Occasionally I am surprised by some parent’s beliefs. There are a lot of “old wive’s tales” out there which I am used to: fever curdles milk in baby’s stomachs, fever will cook baby’s brain, blowing cigarette smoke in ears is…
Every pediatrician has come to know The Look. The parent’s face falls. They are obviously disappointed, sometimes angry. It happens when the parent came in expecting that the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic for their child’…
Sometimes when a parent is talking about her sick child, I hear about things they have already tried to make the kid better. Usually these are the regular things like pain medicines or hot compresses. Sometimes parents try…
It is a busy time of year for us in the ER business. Besides the usual injuries and illnesses, people fill the ERs in the evenings with worries that are NOT emergencies. The waiting rooms are clogged with milling crowds, often…
When the sun goes down, people worry more. They stay awake at night worrying about their job, their relationships, their finances. There are few other people awake with whom to talk the worries out. And when kids get sick with…
3:30 am: Mom brings the three-year old into the ER. He awoke screaming with ear pain, crying about "buzzing." I look in his ear with the otoscope and see a tan-colored insect, waving its floppy wings against the poor boy's…
