This is PediCast.

Welcome to Pediacast, a pediatric podcast for parents.

And now, direct from the campus of Nationwide Children's, here is your host, Dr. Mike.

Hello everyone, and welcome once again to Pediacast.

It's a pediatric podcast for moms and dads.

This is Dr. Mike coming to you from the campus of nationwide children's hospital.

We're in Columbus, Ohio.

It is episode 315 for April 15th, 2015.

Boy, a lot of 15s there.

We're calling this one Teen Suicide.

I want to welcome everyone to the program.

The title says it all, and we're going to talk

about a very difficult topic, but it's also an important topic, and it's not one to sweep under

the rug. After all, suicide is one of the leading causes of death in adolescence, and it's a

cause of death that can be prevented, especially if warning signs are recognized and taken seriously and if intervention is pursued.

So there's lots to talk about.

I don't want to spend too much time with introductions this week.

We have lots of important information coming your way.

Some of the items, just how big is the problem?

What do teenage suicides? Why do teenage suicides sometimes occur in clusters? You know, you'll have a suicide in a school and then you hear about several more that follow on the heels of that. Why does that happen? What are the risk factors and the warning signs? What's apparent to do if you're worried that your child is at risk? And what steps do you take if your child is suicidal or has attempted suicide? Where do you turn for help? What kinds of treatment are available, including counseling and medications? How successful is the treatment? And what dangers may treatment bring, especially in the case of antidepressants

and other medication. What's the long-term outlook for suicidal teens? What steps can parents

take now to lessen the risk? And then we'll explore some of the latest research projects

...