Why are our young people so unhealthy?

[Coventina]

For irrelevant reasons I won't bother to explain, I am teaching 50 high schoolers this semeser.

2 have cancer

5 more have epilepsy and other seizure disorders

I lost count of how many of them came down with COVID in the course of the semester.

I have over 150 additional college-age students and only 2 cases of COVID in that population. One blind student in my college student population, but otherwise no other major disabilities / health problems (although there could be things I'm not told. Maybe kids are more vocal about their problems than adults?)

Were kids always this sick?
Is it just an anecdotal anomaly?

It seems like 50 is a pretty small sample for that many major issues.

[tirebiter]

1. Covid came recently

are you finding these problems/ills in passing or were you given these backgrounds by the school?

[Coventina]

3. Some of it is given by the school to ensure ADA accommodations

some of it is self reporting.

I suppose they could lie, but only one of the students out of the ones who told me these things would "benefit" from the lie.

In that case, the student told me he had bladder cancer. That's a pretty big lie to tell. He did bring me paperwork from the hospital, though. It didn't give his diagnosis, just information when he as there.

[tirebiter]

6. Who said anything about lieing?

I wondered if a bunch of kids were sitting around being sick. I was epileptic and never had a seizure in class. Not like I wore a a big letter E on my forehead.

[Coventina]

8. Apologies. I read too much into your questions.

I was attempting to defend my students when no defense was necessary.

I apologize for that.

[oasis]

22. Say what?

[alittlelark]

2. 2 kids with cancer in such a small group is disturbing

Seriously - it's disturbing.

Very disturbing.

Contact your local Health Advisory.

[Coventina]

4. Even more disturbing (for me) was the types of cancer

One has bladder cancer, the other has bone cancer.

Usually, young people don't get those kinds of cancer, do they?

[3catwoman3]

5. Unfortunately, osteosarcoma most commonly occurs in...

...the pediatric population.

From Mayo - Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that begins in the cells that form bones. Osteosarcoma is most often found in the long bones — more often the legs, but sometimes the arms — but it can start in any bone. In very rare instances, it occurs in soft tissue outside the bone.

Osteosarcoma tends to occur in teenagers and young adults, but it can also occur in younger children and older adults.

[Coventina]

7. Thanks! I'm glad for the information. Saddened for the student.

[alittlelark]

9. No, they don't

You need to consult with medical professionals

Do not drink the water that comes out of your tap

[Coventina]

10. I don't. We're on a superfund site.

[alittlelark]

11. Gawds, this world sux.

[hlthe2b]

20. Osteosarcoma is-most common malignant bone cancer in kids but pretty rare & cause unknown;

bladder cancer is very rare in kids and in adults, at least has occupational (environmental) risks, but in kids only a small genetic predisposition has been determined so far and environmental links have alluded researchers due to the rarity of the condition

But, numbers are too small to make any assumptions, given the mobility of our populations today. They may not have even grown up in the same region of the country. Sometimes rare coincidental occurrences do occur.

That said, I see the number of school nurses (where they still even exist, given budget cuts and apathetic attitudes in some districts) struggling with dealing with diabetic pumps in scores of kids, anti-convulsant, and other very serious medication issues. Part of this is that those kids might not have attended public schools in the past, are being diagnosed more readily with advancements in screening, and in some cases, living longer. But, whether or not kids are "sicker," is unclear. Certainly, they are more obese and sedentary, sadly, and that does factor in.

[mucifer]

25. I'm a pediatric hospice nurse. I see Osteosarcoma fairly often. Don't remember ever seeing bladder

cancer in a child. But, we do see rare things from time to time.

The good news is the treatments have gotten a whole lot better and the survival rate in pediatric cancer is now at 84% In the mid 1970s it was at 58%.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-in-children/key-statistics.html

But of course if you are in the 16% stats don't matter to you and your family. Also, for the kids that survive, the treatments can cause life long complications.

The most common cancer hospice diagnosis we see is brain tumors. Hopefully, the researchers will improve for the brain tumor kids.

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

13. Obesity is the most prevalent

[Tree Lady]

14. Sugar. Do you know how many hundreds of pounds

Most Americans eat each year? The processed food and sugar that kids get from toddlers on its no wonder they are sick, added to the environment of water quality, air quality, etc.

And kids don't get the same amount of exercise they use to.

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. Those requiring summer instruction probably aren't representative

I would guess that health issues are part of the reason why some of those students are taking summer classes in the first place.

[Raine]

16. Poor diet and stress I'm guessing. 🤔 nt

[MerryBlooms]

17. Bladder cancer runs in my late husband's

Mother's side of the family in the young females. So far, we haven't lost them, but it's been recurring and hard battles fought.

What I've been gobsmacked by here in southern Oregon, is the amount of people I know who get monthly eye shots to relieve pressure in their eyes.. I had never heard of such a thing, but now I know 6 people ranging in age from 60 to 80. I can't remember the disease they have right now, I am too tired. One gal I know is now blind and no longer receives shots. One of my best friends and coworker, now has to have shots in both eyes and is having trouble driving. She won't be able to work much longer, but is trying to hang in until retirement.

[rownesheck]

18. Check out

the drive thru lines at any Macdonald's at ANY point during the day. There's the answer.

[betsuni]

19. Food.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

24. Fast food... piles of carbs, sugars, salt and unhealthy fats, washed down with sugar bomb sodas 24/7

[viva la]

26. I've been struck by how many if my kids' friends' pregnancies

Are complicated now. Placenta issues, gall bladder inflammation,breakthrough bleeding, bedrest, gestational diabetes.
These are real problems, not just overcautious doctors.

It seems more common than when I was birthing decades ago.