Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP
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Although there is a rich body of research on the development of children's memory for the details of personally experienced events, relatively little is known about age-related changes in the ability to remember pain. This gap in the literature is surprising, given that studies of children's memory for painful experiences are relevant to our basic understanding of cognitive development, pain perception, and--in some situations--patient management. ⋯ Nonetheless, the authors recognize that this framework will no doubt need to be modified to take into account the complex memory representations--containing somatosensory, affective, and contextual information--that are established after exposure to painful stimulation. After the treatment of the literature, the authors discuss its implications for the clinical management of pain in pediatric settings.
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Approximately one million dog bites occur yearly in the United States, and 60% to 70% of these are to children. Although the majority of dog bites are not serious, some are disfiguring or, on rare occasions, fatal. ⋯ This paper reviews the epidemiology of dog bites, examines the conditions under which bites occur, and discusses behavioral factors related to the dog and to the child that determine whether a bite will occur. Dog bites then are compared with other childhood injuries, and strategies for intervening both before and after a dog bite occurs are discussed.