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Illnesses & Infections

As a pediatrician, I know that parents’ panic can set in pretty quickly when it comes to a fever — especially if they have a baby or toddler. Even the calmest of moms and dads can find themselves frantically debating at 1 a.m. whether to give their child medicine and go back to bed, or to call the doctor despite the time. As strange as it may seem, fevers are a good thing. They’re the body’s way of fighting off infections. Often times, a fever left to do its job will go away on its own within a few days. However, it’s still completely normal to be worried when your little one’s temperature starts to climb. To help reduce your worry and prepare you for what to do next time the thermometer reading begins to rise, know these top five facts about fevers. 1. A fever in babies under 3 […]

The flu is usually far from our minds in summertime, but an announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the nasal spray vaccine FluMist has put influenza back at the forefront. Come this fall, the FluMist nasal spray won’t be offered to anyone — flu shots will be the only option available for the young and old. If you have kids who panic at the mere mention of a needle, here’s what you need to know. The Lowdown on the FluMist News Recently, a CDC committee made up of a panel of immunization experts announced that they were no longer recommending FluMist for the upcoming 2016-2017 flu season. The FluMist nasal spray is the only flu vaccine that comes in a form other than an injection (shot). You may have heard FluMist referred to by the more formal name “live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV).” So why […]

It’s that time of year again, when kids are (hopefully) outside more than inside. With the warmer weather comes concerns about ticks and Lyme disease. Here’s some information to help you decipher what’s true and false as your family enjoys the great outdoors. Fiction: Lyme disease comes from ticks, so it’s a problem all over the country. Fact: Lyme disease is caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, which live in certain mammals such as mice, chipmunks and deer. Ticks bite these animals, and then carry the bacteria to humans. Most of the disease is seen in these 13 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Your chance of getting Lyme disease in a state other than these is low. Fiction: If I notice a tick on my child, it has probably already transferred Lyme disease to my child. Fact: Actually, ticks […]

For most parents and kids, spring means sunny warm weather, outdoor sports and more outside playtime. For many others, spring also means more asthma flare-ups – more time outside means more exposure to asthma triggers, and more sports means more exercise-induced asthma. Although childhood asthma is common, many people really don’t know much about it. So we thought we’d answer some common questions about what asthma is and how it’s treated. 1. What is asthma, exactly? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways in the lungs, called “breathing tubes” (or “bronchial tubes”). It’s actually the most common long-term childhood disease – the No. 1 reason kids chronically miss school. And flare-ups are the most common cause of pediatric emergency department visits due to a chronic illness. Those affected by asthma typically have swollen airways (which means that they swell and produce lots of thick mucus) most of the […]

It’s coming up on spring break time, when families, teens and young adults start planning travel to warmer climates. But with all of the buzz about Zika, you may have some questions. Here is what we know, for sure, right now. What, exactly, is the Zika virus? Zika virus is a type of flavivirus, which is a family of viruses transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes. Although it’s been in the news lately, Zika was discovered in 1947 and is named after a forest in Uganda. What are the symptoms and treatment? Most people (4 out of 5) don’t know they’ve been infected with Zika virus because they don’t have any symptoms. The 20 percent of people who do experience symptoms usually have a mild illness for about a week to 10 days, with fever, rash, joint pain and pinkeye (without the pus). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. Zika infections […]