Facts About the Peanut Butter Recall

I posted today over at my Twitter Moms blog about the Peanut Butter Recall.

It is important information for Moms and families, and the recall covers products that might surprise you. It's not just jars of peanut butter, but snack cakes, crackers, ice cream, diet products, granola bars, and pet food.

It's especially important for moms because half of those who have gotten ill are children! So far over 500 people have been identified as contracting Salmonella poisoning, 22% of them have been hospitalized and 8 have died.

This is serious business, especially if your family is as addicted to peanut butter as we are.

Please check it out for yourself. The article gives links to the comprehensive list of products to avoid -- everything from Wal-Mart bakery cookies to Keebler brand products to diet bars like NutriSystem bars and the Zone. Products from both Wal-Mart and Meijer are included, among other regional grocery stores.

It is worth the time to keep your family safe and healthy.

- Midwest Mom

Itchy and Scratchy? Solutions for Winter Dry Skin

My family battles dry skin all winter long. So, I thought I'd share some of the ways we keep away the itchies and scratchies.

Cooler, Shorter Baths: When my little ones were infants and toddlers, I loved to give them baths. But all three of them had patches of dry skin and varying degrees of eczema. What worked for us was to bathe them less frequently so that we weren't always washing off their skin's natural oils. We didn't let them turn into Pig Pen baby or anything, but we set a bath schedule of Monday, Wednesday, Saturday. We let them play in the bath once a week instead of every time and kept the water mildly warm -- not hot. Believe it or not, it has helped our children's skin tremendously.

Easy on the Soap: I have come to love lotion-based soaps. Yes, they don't lather the same way, but they do the job just as well. When the kids were babies, we used Aveeno Creamy Baby Wash. It works so well that I give it to my friends who are brand new moms. Another tactic to try is to add a capful of no-tears bath soap to the water as it runs into the tub. If there is a little soap in the water, you won't need to place it directly on your child's skin.

Build good Habits: Now that my boys are in elementary school, they are in charge of their own hand-washing. Their hands can get really dry if they aren't rinsing all the soap off. We've also noticed that they have to dry their hands thoroughly or the crevices between their fingers will get raw and red. So, we reinforce good rinsing and drying habits. We also keep a bottle of lotion at each of our bathroom sinks. (Perhaps you remember that my youngest is a lotion fanatic? Now you know why.) Encouraging your child to get a little lotion every so often -- especially after washing -- can build good self-care habits and help heal their hands.

Don't be Flaky: When dry skin gets itchy and flaky (my daughter's legs get this way from time to time) I leave the soft washcloth out of the bath and use a mesh puff. It's a little scratchy, but it gets the job done (plus, it's girly and purple, so she loves it). I figure, if it's good enough for my knees and elbows, why wouldn't it work for her?

Lovely Lips: When the kids' lips get dry and cracked, we gently brush them with the toothbrush while they're brushing their teeth. It takes the dry part off when their lips are already nice and wet, so there's no cracking. We follow up with lip balm after brushing, and they're good to go.

Put on Moisture that Stays: So many first-time Moms learn about the benefits of Baby Massage after a bath. Not only does it relax your child, it helps keep their skin healthy. Once your children are older, they can learn to put lotion on after their bath all by themselves. We have had great luck with a few products that are gentle enough to soothe and heal their skin.

• Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil: I used this gently scented oil on all my babies and love it. It is produced by the Burt's Bees company, and although many of their products are so harsh they would dry out a rhino in a rainstorm, their Baby Bee products are quite good.
• Aveeno Calming Comfort Baby Lotion: We use this lavender-scented lotion before bedtime. It is my children's favorite scent -- very light. Aveeno products contain colloidal oatmeal, which helps skin to hold moisture.
• Nivea Extra Enriched Lotion: The big blue bottle of Nivea graces our home in more than one place. We use the formula for Very Rough, Dry Skin because it has small beads that smooth your skin as you rub it in.
• Norwegian Formula Hand Cream: We put a tiny dab of this on dry patches -- especially eczema -- anytime skin gets red. It does the trick, practically overnight.

Use a Humidifier: We use a humidifier in our bedrooms at night to help ease Wintertime dryness. Keeping houseplants throughout the house (and keeping them watered) also helps balance out the moisture level.

Get Moisture Inside-Out: Getting your children to drink enough water -- without anything mixed in -- can sometimes be a challenge. We work little drinks into our daily routine by drinking water at tooth-brushing time (morning and night) and with afternoon snack. If your child is taking in enough water, it can be easier for his or her own body to keep from drying out.

Free your Laundry: Finally, one of the things my pediatrician had me pay attention to early on was the type of laundry soap and fabric softener I used on my family's clothes. I tried several types and paid attention to their effect on my children's itchy skin. Right now, we use a fragrance-free soap (All Free & Clear) and very little softener (1/3 of a dryer sheet for a whole load). It seems to get out the stains (um... I have 2 boys, remember?) without making the rest of us itchy.

Well, that's what works for us. (I know it's not the most exciting post, but sometimes Moms have to be practical... Am I right?)

Hope these tips work for you and your itchy scratchy family.

- Midwest Mom

How to Help a Child with Croup

My daughter came down with croup last week. It has to be one of the most frightening of the early childhood viruses.

Croup usually hits in the middle of the night, as the infected child (in our case, my three year old daughter) wakes up unable to breathe. At about three in the morning, I heard her emit short, barking coughs that told me her airway was very tight. She started to panic and cry. Unfortunately, crying makes breathing tougher -- quickly.

My husband and I were up in a flash, taking steps we know help to ease a croup attack. They worked well, and we let our daughter sleep the rest of the night in our bed just to make sure she was breathing alright. The initial "attack" phase of the infection lasted two nights for her. On the third night, we let her sleep in her own bed again but woke up periodically to check on her. She slept soundly, and even though she wouldn't heal completely for several days, we knew the worst was over.

Croup usually hits children under age 5 during the cold months of the year. The first phase of the virus is the respiratory attack phase I just described. In the daytime, a croupy child may cough and have a medium to high fever. For my children, the highest the fever has reached has been 103, although that has been quite rare.

Here is what we do when one of our kids comes down with croup:

1. Don't panic. Stay Calm -- I first encountered croup when my oldest was eighteen months old. We had just moved to the Midwest, and he awoke wheezing and frightened. Honestly, I was just as afraid as he was, but there was something instinctive that told me to rock him and soothe him the best that I could. When my three-year-old woke up with croup last week, I was able to talk her through it as we treated her. I told her that crying would make it harder for her to breathe. After a minute or two of repeating that and telling her that I would take care of her, she started to understand. As she calmed, her airway seemed less restricted. Being calm (both parent and child) and acting quickly are key to effective treatment.



2. Use the Cold Weather -- When my oldest had his first attack of croup, I moved to soothe him, went into the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it would go. We sat in the steamy bathroom rocking for about 10 minutes, but he still couldn't breathe. Even though it was about 3 degrees outside, I bundled him up for a trip to the emergency room. By the time we got there, his attack was almost over. I remember talking to the emergency room personnel and being afraid that they wouldn't believe me. "But I swear, he couldn't breathe 10 minutes ago!" I said, defensively. They looked at each other knowingly and said, "Croup." What the nurse and doctor explained is that the cool winter air is one of the best treatments for croup. As the child breathes it in, it calms their bronchial passages and helps to end the attack. Now, when one of our children comes down with it, one parent immediately puts a winter hat and mittens on the child and wraps her in our warmest blankets while the other parent gets hurriedly dressed, takes the child, and goes outside. I rocked our daughter on the porch swing in the moonlight, talked to her and sung to her (as my teeth chattered). Cold air and TLC worked like a charm. If after 15 minutes, though, the cold air doesn't work, or if your child loses consciousness, get him or her emergency medical attention immediately.



3. Follow up with a humidifier -- The combination of cold to open the lungs and moist warmth to soothe them has worked well for our children when they have croup. We use a steam humidifier (not a vaporizer) to keep the bedroom air the right temperature and moisture level for a croupy child to breathe easy. Even after the 'attack phase' is done, we keep the humidifier in the child's bedroom to help keep nasal passages clear and ease coughing. We are sure to empty the humidifier in the morning and set it open to dry and to fill it with clean water again at bedtime to keep bacteria from breeding. DO NOT use a mentholated rub on your child to treat croup.



4. Encourage rest -- During the day, when the feeling of achiness and fever makes a child slow down, it can be useful to find sit-down activities that encourage the sick child to rest and heal. Movies, books, coloring, or play-doh are great, gentle activities for kids with little energy. In our house, we make a "sickie bed" by putting a crib-size mattress pad and sheets on our loveseat so there is a ready place for an ill child to lay down at a moment's notice. Mine have been known to spend most of the day resting in the sickie bed when they have that run-down feeling. Naps are a must in our house, too, when we're treating croup. (Naptime is a great time for me to get some shuteye, too. Treating a croup attack in the middle of the night is no picnic.)



5. Treat the Fever -- I am a firm believer that it is good to allow a child's body to fight a fever naturally whenever possible. That means pushing fluids to keep your sick child hydrated and monitoring the strength of the fever. When fevers spike at night-time or when I want to ease my child's aches and pains so that they can nap, I do give an age-appropriate dose of Ibuprophen.



6. Adjust the Child's Diet -- We avoid dairy products for at least a week when we're treating croup. They tend to thicken mucus secretions in the respiratory tract. Clear juices, water, and citrus fruits, along with warm foods like broth, soup, or chamomile tea with honey are comforting to a croupy child.



7. Involve your Doctor -- Croup is a virus, so your doctor will not treat it with antibiotics. Still, it is a good idea to keep your healthcare provider informed about what is going on with your child. Write down and review your child's symptoms with your doctor's office to be sure it is croup. Your healthcare providers may be able to give you additional strategies and tell you what warning signs to look for that indicate a doctor's visit is in order. Your doctor may prescribe liquid albuterol or a nebulizer treatment to help ease your child's breathing. Be sure to ask questions about side effects and dosage for any treatment your doctor recommends.

For parents with sick children, I have often thought that knowledge is power. I hope this article will help you to find the best way to heal your child.

-Midwest Mom

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Some great websites with information on treating croup are:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T084200.asp

http://children.webmd.com/tc/croup-treatment-overview