“Cincy Kids 4 Kids carnival is Sept. 11” plus 3 more |
- Cincy Kids 4 Kids carnival is Sept. 11
- Concussion Rates Soar Among Younger Kids
- Kids' concussion rate soars
- Califon Kids Care Club helps many causes
| Cincy Kids 4 Kids carnival is Sept. 11 Posted: 29 Aug 2010 12:41 PM PDT News Updated: 9:48 am | August 29, 2010 Cincy Kids 4 Kids, a Clermont County based organization that has been helping non-profit organizations in Cincinnati for more than 60 years, treated families at Shriners Hospitals for Children® to a picnic dinner and games to celebrate the end of summer. As part of their outreach, Cincy Kids 4 Kids plans an annual kid's carnival. Their 2010 Summer Carnival is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at Veterans Memorial Park in Union Township, Clermont County. The day is full of family fun that is affordable for everyone. There is a huge bid and buy, dunk a teacher, and loads of other games and booths for everyone to enjoy. The group has raised more than $200,000 for organizations around the Tristate. Shriners Hospitals for Children is just one of the recipients; others include Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, The Ronald McDonald House and CASA. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Concussion Rates Soar Among Younger Kids Posted: 30 Aug 2010 06:03 AM PDT MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- High school-age athletes are more likely than younger kids to have sports-related concussions, but the rate of such injuries in both groups is on the rise, a new U.S. study suggests. From 1997 to 2007, emergency department visits for concussion in kids aged 8 to 13 playing organized sports doubled, and the number of visits increased by more than 200 percent in older teens, according to the report. In related news, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines on what to do about sports-related concussions, with advice for both parents and physicians. The study and guidelines are published online and in the September print issue of Pediatrics. Awareness of concussions is increasing, according to Dr. Mark Halstead, who co-wrote the new recommendations. Unlike the thinking of a generation ago, concussions aren't something to "shake off," said Halstead, an assistant professor of pediatrics and orthopaedics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "A concussion is an injury to the brain that is typically not a structural injury but a functional injury," he explained. He tells parents to think of it as a computer bug. "If a computer gets a virus, the computer doesn't function appropriately." Parents should know that "no athlete should go back to play on the same day they have their concussion. We recommend athletes who have a concussion be evaluated by a medical professional before they return to play," Halstead said. There is no medication or treatment proven for concussion, other than rest, he added. That means resting the body and the brain, he noted. Even homework, television and video games may worsen symptoms after a concussion, according to the AAP guidelines, which say that the young athlete may require a temporary leave of absence from school. The child should also be restricted from physical activity until there are no symptoms at rest or during exercise, the guidelines note. Symptoms of a concussion generally resolve within about seven to 10 days, according to the AAP, but parents should seek additional medical help if symptoms worsen. "Worrisome signs for us are a progressively increasing headache, if a child is unable to move an arm or leg, worsening symptoms, repeated throwing up," said Halstead. "Those are things that should be evaluated sooner." Other symptoms include feeling lightheaded or confused or losing consciousness. The guidelines also suggest that retirement from contact sports should be considered for an athlete who has had multiple concussions or who has suffered post-concussion symptoms for more than three months. Which sports are riskiest for concussions? For organized team sports, concussions were most likely in football, as well as basketball, soccer and ice hockey; for individual and leisure sports, concussions were more likely during bicycling, playground games and snow skiing, the researchers found. To reduce injuries, the AAP recommends taking preventive steps, such as using protective equipment and padding goalposts. From 2001 to 2005, there were an estimated 502,000 emergency department visits for concussion among U.S. kids aged 8 to 19 -- about half of which were sports-related -- and 8- to 13-year-olds accounted for about one-third of the visits, according to Dr. Lisa Bakhos and colleagues at Brown University, Injury Prevention Center and Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, who analyzed information from two national databases for the study. Although organized team sport participation declined from 1997 to 2007, emergency department visits for concussions increased among both young children and teens, the study found. The study and the guidelines will boost awareness of the seriousness of concussions, said Dr. Gillian Hotz, director of the concussion program in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "Most kids are OK [after a concussion]," Hotz said. But more information has evolved, and health care experts know to take concussions more seriously and to be sure kids are symptom-free before returning to play, she added. Hotz suspects the number of concussions found in the study are underestimates, pointing out that many children are not seen in the emergency department but may visit their pediatrician instead, and others may not get medical attention at all. More information To learn more about what to do about suspected concussions, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2010 01:27 AM PDT CHICAGO -- Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids' sports has increased, along with awareness of head injuries. The findings in a study of national data don't necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren't taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say. "It definitely is a disturbing trend," said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J. The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000. While awareness has increased, many parents, coaches and players still don't understand how serious concussions can be, Bakhos said. Many often seem less concerned with the injury than with how soon kids can return to sports. "They want to know if they can play tomorrow, and you're just like, 'No!"' she said. "It's not just as simple as get up, shake it off and you'll be fine. "If they're not treated properly, with rest, then they can have long-term problems," Bakhos said. Those include learning difficulties, memory problems and chronic headaches. The study appears in Pediatrics, published online Monday, along with a report about sports-related concussions from the American Academy of Pediatrics' sports medicine council.A concussion means the brain has been jostled. Symptoms aren't always obvious. There usually is no loss of consciousness. And a concussion doesn't show up on an imaging scan unless there is bruising or bleeding. Symptoms can include headache, nausea, dizziness and trouble concentrating, and may last about a week. Sometimes it can take months to recover. Potential concussions should not be "toughed out," say the authors of the Pediatrics report. Affected athletes should always be examined by a doctor or someone else with medical expertise. Treatment is mainly rest -- both physically and mentally, avoiding activities that require concentration and focus. That may mean reducing schoolwork or staying home. Video games, computer use and TV can worsen symptoms and should be avoided, the academy report says. Some doctors advise against aspirin and similar painkillers right after a head injury because they may raise the risk for brain bleeding. Above all, anyone with a concussion should not return to sports or other physical exertion until their symptoms have disappeared. "If you go back in too early, that can be devastating," said Dr. Kevin Walter, co-author of the report and a concussions specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Resuming sports too soon risks another concussion that could be deadly or cause permanent brain damage, he said. A concussion should not be dismissed as "not a big deal," Walter said. "In my mind, how the hell can a brain injury not be big deal?" he said. Sports-related concussions have made recent headlines because of research about brain damage, depression and memory problems including Alzheimer's disease in retired NFL players who had repeat concussions. Researchers believe young athletes may be more vulnerable than adults to lasting damage from these head injuries because their brains are still developing. Several states have adopted or are considering tougher limits on when athletes can resume play after a concussion, as have some schools, amateur leagues and the NFL. Dr. Michael Koester, chairman of a sports medicine committee at the National Federation of State High School Associations, said young athletes increasingly are playing and practicing year-round to stay competitive, a trend that increases chances for injury. Evan Nolte, 16, a top high school basketball player in Atlanta, says the injuries "are more serious than people think." Evan hit his head hard on the floor during a tournament earlier this year when he dived for a ball and another player landed on top of him. He didn't think he had a concussion, and only sat out several minutes before returning to the game. A few days later, he was elbowed in the head in another game. Evan sat out the rest of the game, feeling disoriented. His doctor diagnosed a concussion the next day and told him to avoid sports for a few weeks. When Evan had trouble focusing in class, and complained that his head was spinning, his parents took him to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's concussion clinic. The clinic is among an increasing number of centers nationwide that use computerized or written tests to measure mental function after concussions. Evan's results showed some deficits. His scores improved after several days, but it took him about a month to feel 100 percent. Now he's back to training. At 6-feet-7, Evan plays competitively 10 months of the year and plans to play in college. Coaches from top schools have already shown interest. ------ Online: Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.co, American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Califon Kids Care Club helps many causes Posted: 30 Aug 2010 05:59 AM PDT CALIFON -- Students in Califon Kids Care Club took on a year-long schedule of community service projects to solve real world problems and to take active roles in communities they are members of. The club started started in 2004 with the mission "to promote volunteerism in the entire student body on the local, state, national and international levels." They have put their motto "Caring, Pride and Service" into action. Advisors, first grade teacher Cynthia Behrens and school nurse Linda Patterson, have seen the rewards of community service learning for their students during the 2009-2010 school year. In February students raised funds for "pop-up" tents for SOS Children's Villages in Haiti after the January earthquake. The school hosted a Hasbro Play-a-thon, where students collected pledges and spent an evening coming together to play games with their classmates and families. The group also collected donations from the student body to support "Christmas Trees for Soldiers" that supplied fresh, decorated Christmas trees to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group was able to send four trees. The projects have required active learning on the part of the students, as well as the integration of the schools' academic subjects. Baking bread and selling the loaves was a service project that had students practicing math and science skills in the bread making process, and also involved the student in a higher level of personal engagement. The proceeds from the bread sale benefited the Open Cupboard Food Pantry in Clinton. The Califon Kids Care Club has initiated other projects this year such as a One Hundredth Day of School Can Collection to collect food items for the North Hunterdon Food Pantry in Lebanon Township; a Clean Ocean Action Plastic Cap Collection to promote clean water environment for our ocean friends; an annual Spring Sock Hop where the cost of admission was a pair of new socks for the Open Cupboard Pantry; and a Pennies for Pencils project that collected donations for schoolchildren in Ghana, Africa to purchase school supplies. Behrens said the support of the school community of parents, teachers, and administrators has contributed to the success of the Kids Care Club. "Parents generously contribute their time, energy and talent to all our projects and we always have enthusiastic support from our teaching staff," she said. Plans for the future include gathering more student-generated ideas as well as the inclusion of projects integrated into the schools' curricula that supports community and global issues. "It has helped us to realize how great things can happen if each community member, school or individual contributes their time and talent. Children are rewarded by the feeling they get when they help others. They realize that they, together, can make a difference," said Behrens. The Califon Kids Care Club will be featured on an International Kids Care Club Web site as "Club of the Month." The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of recordernewspapers.com. We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site. RecorderNewspapers.com requires readers to register with an e-mail address to leave comments. Registered users: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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