When a child has strep throat, an antibiotic like penicillin usually has them back at school 24 hours later. But a new study warns that strains of bacteria that cause strep throat and “flesh-eating disease” appear close to becoming resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics known as beta-lactams. “If this germ becomes truly resistant to…  read on >

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their infants at increased risk of fractures in their first year of life, researchers warn. The study looked at more than 1.6 million people who were born in Sweden between 1983 and 2000, and followed for an average of 21 years. Over that time, nearly 378,000 fractures were recorded.…  read on >

Students have better focus in class if teachers praise them for being good rather than scolding them for being bad, according to a new study. Researchers spent three years observing more than 2,500 students in 19 elementary schools across Missouri, Tennessee and Utah. The children came from 151 classes from kindergarten through grade 6. The…  read on >

As the death toll in China’s coronavirus outbreak surpassed 100 on Tuesday, the United States expanded its travel alert and prepared to evacuate American government workers who are in the center of the epidemic. Overnight, the number of cases of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus in China shot from 2,835 to 4,515, the New York Times reported.…  read on >

(HealthDay News) – An infection on the tip of your finger can form an abscess, says Harvard Medical School. A painful bump on the fingertip abscess is known as a felon, and is usually caused by a bacterial infection. A felon can cause pain, swelling and redness. After getting the felon drained by a doctor,…  read on >

Swearing is a common behavior for adolescents, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children and teens often use profanity to impress friends and shock parents. To help manage swearing your child’s swearing, the academy suggests: Establish a rule that there is no swearing allowed in the house. Do not respond to a child’s profanity with…  read on >

This flu season is hitting children particularly hard, but new research shows that a flu shot is still well worth it for these youngest patients. Getting vaccinated halved the risk of hospitalization for flu-related complications among young kids, scientists found. The researchers analyzed vaccination data from more than 3,700 children, ages 6 months to 8…  read on >

As China scrambles to contain an outbreak of a new coronavirus spreading rapidly within its own borders and to other countries, U.S. infectious disease experts tackled questions about the emerging virus. What is the novel coronavirus circulating in China? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses responsible for about one out of every four cases…  read on >