The room was suffused with pale light. There was no noise, no breeze. Two children lay on hospital beds, sedated. The only sign of distress would come every few minutes when one of them would tense his whole body, breathing…
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…
Kids get headaches too, even as young as two and three years old! But when many parents first hear their child complaining about head pain, they freak out and head for the Emergency Department. When there is a headache, we all…
It is that time of the year, with the hot weather and the summer rains, when the mosquitoes bloom. It is also the time when TVs should be off and the kids outside playing with friends, getting exercise, sun, and air. But when…
Many people, when they tell me their kid is getting sick with a cold, start with "he was outside yesterday without a coat or shoes, and now look at him!", as if cold air and exposure gave him the illness. Many people believe that…
Many parents fear that high fever will hurt their children. A common visit to my Emergency Department often starts with "My baby had a fever of 103, so I rushed right in." Many times I look the toddler over and he is jumping up…
DODGING VOMIT I have gotten pretty good at dodging vomit over my years as a pediatrician. It only takes once or twice really to learn, after you have been hit. "Gastroenteritis", also called "stomach viruses," "stomach flu," or "…
