It's the day after Memorial Day. The weekend was great. We played in the dirt planting flowers, marched in the parade,
made some chairs, barbecued burgers and dogs, and collapsed into the hammock. Summer has officially started. Time to talk
about Summer health and safety
First, Lymes disease - The best way to deal with Lymes is to prevent
it.That means, bug repellent on the kids and us when outside, wear long sleeve shirts and pants if at all possible. (This
is southern Jersey, after all) And most importantly, strip search the kids each evening, looking for those obnoxious little
ticks. A tick has to be on you for 24 hours to give you Lymes disease. If you can remove it at less than 24 hours of attachment,
you're safe. Take the ticks off with tweezers. Straddle the tick with the tips of surgical steel, fine point tweezers,
press slightly down into the skin, grab the head, mouth parts, and a small piece of skin, and pull strongly up. If you get
a small piece of skin with the tick, it means you probably got the whole tick. PLEASE, do not a)try to suffocate the tick
with vaseline, etc. b) touch a burnt match to the back of the tick to make it let go of you kid. These procedures will shock
the tick, causing it to vomit into your kid. Not a desirable medical event.
Now, if you get bitten by a dratted
tick, and you remove it, watch for a growing, flat rash usually around the bite site. If you do see the rash, get to your
Doc.
One other thing. Put some anti tick preparation on all the four footed members of the
family, like
"Front Line". It will help keep the ticks out of the house and protect
the pets, too.
Second - Water safety, which means CPR training. In sunny (hot) southeast
New Jersey, most of us have access to the ocean, a lake, a boat, a pool, whatever. It is really a good idea to know Cardio-Pulminary-Resusitation.
Yes, there are lifeguards at most beaches, but not everywhere. And its not the Cop or EMT speeding to the scene with lights
and sirens who saves the kid found at the bottom on the swimming pool. It's the Mom or Dad, who knows CPR, who saves the
kid found at the bottom of the swimming pool. The American Red Cross gives courses. Their number in Pleasantville is 646 8330.
The cost is $ 70.00. And it is well worth it.
Third - Sun block. The rates of skin cancer have
been rising. Skin cancer is a result of the total, lifetime solar exposure. Some studies report that half of the total lifetime
exposure is received by the age of 19. So, make sure everyone, especially the young ones, have SPF 50 on, and reapply it when
leaving the water. Also, I feel that kids under 12 months of age should not be exposed to direct summer sunlight. Their skin
is most delicate. If you have to take the four month old to the beach at noon, put the kid in a burnous.
Fourth
- Rabies. Over the last decade, over 200 animals in Atlantic County have been confirmed to have rabies. This is where prevention
is the gold standard of care. Please make sure all the pets in your neighborhood are properly vaccinated for rabies. Please
make sure that you and the kids do not go near any stray animals. And please stay clear of the seven wild animals that are
most likely to carry rabies. They are, bats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, ground hogs, wild cats, and cyotes,
If you
or a child is bitten, try to secure the animal, or identify it, and seek medical attention immediatelhy.
Fifth
- Mosquitoes. These critters are a royal pain in the derriere, and elsewhere. As with ticks, bug repellent is necessary. For
the kids, repellent with 10% or less DEET. Also, mosquitoes need just three inches of standing water to breed in. Have the
kids empty all containers with standing water each morning. This is called mosquito suppression rounds. In addition to that,
make sure that you search out any old tires on you property and nearby property. Tires are mosquito incubators. They always
have water in them, and when the sun shines on them, they warm up. They're incubators for bugs. If you find one, cut it
up and ship it out.
If you have any questions, please call your pediatrician.
Dr.
D.
Viral Throat Infections - One of the most basic drives that parents have is protecting their kids.
Protection from hunger, danger, and illness. If the child is sick, the parent has an elemental need to do something to make
the little one well. So when the parent is told that Johnny has a viral throat infection, and is not given a antibiotic, they
look confused and wonder why they took their kid to the doctor in the first place.
This a daily topic of conversation
in the office. There are two types of micro-organisms which cause most of the infections in people. They are bacteria and
viruses. Examples of a bacteria are Strep, Staph, Haemophilus influenza Group B. Examples of viruses are Chicken Pox, Measles,
Adenovirus. We have lots of medicine for bacteria. Antibiotic means anitbacterial. We have very few medicines for viruses.
But as far as healthy kids are concerned, this is not a major problem in most cases. The reason is that little kids are equipped
by nature with immunologic machinery to kill viruses. Many people think that if it's a virus, it goes away on its own
There is nothing you can do for it. Actually this is not correct. Your child's immune system is throwing off the virus.
It does not go away by itself. And there are things you as a parent can do to help Johnny's immune system to throw off
the virus. First, if your child is old enough, gargling with salt water several times a day will kill viruses. Second, the
fever is one of the body's major mechanisms for throwing of the illness. It's not the virus causing the fever, it's
the body's response to the virus that causes the fever. If you child's temperature is low grade, 99F or 100F, and
he's happily wolfing down ice cream to sooth his throat, don't give him Tylenol. Let the fever do its' job and
kill that dratted virus. Of course if the kid is really hot, give the Tylenol. But be guided in your decision of giving Tylenol
by your understanding of what the fever does.Third, vitamins are a must. Good quality multiple vitamins with trace elements
keep the immune system at peak efficiency. I recommend daily vitamins to everyone.
If you have any questions, give
your Doc a call.
Dr. D.
