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Who can really take the Backstreet Boys’ 20th anniversary tour seriously? To be fair, the band saw this moment coming 2 decades ago when they insisted that they were a “male vocal ensemble” and not a “boy band.” Their lament might have been more persuasive had their name not included the word “boys.”
I think if all these former Tiger Beat heartthrobs insist on continuing to entertain their fans and their fans’ teenage children, they must at least update their names. In addition to the Backstreet Dads, we can enjoy Men II Middle-Age Men; New Kids This Is Our Block So Stay Off of Our Lawns; and We’ll Be Out of the Bathroom in Just a Menudo. If this goes on long enough, eventually 98 Degrees will simply be 98.
Cannonball!
There are certain facts we have to ignore in order to enjoy life. Like that hot dogs are filled with the stuff that didn’t make the cut for Spam. Like that all it takes to bring down a commercial airliner is one goose having a bad day. Now, just in time for summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to rip away the veil that allows us to enjoy swimming. In a convenience sample of 161 Atlanta swimming pools (“Hey, we’re headquartered in Atlanta! That’s convenient!”) CDC microbiologists proved that most of us are doing the backstroke in other people’s fecal matter. Thanks, y’all!
It makes me feel a little better to know that the researchers didn’t actually check the pool water, but the filters, looking for DNA from bugs like Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Giardia instestinalis. If it’s in the filters, doesn’t that mean the water is exactly where it’s not? I know, it had to come from somewhere, which is why the investigators stress that people really should obey those signs about showering before you swim and avoiding the pool if you have diarrhea (or if you suspect anyone else at the pool has it or even looks the least bit queasy).
Of course, only 58% of pools tested positive, which means 42% of the time you’re good! Pools were further categorized by public vs. private status and by whether mainly children or both adults and children swam there. Based on the P values (yes, P values, go ahead and laugh), the only difference between the pool at your exclusive country club and the public one is that the private E. coli can trace its lineage to the Mayflower. Grown-up pools were no less contaminated than those full of toddlers, but they were less life-affirming. The good news is that none of these findings were correlated in any way with clinical gastroenteritis, so until that study gets done, jump in; the water’s fine (but seriously, shower first)!
All the rest
If there’s one thing I’ve learned never to say to a pregnant woman on bed rest, it’s “that must be nice!” (My injuries would have been more severe had she been allowed to run.) Now, however, it appears this knowledge may be wasted. Move over, prone infant sleep and antibiotics for green snot, you need to make some space in the dust bin of medical history for bed rest to prevent preterm labor!
A Northwestern University team led by Dr. William Grobman evaluated 657 women with short cervices who were at risk for preterm delivery. A total of 252 women were placed on activity restriction, and the others were able to hop up and get a glass of water any old time they got thirsty without feeling the least bit guilty. Not only did activity restriction fail to prevent preterm birth, it actually seemed to cause preterm deliveries in addition to the known complications of bone loss, blood clots, and wanting to kill the next person who says, “that must be nice!” Dr. Grobman was circumspect in his criticism of doctors who still recommend bed rest, but other commentators not involved in the study suggested anyone prescribing the practice be locked in one room for 2 months and forced to text a spouse every time they finish a magazine. Sounds relaxing!
Inflation rate
Have you ever been up late in the hospital, near-delusional from sleep deprivation, and gotten into one of those arguments with a colleague that can only be solved with grant funding and a publication in a reputable peer-reviewed journal? That appears to be what happened in the emergency department of Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, a little while back, and now the winner can claim his pint of Guinness.
That’s right, according to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, injured Irish children were better distracted from their pain when a glove balloon was drawn with a face to resemble the Irish pop duo Jedward (Americans can substitute Good Charlotte) as opposed to what the researchers simply called a Mohawk (not Blink 182?). I think, however, that in the spirit of comparative effectiveness, we need more research. If I can just find five out-of-date exam gloves, I’m determined to test the distraction power of balloons that resemble the Backstreet Boys.
David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television and Internet outlets.
Who can really take the Backstreet Boys’ 20th anniversary tour seriously? To be fair, the band saw this moment coming 2 decades ago when they insisted that they were a “male vocal ensemble” and not a “boy band.” Their lament might have been more persuasive had their name not included the word “boys.”
I think if all these former Tiger Beat heartthrobs insist on continuing to entertain their fans and their fans’ teenage children, they must at least update their names. In addition to the Backstreet Dads, we can enjoy Men II Middle-Age Men; New Kids This Is Our Block So Stay Off of Our Lawns; and We’ll Be Out of the Bathroom in Just a Menudo. If this goes on long enough, eventually 98 Degrees will simply be 98.
Cannonball!
There are certain facts we have to ignore in order to enjoy life. Like that hot dogs are filled with the stuff that didn’t make the cut for Spam. Like that all it takes to bring down a commercial airliner is one goose having a bad day. Now, just in time for summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to rip away the veil that allows us to enjoy swimming. In a convenience sample of 161 Atlanta swimming pools (“Hey, we’re headquartered in Atlanta! That’s convenient!”) CDC microbiologists proved that most of us are doing the backstroke in other people’s fecal matter. Thanks, y’all!
It makes me feel a little better to know that the researchers didn’t actually check the pool water, but the filters, looking for DNA from bugs like Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Giardia instestinalis. If it’s in the filters, doesn’t that mean the water is exactly where it’s not? I know, it had to come from somewhere, which is why the investigators stress that people really should obey those signs about showering before you swim and avoiding the pool if you have diarrhea (or if you suspect anyone else at the pool has it or even looks the least bit queasy).
Of course, only 58% of pools tested positive, which means 42% of the time you’re good! Pools were further categorized by public vs. private status and by whether mainly children or both adults and children swam there. Based on the P values (yes, P values, go ahead and laugh), the only difference between the pool at your exclusive country club and the public one is that the private E. coli can trace its lineage to the Mayflower. Grown-up pools were no less contaminated than those full of toddlers, but they were less life-affirming. The good news is that none of these findings were correlated in any way with clinical gastroenteritis, so until that study gets done, jump in; the water’s fine (but seriously, shower first)!
All the rest
If there’s one thing I’ve learned never to say to a pregnant woman on bed rest, it’s “that must be nice!” (My injuries would have been more severe had she been allowed to run.) Now, however, it appears this knowledge may be wasted. Move over, prone infant sleep and antibiotics for green snot, you need to make some space in the dust bin of medical history for bed rest to prevent preterm labor!
A Northwestern University team led by Dr. William Grobman evaluated 657 women with short cervices who were at risk for preterm delivery. A total of 252 women were placed on activity restriction, and the others were able to hop up and get a glass of water any old time they got thirsty without feeling the least bit guilty. Not only did activity restriction fail to prevent preterm birth, it actually seemed to cause preterm deliveries in addition to the known complications of bone loss, blood clots, and wanting to kill the next person who says, “that must be nice!” Dr. Grobman was circumspect in his criticism of doctors who still recommend bed rest, but other commentators not involved in the study suggested anyone prescribing the practice be locked in one room for 2 months and forced to text a spouse every time they finish a magazine. Sounds relaxing!
Inflation rate
Have you ever been up late in the hospital, near-delusional from sleep deprivation, and gotten into one of those arguments with a colleague that can only be solved with grant funding and a publication in a reputable peer-reviewed journal? That appears to be what happened in the emergency department of Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, a little while back, and now the winner can claim his pint of Guinness.
That’s right, according to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, injured Irish children were better distracted from their pain when a glove balloon was drawn with a face to resemble the Irish pop duo Jedward (Americans can substitute Good Charlotte) as opposed to what the researchers simply called a Mohawk (not Blink 182?). I think, however, that in the spirit of comparative effectiveness, we need more research. If I can just find five out-of-date exam gloves, I’m determined to test the distraction power of balloons that resemble the Backstreet Boys.
David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television and Internet outlets.
Who can really take the Backstreet Boys’ 20th anniversary tour seriously? To be fair, the band saw this moment coming 2 decades ago when they insisted that they were a “male vocal ensemble” and not a “boy band.” Their lament might have been more persuasive had their name not included the word “boys.”
I think if all these former Tiger Beat heartthrobs insist on continuing to entertain their fans and their fans’ teenage children, they must at least update their names. In addition to the Backstreet Dads, we can enjoy Men II Middle-Age Men; New Kids This Is Our Block So Stay Off of Our Lawns; and We’ll Be Out of the Bathroom in Just a Menudo. If this goes on long enough, eventually 98 Degrees will simply be 98.
Cannonball!
There are certain facts we have to ignore in order to enjoy life. Like that hot dogs are filled with the stuff that didn’t make the cut for Spam. Like that all it takes to bring down a commercial airliner is one goose having a bad day. Now, just in time for summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to rip away the veil that allows us to enjoy swimming. In a convenience sample of 161 Atlanta swimming pools (“Hey, we’re headquartered in Atlanta! That’s convenient!”) CDC microbiologists proved that most of us are doing the backstroke in other people’s fecal matter. Thanks, y’all!
It makes me feel a little better to know that the researchers didn’t actually check the pool water, but the filters, looking for DNA from bugs like Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Giardia instestinalis. If it’s in the filters, doesn’t that mean the water is exactly where it’s not? I know, it had to come from somewhere, which is why the investigators stress that people really should obey those signs about showering before you swim and avoiding the pool if you have diarrhea (or if you suspect anyone else at the pool has it or even looks the least bit queasy).
Of course, only 58% of pools tested positive, which means 42% of the time you’re good! Pools were further categorized by public vs. private status and by whether mainly children or both adults and children swam there. Based on the P values (yes, P values, go ahead and laugh), the only difference between the pool at your exclusive country club and the public one is that the private E. coli can trace its lineage to the Mayflower. Grown-up pools were no less contaminated than those full of toddlers, but they were less life-affirming. The good news is that none of these findings were correlated in any way with clinical gastroenteritis, so until that study gets done, jump in; the water’s fine (but seriously, shower first)!
All the rest
If there’s one thing I’ve learned never to say to a pregnant woman on bed rest, it’s “that must be nice!” (My injuries would have been more severe had she been allowed to run.) Now, however, it appears this knowledge may be wasted. Move over, prone infant sleep and antibiotics for green snot, you need to make some space in the dust bin of medical history for bed rest to prevent preterm labor!
A Northwestern University team led by Dr. William Grobman evaluated 657 women with short cervices who were at risk for preterm delivery. A total of 252 women were placed on activity restriction, and the others were able to hop up and get a glass of water any old time they got thirsty without feeling the least bit guilty. Not only did activity restriction fail to prevent preterm birth, it actually seemed to cause preterm deliveries in addition to the known complications of bone loss, blood clots, and wanting to kill the next person who says, “that must be nice!” Dr. Grobman was circumspect in his criticism of doctors who still recommend bed rest, but other commentators not involved in the study suggested anyone prescribing the practice be locked in one room for 2 months and forced to text a spouse every time they finish a magazine. Sounds relaxing!
Inflation rate
Have you ever been up late in the hospital, near-delusional from sleep deprivation, and gotten into one of those arguments with a colleague that can only be solved with grant funding and a publication in a reputable peer-reviewed journal? That appears to be what happened in the emergency department of Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, a little while back, and now the winner can claim his pint of Guinness.
That’s right, according to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, injured Irish children were better distracted from their pain when a glove balloon was drawn with a face to resemble the Irish pop duo Jedward (Americans can substitute Good Charlotte) as opposed to what the researchers simply called a Mohawk (not Blink 182?). I think, however, that in the spirit of comparative effectiveness, we need more research. If I can just find five out-of-date exam gloves, I’m determined to test the distraction power of balloons that resemble the Backstreet Boys.
David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television and Internet outlets.