Health Current Events

Table of Contents

Info graphic: Why Sex Ed for Teens May Need to Start Earlier Page 1-4

5 Medicine Mistakes You Could be Making Page 5-9

Drugs helping kids' mental health Page 10-13

Antibiotics Improve Health of Children In Developing Countries Page 14-17

Pediatricians Say Training Can Help Teens Avoid Knee Injures Page 18-22

Two Major Cities Make Condoms More Easily Available to Young People Page 23-26

Learning the Yin and Yang of Sexuality Page 27-32

Boy Scouts member accidently outed as gay on Face book denied summer job with the organization Page 33-37

Behavior therapy improves OCD symptoms in young children, study says Page 38-43

Mom's Diet Right Before Pregnancy Can Alter Baby's Genes Page 44-48

Summary Some teens didn't learn about sex education and this have caused a huge issue. According to CDC, teens around 15-17 never spoke with their parents and guardians about sex and more than 80% of sexually active teens didn't receive sex education. This is a problem because the teen who's pregnant will less likely to graduate in high school or earn GED. Birth rates among teenagers will increase even more from 1999, because the CDC estimated that every week, nearly 1,700 teenagers gave birth.

Reaction This may seem like a rather simple-minded question, but one of the questions that should I always be posed before any endeavor is, "why do it?" and "what do we hope to gain from it?" I am surprised how some schools don't teach about sex education. This is a very important education because not learning about human sexuality can effect teen's life. For example, they will less likely to go to college or finding a job since they are pregnant. Sex education in general is a primary source of motivation. Just consider the amount of time spent thinking and planning for sex, and let alone the time spent in sexual behavior itself. Sexual motivation does to some extent influence human behavior. Another reason for studying human sexuality is that we may face various personal and social problems involving sexuality, such as, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and sexual harassment.

Summary U.S Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) reports that Americans put their health on the line by taking hazardous combinations of prescription medications and dietary supplements. They named 5 medicines that is harmful to people's health and they were multivitamins, St. John's Wort and birth control pills, Vitamins B and statins, decongestants and blood pressure medications, and fish oil and blood thinners. The Multivitamins is harmful because it contains many ingredients of nutrients which interact people's prescription medications. According to the analysis from consumer lab, the vitamins and mineral don't match the dosage which means that people will not be safe from combinations that are threat at high doses. St. John's Wort is a herb that weakens heart and cancer medicine and birth control pills because the herb fights for depression. Vitamins B and Statins are also dangerous because it weakens the muscles which means possible cramps or aches. Decongestants can make existing heart problems worse and narrows blood vessels throughout your body and can raise your blood pressure slightly. This cause an issue for someone with high blood pressure. Finally, Fish oils which are packed with Omega 3 acids are good for the joints, lowers cholesterol and have anti-inflammatory properties. As they are blood thinners, they must be taken in moderation especially those taking cardiac medications. However fish oil cause dizziness. Blood thinners are bad for you if you have aspirin and warfarin because you could be increasing your risk of excessive bleeding.

Reaction I am surprised how multivitamins, fish oil, and Vitamin B was bad for you. I don't really know about St. John's Wort and decongestants until now and they are also bad for your health too. I can't believe multivitamins, fish oil, and Vitamin B are bad because I have seen many people buying these medicine and yet they are bad for your health. This means that people I have seen buying these medicine are basically just hurting themselves. This taught me a lesson that next time I am sick, I won't take all of these five medicine.

Summary In America, about 7 percent of school children take at least one medication, drug for emotional and behavioral difficulties. Apparently the medication are working and more than half of parents said it works according to the report. The researchers were unable to identify this specific medications prescribed for their emotional and behavioral difficulties according to the author of this article, Howie. Researchers have found that 9.7 of boys compared with 5.2 percent of girls take this medicine. As a result, more boys were given medication than girl. More reports found that parents will income less than 100% of the federal property level were less likely to feel the medication helped a lot. This might contribute to more use of medications in people living under the poverty line. In conclusion, many more families have access to prescription medications than to non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Reaction I can't believe how parents are using drugs to help their children's mental health. This is ridiculous. No matter how it's good, parents shouldn't still allow children to take drugs because they are bad. I am also astonished at the same time how drugs can help kids mental health but according to all the studies I have done in my previous health classes, drug is still bad. It's addicting and can damage your body. So even though it's good for children, I personally recommend to the parents that they should stop. They all should know that drugs in general kill people.

Summary According to the study of British Medical Journal, antibiotics have improve growth in children at risk of undernourishment in low and middle income countries. Malnutrition reflected in poor growth during the early childhood which is the cause of the nearly half all children in worldwide perspective. In order to solve this problem the world health organization (WHO) highly recommend antibiotics for malnourished children and for those whose infected or exposed by HIV. Soon this study began and consisted of ten trials involving around 4,000 children aged to month to 12 years in seven low and middle income countries. The researchers have found that this antibiotics increased children's weight and height. For weight, 23.8 grams per month and for height, 0.04 cm per month too. After adjusting for age, effects on height and weight were larger in African regions compared with other regions. The researchers have also found that poor growth has been infection to the microbes that normally occupy in the human gut. Mechanism are responsible for the growth promoting effects of antibiotics but remain unclear. Mechanism can help resolve everything underlying infections in children but more research is needed.

Reaction I am glad that antibiotics is increasing the growth in low and middle income countries. Since low and middle countries don't have lots of money to support children, many children were dying and that made me sad but after I just read this news, I am relived. I have been reading news about children dying in low or middle income countries such as India, regions in Africa for example, and it's always about starvation. My pastors and my teachers sometimes discuss about this event and that always made me sad. However, now I am very thankful for this study that helped many children from undernourishment.

Summary Pediatricians strongly recommend that training such as neuromuscular training program is able to cut the risk of a serious ACL injuries and others to avoid knee injuries. According to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics say that in order to avoid serious injuries such as ACL injuries, systematic training programs is one of the most important to help teens avoid knee injuries. Apparently, systematic training program can help teen ACL injuries as well as any other teens avoid leg injuries. Before playing, a teenage athletes should do physical exercise just in less than 10 minutes and 2 or 3 times a week. Pediatricians strongly recommend that coaches should train teenage athletes such as neuromuscular exercise to avoid knee injuries.

Reaction I used to have lots of knee injuries but hearing this new discovery can help me get less damaged. I didn't know that training such as neuromuscular training program can avoid getting knee injuries. I do martial art but it's very dangerous. You can get more serious injuries than knees injury in martial art but just in case, I should do some neuromuscular training like what Pediatricians said, teenage athletes should do physical exercise just in less than 10 minutes and 2 or 3 times a week. So I will do this exercise every week before I do marital art. This piece of information have just helped me a lot and I am grateful.

Summary Two major cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia are expanding and advertising programs that allows for teens to get condoms at school and at home. Chicago school district have been worked closely with city's health department to make condoms available at two public high schools. The purpose of this program was to reduce teen pregnancy and birth rates. The reason they did this is because Chicago's teen birth rates is over one and a half times the national average and is more than twice that of New York City. This is because previously, sex education did not start until 5th grade City officials are announcing that they will expand condom to at least 24 high schools in the district for 2014-15 school year in Chicago. Another reason that they are doing this is because 35% of people are having sexual intercourse in high school without using any protection. This was reality. In Philadelphia, between 13-19 teens are eligible to receive free condoms by mail and in the addition to the mail order service, the department now they are making condoms available at 180 sites across the city and at events throughout the year.

Reaction I am surprised how Chicago and Philadelphia was the two major cities that makes condom more easily to young people. This was an interesting fact that I didn't know. In addition, I also didn't know that these two cities are expanding programs for condoms to reduce teen's pregnancy. I think this is a good idea to do it, because it is true that teens around 15-17 never spoke with their parents and guardians about sex and more than 80% of sexually active teens didn't receive sex education. I hope that more cities and towns across the country should follow the example set by Chicago and Philadelphia because condoms can prevent pregnancy and remain the only method of contraception that protects against sexually transmitted infections.

Summary This article is about youngsters on the youth camp in Chiang Mai learning on the dangers of violated sexual contact and avoiding sexual harassment. The camp is conducted every year to allow young participants to understand their own bodies and reproductive health. The camp provides an outreach program which the youths can contact if and they encounter issues of sex. The coordinator of this camp thinks that young people need to have a positive attitude toward the topic of sex as a vital part of life and subject of sex extends to our reproductive health and a proper view of it. In this camp, young participants were asked to write down what they were thinking at the mentions of a host of word like sex, boys, girls and genital organs, and drew a life sized human figure before mapping out the stages of biological development from childhood to poverty.

Reaction I think this is a good idea for children to learn about sex education. In my opinion, sex education should be taught in school so that youngsters can know the dangers of violating sexual contact and avoiding sexual harassment. Sex education is not only about that but also to respect for each of different gender and how important the human body is.

Summary This article is about a 19 year old Boy Scout name Garrett Bryant who was looking forward to a leadership position but he was being turned down because of his sexuality. He accidently outed as gay on face book and lost his summer job with the organization. Boy Scout officials saw this and that was why he was turned down because homosexuality was the reason. Soon the Boy Scout began allowing openly gay teens into their ranks but still didn't allow gay adults. Then Bryan was considered to be a youth for many programs for Boy Scout but not for all of them.

Reaction I am a Boy Scout and it's sad that Boy Scout officials didn't believe Garrett. The Boy Scout organization have broke their law and oath. The oath is on my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law. To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. Then our law is a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. The Boy Scout officials broke their oath, to help other people at all times and the law helpful, loyal and trustworthy. It was kind of sad that Boy Scout didn't trust Boy Scout. Garrett as a Eagle Scout said it was an accident but the officials denied it. This proves that even the officials who made the oath and the law are not following it. This is a disgrace to Boy Scouts.

Summary This article talks about that cognitive behavior therapy has become increasingly popular in improving obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms in especially to young children. In order to behavior therapy to be effective for young children, the person should be ready to willing to enough time and effort to analyze his or her thoughts and feelings such as mind control, no stress and peace of mind.

Reaction In order to improve OCD symptoms in young children, schools and families do not stress up for them to teach children for their relaxation skills and achievements of children, by enhancing the development, such as abilities and choices. I think that relaxing children without stress is helpful which improves the OCD symptoms.

Summary This article is about mom's diet that can alter baby's genes. It is a clear that what a mom eats something during pregnancy and it is the most important to anything else for baby' genes and health in the future. However it can affect the DNA and health of her baby even into adulthood. A pregnant women is to try to eat a healthy balanced diet to minimize her baby's future risk of becoming diseases including diabetes, mental disorders and autism.

Reaction I can't believe that some moms don't eat any foods during pregnancy. This is ridiculous. Basically this means that a mom is hurting her own child. If they continue to do this then the baby will have diseases such as diabetes, mental disorders and autism. I just learned that some moms tried a diet. I have never heard of this thing until now. I personally opposed this because this is hurting the baby and once they are born with these diseases, it can never be cured.