Childhood eczema is on the increase, and the number of cases of the skin condition reported in toddlers and young children has risen to one in five. Researchers are still unable to identify the cause of eczema, which results in itchiness and redness of the skin, but allergies have often been cited as a contributor to the growing condition.
Recent years have seen an increase in people reporting allergic reactions, with eczema been a common symptom. Irritants like woolen clothing, soap or allergens like pollen can heighten eczema, but the common myth that diet is a major contributing factor has been dispelled.
Many parents blame certain foods for the onset of eczema or for making it worse, and have omitted several foods from their children’s diets. However, the latest research published by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care have warned parents to be wary of denying their children important foods like milk unless these have been identified by doctors as causing allergies.
The Institute advices that although eczema can become a lifetime problem, most children will grow out of it by the time they are teenagers and parents may not need to change their family’s diets. The Institute’s director Professor Sawicki said eliminating certain foods from children’s diets should only be undertaken after consultation with a doctor: "Restricting children's diets can harm their health and growth, so parents need to be careful about acting on unproven theories about diet and eczema."
"Trials have shown that eliminating foods like milk or eggs from the diet of small children with eczema probably only helps if they have proven food sensitivities. Formal allergy tests like skin prick and challenge tests done with your doctor can help you get a more reliable picture of whether or not a suspected food really is causing the problem."
He also encouraged parents to stay abreast of up to date developments in research and treatments in the field as new discoveries about childhood allergies are been made, and to only rely on evidence-based advice. One example of current research still in its early stages is the role of probiotics in the development of child allergies.
The Institute also stated that parents can reduce their child's risk of allergies by not smoking. More information about eczema and allergies can be found on the Institute’s website www.informedhealthonline.org which features easy-to-understand information about current medical developments and research on important health issues.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Health Care Reforms: So Democrats are You Ready to GO Alone?
In order to get their health care reforms passed it seems that Democrats may be considering making use of a little known political tactic called reconciliation, which would make the need for strong Republican support unnecessary.
It would certainly be a risky move, as it would almost certainly be seen as a hostile act by Republicans. But some top Democrats think it may just be a drastic move worth making.
Reconciliation, which has been used to pass budget measures in the past, requires only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass, something the Democrats should be able to achieve fairly easily.
An unnamed White House source told CNN “If we have to push it through this way, no one is going to remember how messy it was. At the end of the day, they'll remember we got health care reform done. A win is a win."
This all comes as a reaction to Democratic belief that Republicans involved in the negotiations to create a bill that can achieve bi partisan support are not at all serious about getting a deal done any time soon. They are especially concerned about Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa who is a key player in the debate, as he is one of the six members of the Senate Finance Committee, the body most involved in the health care debate.
In fact Grassley warned as recently as this weekend that it may be many months before a bill he could agree to support could be worked out.
"I've said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn't mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support."
If the Democrats do decide to go it alone the public insurance option that has been in question for days could be put squarely back on the table. The issue had become cloudy when Obama himself said on Saturday that the "public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform.” On Tuesday Kathleen Sibelius said at a Medicare conference that nothing has changed. She told the audience "We continue to support the public option. That will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest. If people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals, we'll look at those, too. But the public option is a very good way to do this."
It would certainly be a risky move, as it would almost certainly be seen as a hostile act by Republicans. But some top Democrats think it may just be a drastic move worth making.
Reconciliation, which has been used to pass budget measures in the past, requires only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass, something the Democrats should be able to achieve fairly easily.
An unnamed White House source told CNN “If we have to push it through this way, no one is going to remember how messy it was. At the end of the day, they'll remember we got health care reform done. A win is a win."
This all comes as a reaction to Democratic belief that Republicans involved in the negotiations to create a bill that can achieve bi partisan support are not at all serious about getting a deal done any time soon. They are especially concerned about Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa who is a key player in the debate, as he is one of the six members of the Senate Finance Committee, the body most involved in the health care debate.
In fact Grassley warned as recently as this weekend that it may be many months before a bill he could agree to support could be worked out.
"I've said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn't mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support."
If the Democrats do decide to go it alone the public insurance option that has been in question for days could be put squarely back on the table. The issue had become cloudy when Obama himself said on Saturday that the "public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform.” On Tuesday Kathleen Sibelius said at a Medicare conference that nothing has changed. She told the audience "We continue to support the public option. That will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest. If people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals, we'll look at those, too. But the public option is a very good way to do this."
Health Care Reform: So Democrats are You Ready to GO Alone?
In order to get their health care reforms passed it seems that Democrats may be considering making use of a little known political tactic called reconciliation, which would make the need for strong Republican support unnecessary.
It would certainly be a risky move, as it would almost certainly be seen as a hostile act by Republicans. But some top Democrats think it may just be a drastic move worth making.
Reconciliation, which has been used to pass budget measures in the past, requires only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass, something the Democrats should be able to achieve fairly easily.
An unnamed White House source told CNN “If we have to push it through this way, no one is going to remember how messy it was. At the end of the day, they'll remember we got health care reform done. A win is a win."
This all comes as a reaction to Democratic belief that Republicans involved in the negotiations to create a bill that can achieve bi partisan support are not at all serious about getting a deal done any time soon. They are especially concerned about Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa who is a key player in the debate, as he is one of the six members of the Senate Finance Committee, the body most involved in the health care debate.
In fact Grassley warned as recently as this weekend that it may be many months before a bill he could agree to support could be worked out.
"I've said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn't mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support."
If the Democrats do decide to go it alone the public insurance option that has been in question for days could be put squarely back on the table. The issue had become cloudy when Obama himself said on Saturday that the "public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform.” On Tuesday Kathleen Sibelius said at a Medicare conference that nothing has changed. She told the audience "We continue to support the public option. That will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest. If people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals, we'll look at those, too. But the public option is a very good way to do this."
It would certainly be a risky move, as it would almost certainly be seen as a hostile act by Republicans. But some top Democrats think it may just be a drastic move worth making.
Reconciliation, which has been used to pass budget measures in the past, requires only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass, something the Democrats should be able to achieve fairly easily.
An unnamed White House source told CNN “If we have to push it through this way, no one is going to remember how messy it was. At the end of the day, they'll remember we got health care reform done. A win is a win."
This all comes as a reaction to Democratic belief that Republicans involved in the negotiations to create a bill that can achieve bi partisan support are not at all serious about getting a deal done any time soon. They are especially concerned about Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa who is a key player in the debate, as he is one of the six members of the Senate Finance Committee, the body most involved in the health care debate.
In fact Grassley warned as recently as this weekend that it may be many months before a bill he could agree to support could be worked out.
"I've said all year that something as big and important as health care legislation should have broad-based support," Grassley said "So far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in Congress or at the White House. That doesn't mean we should quit. It means we should keep working until we can put something together that gets that widespread support."
If the Democrats do decide to go it alone the public insurance option that has been in question for days could be put squarely back on the table. The issue had become cloudy when Obama himself said on Saturday that the "public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform.” On Tuesday Kathleen Sibelius said at a Medicare conference that nothing has changed. She told the audience "We continue to support the public option. That will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest. If people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals, we'll look at those, too. But the public option is a very good way to do this."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)