One-quarter of U.S. parents are hesitant about seasonal flu shots for their kids, and roughly 1 in 15 feel the same way about routine childhood vaccinations, a nationwide study finds. The issue has gained added urgency this year, as fears around coronavirus keep many parents from bringing their kids to the doctor — including routine vaccinations. Twelve percent of the nearly 2,200 parents surveyed were strongly concerned about potential side effects of both flu shots and routine childhood immunizations, while 27% had lesser concerns. And while 7 out of 10 strongly agreed that routine vaccinations were effective, only 26% felt the same way about flu shots. “The fact that one in eight parents are still concerned about vaccine safety for both childhood and influenza vaccinations is discouraging,” said lead author Dr. Allison Kempe, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. Adults with less than a bachelor’s degree were more skeptical of vaccinations. While race and ethnicity didn’t play a major role in attitudes, Hispanic parents were less hesitant about flu shots than white parents, the survey found. The results were published June 15 in the journal Pediatrics. Kempe said hesitancy about flu shots centers on doubts about effectiveness. She pointed out that while flu vaccination isn’t 100% effective in preventing the flu, even when it is not a…  read on >

If you’re working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic and expect to keep doing so, you need to be sure your work station is set up properly, an orthopedic specialist says. You also need to take regular breaks to move around, according to Terrence McGee, a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. In an office, many people have ergonomic support and opportunities for physical breaks. You might have walked to the water cooler or coffee machine, attended meetings or walked to co-workers’ desks, he noted in a university news release. To help you adapt to working at home, McGee has some suggestions to improve the safety and comfort of your workspace. When sitting at your desk, rest your feet flat on the floor. Use a foot rest if the desk height can’t be adjusted. Your thighs should be parallel to the ground, with a two-finger space between the back of the knees and the chair, and 3 to 6 inches of space between your thighs and the desk/keyboard. Place a small pillow or towel roll behind you for lower back support, he suggested. Your head should be level, facing forward, and in line with your torso. The top of your computer screen should be at or slightly below eye level. The screen itself should be 18 to 28 inches…  read on >

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many doctors’ offices and clinics have made changes to protect patients, care providers and staff. As an example, here’s what’s being done at Penn State Health. “When our patients first call to schedule an appointment at any of our offices, outpatient clinics or centers, they’ll be screened for COVID-19,” said Dr. Matthew Silvis. He’s vice chair of clinical operations in the family and community medicine department at the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn. “This means being asked questions about their possible risk factors of having the coronavirus,” and possibly being asked for additional information over the phone to reduce the amount of paperwork needed at the time of the visit, Silvis said in a health system news release. When patients arrive for their appointment, they will undergo further screening for COVID-19. They’ll be asked about possible exposure, any symptoms and they’ll have their temperature taken. Patients will be required to wear masks that cover their nose and mouth before they can enter the facility. Doctors, nurses and office staff are screened daily for COVID-19 and wear face masks. Some may wear face shields for additional protection. Other changes involve check-in, visitors, waiting areas and check-out. Dr. William Bird, a senior vice president in Penn State Health Medical Group, said, “We’ve eliminated a lot of chairs in the reception…  read on >

More than five centuries ago, Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci produced a now-famous image of what he considered the perfectly proportioned male body: the “Vitruvian Man.” The drawing was inspired by even earlier pondering on the perfect human form by first-century A.D. Roman architect Vitruvius. Now, work done by American scientists involving high-tech scans of the bodies of almost 64,000 fit young men (and some women), finds that Leonardo got very close to anatomical measurements collected today. “Despite the different samples and methods of calculation, Leonardo da Vinci’s ideal human body and the proportions obtained with contemporary measurements were similar,” reported a team led by Diana Thomas, a mathematician at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. “Vitruvian Man” is an iconic drawing by Leonardo from 1490 in which an adult male stands, legs together and then apart, inside a circle and square whose borders end at his head, outstretched hands and feet. It’s meant to depict the ideal adult male body. But how close did Leonardo get to reality? To find out, Thomas and her colleagues had thousands of highly fit U.S. Air Force training recruits, ages 17 to 21, undergo high-tech 3D body scanning to determine average measurements. For good measure, a separate sample of almost 1,400 female recruits were also scanned — the artist did not produce a “Vitruvian Woman,” however.…  read on >

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) generally fare better when they have a clear routine. Now, a new study suggests that as the coronavirus pandemic turned family schedules upside down, kids’ symptoms often worsened. The researchers surveyed 241 parents in China, found that the majority said their child’s ADHD symptoms had worsened during lockdown and the switch to online schooling. Two-thirds reported an increase in angry outbursts, while 56% said their child’s ability to stick with a daily routine had deteriorated. A similar percentage felt their kids were having difficulty staying focused. The findings came as no surprise to Dr. Joseph Hagan, who was not involved in the study. He coauthored the current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on ADHD. “We generally respond to situations with what we have,” Hagan said. “So, it’s not surprising that children with ADHD would respond [to lockdown] this way.” For one, he explained, having a predictable schedule is part of what helps children with ADHD manage. When the pandemic upended everyone’s routines — including pushing children into online learning — that predictability was lost. Beyond that, Hagan said, kids with the disorder commonly have anxiety or depression symptoms, which could have been exacerbated by the situation. And since ADHD tends to run in families, he added, many children may be living with parents having their own difficulties. The…  read on >

There’s been a nearly 60% drop in broken bones among U.S. children during the coronavirus pandemic, but the rate of fractures that occur at home has climbed, a new study finds. The researchers analyzed data on 1,735 youngsters treated for acute fractures at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) between March 15 and April 15, and compared that data with the same time period in 2018 and 2019. There was a nearly 2.5-fold decline in the number of daily fracture cases during the coronavirus pandemic, compared with the two previous years, the investigators found. There was a particularly sharp fall in sports-related fractures. They accounted for just 7.2% of all fractures during the during the recent time period, compared with 26% of all fractures in the same time period in 2018 and 2019. However, there was a more than 25% increase in fractures that occurred at home this year, and a 12% increase in fractures caused by high-energy falls, such as fractures from trampoline and bicycle falls. Due to social distancing measures — including the closure of schools and parks and the cancellation of team sports during the coronavirus pandemic — families are spending more time at home. The shift in causes of fractures is due to parents seeking other recreational activities for their children, said the authors of the study published online recently in…  read on >

When you’re searching for a misplaced item, it’s helpful to think about its color, size and shape. But Johns Hopkins researchers say traits you can’t see also come into play. The researchers said that volunteers found everyday items in clutter 20% quicker if they subconsciously factored in traits you can’t see, like hardness or softness. “Simply knowing the latent physical properties of objects is enough to help guide your attention to them,” said senior study author Jason Fischer, a cognitive neuroscientist in the department of psychological and brain sciences. “It’s surprising because nearly all prior research in this area has focused on a host of visual properties that can facilitate search, but we find that what you know about objects can be as important as what you actually see,” he said. For the study, Fischer’s team did experiments in which people tried to find everyday objects amid clutter. Some searches involved hardness of the missing object. Researchers found that people used the perception of hardness to find the object faster, but none of the participants was aware of doing so. “If you are searching for a sweater in a cluttered room, without any awareness of doing so you are able to avoid wasting time searching through the hard objects in the room and instead focus on the soft ones,” Fischer said. The greater the clutter,…  read on >

Four of the earliest U.S. cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome in kids with COVID-19 are described in a study that offers insight into the condition. The four children — aged 5, 10, 12 and 13 — arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City with what is known as exaggerated cytokine storm, an abnormal autoimmune response to the new coronavirus. Nasal swab tests for the virus were negative, but antibody testing confirmed previous COVID-19 infection. The previously healthy children were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and were given intravenous immunoglobulin and tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Study co-author Dr. Jennifer Sanders said severe reactions to COVID-19 infection in kids remain rare. But even if their initial infection was very mild, some become critically ill several weeks later due to this exaggerated immune response. It’s known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. Sanders is an assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The cases underscore the need for emergency doctors to be on the lookout for the syndrome among kids who have been infected with COVID-19, even if they initially appear to be well, said Dr. Temima Waltuch, a pediatric emergency medicine fellow. “This syndrome appears to be its own entity but patients are presenting with symptoms…  read on >

Coronavirus-related safety is crucial if you wear contact lenses, eyeglasses or safety glasses/goggles, experts say. While the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends limiting use of contact lenses and switching to eyeglasses during the pandemic, the American Optometric Association says there’s no evidence that wearing contacts increases COVID-19 risk. “With proper hand-washing prior to inserting and removing lenses, proper cleaning of lenses, and making sure you are never touching your eyes throughout the day, it is reasonable to wear contact lenses safely,” said Danielle Natale, an optometrist at LifeBridge Health Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore. If you develop cold- or flu-like symptoms, however, stop wearing contact lenses, experts say. The new coronavirus can spread through respiratory droplets people emit when breathing, speaking, coughing or sneezing. “So, it’s best, if possible, to protect your eyes with glasses, goggles, a face shield, or some other form of eye protection,” said Dr. Laura Green, an ophthalmologist at the institute. While everyday eyeglasses protect from in front of the eyes, they may not provide adequate protection from the top, bottom and sides of frames. Safety glasses or goggles can do so, however, according to an institute news release. The institute recommends cleaning glasses daily with a gentle soap and water, and drying them with a microfiber lens cloth. “It’s important to avoid wiping glasses with tissue paper or the hem…  read on >