Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Can you believe it is time to schedule your child's flu shots??!!

All Star Pediatrics is now scheduling our influenza vaccinations for the fall and winter 2008-2009 season. The flu vaccine will be administered this year on numerous Saturdays throughout the year for your convenience.

Similar to last year, there are two different types of influenza vaccines available for our patients. Included below are the links to the information regarding the two types of influenza vaccines. The first is the regular injectable vaccine - the "flu shot" (inactivated vaccine). The second and newest form of the influenza vaccine is an intranasal spray, FluMist (live vaccine). The intranasal vaccine (FluMist) is licensed only for healthy children who are 5 years and older and who have no chronic health conditions (reactive airways disease, asthma, lung disease, heart disease, etc.). Please check with your insurance carrier if you are interested in the Flumist product - not all insurances cover this type of vaccination.

Children 3 yrs and up will receive the “adult” formula of the vaccine. This adult version of the flu vaccine contains a preservative, thimerosol, which our providers feel is perfectly safe. Children 6 months - 3 yrs will receive “Baby flu”, which is preservative free. For questions regarding the preservative, please see:

http://www.cispimmunize.org/fam/autism/thimerosal.htm

Please note: Children under 9 years of age receiving the influenza vaccine for the first time, will need two doses. The two doses are separated by 4-6 weeks. If your child had his/her very first flu shot in 2006, but only received one injection (and they are <9 yrs of age) then he/she will need to receive 2 injections this year.

Influenza vaccine information sheet (inactivated, injectable):

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf

Influenza vaccine information sheet (live, FluMist):

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flulive.pdf

Please call our office at 610-363-1330 to schedule your child's flu shot.

All Star Pediatrics remains committed to vaccines. Our vaccine policy is strong, but passionate. We believe vaccines save lives. A new study provides further proof that measles vaccine has no link to autism spectrum disorder, debunking a theory that has persisted for more than a decade.

Scientists examined bowel tissues from 25 children with autism and gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances for the presence of measles virus, and compared the results to biopsies from 13 children who have GI disturbances but not autism. Children with autism were no more likely to have measles virus in their bowels. Nor did researchers find any relationship between the timing of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and children developing GI problems or autism. “This study adds a critical piece to the mountain of evidence that MMR vaccine does not cause autism,” said Renee R. Jenkins, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We are hopeful these results will put this theory to rest. Parents should feel confident this life-saving vaccine has been thoroughly researched and found to be safe.” The research was published in PLoS One, the peer-reviewed, online journal of the Public Library of Science. The study was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the American Academy of Pediatrics.

All Star Pediatrics is currently in the process of implementing our new and technologically advanced Electronic Medical Record (EMR) - Office Practicum. The EMR will represent a new era of record keeping at All Star. Our new system will allow us to continue to provide the excellent care that you and your family have come to expect at All Star Pediatrics. In addition, the system will allow us to offer improved patient communications, up to the minute immunization tracking, enhanced patient safety features, more efficient patient record keeping, and much more! We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation as we transition to the new system over the next few months!

All Star Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics are focusing on cholesterol! The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new cholesterol screening and treatment recommendations for children. The policy statement, "Lipid Screening and Cardiovascular Health in Childhood," recommends cholesterol screening of children and adolescents with a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease. It also recommends screening patients whose family history is unknown or those who have other factors for heart disease including obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes. Screening should take place after age two, but no later than age 10. The best method for testing is a fasting lipid profile. If a child has values within the normal range, testing should be repeated in three to five years. For children who are more than eight years old and who have high LDL concentrations, cholesterol-reducing medications should be considered. Younger patients with elevated cholesterol readings should focus on weight reduction and increased activity while receiving nutritional counseling. The statement also recommends the use of reduced-fat dairy products, such as two percent milk, for children as young as one year of age for whom overweight or obesity is a concern. Your provider at All Star will be asking you many questions regarding cholesterol, family history, and dietary patterns at the well child visits. Your child's health is worth it!!!!

All Star Pediatrics has made a few changes to our Well Child appointment schedule as per the new guidelines from The American Academy of Pediatrics. The new changes include recommendations for:

A new 2-˝ year old well child visit.

A yearly well child visit from ages 3 through 18 years.

Please call our office if you have any questions regarding the new recommendations. As well, the summer months bring many new requirements for school physicals, sports physicals, driving permits and work physicals. We have added many new well checks later in the day for all of the providers to better accommodate our patients and their families for appointments. Please don't delay ... schedule that check up today! These visits fill rather quickly. We are happy to schedule your child's well child visit/physical today!

We encourage all of our families to call our office with updates for any personal information, new contact information, email addresses, work/cell phone numbers and insurance changes. We strive to have the most up-to-date information for all of our patient families in the event of a question or in case we need to contact you. Thank you for your assistance.

Are you interested in breast feeding your baby? Not sure? We welcome you to come to our breast feeding classes (same information is repeated monthly) provided by Mrs. Jill Schwartz, RN, CRNP, Certified Lactation Consultant. Learn in an informal setting. Practical information is reviewed. Your questions are not only welcome but also helpful. Don't miss out on how to feed your baby the very best!

Wednesday, November 5th at 6 PM
Wednesday, December 10th at 6 PM
Wednesday, January 14th at 6 PM

Call (610) 363-1330 to register. We look forward to seeing you at one of our sessions.