Summertime offers wonderful opportunities for outdoor activities, but your skin can take quite a beating. Sunburns, insect bites and itchy rashes are an inevitable outcome of the fun outdoors, but a little precaution and some basic medicines can usually take care of all the but most serious cases.… Read the rest
Category Archives: Children
Too Much TV is Bad, For Adults and Kids. Here's Why…
Sure, everyone instinctively knows that watching hours of TV most likely isn’t too healthy for you. But exactly how bad is it? Well, there’s some interesting research, for both kids and adults, that may stir up some interesting family discussions — hopefully not over a TV dinner.… Read the rest
Coughing: What Medicines Work?
A cough is one of the most annoying symptoms of the common cold, and OTC cough syrups are one of the most popular purchases in pharmacies. But which ones really work?
No Combos For Children Under Four
Recent reviews have consistently shown that, unfortunately, there is no major evidence that any common OTC products help well for a cough.… Read the rest
"An Elaborate Fraud" — MMR Vaccine/Autism Connection Finally Debunked
Readers may remember a couple posts I wrote last year discussing the British Medical Journal’s retraction of the famous 1990’s study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Last May, the same British doctor lost his license, and this month the same journal is publishing a series of investigative articles which highlight how that study wasn’t simply incompetent but actually was an “elaborate fraud”, with data altered to fit the erroneous findings.… Read the rest
“Not All Bugs Need Drugs” — AKA Antibiotic Overuse…
Here’s another pop quiz: Which scenario below requires antibiotics?
- A fever for 3 days
- Cough that turns wet
- A cough that “gets deeper into my chest”
- Runny nose that turns yellow
The oversimplified answer is “none of the above“, at least not without having a doctor check you out first, to decide whether it’s a virus or a bacteria.… Read the rest
Do You Need The Flu Vaccine? Maybe Not…
It’s definitely the middle of flu season already, and so far it isn’t so bad where I practice. I’m still having daily conversations with my patients about the flu vaccine — but who really needs the annual flu shot? There’s actually a very comprehensive new study which should help shed some light on this issue.… Read the rest