The widespread illness caused by the Salmonella outbreak has been featured prominently in the news over the past several weeks. In case you missed other important topics, I've selected a few other subjects that have pediatric relevance.

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month and National Folic Acid Awareness Week is January 5-11. This may seem esoteric, but for those of you who have seen a child with spina bifida, you'll agree with me about the relevance of this reminder. Spina bifida is a devastating birth defect that causes many problems to children, including paralysis. Spina bifida is not uncommon, but in many instances can be prevented. The chance of having a baby born with this condition is greatly reduced if the mother takes 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, before and during early pregnancy. Folic acid is commonly added to multivitamins and it is used to fortify many foods. Since pregnancy is not always planned, public health officials recommend that all women of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily.

The application of any type of vapor rub (active ingredients are camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus oil) to the nostrils is a widespread practice because it is thought to open the nasal passages and help a small child breath better.

An 18-month-old child having severe difficulty breathing was brought to an emergency room.

The doctors thought that Vicks VapoRub applied to her nose was the culprit.

They tested their hypothesis on laboratory animals and confirmed that the product does irritate airways. The conclusion is that any vapor rub containing any of the above products should not be rubbed around the nostrils of children younger than 2 years old.

Cell phones have become a fact of life, but when children use them in traffic, the effect may be lethal. A group of 10- and 11-year-old children participated in a simulated road crossing with traffic. These children were less attentive to traffic and therefore more likely to get hit by a car compared to when they were not talking on their cell phones. The obvious take-home message is that parents must make it clear to children that they may not talk on their phones if there is any traffic.

On February 12, a federal court ruled that autism is not caused by childhood vaccines. This decision is expected to have great significance in the years to come. Many parents of children with autism have claimed, and still claim that vaccinations cause or contribute to autism, and argue that there is a medical conspiracy to hide this connection. On the other hand, the national and international medical communities conducted numerous studies looking for a connection, and all failed to show a link between vaccinations and autism.

Arguments pro and con were presented to an independent court, and the decision by the court was that there is no firm evidence to show that childhood vaccines cause autism. It is likely that many parents who are convinced otherwise will not be swayed from their belief until a proven cause of autism is discovered.

In th meantime, pediatricians applaud this decision because it furthers their argument encouraging parents to immunize their children.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. Robert A. Dershewitz, M.D., Sc.M., FAAP, is a pediatrician at Healthy Kids Care Center in St. John and is affiliated with The Community Hospital in Munster.