Study: Cholesterol Drugs May Worsen Asthma

Experts Say the Findings Contradict Some Earlier Studies on the Effects of Statin Drugs

Nov. 5, 2011 -- People with asthma may find that their breathing gets worse after they start a statin drug to lower cholesterol, a small new study shows.

Asthma experts say the finding is a surprise because some previous studies have shown that statin drugs have anti-inflammatory properties beyond their cholesterol-lowering effects that may help conditions like asthma.

So, researchers are not building a case right now for you to change your medications, but to talk to your doctor if you have asthma and high cholesterol. They also say this is a call to do more research on the topic.

The new study -- being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in Boston -- followed 40 asthma patients who were treated at the same California clinic for one year.

Twenty patients had just begun statin medications to lower cholesterol at the start of the study. Twenty others who were not taking statins were followed for comparison. All were nonsmokers who had been diagnosed with asthma for at least five years.

Patients were excluded from the study if an asthma attack had landed them in the hospital or emergency room in the eight months leading up to the study. Other than asthma or high cholesterol, patients in the study were free of health problems, researchers say.

Doctors checked in with patients in the study every three months. They asked about symptoms and medication use, and they tested lung function.

After one year, patients taking statins performed 35% worse in a test of lung function than they did at the start of the study. Patients who were not taking statins also saw their lung function decline, but it was about 14% worse compared to how they performed at the start of the study.

Patients on statins also reported that they had used their rescue medications [inhalers] 72% more often than they had at the start of the study. Those who weren't taking statins used rescue medications 9% more than they had before.

Patients on statins also reported getting up more frequently at night because of their asthma and said they had worse symptoms during the day.

Those findings are associations. The study wasn't able to prove that statins caused the increase in breathing problems.

An alternative explanation could be that people who were prescribed statins simply had more health problems, overall, than those who weren't taking the drugs, although researchers say they tried to balance the groups in the study to make sure that was not the case.

The findings echo a previous study that looked at the medical records of 759 asthma patients treated at the same clinic in Rochester, N.Y. In that study, 24 patients who were starting statins saw significant drops in lung function, needed more medication, had more nighttime asthma problems, and were seen in the office more frequently compared to 26 patients who were not taking those medications.

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Psoriasis and Exercise: The Game Changer

Psoriasis and Exercise: The Game Changer Skip to content Home & News WebMD Home WebMD News Home Free Health Newsletters WebMD Community & Experts See All Expert Blogs Health A-Z ADD/ADHD Allergies Allergy TV Alzheimer's Anxiety Disorders Arthritis Asthma Back Pain Bipolar Disorder Bipolar TV Breast Cancer Cancer Cancer Communities Cholesterol Cold & Flu Colorectal Cancer COPD Depression Depression TV Diabetes Erectile Dysfunction Eye Health Fibromyalgia Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Herpes Hypertension IBS Incontinence/OAB Inflammatory Bowel Menopause Mental Health Migraines Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pain Management Parkinson's Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sexual Conditions Shingles Skin Problems Sleep Disorders Stroke See All Topics Videos A-Z Community & Experts Experts A-Z First Aid A-Z Games A-Z Tests & Tools A-Z Slideshows A-Z Drugs & Medications Center Find or Review a Drug Pill Identifier Drug News Mobile Drug Information Find a Vitamin or Supplement First Aid & Emergencies WebMD Community & Experts WebMD Ask the Pharmacist Healthy Living Women's Health Men's Health Pet Health Oral Health Emotional Health Mental Health Communities Find a Therapist Green Living 50+: Live Better, Longer Sex & Relationships Healthy Beauty Healthy Skin TV Sexual Health Communities See All Topics Women's Health Communities Skin & Beauty Community Men's Health Communities Healthy Eating & Diet Healthy Eating & Diet Food & Cooking Food-o-Meter Fit-o-Meter Fitness & Exercise Food & Fitness Planner Portion Size Helper Personal Diet Evaluator BMI Plus Calculator Eating & Diet Communities Digestive Disorders Communities Parenting & Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy Children's Health Children's Vaccines Newborn & Baby New! Raising Fit Kids New! WebMD for Kids Parenting Communities Pregnancy Communities Trying to Conceive Communities Teen Health Teen Girls Teen Boys coming soon! New! WebMD FIT Teen Food Move Recharge Mood Pet Health Healthy Dogs Healthy Cats Healthy Pets Community ?Enter Search Keywords:Other search tools:Symptoms|Doctors|Medical Dictionary /* Basic styles to avoid the jumping when things load. */.bottom_header #reglinks { float:right; position:relative; margin:0px; padding:0px; height:22px; width: 330px; z-index:96; }.bottom_header #reglinks .login_rdr { display:none; width: 330px; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr { float: right; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0; padding: 5px 0 3px 0; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr li { background:none; display: inline-block; float: left; padding: 0; }Find us on: WebMD Home Skin Problems & Treatments Health Center Psoriasis Health Center Assessment Email a FriendPrint Article Is Your Psoriasis Treatment on Target for You? This content is selected and controlled by WebMD's editorial staff and is brought to you by Janssen Biotech, Inc. Next Article: Skip to Article Content The 7 Types of Psoriasis Here are the main types of psoriasis that affect your skin, nails, and joints. Is Your Treatment Working? What to expect from your psoriasis treatment, and how to tell if it's effective. Treating Mild Psoriasis Find out the top treatments used to clear up mild to moderate psoriasis. Treating Severe Psoriasis Learn which treatments help clear up moderate to severe psoriasis. When to Try Biologics Understand the pros and cons of these newer psoriasis drugs. Psoriasis and Your Emotional Health Psoriasis can affect your self-esteem, your job, and your finances. Exercise and Psoriasis Exercise can help clear psoriasis. Here's how to avoid flare-ups when exercising. Psoriasis in Cold Weather 6 tips to prevent and treat psoriasis flares in winter. Psoriasis in Hot Weather 7 answers to questions about managing psoriasis in spring and summer. Psoriasis ExpressCheck Assess the management of your psoriasis – and what might improve it. False Psoriasis and Exercise: The Game Changer WebMD Feature

By Annie Stuart

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

Want to pick up the pace of your psoriasis management? You may have heard that exercise can help. But maybe you're concerned you'll trigger a flare-up. Or perhaps you’re uncomfortable exercising in public. Here, two psoriasis experts explain why exercise is your friend in your quest to improve your psoriasis.

How Exercise Benefits People With Psoriasis

"We think exercise can play a major role in the treatment of psoriasis," says Alan Menter, MD, chairman of the division of dermatology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

How? Exercise helps you control your weight, which is important to people with psoriasis. "People with psoriasis are on average 7% heavier than those without the disease," Menter tells WebMD.

How the two are related is not clear. But one likely link is inflammation. Obesity can lead to chronic inflammation, which may worsen your psoriasis. Also, the body tends to make more fat cells in response to increased inflammation, making it even harder to control weight, says Paul S. Yamauchi, MD, PhD, spokesman for the National Psoriasis Foundation and medical director of the Dermatology Institute and Skin Care Center of Santa Monica, Calif.

Exercise offers other health benefits as well, says Yamauchi. By helping you manage your weight, regular exercise may also decrease cardiac risks. Those heart risks are higher in people with psoriasis. It may also make psoriasis medication work better. Treatment tends to not work as well in overweight people. ?

Exercise Challenges for People With Psoriasis

Even though you know the benefits of exercise, you might be loath to bare your arms and legs at the gym or public pool. Chances are, bathing suits, tank tops, and gym shorts are really not your thing.

To avoid the stares of strangers, many people with psoriasis tend to withdraw and move less, says Menter. Combine isolation and sedentary behavior with overeating and overdrinking, and you have another recipe for weight gain.

Exercise can pose other challenges for those with psoriasis.

For example, a sports injury that damages skin might trigger psoriasis, says Menter. This is called the Koebner response. Sweat and friction in areas such as groin, breast, or abdominal folds can also worsen psoriasis, he says. "It thrives in areas of friction," he says. "Anything that abrades sensitive skin will trigger psoriasis within a few weeks." Exercising too much can also cause joint pain in those with psoriatic arthritis, a type of inflammatory arthritis that develops in about one in four with psoriasis. Simple Tips for Trigger-Free Exercise

What can you do to make exercise work for you? First, do all you can to avoid trauma to your skin.

To lessen friction, wear looser exercise clothing. Gently shower right after you finish. "Don't rub and scrub," says Menter. "That can aggravate the psoriasis." "Right before exercising, put lubricants in the areas that are likely to be irritated," says Menter. He suggests using a little bit of petroleum jelly in the groin and under the breasts. You can also sprinkle on sweat-absorbent powder. At the first sign of a friction- or exercise-related flare-up, use topical medication to bring it quickly under control, says Menter. Talk with your doctor about this. 1 2 #url_reference {display: none};#url_reference { display: block; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 10px; }#logo_rdr img { visibility: visible; }.titleBar_rdr .titleBarMiddle_fmt { padding-top: 1.5em;} Psoriasis
Reading List Psoriasis: 7 Types Assessing Treatment Mild Psoriasis Severe Psoriasis Biologic Treatments Emotional Health Exercise Tips Psoriasis in Winter Psoriasis in Summer Psoriasis Slideshow Psoriasis Videos Patients Talk Cosmetic Cover-Ups Light Therapy Starting Biologics Brought to you by: Is Psoriasis Holding You Back? Assess the management of your psoriasis – and what might improve it. Find us on: URAC: Accredited Health Web SiteReviewed by Trust-E site privacy statementHonCode: Health on the Net Foundation About WebMD|Terms of Use|Privacy Policy|Sponsor Policy|Site Map|Careers| Contact Us Advertise With Us|WebMD Corporate|eMedicine|eMedicineHealth|RxList|Medscape|MedicineNet First Aid|WebMD the Magazine|WebMD Health Record|WebMD Mobile|Newsletters

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Study: Vaccine for Breast, Ovarian Cancer Has Potential

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Modern Moms Ask for Help

You can't do it all, all the time. Here's how, and why, to ask for help.

Women have been trained to do everything ourselves. We think we're not supposed to ask for help -- and let’s face it, we often don’t like to.

When my husband suggested that my mother-in-law come by for the day to watch my son so I could get work done, I immediately said, “Oh, no, I don’t want her to have to drive all that way.”

“Women believe that we’re supposed to handle everything ourselves, which is often at the root of why we’re unhappy,” says Randy Kamen Gredinger, EdD, a Wayland, Mass., psychologist, life coach, and blogger specializing in women’s issues. “We do everything, and feel unappreciated, but then we don’t want to ask for help. We need to be more collaborative.”

Today, make up your mind that it’s time to stop doing it all and start asking for the help you need. ?

Here's how to do that without screaming, nagging, or whining.

If you need help, approach your partner with your problem, and a plan. “Honey, I’m burned out, tired, and stressed. I need some extra time for me. Can we find one night a week (or a couple of hours on the weekend) when you can cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed, so I can go to the gym/take a yoga class/have a facial with a friend?”

What you shouldn’t do, says Amy Tiemann, author of Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family and founder of the Mojo Mom web site, is apologize. “Don’t ask, ‘Can I do this?’ Say, ‘I need this time, and it will make me a better wife and a better mom. Let’s figure out how we can make it happen.'”

In Kamen Gredinger’s house, kids start doing chores when they're toddlers. “It’s not negotiable,” she says. “If you wait to give them responsibilities until they’re in school, it’s a big mistake. In other countries, they aren’t screaming at their children to do things; they just know they’re expected to do their share.”

Pick age-appropriate chores for your kids and let them do it on their own. They probably won’t do it perfectly the first time, or even the tenth time, but if you intervene and make them feel like they’re not doing it right, their pride in doing it all by themselves goes out the window.

Here are examples:

Age 1-2:

Pick up their own clothes and put them in the hamper.Put toys in the toy box.

Age 3-4:

Set the table.Help empty the dishwasher and put dishes away.Clean up toys in their room or playroom.Put laundry in the washer or dryer.

Age 5-8:

Help load the dishwasher.Cut up vegetables for dinner with adult supervision.Clear the table.Bring in groceries from the car and put them away.Fold laundry.Make their bed. Take out the trash.

Age 8 and up:

Take responsibility for keeping their bedroom clean.Help take care of a pet.Help prepare simple meals.Rake leaves.Do a load of laundry.

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Vaccine May Help Slow Spread of Lung Cancer

Experimental Vaccine Targets a Protein Linked to Many Cases of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Oct. 21, 2011 -- A cancer vaccine shows potential to slow the spread of cancer among lung cancer patients, a study shows.

The experimental vaccine targets a protein linked to more than half of all cases of non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

The study is published in The Lancet Oncology.

The study was conducted in Europe and included 148 patients with advanced lung cancer. It was led by ?Elisabeth Quiox, MD, a professor of pneumonology at the Universite de Strasbourg, France.

The patients were divided into two groups. Both groups received standard chemotherapy while one group received the experimental vaccine known as TG4010. The vaccine stimulates the immune system to destroy cancer cells.

The researchers hoped to stop the progression of the disease in at least 40% of the patients enrolled in the six-month study. If they reached that goal, they would consider the trial a success. To determine that, each participant underwent a CT scan every six weeks to see if the disease had spread.

At the end of the study, 32 of the 74 patients (43.2%) who had received the vaccine showed no signs of disease progression. Meanwhile, 35% of the study participants who received standard chemotherapy showed similar results.

The researchers write that the trial was a success and that the results suggest that the combination of vaccine and chemotherapy "translates to a better long-term outcome compared with a response obtained with chemotherapy alone."

The vaccine appeared to have other benefits as well. More patients in the vaccine group responded to treatment than patients who received only chemotherapy -- 41.9% compared to 28.4%. Also, for those patients who did respond to treatment, those given injections of the TG4010 vaccine had an average overall survival of 23.3 months, nearly twice that of patients in the comparison group.

The researchers also discovered a potential biomarker that may allow doctors to better determine which patients are most likely to benefit from the vaccine, if it reaches the market.

According to the study, patients with a normal number of a specific type of natural killer cells did much better with the vaccine than patients with an increased number of the cells. Natural killer cells are a form of white blood cell that helps the body fight off cancer cells and cells infected with viruses.

These observations "point to the importance of patients' biological status as a predictor for success of therapeutic vaccination, and suggest that analysis of biological parameters should be part of the clinical developments in cancer immunotherapy," the researchers write.

This is a very important point, says Harry Raftopoulos, MD, an oncologist at the Monter Cancer Center in Lake Success, N.Y., who reviewed the study for WebMD.

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Heart Attacks in 3 Teens Linked to K2

Designer Drug Mimics the Effects of Marijuana

Nov. 4, 2011 -- Three previously healthy Texas teens had heart attacks after smoking the "legal high" products sold under names such as K2 and Spice.

All three of the 16-year-old boys survived, report Colin Kane, MD, and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Kane's team treated each of the boys. The teens obtained and smoked the K2 products in separate incidents.

"They certainly did damage to their hearts," Kane, a pediatric cardiologist, tells WebMD. "Hopefully there will be no long-term health implications, just a scare. But time will tell."

In an effort to skirt state and federal laws, K2-type products usually are sold as incense, plant food, or even as toy cleaner. With a nod and a wink, they are marked "not for human consumption." But the herbs are spiked with synthetic cannabinoids -- designer drugs that mimic marijuana.

Although the effects of K2 drugs are similar to those of marijuana, the drugs have little in common with the real herb. Synthetic cannabinoids were initially created for lab use only. They are based on chemicals that never would be approved for human use. As a result, most drug screens do not detect these drugs.

Invoking its emergency authority, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has made five of these drugs illegal. But new versions pop up all the time. And the old ones are still widely available in products sold on the Internet, in specialty shops, and at convenience stores.

"They did comment it was very easy to get. They had no trouble buying it at gas stations, and they said lots of other kids were doing it," Kane says. "But one of the kids was a high school football player, and he was attracted by the idea it never would show up on drug screens."

Each of the boys suffered chest pains one day to one week after smoking a K2 product. Examination at the emergency department showed that they had suffered the same kind of heart attacks.

It's not yet clear exactly how K2-type drugs cause heart attacks. There are reports in the medical literature of healthy young people having heart attacks after smoking marijuana. These reports are relatively rare, given how widely marijuana is used.

The heart effects of marijuana are likely due to the drug's ability to bind to cannabinoid receptors, switches on brain and body cells that trigger different functions. Synthetic cannabinoids bind more strongly to these switches than do the cannabinoids in marijuana. This results in stronger potency and more intense effects.

"We don't know everything about these drugs, but there are certainly health risks," Kane says. "This should not be seen as a safe alternative to marijuana."

Kane and colleagues report the three cases in the December issue of Pediatrics.

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Most Sports Don't Raise Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis

But Study Shows Soccer Puts Nonprofessional Athletes at Increased Risk of Knee OA

Nov. 7, 2011 (Chicago) -- While most sports don't seem to raise the risk of knee arthritis, some sports do seem to be particularly hard on the knees.

Overall, athletes don't have a greater risk for knee osteoarthritis, says researcher Jeffrey Driban, PhD, assistant professor of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

That's true regardless of whether you participate in recreational or elite-level sports, he tells WebMD.

But both elite and non-elite soccer players were at increased risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA), a new study showed.

So too were competitive long-distance runners, weight lifters, and wrestlers.

There weren't enough data to draw conclusions about nonprofessionals who engage in these sports. In addition, the risk to women is unclear as most research has been on male elite athletes, Driban says.

The researchers found no increased risk of OA with basketball, boxing, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, orienteering, shooting, throwing, and track and field.

The study was presented here at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting.

Osteoarthritis, or OA, is characterized by progressive damage to the joint cartilage, the cushioning material at the end of bones.

Nearly 6.5 million Americans between the ages of 35 and 84 will be diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis in the next decade, according to another study presented at the meeting.

Interestingly, other recent studies have not found an increased risk of osteoarthritis in long-distance runners.

Still some experts urge caution. To reduce the risk of OA, consider non-contact, low-impact sports such as doubles tennis, swimming, and cycling, suggests Scott Zashin, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

If you like to jog, try to run on a soft surface to limit trauma to the knees, he says.

If you're going to participate in high-risk sports like soccer, or if you already have knee injuries, be sure to maintain a healthy weight, Driban says. Other than aging, obesity is the biggest risk factor for osteoarthritis.

The reviewed studies compared knee osteoarthritis rates among sport participants after they retired to those of people of similar age who didn't participate in those sports.

Among the findings:

Elite and recreational soccer players had a fourfold increased risk of knee OA.Elite long-distance runners had a threefold increased risk of knee OA.Elite-level competitive weight lifting was associated with a sixfold increased risk of knee OA.Elite wrestling was associated with a fourfold increased risk of knee OA.

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

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Pork-Cat Syndrome an Under-Recognized Allergy

People With Cat Allergies May Also Be Allergic to Pork and Other Meats

Nov. 7, 2011 -- Some people with cat allergies may also be allergic to pork and other meats because of a rare type of cross-reactive allergy known as pork-cat syndrome.

A new study describes the first six cases of pork-cat syndrome documented in the U.S. The syndrome has been established in Europe since the late 1990s.

Researchers say the basis for the syndrome appears to be a reaction to a protein of non-primate mammals. Allergic reactions attributed to pork-cat syndrome include itchy mouth, hives, and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis.

The study is being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

In the study, researchers described six people with pork-cat syndrome. Five of the six people with the syndrome were women, and the average age was 28.

Blood tests showed all of the people tested positive for both cat and pork antibodies.

One person had experienced itchy mouth after eating pork, three had hives, and two had anaphylaxis.

Researcher Jonathon Posthumus, MD, of the University of Virginia, and colleagues say these people with pork-cat syndrome, like those cases reported in Europe, had a wide range of symptoms and inconsistent reactions to eating meat, which is typical of the syndrome.

They say pork-cat syndrome is an unusual and under-recognized food hypersensitivity reaction, and more research is needed to understand the syndrome.

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

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Some Doctors Warming Up to Probiotics

Probiotics May Help Prevent Diarrhea in Patients on Antibiotics

Nov. 4, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) -- May I have a probiotic with that antibiotic please?

That's a question that hospitalized patients being started on antibiotics may want to ask their doctors, according to a panel of doctors convened by the American College of Gastroenterology at its annual meeting here.

A review of 22 studies involving 3,096 patients presented at the meeting showed that taking probiotics while on antibiotics may cut the risk of developing antibiotic-associated diarrhea by about 60%.

Patients took any of a variety of probiotics, most commonly S. boulardii, for an average of one-and-one-half weeks. Most were hospitalized during treatment.

A second analysis that pooled the results of 28 studies involving 3,338 patients showed those given probiotics for at least as long as they were on antibiotics were 56% less likely to develop antibiotic-associated diarrhea than those given placebo.

Why? For all the good they can do, antibiotics kill "good" bacteria along with the bacteria that cause illness. A decrease in beneficial bacteria may lead to digestive problems. Taking probiotics may help replace the lost beneficial bacteria and help prevent diarrhea.

Probiotics also appeared to provide protection against potentially deadly bouts of diarrhea caused by the bug Clostridium difficile, or C. diff., says researcher Rabin Rahmani, MD, a gastroenterologist at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City.

"By giving probiotics, you reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea that occurs in 40% to 75% of hospitalized patients on antibiotics," says Fergus Shanahan, MD, of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, an industry-funded research center at the National University of Ireland at Cork.

In many cases, the diarrhea is mild and short lived; in others, it is severe and persistent, he says.

"We could debate whether all hospitalized patients on antibiotics need probiotics, but certainly the elderly, who are at high risk," Shanahan tells WebMD.

Brian E. Lacy, MD, PhD, a gastroenterologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and moderator of the panel, went even further. "In my experience, it is certainly rational to offer probiotics [to hospitalized patients given antibiotics]," he says.

"There's no downside, in our experience," Lacy says.

Still, a better solution would be to be more selective in prescribing antibiotics to begin with, says panel member and probiotic researcher Eamonn M.M. Quigley, MD, professor of medicine at the National University of Ireland at Cork. He is co-founder of Alimentary Health Ltd., a biotechnology company that develops probiotic treatments.

The normal human digestive tract contains about 400 types of beneficial bacteria. Probiotic bacteria can be found in yogurt with live cultures and fermented milk and are available as dietary supplements.

Further study is needed to determine what type and dose of probiotic bacteria best prevent diarrhea, Quigley says.

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Study: U.S. Pays More, but Health Care Is Worse

Commonwealth Fund Report Says 'Medical Homes' Are the Key to Better Health Care

Nov. 9, 2011 -- We not only pay a lot more for health care in the U.S. than in other countries, but a new study suggests the care we get is often slower and more poorly coordinated.

That's because other industrialized countries do a better job of giving patients easy access to primary care and to "medical homes" responsible for guiding care and complex treatment, according to a study published today by the Commonwealth Fund.

A medical home is a regular place of care where health care providers are accessible, know the patients' medical history, and help to coordinate care.

The study credits medical homes with lower rates of medical errors, poor information, coordination gaps, and emergency room visits.

For example, 42% of ill American patients reported duplicate tests, gaps in care, or other problems during the last year. That was about double the rate than in the U.K. and Switzerland, where medical homes are in wider use.

"For sicker patients and patients having chronic disease, having a medical home makes a difference. It makes a difference in every country," says Cathy Schoen, MS, senior vice president at the Commonwealth Fund.

The group surveyed roughly 18,000 chronically or seriously ill patients in 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.

It found the rate of patient-reported medical errors to be two to three times higher among U.S. patients than among patients in the U.K. or Switzerland.

The survey also finds that U.S. patients are more likely to forgo care because of cost than are patients in any of the other countries. More than four in 10 reported not visiting a doctor, skipping care, or not filling a prescription because of out-of-pocket costs. It was more than double the rate seen in several other countries.

However, U.S. patients had the most positive experiences concerning the ease of calling to ask a question or get advice from their health care provider between visits.

The Affordable Care Act, signed in 2009, promotes the idea of medical homes as a way to better coordinate care and cut errors. Officials at the Commonwealth Fund say their study backs up the idea.

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Is Your Psoriasis Treatment Working?

Is Your Psoriasis Treatment Working? Skip to content Home & News WebMD Home WebMD News Home Free Health Newsletters WebMD Community & Experts See All Expert Blogs Health A-Z ADD/ADHD Allergies Allergy TV Alzheimer's Anxiety Disorders Arthritis Asthma Back Pain Bipolar Disorder Bipolar TV Breast Cancer Cancer Cancer Communities Cholesterol Cold & Flu Colorectal Cancer COPD Depression Depression TV Diabetes Erectile Dysfunction Eye Health Fibromyalgia Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Herpes Hypertension IBS Incontinence/OAB Inflammatory Bowel Menopause Mental Health Migraines Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pain Management Parkinson's Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sexual Conditions Shingles Skin Problems Sleep Disorders Stroke See All Topics Videos A-Z Community & Experts Experts A-Z First Aid A-Z Games A-Z Tests & Tools A-Z Slideshows A-Z Drugs & Medications Center Find or Review a Drug Pill Identifier Drug News Mobile Drug Information Find a Vitamin or Supplement First Aid & Emergencies WebMD Community & Experts WebMD Ask the Pharmacist Healthy Living Women's Health Men's Health Pet Health Oral Health Emotional Health Mental Health Communities Find a Therapist Green Living 50+: Live Better, Longer Sex & Relationships Healthy Beauty Healthy Skin TV Sexual Health Communities See All Topics Women's Health Communities Skin & Beauty Community Men's Health Communities Healthy Eating & Diet Healthy Eating & Diet Food & Cooking Food-o-Meter Fit-o-Meter Fitness & Exercise Food & Fitness Planner Portion Size Helper Personal Diet Evaluator BMI Plus Calculator Eating & Diet Communities Digestive Disorders Communities Parenting & Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy Children's Health Children's Vaccines Newborn & Baby New! Raising Fit Kids New! WebMD for Kids Parenting Communities Pregnancy Communities Trying to Conceive Communities Teen Health Teen Girls Teen Boys coming soon! New! WebMD FIT Teen Food Move Recharge Mood Pet Health Healthy Dogs Healthy Cats Healthy Pets Community ?Enter Search Keywords:Other search tools:Symptoms|Doctors|Medical Dictionary /* Basic styles to avoid the jumping when things load. */.bottom_header #reglinks { float:right; position:relative; margin:0px; padding:0px; height:22px; width: 330px; z-index:96; }.bottom_header #reglinks .login_rdr { display:none; width: 330px; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr { float: right; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0; padding: 5px 0 3px 0; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr li { background:none; display: inline-block; float: left; padding: 0; }Find us on: WebMD Home Skin Problems & Treatments Health Center Psoriasis Health Center Assessment Email a FriendPrint Article Is Your Psoriasis Treatment on Target for You? This content is selected and controlled by WebMD's editorial staff and is brought to you by Janssen Biotech, Inc. Next Article: Skip to Article Content The 7 Types of Psoriasis Here are the main types of psoriasis that affect your skin, nails, and joints. Is Your Treatment Working? What to expect from your psoriasis treatment, and how to tell if it's effective. Treating Mild Psoriasis Find out the top treatments used to clear up mild to moderate psoriasis. Treating Severe Psoriasis Learn which treatments help clear up moderate to severe psoriasis. When to Try Biologics Understand the pros and cons of these newer psoriasis drugs. Psoriasis and Your Emotional Health Psoriasis can affect your self-esteem, your job, and your finances. Exercise and Psoriasis Exercise can help clear psoriasis. Here's how to avoid flare-ups when exercising. Psoriasis in Cold Weather 6 tips to prevent and treat psoriasis flares in winter. Psoriasis in Hot Weather 7 answers to questions about managing psoriasis in spring and summer. Psoriasis ExpressCheck Assess the management of your psoriasis – and what might improve it. False Is Your Psoriasis Treatment Working? WebMD Feature

By Stephanie Watson

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

When your doctor prescribes a treatment for your psoriasis -- whether it's a topical, pill, light therapy, or injection -- your goal is to improve your condition. You want your skin to clear as much and as soon as possible.

Each psoriasis treatment works a little bit differently. Some therapies start to work faster than others. The first treatment your doctor tries may not have any effect on your psoriasis. Or it could cause side effects severe enough to make you stop taking it.

To help you find the right treatment, here are answers to some of your questions about psoriasis treatment.

What Do You Expect From Your Psoriasis Treatment?

It's important to remember that the first treatment you try may not clear up your psoriasis. Your doctor may have to mix and match different therapies to find one that works.

"It's trial and error," says Jenny Murase, MD, assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco and a practicing dermatologist with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. "We're just testing it to see how [the psoriasis] responds."

Whether you're happy with a treatment depends a lot on your expectations. "For a treatment to be working, it has to work to the satisfaction of the patient," says Mark Lebwohl, MD, Dermatology Department Chair at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and chairman of the National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board.

Some people may expect a psoriasis treatment to totally clear up their skin. Others are thrilled if the redness fades or their skin is less itchy.

Is the Psoriasis Treatment Worth the Side Effects?

Like most treatments, psoriasis medicines can cause side effects. Some are mild, like skin redness or peeling. Other risks, including infections, are more serious.

Your health care provider may recommend you take a stronger dose of medicine. Stronger medicines can cause more side effects. Sometimes the side effects may be serious enough to make you stop taking the drug.

"There's always a balance between the safety of treatments and the effectiveness of treatments," Lebwohl says. You and your doctor have to decide together whether a drug is worth the risks.

How Long Until You See Results?

You can't wait for your skin to clear up, but you need to be patient. On average, psoriasis drugs take about three months to start showing results.

Some treatments start working faster than others. Here's how long you can expect to wait before seeing a difference with these psoriasis treatments:

Cyclosporine -- 3 to 4 months Methotrexate -- 3 to 6 weeks (although you may not see real clearing for up to 6 months) Acitretin -- 2 to 4 months (it may take up to 6 months for the drug to reach its peak effect) Biologics -- 2 to 3 months (these new drugs include Amevive, Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, Simponi, and Stelara) Phototherapy -- 2 1/2 to 3 months? Goeckerman treatment (coal tar plus light therapy) -- 3 to 4 weeks

If you want your psoriasis treatment to work, you need to give it time. But if you've been waiting for a few months and still haven't seen results, call your doctor. You may need to discuss another type of treatment.

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Tummy Time and Infant Development

What is tummy time and why is it important to your infant's development? Our experts weigh in.

With the success of the Back to Sleep campaign, which recommends babies always be put to sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), babies don't spend as much time on their tummies as they used to.

Yet spending a little time every day on their stomach is good for an infant's development. But why do babies need tummy time? What is tummy time exactly? And when should you start placing baby on his or her tummy?

WebMD asked the experts: pediatricians and parents -- to share their thoughts on tummy time, how it ties in to infant development, and what you can do to make it more fun for your little one.

Tummy time is simply the time babies spend lying and playing on their tummies, says Laura Jana, MD, a Nebraska pediatrician and co-author of Heading Home with Your Newborn.Of course, this time should always happen when the baby is awake and is being supervised.

Now that most babies sleep on their backs, spending time on their stomachs while they're awake is important not only because it gives baby a different view of the world, but also because it encourages an infant to lift his or her head, a movement that strengthens the muscles of the neck and upper back. Your baby will need those muscles later on for rolling over, sitting, and crawling.

And "not only do babies need to learn how to support their heads when they are still," says Tanya Altmann MD, a pediatrician in California, they also need to be able to?turn their head in response to what's happening around them, and hold their heads steady when they're moved. "As with other milestones, they develop these skills through practice," says Altmann, author of Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions About Babies and Toddlers.

Spending time on their stomach also helps a baby's head develop its conventional roundness. As more parents put their babies on their backs to sleep, pediatricians are noticing an increase in infants developing flat spots on the backs of their heads, a condition called positional plagiocephaly.

Tummy time can begin right after birth, says Chris Tolcher, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, or definitely by one month of age.

One reason you may want to delay tummy time for the first few weeks is to allow baby's umbilical cord stump to fall off, but if your baby finds tummy time comfortable, you can safely have baby enjoying time on their stomach right away. "I'm also a big believer that the sooner you start, the more accepting babies are and the more it is just accepted as a natural position," Jana tells WebMD. And you "may be surprised to find that even a newborn can start to turn [their] head side to side."

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Home Treatments for Babies

By Leslie Petrovski
WebMD Feature

Parents have always looked to their gardens and pantries to treat common infant illness. ?Today, the use of complementary and alternative remedies is common not just in adults but also children. Whether it’s a nip of prune juice to relieve constipation or an oatmeal bath to soothe itchy dry skin, natural remedies offer inexpensive strategies to ease uncomfortable symptoms.

But not all natural treatments are as benign as a spoonful of mashed prunes. Be sure to ask your child’s doctor to make sure anything you use is safe.

What are some of the best home treatments for your wee one? Where can you turn for something that’s safe and effective as well as baby friendly? WebMD asked the experts for tips on safe and effective home treatments for your child.

A raw, sliced onion might not be your first choice as an air freshener for baby’s room, but it can help break up congestion when junior has a cold.

Simply slice up an onion and place it on a plate next to the bed or crib. “The good old-fashioned onion is wonderful for a stuffy noise,” says pediatrician Lauren Feder, MD, author of Natural Baby and Childcare. “The sulfur content in the onion draws out mucus and fluids in body. If your baby has a stuffy nose, it can loosen that up with no side effects except for the obvious odor in the room.”

Relief for your baby’s clogged nose and cough may also be as close as the shower.

Author of The Holistic Baby Guide: Alternative Care for Common Health Problems, Randall Neustaedter, OMD, LAc, says steam up the bathroom, not the bedroom, to decongest little ones.

“If your baby has a stuffy nose, go into bathroom and steam it up. Then hold your baby in there for a while. You’ll get more concentrated steam and your room doesn’t get all wet. Humidifiers turn everything into a rain forest.”

Though fevers tend to scare parents, they are a sign that the body’s immune system is working. While a fever in babies under the age of 3 months is cause for concern, most fevers do little more than make your baby feel out-of-sorts.

To help take the edge off a fever, slice a lemon over a bowl of warm water to capture the fruit’s aromatic oils. Using a cotton cloth give your baby a “sponge bath” with the warm lemon water. The cooling properties of the lemon and evaporating water work together in reducing the fever, advises Feder.

“Make sure the water is not too cold,” Feder says. “The idea here is not to shock the child.”

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Baby Tips From Moms and Doctors

By Leslie Petrovski
WebMD Feature

Parents, especially new parents, hate seeing their babies suffer. Plus with all the warnings about over-the-counter medications and children under the age of 4, parents of infants are often confused. What’s safe? What’s effective? How can you ease common symptoms in your baby and maintain peace of mind?

Helping babies feel better is as much an art as it is a science. Who better to ask for advice than moms like you and seasoned docs?

Tips on Hiring Nannies

Unfortunately, it's not likely Mary Poppins, Supernanny Jo Frost, or even Nanny McPhee is going to show up at your door the morning you're ready to return to work from maternity leave. The search for a nanny can be daunting and the thought of leaving your newborn or toddler with a virtual stranger can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. WebMD now makes hiring a nanny easier with tried-and-true tips from those in-the-know. While many reputable agencies are willing to do the work for...

Read the Tips on Hiring Nannies article > >

Congestion tends to be more challenging to deal with in babies than it is in adults. Why? Because babies can’t blow their noses.

To tackle stuffy noses and coughs, moms often recommend propping up the bed along with variations on the theme of water -- think steam and saline. One mom swears by her cool mist humidifier, while others recommend saline spray and a nasal bulb to loosen and suction away mucus.

Miriam Schechter, MD, an attending pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, is also a fan of the saline-and-nasal-aspirator approach for relieving nasal congestion.

She also suggests that parents invest in a humidifier. “This is something parents will get a lot of use out of,” she says. “There’s no magic cure for a cold, but putting moisture in the air can loosen mucus and help it drain out a little better.” A vaporizer can also soothe a sore throat.

When buying a humidifier, she says, choose a simple, inexpensive model. “When patients ask whether to buy cool mist or warm, I recommend cool mist for safety,” she says. “The warm mists have a heating element; you don’t want a child to stick his hand in front of that hot steam or to knock it over. But a cool mist humidifier is something parents will find very useful.”

Often the transition to eating solid food changes a baby’s elimination patterns. If your baby is having a hard time having bowel movements, try an ounce of good old-fashioned prune or apple juice.

Moms tend to worry if their babies skip a day, says Schechter. “It doesn’t bother us unless the stool is pebbly or dry.”

Schechter addresses constipation first with education, by explaining to parents what’s normal. As long as baby’s stools are soft and don’t cause discomfort when being passed, the child is probably not constipated, even if the baby goes only once a week.

But if your baby’s bowel movements are hard and dry, she suggests mixing up baby’s diet by cutting back on bananas and adding more fruit juice or baby prunes. “We wouldn’t use medication as a first-line treatment,” she says.

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Diabetes Linked to Precancerous Colon Growths

Study Shows People With Diabetes May Have Increased Risk for Adenomas

Nov. 4, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) -- People with diabetes may be at increased risk for precancerous colon growths called adenomas, a new study suggests.

Researchers compared colonoscopy results from 278 people with diabetes with those from 278 people without the disorder. Nearly all were male, and the average age was around 65.

A total of 29% of those with diabetes had at least one adenoma, compared with 21% of those without diabetes.

People with diabetes also had more adenomas and more advanced adenomas than those who were diabetes-free.

The association between diabetes and precancerous colon growths remained after taking into account age, weight, and race -- three factors that affect diabetes risk.

Francis C. Okeke, MD, a research fellow at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y, presented the findings here at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Other studies have linked diabetes to precancerous colon growths and colon cancer, but the results have been inconsistent.

None proves that diabetes causes or directly contributes to adenoma growth or colon cancer.

"Diabetes and adenomas are two very common conditions. But we need more data before we can say one causes the other," says March Seabrook, MD, a gastroenterologist in Columbia, S.C. He was not involved with the research.

The analysis took into account some, but not all, diabetes risk factors that could affect the results, Seabrook tells WebMD.

Okeke tells WebMD that insulin and other hormones might explain the link between diabetes and precancerous colon growths.

People with diabetes often have high levels of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin, for example. High levels of insulin may promote the growth of cells, including precancerous and cancer cells, he says.

Still, "more study is needed," Okeke says.

For now, people with diabetes should continue to follow general recommendations for colon cancer screening, Seabrook says.

The guidelines call for screening to begin at age 50 if there are no risk factors, he says. Diabetes is not currently a risk factor.

If the findings are validated and diabetes does turn out to cause precancerous colon growths or colon cancer, "we may have to screen people with diabetes at a younger age, and at shorter intervals, than people without diabetes," Seabrook tells WebMD.

A total of 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Over 1.1 million have colorectal cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

The new study was presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

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Transitioning to Bottle-Feeding: Introducing Baby to Bottles

Ready to wean baby from the breast or add bottles to the feeding schedule? Here’s how to make it smooth for both of you.

You enjoy breastfeeding, but you’ve also started dreaming about sleeping through the night again. Or going back to work. Maybe both.

That means one thing: It’s probably time to give your child her first baby bottle. Maybe the bottle will contain breast milk, or maybe you’ll be switching over to baby formula. Either way, you’ll need to wean your little one from breast-only feeding to taking a baby bottle -- a transition that isn’t always easy but doesn’t have to be difficult.

This Is What Adoption Feels Like

By Gina Shaw It seems so simple, and in a very basic way, it is: There are children out there who need a warm and loving home, and there are families yearning to provide all that and more. But making it all come together; well, that part can get complex. Here's how five families found their way along that unforgettable journey, and how one woman made the wrenching decision to give up her child; plus, everything you'll need to know if you decide to make adoption a part of your family...

Read the This Is What Adoption Feels Like article > >

To help you make that change, we asked pediatricians and parents on WebMD’s parenting message boards for their tips on easing the transition from breast to bottle feeding. Here’s what they had to say.

Weaning my baby to a bottle was easy as pie, says one parent.Getting the baby to take a bottle was a nightmare, says another. Most parents’ experience is probably somewhere in the middle.

“It’s true that weaning your baby to a bottle can be difficult,” says Laura Jana, MD, pediatrician and co-author of Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality. “But I also like to start by pointing out that it isn't always.”

The key to making a smooth transition from breast to bottle feeding is to start early, but not too early, Jana tells WebMD.

Because every baby and situation is different, the answer is that there really is no standard time.

But there is a good rule of thumb: Introduce babies to the bottle when they are “fairly good at breastfeeding but not so used to it that they won’t do anything else,” says pediatrician Jennifer Shu, MD, co-author, with Jana, of Heading Home With Your Newborn, and Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup.

Most babies are well adapted to breastfeeding in the first two to six weeks, Shu says. You’ll know breastfeeding is established when baby begins putting on weight, and can latch on easily to your nipple and feed until they’re done.

Why wait until baby is good at breastfeeding if you’re trying to introduce bottles? Because many moms “combination feed“ -- offering the breast perhaps first thing in the morning and last thing at night, with bottles of breast milk or baby formula the rest of the day.

Not every baby is ready to make the transition to bottles by six weeks, so let baby tell you when the time is right. Like other milestones, such as walking and talking, your baby is the one to set the pace and tell you when she’s ready.

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Tackling Toddler Sleep Problems

You asked, we answered: WebMD takes on your tot's sleep issues.

Your 1-year-old cries so hard when you put him to bed that he actually throws up. Your 2-year-old still doesn't sleep through the night. Your 2-and-a-half-year-old shares your bed, or perhaps your 3-year-old wakes in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder.

Sound familiar? If these toddler sleep issues don't ring true yet, they probably will someday. Such toddler sleep problems are the bane of many a parent's existence.

Undercover in a Kid's Online World

By Sharon Duke EstroffWhat one mom learned in her journey through kiddie cyberspace - and what every concerned parent needs to know In the middle of a playdate with one of his best buddies a few months ago, my then-8-year-old came over and asked me how to spell penguin. "Penguin?" I asked, puzzled. "As in Mr. Popper's Penguins?" "No," Jake clarified. "As in Club Penguin. We want to play, but we can't get to the Website." And just like that, my third grader's age of digital innocence ended, as...

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While most toddler sleep issues are related to ages and stages, sometimes underlying health or psychological problems may be at play. Regardless of the nocturnal nuisance, sound sleep solutions abound, experts tell WebMD.? Here are some common troubling toddler sleep scenarios and our experts' opinions on how to effectively troubleshoot them.

Sound sleep solution: Getting your child to sleep through the night is a common and challenging toddler sleep problem. Troubleshooting this one depends on your child's age and whether or not the child has stopped sleeping through the night out of the blue, explains Susan Zafarlotfi, PhD, the clinical director of the Institute for Sleep and Wake Disorders at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

For example, she says, "Young toddlers may wake up from teething or they may be sick." In general, "parents need to step back and see what has happened in recent weeks in their toddlers' lives. Is there a new bed?? A new sibling? A change in caregivers? Is the child taking a longer nap?"?

If waking up is just a habit and unrelated to teething or any other health issues or changes, "intervene by delaying bedtime 15 to 20 minutes to attempt to make them more tired," she says.

If your tot calls out to you during these middle-of-the-night caterwauls, "you can go into their room and comfort them with a lullaby, soft music, or any other soothing routine that you use at nighttime," she says. "Assure them that they are OK and leave their room."

If this scenario happens night after night after night, delay going into their room to soothe them by five minutes each night, she suggests.

Sound sleep solution: Should you really just let your toddler cry it out? Often called Ferberizing, this method may seem cruel to some parents, especially if the child cries himself or herself sick. Other parents swear by it.

"It's very hard to do, but we know of no negative effects of using the Ferber method," says Mary Michaeleen Cradock, PhD, a clinical psychologist with St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri. Often times, one parent can handle the wailing and the other one simply cannot, she says. "If you are letting your child cry it out, one of you may want to go to the gym or put on their iPod while the other deals with the crying." Be prepared to stay committed to this strategy for four to five nights.

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Key Challenges for Fighting Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Association Says Insufficient Funding and Inadequate Treatment Are Among the Challenges

Nov. 8, 2011 -- The Alzheimer's Association in a new report has identified 10 "critical challenges" that need to be addressed by the nation to combat the growth and devastating impact of Alzheimer's disease.

The challenges include lack of funding and problems with diagnosing Alzheimer's.

An estimated 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's now, and that number is expected to grow to 16 million by the year 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Because of this looming health crisis, President Obama signed into law the National Alzheimer's Project Act on Jan. 4, with the aim of creating a national strategic plan to address what the Alzheimer's Association described as an "escalating crisis."

The Alzheimer's Association's report, "Alzheimer's from the Frontlines: Challenges a National Alzheimer's Plan Must Address," was produced to help the government develop its strategy.

Findings of the report were based on input from 43,000 people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.

In all, the Alzheimer's Association hosted 132 public input sessions nationwide, involving people with Alzheimer's, caregivers, researchers, community leaders, and health care professionals.

"We want to make sure the administration is aware of the challenges that emerged, that we heard frequently, during the public input process," Alzheimer's Association spokeswoman Toni Williams tells WebMD. "We thought it would be a good idea to open it up to the public. We are hoping this helps to inform the advisory council and Secretary [Kathleen] Sebelius [of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] in formulating a plan."

The 10 challenges highlighted by the Alzheimer's Association are:

Lack of public knowledge and awareness of the diseaseInsufficient fundingProblems in detecting and diagnosing the diseasePoor dementia careInadequate treatmentsSpecific challenges faced by diverse communitiesSpecific challenges faced by those with younger-onset Alzheimer'sUnprepared caregiversIll-equipped communitiesMounting costs of care

The new report shows that costs relating to Alzheimer's care and treatment will surpass $1 trillion by mid-century unless the current trajectory of the disease changes.

"Individuals, families and communities are at the center of the escalating Alzheimer's crisis," Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, says in a news release.

Americans who participated in the sessions aimed at identifying challenges want the nation's leaders to know that the disease changes lives, and that "they want and deserve a transformational plan that urgently addresses their needs," Johns says.

Robert Egge, vice president of the Alzheimer's Association, says the input sessions made it clear that people are not looking for symbolic acts but the start of "real, transformational action."

He says, "we hope those developing the National Alzheimer's Plan will be inspired and guided by the challenges, experiences and needs echoed throughout this report."

Egge says many Americans know little about the disease, and education is needed about warning signs of the disease and incorrect perceptions about it. Also, though the goal is a cure, better treatments are needed, he says, and more funding for research.

Currently, caregivers are isolated and uninformed about the disease. He says African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to develop Alzheimer's, and less likely to be diagnosed.

The new plan, he says, "must address disparities in diverse and underserved communities."

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The Truth About Baby Poop: Colored Stool and Diarrhea in Infants

Find out what color changes, diarrhea, and frequency may say about your baby's health.

New babies don't come with an instruction manual, but they do leave clues about the state of their health.? Hiding in a baby's diaper is a wealth of information, and many new parents understandably find themselves spending a lot of time and energy trying to decode the messages left for them - the amount, the color, the consistency - and what it all means.

So what does the content of a baby's diaper say about his or her health? And when should you be worried about what's in the diaper? Here's expert advice.

"A lot," says Kenneth Wible, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri and pediatrics medical director at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo.

"It depends somewhat on diet," Wible says. "Babies who are breastfed generally have more and thinner stools than babies who are formula fed. But five to six stools per day is pretty normal."

While it's a good idea to expect a lot of poop in the early stages of a baby's life, the frequency of bowel movements among children varies widely, notes Barry Steinmetz, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif.

"Some kids will go up to seven or eight times a day," he says. Other infants may go every other day.??

Many parents become concerned when an infant's bowel movements suddenly drop in frequency.? But particularly for breastfed babies, this is a common occurrence as a mother's milk becomes more mature.

"The mother's milk is so well balanced and the baby's digestive processes are so good, there's not a lot of residue," Wible says.

The key, Steinmetz says, is that the stool is soft and the child is eating well and gaining weight.

There's often a large amount of liquid content in babies' stool because before six months, doctors recommend that babies get their nutrients exclusively from milk.?

"It kind of looks as if you took a jar of mustard and mixed it with cottage cheese, especially for formula-fed babies," Wible says. "With breastfed babies, there is a lot more liquid and the milk curds in the stool are a lot finer and smaller."

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Diapering Your Growing Baby

Your little one's diapering needs change as they grow -- from newborn to toddler, here's what you need to know.

Baby’s diapering needs change through the years, from moving up in diaper sizes to how many diapers your little one needs as they grow.

To help you prepare, we've gathered a few fast facts on what to expect as you move from diapering a baby to diapering a toddler.

It's 2007: Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

By Walecia Konrad New technology lets your keep track of them, read their e-mail, even know the speed they're driving.? Is it spying — or good parenting? Sixteen-year-old Tabitha LeBlanc, of Cankton, LA, was driving home one night when her right front tire blew out. Stranded on the side of a country road, she tried calling her mom, but her cell phone battery was too low to get a signal. Then she thought about heading out for help, but it was pitch-black — and there wasn't...

Read the It's 2007: Do You Know Where Your Kids Are? article > >

You'll be a lot busier changing diapers when your child is a newborn than when they're a toddler, says Tanya R. Altmann, MD, California pediatrician, and author of Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions About Babies and Toddlers. While both babies and toddlers tend to urinate frequently, a toddler may poop as little as once a day.

"With an infant we usually say you'll need five or ten diapers a day," Altmann tells WebMD, "but with a toddler, several daily is often enough."

Fortunately, by the time your little one is a toddler, diaper rash is usually a thing of the past. There are two reasons for that.

First, a toddler's skin is usually less sensitive than a newborn's, so they're generally less bothered by dampness against their bottom. Second, toddlers just don't experience dampness against their bottom as often, says Altmann. "They’re standing upright and moving around, so toddlers are generally in less close contact with their diaper than a baby is."

If your baby or toddler does get diaper rash, however, the treatment tips are generally the same for both:

Try changing your little one's diaper more often, but leave their bottom bare for as long as possible before putting on a new diaper.Make sure your little one's diaper isn’t too snug.Use alcohol- and perfume-free wipes when cleaning your children, so you don't upset their already irritated skin.Cover your little one's skin with a diaper rash treatment. For infants, slather on a thicker ointment or cream. For a toddler, a thinner lotion may be fine.

Because newborns and babies have sensitive skin, it's always a good idea to steer clear of products like baby wipes, lotions, and soaps with alcohol, perfumes, or dyes.

But as your child goes from baby to toddler, their skin usually becomes less sensitive. So while you may need a special baby skin care regime for your newborn, chances are good you can use the same skin care products with your toddler that you use with the rest of the family.

Newborns and babies grow out of diapers more quickly than toddlers. Though you'll go up in diaper sizes as your little one grows, "you’ll often find in the toddler years that they'll be wearing the same size diaper for a longer time because they're just not growing as fast," says Altmann.

If you're using disposable diapers and find your toddler's diaper is leaking often, that's a good sign they're ready to move on to the next size.

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The Crazy Things That Toddlers Do

WebMD unlocks the mysteries of toddler behavior, from running around naked to snacking on Fido's food.

Melinda Roberts had just moved to a new neighborhood and was busy getting the bath ready for her 2-year-old son. But when the San Jose, Calif., mom spun around, there was no sign of Dylan. So she checked the house and spied the front door wide open.

"Uh oh," she thought. Peeking outside, she spotted her mischievous toddler, assuming the starter's position and sprinting down the sidewalk stark naked. Luckily, she caught up to him before his wild dash made the neighborhood news.

Toddlers like Dylan are known for their outrageous habits from acting like nudists to sticking their finger up their noses, from drinking the bath water to snacking on Fido's food. They play by their own rule books and manage to surprise even the most unflappable parents.

Today, Roberts, mother of three and author of Mommy Confidential: Tales from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, laughs when she thinks of Dylan's antics as a toddler.

"He was a combination of a leprechaun and a Tasmanian devil," she recalls. "Once in awhile he'd just stop what he was doing and run in circles screaming at the top of his lungs and then go back to whatever he was doing. He knows he's pushing you to the limit."

That's because toddlers are like cavemen, says Harvey Karp, MD, a pediatrician and author of The Happiest Toddler on the Block. He also has a DVD of the same name. "They spit and scratch when they are angry," he says. "They pee in the living room. They pick their nose. They put food in their hair. They'll suddenly shriek out of nowhere even in a crowded place."

Toddlers live in the right side of the brain, says Karp, which is the impulsive, emotional, and nonverbal side; the left side is the impulse-control center.

"All of us shut off our left brain when we get upset," he says. "We become less eloquent, less patient, less logical. We call that 'going ape.' Toddlers start out 'ape,' and when they get upset, they really go Jurassic on you. They turn into these primitive little cavemen."

"Children don't have the same bodily shame that we do about things like picking their nose and looking down their pants," says Rahil Briggs, PsyD, an infant-toddler psychologist at Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York.

"There's no superego inside of them, saying, 'Don't pick your nose. That looks funny to outsiders,'" she says. "Instead, there is this enormously powerful sense of curiosity and exploration."

Allison Ellis, owner of Hopscotch Consulting in Seattle, admits that her son, Wilson, who is nearly 2, acts like a "dirty old man."

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Newborn Care: Essential Products for Baby

Baby Products: Furniture, Diapers, Strollers, and More ?Enter Search Keywords:Other search tools:Symptoms|Doctors|Medical Dictionary /* Basic styles to avoid the jumping when things load. */.bottom_header #reglinks { float:right; position:relative; margin:0px; padding:0px; height:22px; width: 330px; z-index:96; }.bottom_header #reglinks .login_rdr { display:none; width: 330px; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr { float: right; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0; padding: 5px 0 3px 0; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr li { background:none; display: inline-block; float: left; padding: 0; }Find us on:Skip to content Home & News WebMD Home WebMD News Home Free Health Newsletters WebMD Community & Experts See All Expert Blogs Health A-Z ADD/ADHD Allergies Allergy TV Alzheimer's Anxiety Disorders Arthritis Asthma Back Pain Bipolar Disorder Bipolar TV Breast Cancer Cancer Cancer Communities Cholesterol Cold & Flu Colorectal Cancer COPD Depression Depression TV Diabetes Erectile Dysfunction Eye Health Fibromyalgia Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Herpes Hypertension IBS Incontinence/OAB Inflammatory Bowel Menopause Mental Health Migraines Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pain Management Parkinson's Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sexual Conditions Shingles Skin Problems Sleep Disorders Stroke See All Topics Videos A-Z Community & Experts Experts A-Z First Aid A-Z Games A-Z Tests & Tools A-Z Slideshows A-Z Drugs & Medications Center Find or Review a Drug Pill Identifier Drug News Mobile Drug Information Find a Vitamin or Supplement First Aid & Emergencies WebMD Community & Experts WebMD Ask the Pharmacist Healthy Living Women's Health Men's Health Pet Health Oral Health Emotional Health Mental Health Communities Find a Therapist Green Living 50+: Live Better, Longer Sex & Relationships Healthy Beauty Healthy Skin TV Sexual Health Communities See All Topics Women's Health Communities Skin & Beauty Community Men's Health Communities Healthy Eating & Diet Healthy Eating & Diet Food & Cooking Food-o-Meter Fit-o-Meter Fitness & Exercise Food & Fitness Planner Portion Size Helper Personal Diet Evaluator BMI Plus Calculator Eating & Diet Communities Digestive Disorders Communities Parenting & Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy Children's Health Children's Vaccines Newborn & Baby New! Raising Fit Kids New! WebMD for Kids Parenting Communities Pregnancy Communities Trying to Conceive Communities Teen Health Teen Girls Teen Boys coming soon! New! WebMD FIT Teen Food Move Recharge Mood Pet Health Healthy Dogs Healthy Cats Healthy Pets Community WebMD Home Health & Parenting Center Health & Baby Center Essential Shopping Guide for Newborns Email a FriendPrint Article Essential Shopping Guide for Newborns webmd.m.share.init(); Font Size A A A webmd.m.fontSizer.init(); Newborn Care: What You Need for Baby What do you need for good newborn care when baby comes home? Moms, dads, and pediatricians offer their quick tips. By Wendy C. Fries
WebMD Feature Reviewed by Roy Benaroch, MD

Baby’s on the way and it seems there are dozens of newborn care “must-haves” on your long list.

At the top are modern necessities like infant seats, baby strollers, and cribs of course, but what else do you need to take care of your newborn?

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To find out, WebMD went to the pros -- pediatricians as well as new moms and dads in WebMD’s parenting community -- and asked them what items they found indispensable for newborn care.

From baby carriers to cameras, here’s a simple list of baby gear that got the thumbs up from new parents -- and a few items that didn’t make the grade.

Newborn Care: Diapers and Diaper Bags

Along with a safe car seat and a great crib, two baby care basics are diapers and a diaper bag. The question is, what kind, and how many?

Diapers:New parents are pretty evenly divided: Some prefer the lower-cost of cloth diapers, while others enjoy the convenience of disposables. Whichever you pick, you’ll need about 10 to 12 diapers daily.? Diaper Bag: Here you should think small, say moms in the know. Because your hands will be busy with a baby, less is more in the diaper bag department, with some moms raving about sleek, backpack-style bags.? Diaper Bag Basics: A well-stocked diaper bag holds more than just diapers, says Atlanta pediatrician Jennifer Shu, MD. Think a small camera for sweet moments, snacks for mom, and sun protection, too. Shu, co-author of Heading Home With Your Newborn, also recommends: Baby wipesDiaper changing pad or towelsPlastic grocery bags for messy diapersBaby pain reliever, like acetaminophenBaby foodExtra change of baby clothesDiaper creamHand sanitizer Newborn Care: Bathing

Newborns need a bath two or three times a week, says the American Medication Association. The AMA recommends sponge baths only for baby’s first two weeks, until the umbilical cord falls off. Bathing items that topped the list of moms and the experts include:

Baby tub or small plastic basin Washcloths or bath mitts Soft towels (hooded baby towels work well) Baby shampoo Baby soap

Lots of parents forgo a special baby tub and instead share a bath with baby. Though you can use mild adult soaps in those instances, products made for infants are best in the early months to avoid irritation, Shu tells WebMD. “When in doubt, talk to your pediatrician.”

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Your baby will learn and grow quickly. Here's what you need to know. Diapering: Keeping Baby Comfortable Baby Your Baby's Skin Napping & Sleeping Solutions Crying & Colic: What Your Baby Needs Feeding Baby Essentials Your Guide to Breastfeeding Your Guide to Bottle Feeding Your Guide to Baby Nutrition New Mom Essentials 12 Foods for New Moms Shopping Guide: What to Buy for Baby Help a friend by sharing this health information Health Solutions From Our Sponsors A Helping Hand for RA Aching Back Center Causes of Depression Family Planning Options Help with Aching Back Joint Pain Help Center RA Patient Stories Support for Depression Treating Depression Understand Fibromyalgia In-depth coverage: ADHD Health Check|Coping With Lupus|Over-the-Counter Pain Relief|Psoriasis Health Check|Teen Girls and Puberty Find us on: URAC: Accredited Health Web SiteReviewed by Trust-E site privacy statementHonCode: Health on the Net Foundation About WebMD|Terms of Use|Privacy Policy|Sponsor Policy|Site Map|Careers| Contact Us Advertise With Us|WebMD Corporate|eMedicine|eMedicineHealth|RxList|Medscape|MedicineNet First Aid|WebMD the Magazine|WebMD Health Record|WebMD Mobile|Newsletters

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Dads' Depression May Raise Kids' Risk of Emotional Problems

Study Shows Impact of Fathers' Depression on Children's Emotional Development

Nov. 7, 2011 -- Children of depressed dads are more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems, compared with kids whose dads are not depressed, according to a new study.

Much has been written about how a mother's depression can affect her children. But less is known about how depression in dads affects a child's emotional development.

The new study looked at more than 22,000 children from two-parent homes. It showed that depression in dads increases kids' risk for emotional problems.

The researchers measured depression and more general mental health problems among parents using two standardized tools.

The study appears in the December 2011 issue of Pediatrics.

According to the findings, a child's risk for emotional or behavioral problems was still much greater if their mothers, rather than fathers, were depressed or had other emotional problems (19% vs. 11%, respectively).

Children were even more likely to display emotional or behavioral problems if both parents were depressed. One-quarter of children with two depressed parents had emotional or behavioral problems.

Study researcher Michael Weitzman, MD, breaks it down this way: "There is a doubling of the risk if the father alone is depressed, a tripling of the risk if the mother alone is depressed, and the risk increases fourfold if kids have a depressed mom and dad."

Weitzman is a professor of pediatrics at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City. "This is huge," he says.

Depressed parents parent differently, he says. "How people parent influences every aspect of child development," he says. For example, "if a parent is depressed, the normal things that might excite him or her can be an irritant," he says.?

R. Neal Davis, MD, a pediatrician at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, Utah, agrees. Parents who are depressed engage in less positive parenting behaviors and more negative ones, he says. For example, they may be less likely to read to their children and more likely to spank them.

"Depression in parents affects children, and it is our job to encourage parents to get care, as this will have spillover benefits on their kids," he says.

Davis has seen firsthand how identifying and treating depression in moms and dads can have positive effects on their children's development.

"The earlier we can catch the depression, the better it is for all involved," says James F. Paulson, PhD. He is an associate professor of psychology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

He says that these new findings may encourage depressed dads to seek help, and that is a very good thing. This is the first large-scale study in the U.S. that documents the association between depression in fathers and a child's emotional and behavioral problems, he says. "For dads who may feel uncertain about seeking help, remember this isn't just about you, this is about your kid and even if you are not willing to get help for yourself, do it for your child."

The study did not get into the specifics of the children's emotional and behavioral issues. Paulson tells WebMD that some of the problems that these children could face will vary based on their age.

"Toddlers may show more difficulty regulating their emotions, have more ups and downs in their moods, and may tend to be more aggressive or react more explosively," he says.

School-aged children, however, are more likely to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Autistic Kids May Have More Cells in Some Brain Areas

Study Finding Could Someday Lead to New Ways to Identify Autism Early

Nov. 8, 2011 -- New research highlights some potentially important differences in the brains of children with autism.

The small study found that boys with autism had an average of 67% more brain cells called neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of their brains, when compared with children who did not have autism.

Located in the front of the brain beneath the forehead, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for "higher order" functions such as problem solving, emotions, and complex thought. These are some of the processes that are impaired in autism.

Most of these neurons develop before birth, which would go against the theory that certain vaccines or other environmental influences encountered after birth may cause autism.

The findings are published in TheJournal of the American Medical Association.

"It's a small study with a large impact," says study researcher Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the National Institute of Health-University of California-San Diego School of Medicine Autism Center of Excellence in La Jolla, Calif. "This is an incredibly important discovery that tells us that something started going wrong in prenatal life in children with autism."

The CDC estimates that an average of one in 110 children in the?U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder, a range of developmental disorders that affect the ability to communicate and relate to others.

Some children with autism do have overly large heads, and the new study showed that the brains of boys with autism weighed more than the brains of boys who did not.

"If their brain is too large, there may be too many brain cells. And now we know that the area that shows overgrowth is the prefrontal cortex and this very important for higher-order functions," Courchesne says.

Researchers examined the number and size of neurons among seven boys with autism and six boys without autism. The boys were aged 2 to 16 and had died between 2000 and 2006. They looked at neurons in two areas of the prefrontal cortex -- the dorsolateral (DL-PFC) and mesial (M-PFC).

Specifically, there were 79% more neurons in DL-PFC and 29% more in M-PFC among boys who had autism when compared with boys who did not.

If these findings are confirmed in larger groups of people, it may help researchers identify autism earlier than they can today. The diagnosis of autism is now made on the basis of behavioral assessment around age 2 or 3.

"Earlier intervention leads to improvement all the way around in children with autism. So the need for early diagnosis is there and this will be one of the signatures that will help identify kids at a much earlier age," Courchesne says.

Nicholas Lange, ScD, who co-authored an editorial on the new report, agrees. He is an associate professor of biostatistics at the Harvard University Schools of Medicine and Public Health in Boston.

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Tips to Reduce the Side Effects of ADHD Medications

Tips to Reduce the Side Effects of ADHD Medications Skip to content Home & News WebMD Home WebMD News Home Free Health Newsletters WebMD Community & Experts See All Expert Blogs Health A-Z ADD/ADHD Allergies Allergy TV Alzheimer's Anxiety Disorders Arthritis Asthma Back Pain Bipolar Disorder Bipolar TV Breast Cancer Cancer Cancer Communities Cholesterol Cold & Flu Colorectal Cancer COPD Depression Depression TV Diabetes Erectile Dysfunction Eye Health Fibromyalgia Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Herpes Hypertension IBS Incontinence/OAB Inflammatory Bowel Menopause Mental Health Migraines Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pain Management Parkinson's Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sexual Conditions Shingles Skin Problems Sleep Disorders Stroke See All Topics Videos A-Z Community & Experts Experts A-Z First Aid A-Z Games A-Z Tests & Tools A-Z Slideshows A-Z Drugs & Medications Center Find or Review a Drug Pill Identifier Drug News Mobile Drug Information Find a Vitamin or Supplement First Aid & Emergencies WebMD Community & Experts WebMD Ask the Pharmacist Healthy Living Women's Health Men's Health Pet Health Oral Health Emotional Health Mental Health Communities Find a Therapist Green Living 50+: Live Better, Longer Sex & Relationships Healthy Beauty Healthy Skin TV Sexual Health Communities See All Topics Women's Health Communities Skin & Beauty Community Men's Health Communities Healthy Eating & Diet Healthy Eating & Diet Food & Cooking Food-o-Meter Fit-o-Meter Fitness & Exercise Food & Fitness Planner Portion Size Helper Personal Diet Evaluator BMI Plus Calculator Eating & Diet Communities Digestive Disorders Communities Parenting & Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy Children's Health Children's Vaccines Newborn & Baby New! Raising Fit Kids New! WebMD for Kids Parenting Communities Pregnancy Communities Trying to Conceive Communities Teen Health Teen Girls Teen Boys coming soon! New! WebMD FIT Teen Food Move Recharge Mood Pet Health Healthy Dogs Healthy Cats Healthy Pets Community ?Enter Search Keywords:Other search tools:Symptoms|Doctors|Medical Dictionary /* Basic styles to avoid the jumping when things load. */.bottom_header #reglinks { float:right; position:relative; margin:0px; padding:0px; height:22px; width: 330px; z-index:96; }.bottom_header #reglinks .login_rdr { display:none; width: 330px; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr { float: right; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0; padding: 5px 0 3px 0; }#reglinks .login_rdr ul#registration_hdr li { background:none; display: inline-block; float: left; padding: 0; }Find us on: WebMD Home Mental Health Center ADD & ADHD Health Center ADHD Guide Email a FriendPrint Article ADD & ADHD Health Center Tools & ResourcesADHD in Children Is It Adult ADHD? Brain Foods That Help You Focus ADHD: How Well Are You Coping?Concentration Killers Tips for Raising Kids With ADHD Select An ArticleAll Subchapter Articles:ADHD TreatmentMedicationsBehavioral TreatmentStimulant MedicationsNonstimulant Medications and Other ADHD DrugsTips to Reduce Medication Side EffectsClinical TrialsADHD Drugs and GrowthADHD Multimodal Treatment webmd.m.share.init(); Font Size A A A webmd.m.fontSizer.init(); Tips to Reduce the Side Effects of ADHD Medications By Katherine Kam
WebMD Feature Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

For many children, ADHD medications curb restlessness, impulsivity, and inattention well enough for them to flourish at home, school, and on the playground. But the drugs can also prompt common side effects, such as low appetite, stomach pain, or sleep problems. In rare and serious cases, they can cause heart problems, such as chest pain, liver problems, or suicidal thoughts.

“We do deal with both wonderful treatment response, but at the same time, medication-related side effects,” says Murat Pakyurek, an associate clinical professor at the University of California-Davis Medical Center department of psychiatry and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute’s ADHD program. “The majority of the medication-related side effects are mild and temporary in nature. But there are a few side effects that are more severe and that need to be addressed immediately,” he says.

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If your child takes ADHD medications, follow these tips to reduce common side effects. Be on the alert, too, for rare side effects.

Tips for Coping With ADHD Drug Side Effects Decreased appetite: If your child’s appetite wanes after taking ADHD medicine, give the dose after breakfast so that he or she will eat better in the morning. Serve a large dinner in the evening, when the drug is beginning to wear off. Keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand; a balanced diet with nutritious, higher-calorie foods and drinks will help to offset any weight loss from the ADHD drug. If your child’s poor appetite lasts for a long period, ask the doctor about reducing the dose or stopping the drug on weekends or summer breaks to allow appetite to return to normal. Stomach pain or upset: Don’t give your child ?medicine on an empty stomach. “For any GI discomfort, taking the medication with or immediately after food will make a very big difference,” Pakyurek says. Sleep problems: Set up a regular bedtime routine that includes relaxing activities, such as bathing or reading. If a stimulant type of ADHD medication prevents your child from sleeping well, ask the doctor about taking the drug earlier in the day or switching from a long-acting to a shorter-acting form . Ask, too, about reducing the dose or stopping the drug in the afternoon to help your child sleep at bedtime. Daytime drowsiness: If the ADHD drug atomoxetine (Strattera) is making your child sleepy during the day, ask about giving the drug at bedtime instead of in the morning. You can also check with the doctor about lowering the dose or dividing the dose and giving it twice a day. ?? Rebounding effects: When ADHD drugs wear off in the afternoon or evening, some children have more ADHD symptoms or irritability. To prevent this “rebounding,” ask your child’s doctor about using a longer-lasting medication or taking a small dose of fast-acting stimulant later in the day. ? Mood changes: Keep an eye out for changes in your child’s mood. If you see changes, such as lessened emotional expression or suicidal thinking, alert your child’s doctor right away.? ? Heart problems: Since there have been rare reports of serious heart problems in patients taking ADHD drugs, tell your child’s doctor about any heart problems in the family. “If there’s any history of significant heart problems, the physician may closely monitor, particularly if they’re using stimulants. Or they may even decide to get an EKG to make sure that the child does not have any cardiac problem,” Pakyurek says.

Regular exams: While your child is on ADHD drugs, he or she will need regular visits with the doctor who prescribes the drugs, in part to watch for side effects. The doctor will monitor vital signs, such as blood pressure and pulse, as well as height and weight. If there’s a change in your child’s growth trajectory, treatment may need adjusting so that your child can catch up, says Ben Vitiello, a psychiatrist and chief of the Child and Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. Ask the doctor, too, if your child needs tests, such as an EKG or periodic blood tests to check liver enzymes.

1 | 2 | 3 Next Page > SHARE What is this? Next Article:ADHD TreatmentMedicationsBehavioral TreatmentStimulant MedicationsNonstimulant Medications and Other ADHD DrugsTips to Reduce Medication Side EffectsClinical TrialsADHD Drugs and GrowthADHD Multimodal Treatment ADHD Guide 1 Overview & Facts 2 Symptoms & Types 3 Diagnosis & Tests 4 Treatment & Care 5 Home Remedies 6 Finding Help #url_reference {display: none};#url_reference { display: block; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 10px; }#logo_rdr img { visibility: visible; }.titleBar_rdr .titleBarMiddle_fmt { padding-top: 1.5em !important;} Further Reading: Brain Scans Reveal ADHD Differences FDA OKs 1st Generic Versions of Ambien Divorce More Likely in ADHD Families? ADHD at 6, Alcoholic at 16? 10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Sleep Disorders When to Seek Medical Care for Insomnia Insomnia Resources See All ADHD in Children Topics ADD & ADHD Home ADD & ADHD News ADD & ADHD Reference ADD & ADHD Videos ADD/ADHD Community ADD & ADHD Questions and Answers ADD & ADHD Glossary ADHD Guide 1 Overview & Facts 2 Symptoms & Types 3 Diagnosis & Tests 4 Treatment & Care 5 Home Remedies 6 Finding Help Related to ADD & ADHD ADHD Health Check Anxiety/Panic Bipolar Disorder Depression Symptoms Mental Health Parenting Pill Identifier Schizophrenia More Related Topics Related to Parenting Kids’ Sleep Guidelines Common Kid Illnesses 8 Parent Mistakes Discipline Tips Reclaim Your Bed Common Treatments for ADD & ADHD Adderall Concerta Dexedrine Fish Oil Focalin Intuniv Ritalin Strattera Vyvanse More Drugs More Vitamins & Supplements Enter Location: e.g 60607 or Chicago, IL or IL Physician Directory Terms Today in ADHD Slideshow ADHD: Do You Know the Symptoms? SLIDESHOW Brain Foods That Help You Focus Article What Causes ADHD? Health Check Get Your ADHD Symptoms Under Control SLIDESHOW What’s Killing Your Concentration? Article Adult ADHD: Treatment Decisions Article ADHD and Substance Abuse: Is There a Link? Article How to Reduce ADHD Drug Side Effects Article Risky Behavior: It Could Be Adult ADHD COMMUNITY Depression and ADHD Medication Article Is ADHD Affecting Your Marriage? Article When Girls Get ADHD Women's Health Newsletter Find out what women really need.

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