New teething pain recommendations; Mosquito-driven virus cases spike in the Americas; First US patient receives kidney transplant awake – Morning Medical Update

New teething pain recommendations

While using prescription or nonprescription medicines containing benzocaine or lidocaine may seem to be suitable for treating teething pain in infants and children, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns these products can be dangerous, leading to serious injury or death.

However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has found alternative ways to treat teething pain, such as rubbing infants’ gums with a clean finger or providing a teething ring made of firm rubber to chew on. The organization also says that infants and children should be always supervised with a teething ring to avoid choking.

More suggestions from the AAP can be found in this article.

Mosquito-driven virus cases spike in the Americas

The CDC recently issued a warning about an increased risk of dengue virus infections after a record-breaking number of cases being reported in the Americas. From January 1 to June 24, more than 9.7 million dengue cases were recorded, which has more than doubled from 4.6 million infections in 2023.

In the US, Florida has reported the most cases so far, with 197. New York comes in second with 134 cases, and Massachusetts with 50 cases. The CDC said tiger mosquitos are responsible for the infection. Find out more about the progression of the infection here.

First US patient receives kidney transplant awake

On May 24, John Nicholas became the first US patient at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago to receive a new kidney without general anesthetic, being able to go home the next day. Typically, kidney transplant patients stay in the hospital for several days or a week.

During surgery, Dr. Satish Nadig, along with other surgeons, injected anesthetic into the fluid that surrounds the lower spinal cord and lightly sedated Nicholas for comfort. The surgery took less than two hours, with Nicholas saying he didn’t feel any pain. He even got to see his new kidney, donated by his best friend, before it was implanted.

“That particular moment where I saw the kidney in Dr. Nadig's hands — like [it was] extremely powerful to see that,” Nicholas said at a press conference on Monday.