Health

30 Nov 2011 No Comments

A Is Not for Apple

Remember back in September when Dr. Oz took some heat for raising wide-spread consumer concern about arsenic levels in apple juice?  The FDA was so quick to dispute this, stating that most arsenic in juices and other foods is of the organic type that is “essentially harmless.” They also questioned the methodology of the study that Dr. Oz commissioned.

However, earlier today, Consumer Reports just released a frightening study that found high levels of arsenic in apple and grape juice which sheds more light on Dr. Oz’s claim. The study found that 10 percent of the juices tested by researchers had higher total arsenic levels than the FDA’s standard for drinking water — 10 parts per billion (ppb) — while 25 percent of all juices tested had lead levels higher than the FDA’s bottled water limit of 5 ppb.


I always thought A was for Apple, but it seems that the A might have really been for what was in our store bought apple juice, namely ARSENIC! This is yet another reason for me to buy a juicer. Anyone recommends a good brand?

by Joy in Good To Know, Health, In the News

17 Nov 2011 1 Comment

Nut-Free Home

It all started a year ago when we came back from Hawaii to celebrate Jordan’s first birthday. My husband, Jordan and I went out to eat at our favorite Thai restaurant with his grandparents. Since Jordan loves noodles, I gave him PadThai. About 10 minutes later, his eyes started to get watery and his face seemed to have gotten a little red so I took him to the restroom right away to look at it more closely since the lights at the restaurant were pretty dim.  I noticed that he got some rashes around his mouth so I immediately left the restaurant to buy some Benadryl. Luckily for us, there was  a grocery store a few stores down after the restaurant. By the time I got to the grocery store, Jordan’s eyes were already swollen and hives all over his face and body. He was also starting to cough so I was panicking while I walked through the store aisles looking for Benadryl. I know he was having a bad allergic reaction and I needed to give him that Benadryl ASAP. I literally cut everyone in line, paid for the medicine and gave it to him right there at the store. I then called his pediatrician to ask if there’s anything else I should do. About 15 minutes after taking the Benadryl, he started getting better. As per his pediatrician, we avoided all kinds of nuts since then.

Fast forward to yesterday, Jordan was officially diagnosed with nut allergy. He was tested for positive allergy to peanuts, cashews and pistachios. Until our visit to an allergist yesterday, I was blissfully confident that he wasn’t really allergic to nuts – that maybe he just reacted to the spices in the Pad Thai that he ate. But now, I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that my son’s peanut allergy will more than likely be a part of our lives forever because only 20 percent of people outgrow peanut allergies.  As his mother, I need to be strong and keep him peanut-free while educating myself and those who care for him now and those who will in the future (including teachers and coaches at school) about food allergies.

For now, my biggest concern is how to limit the risk of someone unknowingly gives Jordan anything with nuts. I know I had to start at home so I created this sign to post on the fridge to make sure that any guest, especially overnight guests we have are aware that we have a nut-free home. If you want, to print the sign, you can download it here.

 The level of public understanding of severe allergies is minimal at best and life-threatening at worst. For those parents with children allergic to nuts, I’d love to hear some safety tips!

 

by Joy in Health

17 Jun 2011 14 Comments

Placenta Previa Bleeding Episode

Last Sunday was nothing out of the ordinary. We took our weekly pregnancy picture, went out to run some errands and stayed home for the rest of the evening.

After reading a couple Thomas the Train books to Jordan, we both fell asleep. I woke up around 10:00 pm because I needed to use the bathroom and as soon as I sat down the toilet, I heard a pop and felt a gush. I remember saying “please don’t be blood” while I was reaching for the toilet paper but there it was, bright red blood. It was so scary to say the least.  Per my OB’s instructions about what to do in this situation, Michael just grabbed our bag and went straight to the hospital.

I was admitted and monitored.  My OB came and ordered steroid injections to help mature the baby’s lungs.  I am only 33 weeks so we were very nervous. I was literally shaking and started crying because I thought I might have an emergency c-section. Thankfully, the bleeding slowed and stopped.  However at 2:00 in the morning, I had another bleed and it was a lot more. I was leaking like a faucet and I was starting to have contractions. I was given a shot to stop the contractions and thankfully, the bleeding slowed down and stopped again. More

by Joy in Health, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

21 Apr 2011 4 Comments

Mentally Preparing for a C-Section

I was diagnosed with placenta previa at 19 weeks and I had another ultrasound at 25 weeks and the placenta hadn’t moved. The ultrasound tech said that though it would unlikely move, she’s seen it happen at the last minute so there’s still hope. We’re going to do a repeat scan around 29 weeks to see if my placenta is migrating upward or staying in the same position. If it hasn’t moved, then we will scan again around 33 and 35 weeks and then schedule a c-section if it stays the same. More

by Joy in Health, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

05 Apr 2011 No Comments

Jordan’s First Dental Appointment

Babies should have their first dental appointment right around the first birthday but since the Small Fry only had 2 teeth when he was one, his pediatrician told us that we could wait until he’s 18 months before we bring him to the dentist.

So yesterday was a big day for Jordan. We took him for his very first dental appointment. It was mostly a consultation and check-up — the dentist checked his teeth to determine plaque build-up and gave us tips on proper brushing technique for toddlers. He showed us the most effective way to restrain the child for mom & dad tag-team brushing to get a better angle and cleaner teeth: have him sit on daddy’s lap, lean him back and wedge his head between daddy’s legs, holding his arms on his tummy while mommy’s brushing his teeth.  It’s such a great position because you can actually see full range of his teeth! More

by Joy in Health, Milestones

15 Mar 2011 7 Comments

Placenta Previa @ 19 Weeks

Last week, my doctor told me I have placenta previa based on my structural routine ultrasound. This means the placenta attaches and grows to cover the opening of the cervix.

There is a small chance that as my uterus grows during the pregnancy, it will pull the placenta up into the position it needs to be in. However, if it does not move during pregnancy, it would obviously eliminate the possibility of a normal birth, as the placenta would either block the baby from getting out or the placenta would come out first, which could cause life-threatening bleeding for me and my baby. Needless to say, I will need a c-section to bring my baby into the world. Though c-section was never my vision of birth, I can come to terms with it as long as my baby’s okay, I’ll do whatever needs to be done. More

by Joy in Health, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

13 Jan 2011 4 Comments

Croup

Thirteen days into the New Year and I still haven’t posted anything new. I blame it to the nasty croup.

The Small Fry started with a normal sounding scratchy throat on Tuesday morning, by night time it sounded phlegmy. Not too long after he fell asleep, he coughed a little and started throwing up so I called his pediatrician and she told me that it’s most likely that little cough triggered a gag so he threw up. After changing his clothes and the bed sheets, he asked for a small piece of banana and went back to sleep. More

by Joy in Health

21 Jul 2010 2 Comments

Back to the Grind

I’m easing my way back into the day-in, day-out blogging grind by giving another update on the Small Fry’s health. Yesterday, we had an appointment at Children’s Hospital and everything went well. We were told that there’s nothing to be too concerned about regarding Jordan’s recent blood work since he seems to be responding to the iron supplement. Besides, it could take up to three months before his iron is completely replenished so we are going to re-check it in a couple weeks to make sure that it’s up again. More

by Joy in Health

14 Jul 2010 3 Comments

Just a Quick Update

I’m sorry if I haven’t written in so long. As you can imagine, things have been pretty crazy over the past week or two. My family has all been sick thus we needed to cancel our 5th Wedding Anniversary vacation to Crater Lake. Michael and I don’t usually get really sick but it hit us hard this time. I think it’s because our immune system is low from all the stress that has been in our lives lately. More

by Joy in Health, Random