Your Health: Jan. 24, 2000

GOOD NEWS

KID CALMER A quick spritz with a nasal spray may help youngsters get through difficult medical procedures a lot more easily. That's the conclusion of a Swedish study that assessed the soothing effects of a spray containing the antianxiety drug midazolam on kids receiving intravenous cancer medication. All the children who got the spray reported they were better able to tolerate their cancer treatment. Researchers think the spritz may also help youngsters facing routine procedures like vaccinations.

SICKLE SCREEN Some infants with sickle-cell anemia will go on to develop serious, life-threatening problems. But which ones? Now researchers think they have an objective way to make that determination: sick kids with very high white-blood-cell counts, low hemoglobin and swelling in their arms and legs are twice as likely to suffer severe complications by the time they're 10 years old. That means they're probably good candidates for new, but risky, experimental treatments like stem-cell transplants.

BAD NEWS

CUTS BOTH WAYS Don't count on science to hand you a clear-cut answer about whether to circumcise your child. The conclusions of a major 10-year study are, well, equivocal. The risk of a baby suffering a complication--excess bleeding or, worse, permanent damage to the penis--is 1 in 500. The odds are certainly low enough to deem the procedure safe, but may still be too high for some parents. The benefits are also persuasive: for every complication that occurs, six circumcised newborns are expected to avoid urinary-tract infections. Confused? Talk it over with your doctor.

COASTER CLOTS Some thrill. Japanese researchers report that at least four people have developed blood clots on the brain after riding giant, high-speed roller coasters. The clots, called subdural hematomas, occur when vessels near the surface of the brain rupture and leak. Clots from coasters are still extremely rare, but as a safeguard, the researchers suggest no more than two rides in a row. If you develop a headache, vomiting or confusion, get to a doctor fast.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources: Good News--Pediatrics (1/00), New England Journal of Medicine (1/13/00); Bad News--Pediatrics (1/00), Neurology (1/11/00)