05-14-2020

Recent publicity surrounding “dry drowning” has sparked a number of phone calls from worried parents in my office. While it can and does happen, I want to send a message of general reassurance. The average kiddo who gulps or even inhales a mouthful of water while in the bathtub or while swimming and has a (...)

04-16-2020

Have you ever gone to Instacare/Urgent Care only to be sent to the Emergency Room (ER)? Have you ever spent 8 hours waiting in the ER for an ear infection? One of the challenges of parenthood is knowing where to go when something goes wrong with your child. Generally speaking, as you go from office, (...)

08-04-2019

Everybody should have a few common, key items in their medicine cabinet. These few items should help in a pinch, and save you from making trips to the store in the middle of the night. Here are the must haves to any medicine cabinet: Tylenol (generic is acetaminophen). You can buy the children’s or infant formula; (...)

06-01-2018

It is late spring/early summer and I’ve been fielding daily calls about an illness going around daycares and preschools. The bug is Coxsackie Virus, which causes “Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease” or “Herpangina” (if it’s limited to just the mouth). It’s a miserable illness that all parents should know about, since you’re likely to be (...)

01-06-2018

I woke up this morning to find my baby’s left eye gooped shut. I probably would have been tempted to take her in thinking it was pink eye or something serious, but I’ve seen this a million times in clinic. It was a simple case of “nasolacrimal duct stenosis” (a.k.a., a clogged tear duct). I figured (...)

09-01-2017

I had the privilege of seeing 5 newborns in clinic yesterday. As I found myself repeatedly talking about some of the quirky, lesser known, normal activities of newborns, I realized that there are things parents didn’t warn each other about. These are all NORMAL things in the newborn stage. Skin peeling. Babies have been swimming (...)

08-15-2017

Because August is National Immunization Awareness month, I thought I’d address vaccines. Parents are savvy and ask great questions. Vaccine concerns are no exception. I spend a huge part of my work day discussing vaccines. These are the most common questions I get. 1. Are vaccines safe? The short answer is: yes. The longer answer is that (...)

03-22-2017

A tonsillectomy, the surgery to remove tonsils, is one of the most common surgeries done in the United States. It’s no wonder parents often wonder if their child should have his or her tonsils out. While it is a very common surgery, one should be careful not to take it lightly. There are risks and (...)

03-20-2017

Have you ever noticed little white, hard balls that appear to be stuck in your kid’s tonsils? I’m not talking the white coating/pus that happens when your kid is sick. Usually, the child doesn’t appear ill and it’s something you just happen to notice. If you have, you may be dealing with tonsil stones, or (...)

01-26-2017

I get a lot of questions about what are appropriate doses for Tylenol (see Tylenol dosing article) and Motrin in kids. Here’s the info. Feel free to bookmark this page, print it (and hang in your medicine cabinet) or pass it along. Medication: The medication is in the drug class called NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). (...)