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We may discuss some common medical problems in this section. If there is a specific subject you would like to address
please let me know. This website is intended to provided information for educational purposes. It is not
intended to constitute as medical advice. The contents are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis
or treatment. Please consult your medical doctor prior to starting or stopping treatments.
Colic is a well documented instance where healthy children have fussy period and may seem to be in pain, gassy, or inconsolable.
No one know exactly what causes colic but we do know it is common and some things can help. If your think your child
has colic try some of these things: swaddle and hold your baby close to your heart; try using white noise like running the
vacuum cleaner, the hair dryer or running water, if one of these works make a tape recording and play it over and over; take
your baby for a ride in the car; and mylicon drops for gas. Lastly we may want to try a formula change. If you
are not sure if your child has colic please make and appointment.
Reflux is when your child spits up. This can make be normal but can also make your baby fussy. Babies have
an immature esophagus so reflux can be normal. If your child is a "happy spitter" meaning your baby is happy and gaining
weight then this is probably normal. If you baby is fussy or not gaining weight this is may need to be treated, so please
make an appointment. Either way, some simple things to do are: feed your baby at a 45 degree angle; burp your baby frequently;
use low flow bottles, so your baby does
not swallow air; sit your baby up for 20 minutes after a feed; when you lay you baby
down keep his/her head elevated. Do not feed your baby lying on his/her back. Sometime we may need to change the
formula or use medications to treat reflux.
Croup is caused by a virus. It associated with a barky or seal like cough. Along with the cough your child
may experience a fever, rash, runny nose, and vomiting. Croup often worsens for the first 3-5 days then improves over
3-5 days, so it may last 6-10 days. If your child develops trouble breathing call the office immediately. If you
are not sure whether your child has croup call the office for and appointment. The best treatments are using a humidifier,
nasal saline drops, and over the counter cough and cold medicines.
Diarrhea and Vomiting
Diarrhea and Vomiting has many causes, food related, viral and bacterial. Most likely your child has a "stomach
virus". The most important thing it to keep your child hydrated. Sometimes when children try to drink when they
are sick they drink to much then throw up. Often you need to go very slow and give your child 1 teaspoon every 5 minutes
for 1 hr. If your child tolerates this then increase to 2 teaspoons every 5 minutes. Then continue to increase.
If your child has mostly diarrhea then I generally recommend to feed through it. Things to watch our for are milk and
full strengh juices as they may worsen it. Reasons to call immediately Yellow/Bilious vomiting, No urine output for
more than 8 hrs straight, severe pain, and blood in the stool. If you are not sure whether your child should be seen
call for advice.
Ear Pain, middle ear infection and swimmer's ear Ear Pain has many different causes. The most common is a middle ear infection. This is usually caused by
a virus or bacteria. This may need an antibiotic, though 50% of ear infections will resolve on their own. Another
cause of ear pain is referred pain, child often have trouble isolating pain and throat pain can often cause ear pain.
Fluid can also cause ear pain, but it is often just a side effect of the virus. Lastly swimmer's ear. Swimmer's
ear is not an middle ear infection it is a skin infection. This is why it hurts to pull on the ear. This is treated
with drops. If your child has ear pain, call the office for an appointment so I can adequately diagnose the cause.
Fever
There are a lot of misconceptions about fevers. Fevers are the body's natural reaction to an infection. Fever
helps the body fight off the infection and it is a good thing. Fevers are generally not dangerous to children until
a temperature of 106 is reached. Fever do not cause brain damage. Sometime fevers are associated with a seizure,
called febrile seizures, but that is due to the immaturity of a child's brain. There are no long term effects from it.
But your child should be evaluated by a physician to make sure that is all it is. What can be dangerous is the infection
that causes the fever. The most important thing is how is your child acting. If your child appears sick and/or
has other symptoms you should bring your child in to be seen. Fevers can last up to 10 days. I recommend cool
towels, and a fever reducer to make your child more comfortable.
Headache
If you are experiencing headaches all the time it may be more than just a simple problem. We will do a full examination to
determine the cause of the problem.
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