On Becoming Babywise: Our Conclusions

Much has happened in the two short months since my last post regarding Babywise. This post serves as our overall assessment of the last 9 months as Babywise parents.  While we had some frustrations, on the whole the results are just as promised.  Although we certainly had periods of doubt we can give Babywise our full-endorsement based on our personal experience with it.  Read more

Antibiotics and Asthma

I am not sure I need another reason to rant about the improper use of antibiotics, but  a great article published in this month’s Pediatrics that gives me one anyway.  The article is titled “Antibiotic Use in Children is Associated with Increased Risk of Asthma.” Read more

InfantSEE Program

A while back a good friend of mine, who happens to be an optometrist, mentioned this program to me. Shockingly, as a pediatrician, I had never heard about it.  So I looked into it a little more and have been very impressed with what I have found. Read more

Get Smart Campaign

One of my colleagues referred me to this website published by the Centers for Disease Control – The Get Smart Campaign.  Given the the name of my website, you can imagine that I thought the name of the campaign was a great selection.  People sometimes ask me, “Why are you a doctor?  It seems like you never want to give medicine to people.” Read more

smartwater?

LA Asks:

How do you think smartwater compares to Pedialyte? My kids have never liked anything strong tasting or sweet so I’ve used smartwater instead. Read more

Treatment Guidelines: Bronchiolitis

So now that I have gone through what is NOT helpful for bronchiolitis, you might be asking, “Is there anything that is helpful if my kid has bronchiolitis?” The short answer is YES and the good news is that most of the things can be done at home without a prescription or visit to the doctor’s office. Read more

Understanding Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT)

For some reason, most people (doctors included) are infatuated with the use of IV fluids.  There is no doubt that IV fluids will make you feel better if you have been vomiting or you are having lots of diarrhea.  In fact, IV fluids may even be required if you have severe dehydration.  However, obtaining an IV on small children probably ranks up there with water-boarding as far as traumatic experiences go.  So the real question is this… When do children really need IV fluids and what are the alternatives? Read more