V.T., Be’er Ya’acov Judy Siegel-Itzkovich comments: The European Child Safety Alliance and ANEC (European consumer voice in standardization) recently issued a stern warning against the use of baby walkers. They explained that the wheeled, ring-shaped devices that hold babies upright and allow them to move about easily have been linked to more injuries than any other type of nursery equipment – resulting in “an unacceptably high number of severe falls, burns, scalds and poisonings.”Data from nine European countries between 2002 and 2007 show that more than 90 percent of baby walker injuries damaged the head, with 31% of them causing injury to the brain and 35% to the skull. According to Austrian hospital records, a baby walker injury severe enough to cause a skull fracture or concussion occurs at least once a week. In the UK, more than 2,350 children a year are taken to the hospital after being injured in a baby walker. Research in Wales showed that 25% of babies hospitalized with burns and scalds had been in a baby walker when the injury occurred.The two European safety organizations added that most parents have the impression a baby walker will keep the baby safely entertained while they perform other tasks or will help the baby learn to walk. “Both of these notions are incorrect: Baby walkers actually inhibit a child’s ability to learn to walk while putting babies at an increased risk of injury.”Two features of baby walkers make them particularly dangerous – the increased mobility and rate of speed of the child and the elevated height and reach the child obtains while seated in a walker. Babies move uncontrollably across the room at a rate of up to a meter per second, putting them at risks for falls down stairs, tip-overs on uneven flooring or violent collisions with objects. Babies are also more likely to reach and pull down objects such as electric appliances, hot drinks or chemicals.Aware of the fact that it would be difficult to prohibit their use completely, the European Union set a standard in 2005 to reduce baby walker injuries, but it is still too early to say whether the standard will be effectively adopted, implemented and enforced. A market surveillance study performed in 2008 by the Swedish Consumer Agency showed that more than half of baby walker brands failed to comply with the requirements of the 2005 standard.Canada is one of the few countries to have already implemented a total ban on use, possession and sale of baby walkers, with a fine of up to 150,000 Canadian dollars and/or six months imprisonment for noncompliance.There are already many safer alternatives to baby walkers on the market, such as playpens and stationary activity centers, the safety organizations said.Thus it is certainly not advisable to have your baby use a walker. It is best to disassemble and throw it away rather than donate it to someone.During the past six months, I’ve been having a condition that doctors don’t know much about. I have been to a neurologist, an otolaryngologist and a gastro specialist, but to no avail. My problem is that when I start to yawn, I can’t stop it for 10 to 15 minutes in a row, with the number of yawns varying between 12 and 14 times at a time and each yawn taking 30 to 45 seconds. This can occur five to seven times a day, if not more. It is not very pleasant, especially because tears pour out of my eyes when I do it. It occurs mostly when I am sitting or resting and not when I move around or do any other activity. I hope you can suggest a solution to this upsetting condition.D.C., Jerusalem Prof. Avinoam Reches, a senior neurologist at Hadassah-University Medical Center, states: This is indeed a rare phenomenon. It may be that your yawning reflex has lost its natural brakes. You should be examined by an experienced neurologist. Sometimes, such symptoms are relieved with medications meant to treat epilepsy.
Rx for Readers welcomes queries from readers about medical problems. Experts will answer those we find most interesting. Write Rx for Readers, The Jerusalem Post, POB 81, Jerusalem 91000, fax your question to Judy Siegel-Itzkovich at (02) 538-9527, or e-mail it to jsiegel@jpost.com.