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Choosing a Concussion Test for Kids and Baseline Testing

September 13, 2017

September is here and team sports are back in full swing with football, hockey and soccer seasons gearing up, and with those comes the issue of determining an accurate concussion test for kids. A common question that comes up each year is whether we need to do baseline testing for concussion on all youth athletes….

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Hurricanes and Floods – A Disaster Readiness Guide (Modified from the American Academy of Pediatrics)

September 7, 2017

This year has been a particularly bad year for hurricanes. We are still recovering from Harvey and are now about to be hit by Hurricane Irma. Natural disasters are frightening and overwhelming for everyone, but having an action plan can make a critical difference in outcome. First, every family should have identification cards for each…

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Does Vitamin D Prevent Colds and the Flu?

September 6, 2017

Vitamin D is the new “super Vitamin.” Produced by the skin, liver and kidney, Vitamin D is instrumental in regulating and maintaining bone, calcium balance, good cardiovascular health and proper immune function. Over the past 3-4 decades we have seen a significant increase in Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is defined as…

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Lice In Kids – Effective Lice Treatment and Back to School

September 5, 2017

After a long summer break, two emails seem to populate parent’s email boxes; 1. A child in your class has been diagnosed with strep OR 2. A child in your class has head lice. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer email 1. Head lice in kids is very common, more likely to…

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Hurricane Harvey and Children

September 5, 2017

Hurricane Harvey is one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. According to recent reports, almost 50 inches of rain have fallen in Houston. Approximately 30,000 people are in shelters with over 40% being children. Over 1 million children could be affected in weeks and months to come. Children are the most vulnerable in…

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Preventing Back Pain In Kids — How to Choose the Right Backpack

September 5, 2017

Shopping for clothes and back to school supplies are part of the routine of every school year. New backpacks are part of that list too. But backpacks need to do more than just look great. A poorly fitting backpack can cause chronic back pain in kids and is probably one of the most common reason…

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Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones – Casts, Splints and Ace Wraps

August 21, 2017

If your child has had a broken bone, a bad sprain or a mild sprain, your physician might use a cast, a splint or an ace wrap. Each of these offers different amounts of support and immobilization to allow the bone or joint to heal. Casts and splints can be made of plaster or fiberglass…

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Overuse Injuries in Children’s Sports – Little Leaguer’s Elbow and Shoulder

August 21, 2017

Overuse injuries are “chronic injuries related to repetitive stress on the musculoskeletal system without sufficient recovery time”. (1) Symptoms associated with overuse injuries develop slowly and are initially associated with playing sports. If they are left untreated, they can even occur during rest as the injury worsens. Multiple factors contribute to overuse injuries in children’s…

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Growth Plate Injuries and Kids

August 21, 2017

Every pediatrician knows the saying “kids are not little adults” and this applies to broken bones as well. The good news is that when kids get fractures they tend to heal faster than adults. The bad news is that a fracture in the wrong place can interfere with proper growth. This is particularly true for…

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Drowning in Misinformation – Dispelling Common Myths about Children and Drowning Terminology

July 27, 2017

This June, a four year old boy old died tragically in Texas several days after swimming in a dike. He felt fine that day but started vomiting and having diarrhea the following day. A few days later, his father found him unresponsive, called 911 and he was rushed to the emergency department but did not…

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