers should stay home.If the flu does not get any more severe, the advice is for those sick with swine flu to stay home just 24 hours after their fever subsides and they are off of fever medications rather than holing up for seven days as previously instructed, Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said today. For additional information see the link below:

health, awareness, education, children, parents, swine flu, back to school

To make up for your little ones' preferences for cookies over cauliflower, you may be relying on multi-vitamins and fortified cereals. That way, picky eaters can still get most of the nutrients they need without your having to force feed them, says Jennifer Collins, a registered dietitian and owner of Leading Lady Fitness in Pompano Beach.

And that means fewer children in the U.S. are clinically deficient in the recommended nutrients, with the exception of iron. Yet the National Cancer Institute reports that only 1 percent of children between the ages of two and 19 get the intake of grains, vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy that the USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends.

Although it is a good idea to give kids the nutritional safety net that multi-vitamin supplements and enriched foods provide, Collins, the Mom of Delaney, 2, and Donovan, 5, says that vitamins and minerals found naturally in foods are more readily absorbed and used by the body.

What's more, Flintstones and Frosted Flakes don't have the fiber, health-boosting phytonutrients and water content of whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Nor does their use inspire good eating habits.

To find out which nutrients our kids are most likely to be lacking in their diets, we consult with Josee Derrien, a registered dietitian in Boca Raton. She says the usual suspects are calcium, iron, fiber, folate, magnesium, potassium and vitamin E.

Get more details on packing a healthy lunch and learn more about what the nutritional guidelines are for children by visiting the full article here.