Have a Healthy Halloween

• Monitor costume accessories. Make sure swords, knives and other accessories are short, soft and flexible.
• Avoid trick-or-treating alone. A trusted adult should accompany smaller children, and older children should travel in groups.
• Remain visible. Trick-or-treating is an evening activity, and it can last until after dark. Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to increase visibility for drivers, and use flashlights to see and be seen.
• Be cautious with glow sticks. Glow-in-the-dark sticks and accessories should only be used under adult supervision and should never be cut or broken open.
• Examine treats. Parents should inspect all treats for tampering and/or choking hazards before allowing children to enjoy them.
• Limit treats. Limit the amount of candy and treats your children eat. Too much candy at one time can cause an upset stomach.
• Test and remove makeup. If makeup is going to be used as part of a costume, always test the makeup on a small area of skin first to ensure it does not cause irritation. Remove makeup at bedtime to prevent skin or eye irritation.
• Avoid decorative contact lenses. Decorative contact lenses can cause serious eye injuries.
• Obey traffic rules. Look both ways before crossing the street, and use crosswalks when available. Walk on the sidewalks, when possible; if there aren’t any sidewalks, walk along the far edge of the road facing traffic.
• Ensure costumes and accessories fit properly. Masks, costumes and shoes should fit properly to avoid blocked vision, trips and falls.
• Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid homemade treats made by strangers.
• Carefully choose which homes you visit. Only visit well-lit houses, and enter homes only if accompanied by a trusted adult.
• Ensure costumes are flame-resistant. As a precaution, avoid walking near lit candles or luminaries while in costume.
• Carry a cell phone in case of emergency.Following these simple safety tips will help keep your children safe—without any unplanned scares. St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center wishes everyone a fun and safe Halloween.
• Parents should also supervise children while carving pumpkins. Be sure children use pumpkin carving kits—or knives specifically designed for carving—to avoid injury. Younger children can even use paint, markers or other decorations that do not have sharp edges.
• Have a one destination area, a home with all the kids dressed up having a halloween party meet instead of walking around house to house; or what I heard is a group of people all meet in a parking lot with the kids dressed up with their parents having a halloween meet getting there candy for safety.

CDC recommends the following this Halloween:

Moderate Risk Activities:

“Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a non-contagious condition that can affect polio survivors usually 15 to 40 years after recovery from polio.  Only a polio survivor can develop PPS, it is not contagious.

The polio vaccine has eradicated polio from the United States.  However, polio still exists in some countries and cases of PPS still arise. ”

NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

“Most people who get infected with poliovirus (about 72 out of 100) will not have any visible symptoms.  These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own.  A smaller proportion of people (much less than one out of 100, or 1-5 out of 1000) with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Acute lower respiratory infections are a leading cause of sickness and mortality both in children and adults worldwide. Unfortunately, acute lower respiratory infections are not uniformly defined and this may hamper a true appreciation of their epidemiological importance. From an epidemiological point of view, the definition of acute lower respiratory infections usually includes acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis, influenza and pneumonia.

Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), while often used as a synonym for pneumonia, can also be applied to other types of infection including lung abscess and acute bronchitis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, fever, coughing and fatigue.

There are a number of symptoms that are characteristic of lower respiratory tract infections. The two most common are bronchitis and edema

Acute bronchitis can be defined as an acute illness that occurs in a patient without chronic lung disease. Symptoms include cough (productive or otherwise) and other symptoms or clinical signs that suggest lower respiratory tract infection with no alternative explanation (e.g. sinusitis or asthma).

Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection and the most common cause of admission to hospital in the first 12 months of life.

Influenza affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.

Antibiotics are the first line treatment for pneumonia; however, they are not effective or indicated for parasitic or viral infections. Acute bronchitis typically resolves on its own with time.

“Stay away from me! I don’t want to get sick, too.” Most of us have had to utter those words to a family member, friend, or colleague who was sneezing or coughing incessantly. But how do we know how great the chances of catching someone’s cold or other illness really are? A medical review published in the New England Journal of Medicine tells us when to exercise concern over eight respiratory tract infections.

You can do a number of things to help prevent infection:

• Avoid close contact with people who are ill with infections spread through large-droplets.
• Unless ventilation is good, avoid shared space with people who are ill with infections spread through tiny-droplets.
• Wash your hands after greeting someone with a viral infection or after handling an object held by someone infected with Bronchiolitis or a cold.
• Encourage children to wash their hands. Kids are more likely than adults to spread infection within a family.

“Children and young people with spina bifida reported improvements in their social well-being over time. Their physical and psychological health remained stable. Youth with spina bifida may adapt to their health condition.:

Centers for Disease Prevention and Control CDC

“Complications of Spina Bifida depends on a various factors one being how soon was the Spina Bifida diagnosed and treated. Spina bifida’s impact is determined by the type of defect (there are 4 types) and in the case of myelomeningocele and closed neural tube defects the size and location of the malformation.”

NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH)

“October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month and October 25 is the international holiday for World Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day!  Each year, about 1,427 babies are born with spina bifida, or 1 in every 2,758 births. Statistics say:  Hispanic: 3.80 per 10,000 live births/Non-Hispanic black or African-American: 2.73 per 10,000 live births/ Non-Hispanic white: 3.09 per 10,000 live births.  The estimated lifetime cost of care for a person with spina bifida, with caregiving costs, is $791,900. Children and young people with spina bifida reported lower health-related quality of life than youth with other chronic health conditions.”.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

” According to the American Liver Foundation, there are more than 100 different liver diseases one being NAFLD.  Pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in children, with its prevalence rising in parallel with the increased rates of overweight and obesity. NAFLD is a multisystem disease also affecting extrahepatic organs, and it has a long-term impact on health which extends into adulthood and causes significant morbidity and mortality.  NAFLD is the most common liver disease in children in the U. S., affecting 5 to 8 million children and adolescents.   It is October Awareness Month on the Liver! ”

U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (NCBI)