All Search Results
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Does My Child Have ADHD?
Many families have opted for virtual education over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so parents have been able to observe their children in an academic setting. And some wonder if their children’s difficulty adapting to virtual learning may be because of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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Celebrating moms (and mental health)
A few days ago, I went shopping for some things for our family’s upcoming beach trip at Target. As I looked through the boy’s bathing suits, I noticed another mom nearby with her own little boy. He looked and sounded to be about 2 years old, and they were having a debate about shorts. He wanted long shorts, and she was reminding him that he doesn’t like to wear long shorts. They went back and forth, and things got a little heated. He got whiny; she got irritated. Eventually she told him, loudly, to stop talking and announced to him that she was “done.” He promptly began wailing about the shorts, and her reaction was to drop her stuff she was buying, pick him up, and yell at him, “You are embarrassing me!” She stomped her way out of Target, carrying him, yelling at him about how he will not be going to his play date later. Yikes!
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Does swimming cause ear infections?
This blog post was originally published in June 2014
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Does my child need Antibiotics?
Does My Child Need Antibiotics?
About once a month, I will get a phone call from any one of my girlfriends who is looking for a friendly “second opinion” about their child. She tells me that her child hasn’t been feeling well for a few days, and she finally got an appointment to see their pediatrician on short notice. She becomes disappointed because her doctor did not give her a prescription for antibiotics for her child. She is upset because her child “always gets better on antibiotics.” My friend voices her frustration because she feels like her doctor “didn’t do anything.” Then she may ask me to “just prescribe something” for her child. I gently have to tell her no, because it is not right for me to do that since her child is not my patient, and I have not examined her child. I reassure her to trust her pediatrician, and to definitely keep her doctor in the loop if her child’s condition is not improving, or actually worsens over the next day or two.What are Antibiotics?
Antibiotics are medications that can be used to treat bacterial infections. For example, if your child has an ear infection or strep throat, your pediatrician will prescribe an appropriate antibiotic to help treat the infection. Anti-virals are medications that can treat viral infections, such as influenza or herpes simplex. Anti-fungals work against fungal infections, such as ringworm or yeast infections. -
Does My Child Need Speech Therapy?
Many young children can overcome speech and language delays, but early intervention is key. Parents and their child’s pediatrician need to be vigilant to spot the signs and start age-appropriate therapies.
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Does My Teen Have Thyroid Disease?
It could be easy for you to miss that your teen has thyroid disease. Symptoms can be subtle, appear gradually and be mistaken for other conditions. Hormones produced by the thyroid can affect heart rate, energy, metabolism, growth and development – so it’s important to know the signs.
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How Much Sleep Does My Baby Need?
It’s 2:00 am, your newborn is crying again and you’re tiredly asking yourself, “But why won’t he just sleep awhile longer?” Getting a newborn on any kind of a sleeping schedule just isn’t going to happen, and for one very good reason — babies less than three months old are frequently waking for feeds and sleeping up to 17 hours a day. For the first three months, new parents must remind themselves that, for the time being, you’re in survival mode.
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Does My Child Have a UTI?
Parents and caregivers might tend to think of urinary tract infections (UTIs) as bacterial infections that strike adults, but young children actually have a greater risk of lasting kidney damage from UTIs than any other age group. By age 5, about 8 percent of girls and 1 to 2 percent of boys have had a UTI, according to the Urology Care Foundation.
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Caring for bumps, bruises and boo-boos
Kids are invincible- or at least they think they are! They fearlessly jump into the air, ride a little too fast on their bikes, and like to play roughly with friends or siblings. It’s all fun and games, until someone gets hurt. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises are a regular occurrence in many family homes and it is important to be prepared when accidents do happen. Minor injuries are inevitable and can be cared for properly with the right tools and education.
The ingredients of a first-aid kit
Walking through the aisles at the pharmacy can be overwhelming and confusing when trying to decide what to include in your family’s at-home first-aid kit. Here are some basic essentials to help care for those future bumps and bruises: Adhesive tape Gauze pads Disposable gloves- for protection or to use as an ice pack Disposable instant cold packs Polysporin antibiotic cream Nonadhesive pads Adhesive bandages in different sizes Tweezers to get debris, dirt and grass out of open woundsKeep these items in a storage box that is easily accessible in case of an emergency. If an item is used, be sure to replace it to be prepared for the next accident.How to treat minor cuts and scrapes
Not only is it important to have the necessities in your first-aid kit, it’s also important to know how to use them! Let’s use this scenario- your child has fallen off his/her bike and you hear screaming and crying outside- now what? -
Do Weight-Loss Drugs Really Help Teens?
Obesity affects nearly a quarter of 12- to 19-year-olds in the United States. The health implications of carrying so much extra weight are so significant that scientists have been searching for medical solutions to supplement healthy diets and exercise.