Hot Dogs and Common Sense
So the American Academy of Pediatrics just came out with a statement that–gasp!–hot dogs (and hard candy, peanuts/nuts, seeds, whole grapes, raw carrots, apples, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter, marshmallows, chewing gum, and sausages) pose a choking hazard to young children.
Maybe about a dozen children a year die from choking on hot dogs. So the AAP would like hot dog manufacturers to put warning labels on their products and consider changing the wiener’s shape so they pose less of a risk to young children.
I honestly do not know where to start.
My oldest child just turned 23 and my youngest just turned 14; maybe I’m too old a mother to understand these pronouncements. But you know what. . .I just don’t care. I still have to ask the question that I’m sure will get me flamed:
Are you insane????
When I was a “baby” parent of just 23 myself the rule was. . . common sense. I didn’t feed my 1-year-old a hot dog or individual grapes because — duh! — they were about the same thickness as his … Continue Reading
$2600. $544.
Just heard a news story that researchers have identified three genes responsible for about 9 percent of stuttering. In the story, a woman who stuttered as a child and teenager and who now works with other stutterers was nearly in tears at the news. Her clients, she said, would be so happy to learn that their stuttering “wasn’t their fault.”
Many have asked me: How can I make sure that my freelance medical writer is happy? For, as any freelance medical writer knows, we can be an ornery lot, arguing over the merits of yellow vs green when highlighting PDF references; Endnote vs RefMan; the true meaning of a P value. Yet, like any high-strung, thoroughbred, given the right care and feeding, your medical writer can be your greatest asset.
A couple of recent news stories reminded me of the dirty little secret about healthcare that no one wants to talk about, the proverbial elephant in the room. All those pills, surgeries, x-rays, medical care? It costs money! 
So my cousin emailed me the other night. She had a breast cancer recurrence about 6 years ago. Before you feel too sorry for her, however, know this: She’s doing great, moving from one targeted treatment/chemotherapy/laser knife procedure to another. Her doctors are fabulous. Her attitude is amazing. And, as she constantly tells us, she feels great and is loving life. No, this isn’t about her. It’s about her friend, the one she emailed me about.
Ok, yes, the Democrats just lost their filibuster-proof majority. Politics, politics, politics.
Back in the day when I was a newspaper reporter I completed a biomedical ethics fellowship at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA. In addition to sitting in on the hospital’s bioethics committee discussions, I spent much of the week shadowing a nurse in the ICU.