The above headline is from a HealthDay News article published in the August 4, 2009 Atlanta Journal Constitution. A similar article also appeared on the MedPage Today website on August 5, 2009. These articles and several others covered a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), that was also published in an advanced September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

These articles reporting on the CDC study, showed that in the United States alone, each year more than 71,000 children, 18 years old and younger, wind up in emergency rooms for unintentional overdoses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The article also notes that more than two-thirds of emergency department visits are due to poisoning from prescription or over-the-counter medications. This represents more than double the rate of childhood poisonings caused by household cleaning products, plants or other items.

Lead researcher Dr. Daniel Budnitz, director of the CDC's Medication Safety Program in the division of health-care quality promotion, was quoted in the articles stating, "Medication overdoses are most common among 2-year-olds" He then reports an alarming statistic by saying, "About one out of every 180 2-year-olds visits an emergency department for a medication overdose each year."

Dr. Robert Geller, a professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and medical director of the Georgia Poison Center, added his concern about these alarming numbers by saying that "the number of children seen in the emergency room due to overdoses that are unintentional or medication errors is remarkable." He then added, "Right now, poison centers are having their funding cut. If poison centers are less available, the number of children going to emergency rooms will rise."

When this type of problem starts affecting our young ones we should realize how dangerous medications can be and do everything we can to avoid their use.  Live pro-actively, not re-actively!  That's what wellness care is all about.  Visit our website or call our office for more information.  Mention this blog and receive a wellness certificate for an examination at no charge.

The above headline comes from an October 8, 2009 story on the "Fox8Live" news show and on their website. This news story along with many others warn of the potential dangers of the H1N1 vaccine in contrast to the seriousness of the disease itself.

In the above story, Dr. Akili Graham, a family practice expert says that he and his family will not be getting the vaccine. He warns, "People are going to take the vaccine based on fear and ignorance." He warns that a more serious problem could develop, "When you start mixing the vaccine with the swine flu, when they co-join and change, they have the potential to cause major problems because of the combination of the two."

A similar story on the same day in the Virginia Beach Conservative Examiner carried the headline, "Infectious disease doctor says swine flu vaccine too risky". In this story infectious disease expert Dr. Kent Holtorf stated, "I have more concern about the vaccine than I do about the swine flu. It's been rushed to market." Dr. Holtorf, speaking about the fact that the controversial substance Thimerosal is being used as an adjuvant, added, "It's been shown to cause autism in children with mitochondrial dysfunction." When asked if he would give the shot to his kids, Dr. Holtorf answered: "I definitely would not."

On September 11, 2009, an interview appeared on the Financial Times health blog website with Dr. Tom Jefferson, a medically trained epidemiologist and Cochrane reviewer who has a special research interest in the effectiveness of vaccinations. Dr. Jefferson started his comments by answering the question of how effective are seasonal vaccines? He responded, "Our reviews either show no effect or limited effect, and poor data."

Another article on the website, Center for Medical Consumers, on September 24, 2009, Dr. Jefferson noted that the World Health Organization changed their definition of the word "pandemic" in May, 2009, just prior to classifying the "Swine Flu" as a pandemic. The earlier definition of pandemic was: "An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity, resulting in epidemics worldwide with enormous numbers of deaths and illness [emphasis in the original document]."  The NEW definition of pandemic was changed to: "A disease epidemic occurs when there are more cases of that disease than normal. A pandemic is a worldwide epidemic of a disease. An influenza pandemic may occur when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity."

"Washington OK's more mercury in swine flu vaccine"

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.komonews.com%252Fnews%252Flocal%252F61285622.html&h=c4d547bb0d68f78b85706af672a6268a&ref=mf

Please educate yourself about the latest in the vaccination frenzy!    They are OK with putting more mercury in the vaccines all for the sake of getting the shots to the public faser.  Even MD's are refusing to get these shots for themselves and there kids.  Here's Dr OZ saying he's not as well. 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=147186606794&ref=mf

The evidence is overwhelming, screaming that these vaccines are harmful and should not be distributed.  Educate yourself first, check out AAC's facebook page.  Each day we have links about this topic so you can educate yourself and make an informed decision.  It's a life or death decision.  The last link I would like to share is from Fox news.  It discuss' the similarities between this shot and the shot in the 1970's that killed 25 people. Please watch. 

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.foxnews.com%252Fstory%252F0%252C2933%252C539880%252C00.html&h=c4d547bb0d68f78b85706af672a6268a&ref=mf

Eating well can be challenging so here are some tips from our website to help you get your kids to eat better.  For more tips visit us at www.aacfamilywellness.com or send me an email.

1. Make it fun. Here are some ideas: a smiley face on oatmeal with raisins and nuts; sandwiches cut with a cookie cutter; anything that contains their name (ever try to write your child's name with string beans?), a flower out of apple slices... really the possibilities are endless. Once I sliced a banana into coins and arranged them around a plate with a big strawberry in the middle. It didn't represent anything but it was fun to eat!

2. Try not to engage in a power struggle. When they say "I'm NOT going to eat this" in attempt to get a rise out of you, say, "OK!" with a big smile. Nine times out of ten, they will eat it a few minutes later, because they realize you really don't care if they eat it or not (well, YOU DO, but they don't know that!).

3. Resist the temptation to reinforce the notion that vegetables taste bad but they have to be eaten. As hard as it is, try to treat all food relatively the same (except of course for special occasional treats like candy). That way, if you put all healthy foods in front of your child, they will pick and choose based on color, flavor, texture, and desire for variety -- not what is "good" or "bad."

4. Never use food as a reward. There are books written about this, but I'll try to sum it up with three points: one, using food as a reward ties behavior in with foods, which might lead kids to all sorts of parental manipulation using food. Two, if reward foods are a special kind of food, then non-reward food might feel like a punishment. Three, if reward foods are associated with parental pride and acceptance, then those foods might be later abused as a way for the child to feel accepted and loved.