Wow!  It’s almost time to head back to school!  Summer ends way too quickly, it seems, especially for the little ones who now have to trudge back out to school every day (and the littler ones who are attending for the first time).  The schoolyard brings with it a host of health and safety concerns for children.  Here are a few things to be mindful of going through the year:

As the school year kicks off, many children are preparing to dive deep into their preferred sports.  Because of the intense physical challenges that can come from schoolyard athletics, students are required to receive a physical check up from a doctor to assure they have the ability and health required to participate in such events.  These preparticipation physical exams, or PPEs, determine whether or not the child is allowed to be involved.   School sports physicals are non-invasive, and they can be divided into two basic parts:

For the vast majority of human history, doctors cared for the young and old alike without any particular specializations.  Though some medical practitioners made reference to or wrote about issues that commonly affect children, there was no specific field dedicated to childhood medical care.  It was not until recent centuries that we began to recognize the special difficulties and unique needs that children may have with regards to medical care.

Fireworks are an explosively good time for most people, leading to a lot of “oohs” and “aahs” as they burst forth with their bright, multicoloured showers, replete with crackles and pops.  Unfortunately, without proper attention, supervision, and care, playtime with fireworks can turn serious very quickly.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, over twelve thousand people were admitted to U.S. emergency care in 2017 due to injuries sustained while handling fireworks.  A study done by the CPSC suggests that the sect of society most affected by these injuries is, unsurprisingly, children.  Individuals under the age of 20 accounted for half of the injuries sustained according to the study, while children 15 and below made up more than a third. 

There is an alarming amount of misinformation floating around in the zeitgeist about the necessity and safety of vaccines for children.  Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and testimony, the fantasy that required vaccines are unnecessary and dangerous somehow manages to persist--and this is not a new issue.  The United States of the early 19th century saw smallpox vaccinations become widespread, to the chagrin of outspoken opponents who derided the practice for a variety of religious and political reasons.  Nowadays vaccines are cited as the cause for ailments ranging from autism to multiple sclerosis, oftentimes bolstered by using celebrities as mouthpieces and against the better judgements of the medical community at large.