December 2007: Health Briefs from Baylor Health Care System

Pediatricians Offer Tips for Parents Before Buying their Kids Wheeled Shoes this Season

You see them roll by in schools and malls-kids are head over heels for them, but before you buy your kids a pair of wheeled shoes this holiday season, pediatricians have a warning. These ultra-popular shoes that seem to give supernatural abilities to kids are now creating big concerns among pediatricians.

"It's actually becoming a little more common place to see bone injuries from children wearing wheeled shoes," says Gregory Sonnen, M.D., pediatrician on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. In fact, Dr. Sonnen and his colleagues say they see at least one or two broken bones a month from this latest fad.

"The problem with the wheeled shoes is that parents are buying them as casual footwear," adds Dr. Sonnen.

Many pediatricians are now recommending these shoes are instead treated like a skateboard or rollerblades, not everyday shoe wear.

"When your child is wearing their wheeled-shoes they should also wear their safety equipment as well," says Dr. Sonnen. "If we look at them as a piece of sporting good equipment I think people will be safer. However, if we look at them as a casual shoe as most people do, I think we're going to continue to see a lot of injuries from accidents on wheeled shoes," explains Dr. Sonnen.

According to Dr. Sonnen, most kids tend to injure their wrists and elbows when wearing wheeled shoes, but the injuries parents and pediatricians fear most are head injuries. Dr. Sonnen recommends that helmets should always be worn when wearing wheeled shoes.

Pediatricians also add that most of the injuries occur during the first week kids wear them so it's especially important for parents to make sure they are well protected while they're learning to walk and roll in them.

Twenty-Eight Reasons to Stay Slim

Carrying extra pounds is not just about your appearance or fitting into the right clothes. Being overweight or obese places you at higher risk for many serious medical conditions, says Dee Rollins, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., a clinical dietitian and nutrition educator for Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.

Experts at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute are concerned that this growing problem is not getting the attention it deserves from the nation's primary care practitioners. In fact, the American Obesity Association reports that obesity is the second-leading cause of premature death in Americans.

How much weight is overweight? A body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while 30 or more is obese. To put the numbers into perspective, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute reports that a person with a BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight or the equivalent of 221 pounds on a 6'0" frame and 186 pounds for someone 5'6".

Here are some of the many health challenges associated with being overweight or obese:

• type 2 diabetes
• asthma
• high blood pressure
• skin disorders (heat rash, infections in the skin fold)
• depression
• poor self-esteem
• stroke
• gallbladder disease
• osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilage)
• heart disease
• breast cancer
• colorectal cancer
• prostate cancer
• endometrial cancer
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• daytime sleepiness
• deep-vein thrombosis
• gout
• poor heat tolerance
• slower wound healing and increased risk of infection
• infertility
• lower back pain
• higher risk of complications after childbirth
• greater risk of cesarean-section delivery
• gestational diabetes during pregnancy
• musculoskeletal, joint and foot pain
• urinary stress incontinence
• greater risk of complications after surgery

Healthy Holidays: Tips for Making Smart Food Choices

The holidays offer tempting challenges to your healthy-eating plan. Parties have you eating away from home more often, and sweet treats appear unbidden at your office or doorstep.

It's enticing to relax your efforts over the holidays, but your health depends on your diet. Here are some tips from Karen Klatte, M.D., a cardiologist on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie.

Make healthy food choices. Try to stay away from the foods that are heavy in simple carbohydrates, especially sweets and pastries. Typically entrées that don't have a lot of sauce will be healthier. Choosing turkey breast is fine, but cover it with gravy and you'll be adding a lot of carbohydrates. There are also hidden carbohydrates in starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, that are converted to sugar, so avoid or limit those foods.

Limit calories by choosing smaller portions. Then, if you make healthy choices, reward yourself with a small piece of candy or dessert so you don't feel deprived.

Exercise. Holidays are a busy time and exercise can help reduce stress, so remember to take time for a brisk walk.

Watch your alcohol intake. Moderate drinking (a glass a day for women; two for men) is fine. More than that can lead to health problems.

Soap Versus Antibacterial Gel..Is There a Difference?

Cold and flu season is officially here and we always hear that washing your hands is the best defense against getting sick. But does the kind of soap you use matter?

"A lot of people ask, 'What's the best soap to use—antibacterial or regular soap?'" says Jane Sadler, M.D., family medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

Researchers recently put the two to the test setting out to answer whether or not the ingredient 'triclosan'—found in most antibacterial soaps—made them any more effective.

"As far as antibacterial soap versus regular soap there really isn't a lot of difference," explains Dr. Sadler.

No less germs, no less bacteria. Hands washed with regular soaps proved to be just as clean as those washed with anti-bacterial soaps. That is unless you spend a long time at the sink.

"In order for them to truly be more effective than regular soaps you need to do about a 30 second scrub and most people don't do that," adds Dr. Sadler.

Now what about antibacterial hand sanitizers? How effective are those?

"If you need something quick and fast and there's no soap and water available at the time go ahead and use an antibacterial gel," says Dr. Sadler. According to researchers—and a statement by the FDA—antibacterial hand sanitizers are better than nothing, but should not be used to replace soap and water. And when you do use these types of gels, it's best to be generous.

"It's recommended that you use about a quarter-sized dollop of hand gel. If your hands are dry in 10 to 15 seconds you probably didn't use enough," says Dr. Sadler.

So what about those claims by antibacterial soap manufacturers saying they kill 99.9 percent of germs? Some experts say those studies are not done on human hands, but on inanimate surfaces and so they are most likely inaccurate.