December 2004

Lawsuit claims Motrin caused child's blindness
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A 7-year-old girl on Tuesday sued the maker of Children's Motrin for failing to label the over-the-counter pain reliever with a warning that it could lead to an allergic reaction that caused her blindness. The lawsuit alleges that Sabrina Brierton Johnson suffered from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a potentially fatal rash of the skin and mucous membranes, which caused her to go blind.

Dr Sears Comment: This story is an example of the possibility of a very rare side effect of a very common medication. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is like a very severe allergic reaction, but it can also be caused by viral or bacterial infections. The packaging of Ibuprofen warns against possible allergic reactions, but not specifically Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Ibuprofen is a helpful medication, and I will continue to recommend it, but parents need to be aware of the possibility of a rare reaction. To put it in perspective: it is more likely to be injured in a car accident than to be harmed by Ibuprofen.

More Awareness Needed of Toddlers' Risk for Scalds
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite repeated recommendations to cook on the back burners of the stove and to turn pot handles toward the back, many parents still fail to recognize their child's potential risk for burns and scalds, new study findings suggest.

During a six-year period, more than 17,000 burns to children aged 5 years and younger were treated in emergency departments across the United States, and half occurred when children pulled a pot down from an elevated surface such as a stove or somehow spilled a pot's contents onto themselves.

Dr Sears comment: Despite all our efforts to educate parents on how to reduce the risk for burns, the numbers are not falling. When mom is busy making dinner, and the kids are whining, it is easy to get careless with the pot of boiling water. Please, try to keep in mind how dangerous boiling water can be.

Self-Hypnosis Calms Kids During Tough Procedures
(HealthDayNews) -- In an indication that the power of mind over body isn't limited to grownups, researchers report that advanced relaxation techniques help kids endure a grueling medical procedure.

Kids who learned to relax themselves through self-hypnosis were less likely to suffer from distress during painful urinary tract checkups, a new study has found. In addition, the children's greater sense of calm appeared to shorten the grueling procedures by nearly a third -- an average of 14 minutes each.

Dr Sears comments: This was a great study in the prestigious journal Pediatrics. These focused, relaxation techniques are a safe alternative to sedation medications for painful procedures. Hopefully, in the near future, parents and kids can learn these techniques from a therapist prior to undergoing an unpleasant medical procedure.