Every day several families bring their kids in to the Emergency Department with non-emergencies- runny noses, rashes, diarrhea. Then many times the mom, perhaps sensing our impatience with the inappropriateness of that visit,…
It happens at least once per week that a family brings their child in with a frustrating problem. The complaints are vague, like mild fever off and on for weeks or months, or headaches or belly pain, or odd rashes. The problem…
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…
This past Thanksgiving I spent a day at one of my favorite havens- Boy Scout Camp. No TV, plenty of outdoor activity for the boys, and limited junk food. However, this past visit had its disappointments- many of the kids I…
We can tell by the paramedic’s voice on the radio if a child is truly sick. This time his voice has that urgency that says “be ready.” Moments later they come trundling in, oxygen cylinders hissing, monitors beeping, and the…
When I was in medical school, one of my professors told a story of when he was snowed in in a cabin in the woods, and one of his kids got a cough and runny nose. He had no cold medicine with him, so he mixed his own like they did…
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’…
The following is not an unusual situation: The paramedics pull up on the scene of an injury. They assess the patient, and let’s say the patient is a seven year-old girl with a broken leg. Mom: “Can you take her to Regional…
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…
Many of my conversations with the parents of sick kids begin with "We went to the doctor to get his shots, and the next day he came down with..." Sometimes the parents think the actual vaccinations made their child sick. I…
