The Secret to Being an ER Doctor

LA Asks:

My 5 year old has been unusually sleepy for about 2 days. He doesn’t feel like eating and has a low fever (100.5). He does not have a cold and hasn’t had a cold. The symptom that bothers me is he has started to complain that his neck hurts. I asked him to touch his chin to his chest and he started to cry because of the pain. I’m unsure of whether to take him to a doctor or wait it out a few more days. Read more

Retail-Based Clinics

What is a retail based-clinic?

This is a clinic that operates out of a retail store.  The classic example would be a clinic inside your friendly neighborhood Wal-mart.  While these clinics will undoubtedly try to entice you to bring your kids by waiving the co-pay or offering shorter wait times, always remember that you get what you pay for.

Do you really want to trust the care of your child to a Wal-mart employee?  The providers that work in these clinics probably work there for a reason.  These clinics will undoubtedly be customer service driven.  What does that mean?  Does that mean you will get good care?  NO!!!  It means these clinics will Read more

To Scan or Not To Scan?

It is a rare day that I do not see some one in the ER who thinks their child needs a CT scan for one reason or another.  Mainly this comes from the anxiety surrounding a child who fell and bumped their head, or from a child that is suspected of having appendicitis.  Both, in the right circumstance, require urgent CT scans.  However, the vast majority of cases I see DO NOT even need an X-ray. Read more

Sugar Water for Vaccine Pain

There are many different controversies surrounding immunization in children.  One of the controversies surrounds controlling the pain children experience with vaccinations.  If you do choose to vaccinate your baby, there are a few things you might consider to help ease the pain your newborn experiences. Read more

Gripe Water for Hiccups

I must admit I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to many “herbal” remedies.  I think that in many cases the “herbal” industry gouges many well-intentioned Americans during periods of anxiety with products that are essentially useless.

So with that in mind I reluctantly agreed to a trial of “Gripe Water” for our son.  My wife read about it thoroughly on the internet and it is touted by many to be an effective remedy for colic and hiccups.  While I am glad to report our son did not suffer from colic, he did suffer from recurrent and often prolonged bouts of hiccups.  For most of the first 6-8 weeks he could care less about the hiccups.   However, as he got a little older, the hiccups started interfering with his sleep and at times seemed to exacerbate his spitting-up.  So we gave the Gripe Water a try. Read more

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: The Over-Tired Baby

This is another book that I highly recommend.  As parents, we made a few wrong turns along the road to healthy sleep habits.  This book was instrumental in getting us back on track.

As I mentioned in my last post, the idea that keeping your child up longer during the day will make him sleep better during his naps sounds reasonable.  However, in practice it just does not work and this is something I learned as a parent, not as a pediatrician.  Newborns just cannot cope well for more than about 1-2 hours of wake time.  Anything more and they start to get “over-tired” and then things get really ugly. Read more

Treatment Guidelines: Ear Pain

Remember there are many myths & facts surrounding ear pain and ear infection.   Just because your child has ear pain, it does not always mean it is an ear infection. Also remember that most ear infections resolve on their own without antibiotics. However, ear pain is troubling for both child and parent.  The good news is that most ear pain can effectively be treated at home by parents.  This approach not only saves time and money, but will save you a trip to a busy doctor’s office full of kids ready to exchange their illnesses.  More, effectively caring for your child at home, in most cases, will help them recover faster. Read more

Ask the Doctor: The Flu Vaccine

LauraC asks:

What are your thoughts on elementary age children getting the flu vaccine? Ours have never had a serious case of the flu so we’re reluctant to vaccinate them for something that historically hasn’t been an issue. But I’m reading more and more about peds. across the board recommending it. Read more

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: Understanding your Baby’s Demeanor

While we still sing the praises of the Babywise method, we did find a few things lacking in the Babywise book.  Mainly, this was support for babies that did not fit the mold.  My wife and I particularly like the book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, written by Tracey Hogg.  This book was actually recommended by one of my readers.  It encourages an eat, wake, sleep routine just like Babywise.  The real benefit of this book is that it helps new parents understand that not all babies have the same demeanor.  She goes on to describe the different demeanors babies have: angel, textbook, touchy, spirited, and grumpy. Read more

On Becoming Babywise: The 12-week mark!

So here we are, the 12-week mark.  Did it work?  The short answer is Yes, but it has not been easy.  Here is a brief update.

Sleeping Through the Night

Right around week 8, our son started extending his nighttime sleep.  He did not sleep through the night, but he would routinely go a 5 or 6 hour stretch.  Then, as other things started falling into place, around the 11-week mark, Read more

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