Pediatricians and the clinicians who care for children writing on KevinMD about child health: childhood illness, development, vaccines and the parents who refuse them, breastfeeding and the pressure around it, childhood obesity, prevention, and the realities of caring for young patients and their families. Most contributors are pediatricians. For a maintained record of what pediatricians have said about children's health since 2004, from fever and sleep through obesity, abuse, teenagers, and Medicaid, see Children's health: what pediatricians say, in their own words. For what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, from the autism claim through measles, exemptions, and federal policy, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what child psychiatrists and pediatricians have said about children's and teens' mental health, see Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words. For what pediatricians have said about breastfeeding and postpartum care, see Women's health: what physicians say, in their own words.
I direct a nutrition clinic in a large center for children with special needs. My kids can have everything from mild learning disabilities to genetic disorders that affect growth and development to profound intellectual and physical impairments that cause them to be unable to walk, speak or even scratch their heads. My most seriously involved kids are completely dependent for all their care.
Children who are somewhere in between — for example, children who …
I received my new thinner bigger iPhone. Within a few days, news reports highlighted how new iPhone 6 owners accidentally bent the latest Apple iteration of the modern smartphone. A blogger bent an iPhone 6 Plus with his bare hands. This story, the subsequent fallout, and response has learnings for doctors and health care on the challenges facing the vaccination “debate.”
The best launch in iPhone history with roughly 10 million smartphones shipped …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between January 1 and May 23 of this year, there were 288 cases of measles reported in the US. That’s more than the total number of cases in any year since 2000, when measles was eliminated in the U.S.
We have got to get more people immunized.
Essentially all of the cases were linked to “importations,” cases brought in from other …
Respiratory syncytial virus infection, aka RSV, is a common infection in children. A key aspect of RSV is how poor a job our immune systems do in fighting it off. Virtually all children are infected with RSV during the first few years of life. Not only that, all of us are reinfected multiple times during our lives. Attempts at devising a vaccine for RSV have all been unsuccessful. In fact, …
The recent arrest of Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson on child abuse charges has sparked a national conversation on the manner in which parents should discipline their children. Allegedly, Adrian Peterson injured his 4-year-old son by spanking him with a thin tree branch (“a switch”) and leaving cuts and bruises all over his body.
After learning of Adrian Peterson’s indictment, Peterson’s mother, Bonita Jackson, was interviewed by the …
Michelle wrote in: “We trained my 3-year-old son approximately 3 months ago, and it’s been great. He’s been having virtually no accidents. The problem is that he’s terrified of making ‘dirty’ on the toilet. He does it in his pamper at night when he’s sleeping. He’s very verbal about it, and tells me that he’s scared to let the dirty come out. It’s really difficult to deal with because there …
In my mind it’s no wonder the American Academy of Pediatrics has a statement against spanking. Spanking, in the simplest form, is the act of hitting a child, using physical force to try to get a different outcome. Thing is, spanking is an ineffective discipline tool in the long run and research shows it’s damaging to a child’s mental health. …
HPV stands for human papillomavirus, and these viruses are the most common sexually transmitted viruses in the United States. Most of the people who are diagnosed with HPV are young and sexually active. The rates of HPV infection are high because most people who have HPV do not know they are infected because sometimes the virus shows no symptoms. Most HPV infections show no symptoms, and resolve within …
Widespread news coverage has heightened concerns by many parents about a severe-symptom viral infection causing respiratory illness in children, predominately in the Midwest. Over the last month there has been a dramatic up-spike in children hospitalized with severe cold symptoms and wheezing. The virus isn’t new, but its effect on children seems to be. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed tests on children both in Kansas …
Back-to-school shopping, new sneakers and first-day outfits, sharpened pencils and fresh notebooks in oversized backpacks by the door: As a parent, these are the images I’ve come to associate with the start of every school year.
But with my 20-plus-year history as a developmental pediatrician specializing in autism at Albert Einstein’s Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center, I have an added association with the start of the school year: a particular type of …
Recently, the Los Angeles Timesreported on California pediatrician Dr. Bob Sears’ role as a favorite among vaccine-fearing parents. What he tells them is absolute nonsense that he has freely admitted he made up in a Reddit interview. Now he’s let a little more honesty shine through. He told the reporter:
“I do think the disease danger is low enough where I think you can safely raise an unvaccinated child in today’s society,” …
Doing drugs no longer requires a dealer on the street corner.
Between the late 1990′s and 2010 sales of narcotic pain medicines quadrupled in the United States. Hydrocodone use increased by 280%, methadone by 1300%, and oxycodone by 900%. As the consumption of these medicines increased, so did ER visits and deaths from overdose — up by about 500%.
A whole lot of these medicines are not going to medical use. And …
Doctors talk with their patients about many things that might make some people uncomfortable — sexual issues, abuse (physical or emotional), anxiety, depression, sleep habits, bowel habits, and fears about health-related topics — things that many people might not talk about in casual conversation at the coffee shop or at work. Doctors talk with their patients about smoking, weight, eating habits, exercise, seat belt use, helmet use, and a myriad …
There were many things I pictured myself doing as I endured four years of medical school: building relationships with my patients and their families, performing complicated procedures, sleeping with my shoes on so I could jump up at any moment when I was on call. One thing I didn’t imagine was that I would be learning about and becoming a part of the labor movement.
These days, we hear a lot about the risks of vaccines. As a pediatrician, I talk to many parents who are very frightened about those risks — and some choose not to vaccinate because of their fear.
Some of the risks we hear about are real, but some of them aren’t.
I absolutely support the right of every parent to make what they feel is the best decision for their child. The …
I became a physician in 2001, after originally having a career in business. I wanted to become a doctor to be able to do something important. I felt that if I needed to work, and to leave my children in day care, I at least wanted to be doing something that was meaningful to me. My job as a business manager didn’t fulfill me in that way.
I just saw you in clinic a few weeks ago; your last check up before college. We talked about a lot of stuff, updated shots, filled out forms, hugged good-bye; crammed in what we could in just a few minutes. It was a great to see you.
Now that you are out of the office, away from the distractions of a buzzing …
“We lost our regular doctor with Obamacare, so now we have to see you.”
I routinely ask my new patients how they heard about our pediatric office, and this is the answer I dread most. My pediatric practice is a very nice and modern private office, and in my opinion, full of excellent physicians. I entrust my own children’s care to my partners. But none of that matters when you’re the rebound doctor, the …
