News

Peanut Allergies Overstated, Study Finds
Children's health 01 Jun 2007

Peanut Allergies Overstated, Study Finds

Despite hundreds of families being told their children have peanut allergies every year, many of the children may be able to eat peanuts safely, a study by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Sydney Children’s Hospital has found. Peanut allergies occur in one in 200 infants,…
Eating Apples And Fish During Pregnancy May Protect Against Childhood Asthma And Allergies
Children's health 01 Jun 2007

Eating Apples And Fish During Pregnancy May Protect Against Childhood Asthma And Allergies

Women who eat apples and fish during pregnancy may reduce the risk of their children developing asthma or allergic disease, suggests a new study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20. The SEATON study, conducted at the University of Aberdeen, UK, found that the…
Cat Hair At Home Poses An Allergy Risk, Particularly For Young Children
Children's health 01 Jun 2007

Cat Hair At Home Poses An Allergy Risk, Particularly For Young Children

The study published by Chih-Mei Chen et al. in the May edition of the distinguished Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology did not approve earlier papers, according to which contact with cat allergens during the first few months of a child’s life has a protective effect. The team of authors…
Bullying and obesity: Why parents need to be aware
Children's health 31 May 2007

Bullying and obesity: Why parents need to be aware

Bullying is a common problem for primary school and high school aged children. In Australia about 10% of children report being bullied at primary school. The problem is that bullied children can go on to suffer from low self-esteem, drug abuse and depression as adults. Now there is research that…
Bullying compounds the problems for an epidemic of obese children
Children's health 31 May 2007

Bullying compounds the problems for an epidemic of obese children

Bullying is a common problem for primary school and high school aged children. The self reported rate of bullying is about 10% of primary school aged children in Australia,7 but may be up to 25% in the United Kingdom.1 Bullying is also thought to be a risk factor for a…
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea helps fight cancer
Cancer 25 May 2007

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea helps fight cancer

Cancer is the leading cause of premature death and disability in Australia, with one in three men and one in four women being diagnosed with cancer before the age of 75, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, said today at a function for…
Relief for reflux sufferers
Children's health 19 May 2007

Relief for reflux sufferers

In a recent edition of Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management, the role of a group of medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was investigated. GERD is a chronic disease that affects many people in the community with the possibility of serious…
Risperdal PBS listing change to provide relief for families with autistic children
Children's health 18 May 2007

Risperdal PBS listing change to provide relief for families with autistic children

Antipsychotic medication Risperdal (also known as risperidone) has recently had its listing with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) altered. New 3mg and 4mg Quicklet forms of the medication are now listed, and it is now approved for use in the treatment of some of the behaviours associated with autism. Risperdal…
Risperdal PBS listing altered to include treatment for children with autism
Children's health 18 May 2007

Risperdal PBS listing altered to include treatment for children with autism

Atypical antipsychotic medication Risperdal (also known as risperidone) has recently had its listing with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) altered. New 3mg and 4mg Quicklet disintegrating tablet forms of the medication are now listed and approved for use in autism. Studies show that Risperdal can lead to improvement in lethargy and…