Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, December 26, 1996, Image 10

Augusta focus., December 26, 1996, Page 10, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text10 December 26, 1996 AUGUSTA FOCUS Kids and air bags don’t mix : AUGUSTA Many people don’t think twice aboutbuckling a young child into the front seat of a car. Even though the safety belt probably doesn’t fit children under five feet tall quite right, many people think, “It’s OK. We're only driv ing around town.” Since 1993, however, more than 25 families learned that where the child sits and how well their safety belts and child safety seats fit can mean the difference between life and death. Recently, another family lost a young child in a low-speed crash when the unbuckled child was thrown forward during pre-crash braking. The child’s head was directly over the air bag, in the zone of deployment-at the mo ment of impact. This child along with several other children did not suffocate, as many mistak enly believe, but died of trauma to the head and neck. Kids and air bags simply don’t mix. In most cases where a child died from the force of a deploying air bag, an infant was riding in the front seat either in a rear facing child safety seat, or was “out of position” — either un buckled, or not wearing the shoul der portion of the safety belt. An air bag can save your life. Almost 500 people survived seri ous crashes in 1995 alone thanks to air bags. However, an air bag is not a soft, billowy pillow. To save our lives, an air bag comes out of the dashboard at speeds of up to 200 m.p.h., literally faster Dre-Loved Cars » 1988 Isuzu Pickup, with camper......................... 53,980 1990 HONdaCßX..................cccoicicnnniiininnnsennnn 3,980 1991 Toyota Camry..............cccoccvccecrncrrecenene. 8,280 1993 Toyota Corolla, wagon, aut0.....................9,480 1992 Mitsubishi Ga1antG55..................................9,980 1991 RX-7, special of the day.................................. 9,980 1992 V.W. Cabriolet................ccccceccerennrieeennnenn.. 9,980 1995 Dodge Dakota, auto, air.............................. 11,480 1991 Isuzu Rodeo 4x4,V-6, 5 speed, nice.......... 11,780 1996 Ford Ranger XLT, 4-Ltr-V-6, 10aded............13,480 1993 Ford Explorer XLT Sport, 4x4...................14,980 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse G5..............................14,980 1995 Ford Wind5tarGL......................................15,480 1994 Chevy Astro Van CL Ext, w/ everything....ls,9Bo 1993 Honda Prelude, 4 WS, 1 0wner..................15,980 1994 Mazda Navaho LX.................cccccinien5en... 15,980 1995 Nissan King Kab XE, V-6, 4x4....................17,980 1995 Trooper -S, we sold it new........................... 19,995 1995 Mazda Millenia Classic, we sold it new.... 21,980 ANDY JONES MAZDA ISUZU 202-0002 Aiken-Augusta Hwy. » North Augusta Seafood and Meat is proud to offer Grain-fed, farm-raised Catfish! WHOLE 5-70 z. $2.57 perlb./$38.50 per case -350 z. $3.20 perb./$48.00 per case .~ BTRIPS $3.14 per b./$47.00 per case 7+ NUGGETS $1.87 per 10/$28.00 per case ?ILLETS 5-70 z. - $3.37 perlb./$50.50 per case N 7-90 z. $3.37 perlb./$50.50 per case 3-50 z. $3.47 per Ib./$52.00 per case Delivery Available with Minimum Order Wholesale Prices ¢ Public Welcome Highway 400 ¢ Norway Rd. e Orangeburg, SC Call (803) 536-3766 Fax (803) 536-2821 Augusta Focus is a Walker Group Publication Kids and air bags simply don’t mix. In most cases where a child died from ‘the force of a deploying air bag, an infant was riding in the front seat either in a rear-facing child safety seat, or was “out of position” — either unbuck led, or not wearing the shoulder por tion of the safety belt. than a blink of an eye. The safety belt is the primary restraint and must be worn for air bags to work effectively. “What will it take to get adults to understand that traffic crash es are a serious threat to our children’s health, and to ourown well-being?” asked Janet Dewey, executive director of the Air Bag Safety Campaign. “As a nation we focus a significant amount of energy on investigating airline crashes. But few people realize the fact that the number of peo ple who die on our roadways ev ery year is equal to a plane crash every day.” Safe Kids of East Central Geor gia is lending its support to the Campaign, which is a partner ship of automotive manufactur ers, insurance companies, occu pant restraint manufacturers, government agencies, health pro fessionals and child health and Livingßetter safety organizations. Its mission: Educate the public that air bags save lives, but they work best when everyone is buckled and kids are in back, also properly buckled. In addition to an aggressive public education campaign now underway, the Campaign is fo cused on enacting stronger safety belt and child safety laws at the state level, and enforcing such laws through high visibility ef forts involving law enforcement nationwide. “This problem must be addressed immediately because of the dramatically increasing number of passenger-sideairbags being introduced in the U.S. vehi cle fleet,” said Dewey. By 1998, passenger air bags will be manda tory in all cars sold in the U.S. Safety tips Children should ride buckled up in the back seat. The back is and has always been the safest i ‘Q‘la,' Beware of hladder infections If you’ve had one before, the twinge that goes with itis probably familiar. Add to that paina frequent urge to urinate, and chances are you've got another bladder infection. For many people, especially women, blad der infections can become a chronic prob lem. When they do, a physician may recom mend a preventive course of low-dose anti biotic over a period of time. For an isolated infection, a single course of antibiotic last ing 10 to 14 days may be prescribed. Left untreated, a bladder infection could spread to the kidneys or cause other serious prob lems. Whether plagued by bladder infec tions or not, everyone can take certain steps to stay healthy, including urinating fre quently, wearing cotton underwear, avoid ing tight-fitting pants or pantyhose, wash ingclothesinunscented detergent and drink ing plenty of liquid, especially cranberry Jjuice. l‘ Synergic Health Centre q Gerald D. Oliver, M.D. Internal Medicine and Pediatric Medicine Specialists in Real Estate Lending B Real Estate FHA * VA - Conventional M Refinances B Community Home Buyer Program 2743 Perimeter Parkway, Augusta, Ga. 30909 @ Augusta, GA: (706) 863-5626 Aiken, SC: (803) 649-7311 FRE place in the motor vehicle. Little children and babies should ride in the back seat in correct child safety seats for their age and size: *Babies age one and younger, or weighing less than 20 pounds, should ride in rear-facing child safety seats in the back seat. eChildren weighing 20-40 pounds should ride in convert ible car seats facing forward in the back seat. ¢ Children weighing 40 pounds or more should ride in booster seats in the back seat until both the lap and shoulder belts fit cor rectly. *The child safety seat should be installed correctly, according to the vehicles owner’s manual and the child safety seat instructions. Bigger kids (five feet and tall er) may only sit in the front seat when the following applies:: *They wear both the lap and shoulder belt. *The shoulder strap fits cor rectly over the collarbone, never behind the back. *The lap belt fits low on the hips. *They understand they should always sit back, buckled up in the seat at all times. *The front passenger seat is pushed as far back as possible. For more information, or to receive the Campaign’s “Action Kit” on air bag safety, call (202) 625-2570, or write the Air Bag Safety Campaign c/o GMMB&A, 1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20007. We like to encourage our patients to prevent health problems and assist us in the detection of disease at its earliest stag es. Thisrequires routine examinations and periodic visits. For more information about bladderinfections, or any other health prob lem, call SYNERGIC HEALTH CENTRE at 648-3500. Because we do not have the high overhead expenses of a hospital, we are able to offer quality medical care at considerably less &an a visit to the emer gency room. A family medical care center that provides care for infants, children and adults, we also provide urgent care for asthma attacks, cuts and burns. Located at 1055 A Silver Bluffßd., our office hours are by appointment. Always take the full course of a pre scribed antibiotic, even if symptoms disap pear sooner, to ensure all bacteria growth has stopped. New technique found for repairing damaged cartilage HOUSTON Researchers have found a way to coax damaged cartilage into repairing itself. The technique is part of the cartilage-replacement surgery and represents the medical fu ture for patients suffering from debilitating knee injuries. “Thisoperation is probably two to three years away from being performed throughout the coun try,” said Dr. Walter Lowe, a clinical associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and one of the orthope dic surgeons participating in a long-term study of the surgery. The procedure was pioneered by researchers in Sweden. Itinvolves taking cartilage cells from a healthy part of a patient’s injured knee. The cells are then sent to a laboratory, where new cells are grown. Finally, the new cultured cartilage cells are in jected into theinjured areaof the W, Have 7 yourself a Merry Little Christmas knee. “This could revolutionize the way we treat thousands of knee injuries each year,” said Lowe. “It has the potential to make an injured knee as strong as it was before the injury.” Although Swedish researchers report positive results, Lowesaid many Americandoctors still have questions and are waiting on re search in this country before per forming the surgery. Currently, theoptions for treat ing knee injuries, particularly those involving anterior cruciate ligament tears with cartilage damage, are limited. Cartilage replacement surgery would offer new hope to the 900,000 people who experience cartilage inju ries each year. , Although the surgery has prima rily been studied in patients with knee injuries, Lowe said it has the potential to repair shoulder and ankle injuries as well. AT ah i g [Oz /) ~J H