Smarty Health Corner

Smarties, we’re excited to bring you a chance to win one of SIX free tickets to the Women’s Symposium sponsored by our friends at Carolinas HealthCare System. Now you have ZERO excuses to focus on YOUR health for a change!

Women of all ages are invited to join CHS experts for an entire day dedicated to you! Learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle through all stages of life and participate in a variety of discussions and screenings dedicated to making a healthier you. Guess who the keynote speaker is, and let me tell ya, she’s F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! It’s Giuliana Rancic, the Anchor of E! News and breast cancer survivor. This is definitely a gal you are going to want to meet, pinkie swear!

No matter your political views, the DNC is an exciting time to expose your family to the important issues of our times, including healthcare, energy, the economy and education. Carolinas HealthCare System will be part of a wonderful family event during the Democratic National Convention and we invite Smarty families to join us! Spend a day celebrating the Carolinas, the South and Labor Day!

Did you know that September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month? My guess is you probably do thanks to local Cookies for kids’ Cancer HERO, Smarty Mom Amy Christenbury. Amy has been championing local fundraising efforts to cure kids’ cancers, all in honor of her ‘lil Smarty Warrior, Grier (www.caringbridge.org/visit/grierchristenbury), who is in the fight of his life with Stage IV neuroblastoma. Grier was diagnosed on March 27, 2007. Since that day, Amy has not stopped rallying every single person and business in this town to help in her fight.

September 1st kicks off the 3rd Annual “30 Days for a Cure” and just look at these local AND national brands getting behind this amazing woman. We couldn’t be more proud of Amy and her family! Seriously, this Smarty Mama needs to run for president – she can move mountains!

Monday is a big day! For many families, it will be the first day of school – as well as the beginning of back-to-school colds, coughs and boo-boos. Just in the nick of time, Carolinas Healthcare System’s Children’s Urgent Care is opening its second location. The Blakeney office, located at 6025 Blakeney Park Drive across from the Blakeney Shopping Center, will open seven days a week, noon to midnight, caring only for children 18 and younger. No worries parents, you will get a little extra TLC, too.

Board-certified pediatricians Dr. Anna Seal and Dr. Carisa Sutherland will be on staff full-time and will tie in the resources of Levine Children’s Hospital.

By Richard S. Roberts, MD
Carolina Asthma & Allergy Center

Did you know that peanut allergy affects about 1.2% of all children, but up to 20% of children with eczema?

Peanuts are legumes. They are related to pears, beans and soy but only five percent of peanut allergic people also react to other legumes, even if there is a positive allergy test to those other legumes.

It is the protein of the peanut that causes the allergy, not the fat. Peanut oil is fat. The amount of peanut protein contaminating the fat is very small for most refined peanut oils that are used for cooking. Problems from these refined oils are unusual.

Today’s cheerleaders are more than a sideline pep squad. For many cheerleading teams, stunts, jumps, tumbling and intense physical stamina are required. The sport of cheerleading can be competitive, demanding and potentially dangerous. So it is important to consider the safety of your child’s cheerleading program.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reports that two-thirds of all catastrophic sports injuries, such as fractured vertebrae and paralysis, by high school and college girls in the United States are related to cheerleading. However, it is also a sport that can be fun and safe when the following guidelines are in place:

– Cheerleaders should practice and perform either on grass (real or artificial) or on mats – not on concrete or the hare gymnasium floor.

– Each cheerleader should wear soft-soled athletic shoes and no jewelry.

Smarties, we have LOTS going on this week, actually over the next month! So don’t forget to wake up with us over your morning joe every single day! Here are your reminders for this week:

The Extreme Ice Center Giveaway registration ends on Wednesday!

We’re giving away $140 worth of skating lessons (boy or girl!) and we’re picking our winner on Wed at 8p, so don’t hesitate. You can’t win if you don’t enter. Click here for details.

Smarties, do we have an amazing event in store for you, so get your calendars out and pen this in! This event is all about Y-O-U for a change, and it’s sponsored by our friends at Carolinas HealthCare System.

As a mom, we are always putting others first, even when it comes to health. We make sure our children never miss a check-up. EVER. When they get sick, you are on the phone at 8:29am sharp so you can be first to get your sick appointment. But what have you done for YOUR health lately? I’m guilty myself – I’m late in getting my annual PAP smear. I can’t give you one good reason why, except that I’m done having babies, so my OBGYN, now GYN, visits just fell off my radar. Well thanks to our Smarty friends at CHS, they have put a day together just for us gal pals to focus on getting our health back on track. Thanks, CHS, this Smarty pink & green girl will be there with bells on!

Brian Pope, M.D., Shiland Family Medicine

Q: I’m worried about head injuries during sports. How do I know if my child needs medical attention?

A: Unfortunately, head injuries to athletes are common and can have serious consequences. We are seeing increases in the rates of concussions at all levels of sport.

Any blow to the head — even one that appears to be relatively minor — can cause either a concussion (a change in the way the brain functions) or a structural injury (such as a fractured skull or swelling/tearing of a blood vessel or artery in the brain). If not adequately recognized and treated, any of these injuries can have serious consequences.

With the beginning of the school year just around the corner, many of our Smarty kids will gear up for sports! Getting your child involved in community or school athletic programs can help establish lifelong health habits, improve their coordination, build self-esteem and develop self-discipline. Colleen Wunderlich, MD, MSc, a board-certified pediatric physiatrist (a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation) at Levine Children’s Hospital says, “Staying active with age-appropriate exercise that incorporates safety and fun improves lifelong health and mood.” And while sports offer many benefits, they also involve some risk of sports injuries.