A seizure in response to a fever, called a febrile seizure, is an extremely common event in childhood. They affect 2 to 5 percent of children between 6 months and five years of age and have a peak incidence between 12 and 18 months of age. They generally occur after a rapid rise in temperature; it appears the rate of rise is more important than the actual …
Disproving the false claims of febrile seizures after vaccines
The boy is three years old and quite curious about the world. He watches his father leave the house and wants to go find him. He looks to his mother but she is napping beside him on the couch, and he would rather not wake her, so he grabs his stuffed dog, Dory, and walks to the door. The door is unlocked, and he heads out of the apartment, wandering …
Stress!
It is a fact of life for all human beings. Stress is a normal reaction — psychologic and physiologic — to the everyday demands of life. When your brain perceives a threat, the body reacts with a fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones, increasing heart rate, and blood pressure. When the situation is over, your body returns to a normal, calm state. But sometimes, in our overly-stimulated world, the stress response button …
How to help your children manage migraines
While the vast majority of measles cases in the U.S. and worldwide are occurring in unvaccinated children, a fair percentage is also occurring in adults. With more-widespread transmission of measles, it’s becoming more important for all of us – yes, that includes parents – to make sure we’re well-protected.
Measles is probably the single most contagious infection that humans face. The key to preventing the return of widespread measles is in …
Should adults receive another dose of MMR?
A lot of parents ask me about the HPV vaccine, “Isn’t that the optional one?” Well, let me walk you through why my answer to that question is a hard “no.”
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that causes warts and several types of cancer. There are over 200 different strains of HPV, some of which tend to cause warts on the hands, feet, or face. Other strains …
No, the HPV vaccine isn’t optional
Well, I won. Six years after I started down the very slow process to end forced MOC in my state, it happened. On December 27, 2018 Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed HB 4134 and 4135 into law. The harm BCBS caused me and my patients will never happen to another pediatrician in Michigan.
I know. Crazy. I’m still in shock. It’s taken a while to process it enough to …
The inspiring story of how a physician fought MOC against all odds
Narrative medicine: I have heard of that, but what is it? I often get asked this question. As a master’s student of narrative medicine, I am still trying to hone in on the best response to that question.
For many, narrative medicine (NM) is not a novel concept. We have watched movies or read books of doctors helping, listening or learning from patients as they wrestle with their illness. Many writers …
Share your stories and experiences, in written, visual, or media form. Stories matter.
All good doctors learn to filter what parents say to them during history taking, to examine each parental statement for reliability, likelihood, and sheer outlandishness. Parents of sick children are a cross-section of humanity and, like all of us, vary in their observational skills, their ability to express themselves, and their tendency to exaggerate or minimize what they see. Parents, not being physicians, may not notice and comment on things …
The problem of disbelieving doctors
What if I told you that your adolescent child could contract a disease that can never be cured, but only maintained? That it would be a lifelong struggle that could change their personality, compromise their potential and values, destroy their relationships and have a long-term detrimental effect on their overall and mental health? That this disease can even be fatal, when ineffectively maintained? What if I told you that the …
If your child is ever prescribed an opioid, read this post first
A Kentucky judge rejected the claims made by a teenager who sued his local health department for temporarily barring students at his school who aren’t immune against chickenpox from attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities.
This article prompted a little thought experiment.
Chickenpox used to be a routine childhood illness. For a couple of weeks, kids who contracted the illness were very contagious and experienced discomfort.
Death was rare, …
Our terrifying chickenpox problem
I have been a medical doctor for 19 years, a pediatrician for 16 years and a mom for 11 years. Being a mom is — hands down — the hardest but also enhances my work as a physician (though I would not admit this before I had my own children). My work at work and my work at home intersect daily.
Since I work in a hospital, I don’t field as …
5 parenting mistakes I make as a pediatrician-mom
The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Children’s Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day.
It’s an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your children’s lives with all of us. Speaking for the staff of the children’s hospital, thank you for …
Thank you for letting us be a part of your child’s life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.
Medicine was my path. I’d decided that early in life before I knew what a career in medicine really looked like. I believed as a doctor, I could help people and have a positive impact on their lives. After all, what does a teenager know about being a doctor?
I’m not a teenager anymore. Here I am at 3 a.m. in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the bedside of …
A physician’s path leads her to a struggle in the NICU
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“As soon as I mentioned the ‘A’ word, I knew she would not be calling me back.” This was what one of the parents I met at my preschool told me about what it was like trying to register her son with autism in a non-specialized local community program.
Once the registrar heard the “A word” – autism – they said that another child had already taken the last spot available, …
Autism and advocacy go hand in hand
Being a doctor mom is a beautiful paradox of feeling like a badass one moment and a frazzled I-don’t-know-what-the-heck-I-am-doing mess of a person. Being a female physician, the majority of us feel there is a societal and cultural pressure to be perfect all the time in every sphere of our life: as a professional, parent, and person. Obviously, expecting perfection is a bit unrealistic.
Among doctor moms, there are some common …
The truth and challenges of being a doctor mom
I did my medical school training in a country where I saw many children die every day from preventable illnesses. Measles, diarrhea, and malnutrition were the norm. I still have vivid memories of a young child dying in my arms of severe diarrhea and dehydration. He had so much to see in this world. We had limited resources to help him. Those poor parents did not have access to clean …
Vaccinating your child is a matter of trust
As first reported by The Wall Street Journal late last month, the war against anti-vaccination propaganda now has a new battlefront. Pinterest, the social-media platform where users discover images and information, has begun blocking vaccine-related search terms on its site.
Anti-vaccine content contradicts evidence-based science and established research, the company told WSJ, while cautioning that the search ban is only Read more…
3 ways to advance the credibility of online health information
Like many pediatric intensivists, I care from time to time for victims of child abuse in the form of what is often called “shaken baby syndrome.” This syndrome is a characteristic constellation of finds that happen when a strong person grasps a child around the chest and aggressively shakes the infant. It was first described by Caffey, a pediatric radiologist, fifty years ago. The baby may have …
Important new information in the tragic cases of child abuse
I have a story to tell. And it’s going to be hard to read. Would you believe me if I told you that the health care industry is not immune to the same gender disparities and discrimination we see all over the news these days? I realize it’s difficult to marry the medical field — with its up-to-the-minute technology and zealous quest to stay ahead of the curve, with something …
A fight this physician didn’t ask for
While winter is traditionally the busiest time of year for pediatricians, this winter has been particularly difficult in the Midwest with not only a larger number of ill visits, but a late and heavy flu epidemic hitting at a point where most of us were already wearing out. With this flu epidemic, our urgent cares, same day sick clinics and ERs have been setting all-time highs for any particular calendar …
A physician’s empathy in urgent care makes a big difference
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