Hal answered the phone and immediately sneezed – right into the mouthpiece. His buddy, Paco, who was on the other end said, “Geez, thanks. Guess it’s pollen a’calling, eh, Hal?”

Hal wiped his nose on his sleeve (he regretted that as soon as he saw the rather gross trail it left) and replied, “Aw, sorry, Paco. It just came on outta nowhere. I been doin’ it all day. You’d think I have allergies or something.”

Paco chuckled and said, “It’s OK, Hal. I’ve heard worse things on the phone before. So, anywho, if you’ve been sneezing so much, maybe you do have allergies.”

“Naw,” retorted Hal, “my mom thought I did when I was little and she had the doc test me. Nada. Guess I’m just a natural sneezer or something.”

“Hey, man, maybe you’re like me,” said Paco.

Whaddya mean, bean? Wait…no…you got asthma. That’s not me, Paco,” quipped Hal. “I got no coughin’ or wheezin’ or nothin’. I’ve just been sneezing with this (more…)

At the recent Planetree Conference, promoting patient-/person-centered care, we heard some of the best “evidence” that Health Nuts Media animation was having a truly wonderful impact upon patients. These patient success stories came from one of the good folks at JFK Medical Center in New Jersey where they are using HNM content via their interactive in-room patient video services system provided by our channel partner, TVR Communications.

Adriana Rizzolo, MSN RN CRNP, spoke about some of her experiences using Health Nuts Media’s patient education content. She is a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist who serves as the clinical leader for Pediatric Nursing within JFK Medical Center. Her skills include clinical expertise in pediatrics, evidence based practice, collaboration, consultation, education, mentoring, and change leadership.

Adrianna’s clinical expertise stems from 6 years experience as a Pediatric Acute Care and Critical Care Nurse at a level one trauma center. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and her Master’s degree as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She is board certified (more…)

“Pneumonia: the forgotten killer of children” is a joint publication from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). The title is both disturbing and succinctly accurate.

While pneumonia isn’t limited to children, it certainly has a disproportionate impact upon them. It kills more than 2 million children every year – more than any other illness and more than AIDS, malaria, and TB combined. It the the leading cause of death in children across to globe.

The saddest part is research has shown that, with proper prevention efforts and adequate treatment, 1 million of those children don’t have to die. (more…)

Hal kept twisting the knob forward and back, back and forward trying to get a clear view of the tiny little pneumonia germs. For some weird reason, he always enjoyed looking at the miniature world made large by the microscopes in science class. He didn’t really think of himself as a science guy – certainly not one of those brainiac nerds who lived and breathed the stuff. But he did always look forward to science class.

This week, Ms. LeClair had everyone looking at slides of germs. Today they were focusing on germs that cause infection in people. And, right now, they were examining bacteria, viruses, and fungi that commonly cause pneumonia.

On Hal’s slide at the moment, he was focusing on something that looked like little pairs of round balls. Sometimes the pairs hooked up with other pairs to form chains. According to the workbook, these were “diplococci” which meant – surprise, surprise – two round balls. These particular ones were “Streptococcus pneumoniae.” They are bacteria and can cause pneumonia in people.

Ms. LeClair stepped over to Hal’s lab bench and saw what he was reading. She said, “Hal, did you know that there’s nothing new about NEW-monia?” (She stressed the “new” sound.) (more…)

Holistic, wholistic, alternative, complementary – whatever name you want to put on so-called “non-traditional” approaches to healthcare, rarely do you see them combined so seamlessly with “traditional” Western medicine as in Dr. Larry Rosen’s new book, Treatment Alternatives for Children: Reduce Serious Side Effects with Natural Equivalents to Conventional Remedies for Common Childhood Ailments (“TAfC” for short).

Just because it says “Natural” in the title, don’t expect some hippy-dippy, New Age collection of pyramids, crystals, and healing stones. Larry Rosen, MD, is a respected pediatrician, an alum of MIT, and a very grounded and practical clinician. Along with co-author Jeff Cohen, Dr. Rosen presents a well-balanced look at treatment alternatives for some 100 or so of the most common childhood ailments. The book combines traditional Western scientific methods with the cross-cultural and time-tested methods of healing help from a variety of sources. (more…)

Los Angeles, CA – June 25, 2012: Health Nuts Media has launched a Spanish-language version of its animated asthma education series Huff & Puff: An Asthma Tale. The seven-episode series, already valued by healthcare providers as a teaching tool for kids with asthma, is now available to millions of Spanish speakers who suffer from the chronic pulmonary condition.

“Rates of asthma are on the rise among children, especially Latino kids across the United States,” said Dr. Gregg Alexander, Chief Medical Officer, Health Nuts Media. “If we can make learning about asthma fun, we can reach that many more families with the information they need to take better control of their health.”

In Soplar & Rabiar: Un Cuento de Asma (Huff & Puff: An Asthma Tale), the Big Bad Wolf huffs…and he puffs…and has asthma attack! Viewers follow “Grande” on a journey of discovery (more…)

There’s a pretty good reason why type 1 diabetes isn’t referred to as “juvenile diabetes” anymore. It’s not just for kids, that’s for sure!

Here’s what I mean: 85% of of people who have type 1 diabetes are adults!

Yep, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), type 1 diabetes is growing and it grows by 3% each year. Every day, some 80 people are being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That’s more than 15,000 children and 15,000 adults each year. Three million Americans have it…and that number gets bigger each year. (more…)

As a pediatrician, my life revolves around trying to help kids. (Well, it revolves around trying to help kids AND their parents!)

When I know I’ve been able to help a child or their parent to get through a difficult time, to feel better, or to understand their health and themselves better…well, it’s one of the main reasons I became a pediatrician. It just feels good knowing that you’ve helped, knowing that you’ve been able to give them something that helps.

Sometimes that “something” involves medication or a procedure, but more often it involves information. Helping families understand what is going on is one of the most important – and effective – tools in my entire arsenal. (more…)