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Vaccines

Your family has been doing their part and staying home as much as possible to prevent and stop the spread of COVID-19. But messages can get confusing about whether you should take your child to their doctor for a pediatric well visit or check-up. Even during a pandemic, it’s important for kids to have their growth, development, and well-being tracked. What You Could Be Missing by Skipping Your Child’s Well Visit Physical Exam: A regular physical exam can help your doctor pick up hard-to-detect issues like high blood pressure, heart murmur, lumps and bumps, ear and hearing issues, and even cavities. Assessment of Growth: During a check-up, your healthcare provider will track height, weight, and BMI. These measurements can tell them if your child has any medical issues that impact growth. Assessment of Development: A development exam looks at parts of your child’s functioning, including things like reasoning and understanding, […]

This time of year always reminds me of American humorist Erma Bombeck, who once wrote: “I take a very practical view of raising children. I put a sign in each of their rooms: ‘Checkout time is 18 years.’” When our teenagers go to college, we want them to acquire many things: new friends with diverse backgrounds, expanded interests, more independence, and, if they have time, an education. What we don’t want them to get? Sick. In a college campus outbreak. What’s an Outbreak? An outbreak is the occurrence of cases of disease in excess of what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographical area or season. A recent example of a college campus outbreak–last year’s mumps outbreak at Temple University. Here are some other real examples: Case 1: Meningitis  A student was rushed to the hospital after presenting to the student health center with a headache, stiff neck, and fever. Diagnosis: […]

Back-to-school is approaching fast. If you’re like many parents, that means back-to-school physicals and possibly vaccines or blood draws for your kids too. For some families, this topic makes kids and parents alike cringe. We know the critical importance of vaccinations, but it doesn’t make it easier on a child who is frightened of needles, or on parents as they watch their kids squirm, scream, and cry in anticipation of the shot or needle. Thankfully, research doesn’t stop at the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Dr. Christine Chambers and Anna Taddio are well-known pediatric psychologists who study pain and have worked to get the message out publicly that pain management in kids is important and accessible, especially in the case of vaccine! The campaign, “It Doesn’t Have to Hurt” is an excellent resource for parents. Currently, fewer than 5% of kids receive any pain management during vaccines. It’s reassuring to […]

We live in a time of information overload. It’s impossible to open your computer or reach for your phone and not be surrounded by mountains of information. And with so much at our fingertips, it can be hard to know what is true and what is false. I understand the confusion that so many conflicting accounts can cause because I see it every day. But as a mother of two children I cherish, and as a pediatrician and champion of wellness, there is one thing that does not confuse me — the fact that vaccines are safe and save lives. When my first child was born, I cradled her in my arms and vowed to keep her safe. Since that time, I have worked hard to sustain her mind, body, and spirit with healthy habits. I’m fortunate to be a pediatrician who reads avidly, and is able to make sense […]

Around this time of year, there’s coughing practically around every corner. Kids are hacking away at the table next to you in restaurants. Fellow shoppers are barking down the grocery aisles. Most coughs are short-lived and more of a nuisance than anything. Others linger much longer and can be downright exhausting. One type of cough that can be especially concerning for parents is caused by pertussis (also called “whooping cough”). You probably already know that pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the airways. It spreads like other upper respiratory infections when an infected person coughs or sneezes. But here are 10 important pertussis tidbits you may not know that just might help you and your loved ones be better protected this season. 1. Whooping cough has been making a dangerous comeback in the past decade. In the United States, pertussis used to kill about 9,000 people each year, […]

Vaccines don’t just protect your kids from illnesses — they protect them from passing the germs on to high-risk populations, like the elderly, babies who are too young to get immunized, kids still in need of their booster shots, children whose immune systems aren’t working well (like those with cancer). As a parent, vaccinating your kids is the safest option for them, your family, and your community. How do vaccines work? Getting vaccinated is a way of creating immunity to certain diseases by using small amounts of killed or weakened bacteria (such as pneumococcus) or viruses (like measles) that cause the particular disease. Vaccines cause the immune system to react as if there were a real infection — it fends off the “infection” and remembers the organism so that it can fight it quickly should it enter the body later. What is community immunity? Community immunity, or “herd immunity,” is when […]