Family News & Events

Family News & Events
Kicking off in Kildare with FootGolf

For those who like to try new things and enjoy football and golf, how about a family day out to Celbridge Manor Hotel with a day of a mix of the two?

For one day only the Kildare hotel will facilitate a family friendly activity: FootGolf!

Tee (or kick) off with their specially constructed socially distanced course on the grounds of the hotel on August 16.

The prices are €10 per adult and €5 per child – all equipment provided (and correctly sanitised). Attendees are asked to wear appropriate footwear. Children are welcomed aged 4-16 however it’s not recommended for children aged 3 and under. At least one adult booking per slot is required and it’s a max of four people per slot. Pre-booking is highly recommended.

Organisers say: “We recommend you arrive 10 minutes before your allotted time to ensure smooth play throughout the day. BBQ on the day as we celebrate our re-opening weekend.”

Bookings can be made at: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/football-golf-tickets-115121102316?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

 

Surgery may no longer be needed for appendicitis

New research has demonstrated that treating appendicitis with a course of antibiotics can, in some cases, resolve the condition without the need to remove the appendix.

A study found that having the option to choose the antibiotics can lead to better outcomes for both children with appendicitis and for their caregivers.

Published in the journal JAMA, the study involved more than 10 children’s hospitals, which included 1068 children between the ages of 7 and 17 years who came to the hospital with uncomplicated appendicitis.

The study author was Peter Minneci, a paediatric surgeon and co-director of Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Surgical Outcomes Research said that of the 1068 children enrolled, 370 (a little over a third) elected to try treatment with antibiotics alone.

The researchers found that 67.1% of children who went the antibiotics route recovered without complications from their appendicitis and did not require an appendectomy within the one-year follow up period.

 

Hep B spread in young children lowest in decades

The global prevalence of potentially-deadly hepatitis B in children under age five, dropped to under 1% in 2019 – down from 5% in the pre-vaccine decades between the 1980s and early 2000s, the World Health Organization (WHO) have reported.

The advance marks the achievement of a critical target in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  to reduce the transmission of hepatitis B in children under age five to under 1% by this year.

The news coincides with World Hepatitis Day commemorated annually on 28 July to raise awareness of the disease, a viral infection of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the “milestone means that we have dramatically reduced the number of cases of liver damage and liver cancer in future generations”.