Blog entries

Baseball season and caring for young arms and minds

Chris Straughn — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:40:41 +0100

My oldest son is about to turn seven, and I am of course proud of him in so many ways. First grade is going well, and he has grown more independent and self-sufficient. This is a particularly wonderful practical development, seeing as how his three younger brothers are decidedly high-maintenance and not self-sufficient at all right now. An article in the New York Times a few months back still resonates in my mind, as it describes the hormone surge that occurs in the early el...

My Child is Sick! Well, here's the book for you...

Chris Straughn — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:12:04 +0100

For years, our phone nurses have used Dr. Barton Schmitt's book of pediatric protocols to help advise families about a host of ailments. Now, Dr. Schmitt has published a similar book geared towards parents entitled, "My Child is Sick!" The book was selected by Library Journal as one of the 10 Best Parenting titles of 2011. Dr. Schmitt's advice is very clear and practical. This book makes for a great addition to your bookshelf, and it would also make a nice gift for a f...

Cervical Cancer Vaccine for Boys?

Chris Straughn — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:33:08 +0100

On October 25, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices officially recommended that boys should receive Gardasil, a vaccine for Human Papillomavirus, at age 11 - 12. (See New York Times article here.) HPV causes cervical cancer in women and various other cancers in both genders. The new recommendation is an important step in the effort to improve utilization of this cancer-preventing vaccine. The HPV Vaccine has been ...

That's probably not just from teething...

Chris Straughn — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:42:01 +0100

"Well, she has a runny nose, and she has been fussy for 3-4 days, and we thought it was teething. Now she has fever to 102.8, and she is more unconsolable and she can't sleep. What do you think, doc?"

Teething can be an uncomfortable part of growing up that may affect babies off and on throughout the first two years of life. Teething is unlikely, however, to be the explanation for more severe or serious symptoms. A new study published in Pediatrics demonst...

Back to School/Back to Flu Season

Chris Straughn — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:57:19 +0100

Just in time for back-to-school checkups, we have received FluMist, the nasal spray form of the influenza vaccine. The flu vaccine is recommended for everybody 6 months of age and older. FluMist is only approved for those 2 years of age and older, but we anticipate receiving the injectable form of the vaccine approved for all ages soon. Health Day reports here that children benefit from either form of the vaccine, but the nasal spray in particular gives a bette...

Patient Education Online from our homepage!

Chris Straughn — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:32:32 +0100

A new feature debuts today on your friendly new-and-improved forestlanepediatrics.com -- the American Academy of Pediatrics' Patient Education Online database is now accessible through a purple search box on the right side of the home page. Patient Education Online contains reliable, up-to-date health and safety information from the AAP. You can type in any search term, say, "fever" or "temper tantrums" or "sunscreen", and helpful informational articles will pop up. This can be a useful pl...

Sunscreen Updates, 2011

Chris Straughn — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:10:52 +0100

The Environmental Working Group, my favorite resource for sunscreen reviews and safety, has released their Sunscreen Guide for 2011. They even have an iPhone app you can use in the store. Take-home-messages for this year:

zinc oxide and titanium dioxide remain the safest and most effective ingredients
avoid oxybenzone, a possible hormone-disrupting chemical sunscreen ingredient
avoid retinyl palmitate, a vitamin A derivative that can heighten skin-cancer risk
make sure...

Emergency Preparedness (applies to hurricanes, tornadoes, zombies, etc.)

Chris Straughn — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:45:07 +0100

First of all, welcome to the shiny new web design for Forest Lane Pediatrics! In addition to just looking mighty sharp, we hope the functionality is better, too. Soon we will be launching a new-and-improved Patient Portal, where you will be able to review and print your child's vaccine records, see when your next appointment is scheduled, and share other information with us. More info coming soon about that, but first and foremost, I need to mention the CDC's new advice for ...

5-2-1-0 = Healthier Kids

Nova — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:00:00 +0100

When speaking with families about ways to combat childhood obesity, I sometimes struggle to find the right level of advice. It is possible to be too simple ("Eat Less, Exercise More") or too complicated (a long list of "do this" and "don't do that"). The Wall Street Journal reports on "Let's Go!", a community initiative in Portland, Maine that increased awareness about healthy eating and exercise habits. Since they started the program five years a...

Updated Car Seat Recommendation: Stay Rear-Facing Until Age 2

Nova — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

The safety data have been accumulating for several years now, but this week the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their official recommendation to state that children should remain rear-facing in their car seats until age 2, or until they have reached the rear-facing weight and height limits for their car seat. Additionally, older kids should remain in a belt-positioning booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall and are at least 8 years old. The bottom line is that ki...

Things that Wake Up Pediatricians and Obstetricians in the Night

Nova — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:00:00 +0100

If you ask any pediatrician the most common reason for a middle-of-the-night call, I am sure it would be fever. For obstetricians, the answer must surely be a mother in labor. With fever, we do our best to identify the source of the fever, help with the child's comfort, and reassure parents that fever is not harmful. In fact, fever is the body's natural, appropriate response to an illness. This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released help...

Healthy Nutrition Round-up

Nova — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:00:00 +0100

Lots of ideas on my mind that haven’t quite made it to the blog – hope you haven’t missed me too much. The ongoing goal of healthy nutrition is always at the top of the list of challenges for my family and yours. The government recently released their latest recommendations, entitled “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.” For a government document, it is uncommonly straightforward and helpful. The New York Times nicely summarizes these guidelines here and here.
In m...

Higher Education Grab Bag

Nova — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Although many of my posts tend to focus on younger children, a trio of recent New York Times articles caught my eye regarding our young adults.

The first article analyzes the stress high school students experience in the race to do everything. The article was spawned by the release of a new documentary on this subject, "Race to Nowhere." When considered along with "Waiting for Superman," another recent documentary which addresses the failures of our educational sy...

RSV Season

Nova — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Overall, this has been a fairly average cold and flu season so far. We are seeing a number of different types of illnesses, but no major outbreaks of any particular illness. We have not seen much Influenza yet, but historically it peaks in January and February. We have seen quite a bit of RSV, and my youngest son was quite sick with it about a month ago (fully recovered and feeling fine now, thanks!). RSV stands for Respiratory Syncitial Virus, and it is one of the ...

Giving Thanks Edition

Nova — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 06:00:00 +0100

As Thanksgiving nears, I am grateful for many things -- first and foremost, my family, which has grown over the past year. I am also thankful for our patients and families. There are so many interesting topics to discuss and share, and we hope that we can enrich your childrens' lives over the years.

Two topics that I have found fascinating over the past few weeks:

This pair of articles from the New York Times discusses a wide variety of ways to make vegetables...

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Nova — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100

This weekend marks the end of Daylight Savings Time, so at 3 AM early Sunday morning, your clock can "fall back" to 2 AM. Most people just look forward to this extra hour of sleep. Parents of young children, however, are well aware that kids don't look at the clock and will wake up even earlier on Sunday. So even if you can't sleep in, this is a golden opportunity to quickly adjust your child to an earlier bedtime.

I would also like to apologize for the prolong...

Flu Season Approaches

Nova — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

School has started, so that means cold and flu season is not far behind. The flu vaccine is recommended for all persons 6 months of age and older. Currently, we have the intranasal FluMist available for age 2 years and older, and the injection available for age 3 years and older. We expect to have the injection available soon for infants 6 months of age and older. Unlike last year, when there was one vaccine for seasonal influenza and a separa...

Happy First Day of School!

Nova — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Most area kids have had their first day of school now -- yesterday was the first day of kindergarten for us (*sniff-sniff*). Three recent articles in the New York Times describe a range of school issues and should be thought-provoking, no matter how old your kids are.

The Littlest Redshirts Sit Out Kindergarten - discusses the increasing practice of delaying school entry

Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home - what happens when helicopter parents land on a co...

It's an appendix!

Nova — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Any time a child develops a severe stomach ache, one question on parents' and physicians' minds is whether it could be appendicitis. In spite of all of our high-tech medical advances, the diagnosis and treatment of appendicitis is still a challenge. This article in the New York Times highlights this difficulty, and gives a fun shout-out to the classic children's book Madeline while they are at it.

All New Parents Need Food

Nova — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

No, this is not a solicitation for people to bring us a meal (but since we do have a newborn, and if you are in the neighborhood...). One of my favorite foodie websites is Chowhound -- useful local restaurant advice, recipes and helpful message boards, and good tips for where to eat when you travel. A recent article posted on Chowhound discusses "What Food to Bring New Parents." If you feel like doing something nice for any new parents that you know, check it out.