What a tragedy. On a beautiful Sunday morning, a gunman goes on a shooting rampage at a place of worship in Oak Creek. This happens just a short time after a mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and at a sacred place where anyone should feel safe. While there are not easy answers to explain this tragedy, even for adults, some of the following brief ideas may help parents help your kids navigate through this event: …Continue reading →
A,B,C’s of Safe Sleep
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is committed to educating families about safe sleep practices. The A,B,C’s of Safe Sleep stands for A = Alone, B = on the Back, C = in a Crib. During 2006-2009 more infant deaths occurred due to unsafe sleep practices than because of SIDS. Some of the unsafe practices included use of soft bedding such as pillows, blankets, quilts, or bumper pads; bed- sharing with adults or siblings; infants placed on tummies or sides when put to sleep; or infants placed on a couch, chair, car …Continue reading →
Forest View Pediatrics 1962-2012
This month Forest View is celebrating 50 years as a pediatric clinic. We are very proud of our long tradition of providing excellent pediatric care. For this milestone, I interviewed the founder of our clinic, Dr John Czajka. (Pictured below).
Pediatric care was quite different in the 1960′s, focusing primarily on treating acute illness. When well babies left the nursery, they were not seen in the office until one month of age. Very few patients were seen for behavioral or education concerns. Fewer well child visits were recommended and only 5 vaccines were available: smallpox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio. (We now vaccinate for 15 diseases and the smallpox vaccine was discontinued in 1971.) The only antibiotics available in the early 1960′s included …Continue reading →
Toppling Televisions
The heavy television in your home may not seem like something that your child could knock over. However, many children are injured and even killed by TVs that have tipped over. Front-heavy televisions can topple on a child who is trying to reach for a toy or remote control that is sitting on top of the TV. In fact, 169 children died between 2000 and 2010 due to televisions tipping over, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Deaths usually are caused when a television crushes or suffocates a child.
In addition, an estimated 13,700 children were treated in emergency departments between 2008 and 2010 because they were struck by a television, according to the CPSC. Those …Continue reading →
Pertussis Update
As you have heard one the news, we have been seeing a rise in cases of Pertussis (Whooping Cough) in southeast Wisconsin. We have tested many children here in our office and have had a few positive cases each day for the last few weeks.
Now is a good time for you and your family members to be sure that you are current with all your vaccinations. Pertussis protection comes from the DTaP or Tdap vaccine. No vaccine is 100% effective as some of our patients who have tested positive for pertussis are up to date with their vaccines. Even if it is not 100% preventable, the vaccine often …Continue reading →
The College Search
May 1st was the deadline. That was the date by which my son needed to confirm his acceptance at the college he chose to attend. My wife and I have now been through the college search three times (one more to go!) Here are some things I found out along the way…
May 1st is not the only deadline. While ideally the process of choosing a college begins in the student’s junior year, there are numerous deadlines to monitor, mostly in the senior year, for applications, recommendation letters, and scholarships. Most schools ask for a …Continue reading →
Ibuprofen, Tylenol, or Both?
When my children have a fever, I usually head to the medicine cabinet to see what I can do. Fever itself isn’t dangerous. There is even some literature that shows it can help kids fight off infection. Unfortunately, fevers sure do make them cranky. Remember, at times, it is OK to not “treat” a fever. Even if you do give your child a fever reducer, occasionally the fever may not come back to “normal”- and that’s OK. Really, all you are trying to do is to keep your child as comfortable as possible until the illness goes away.
Once you’ve decided your child needs something to feel better, what should you choose? There are lots of formulations of acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) and ibuprofen (e.g. Advil) out …Continue reading →
What is Gardasil?
You may be aware of a vaccine that protects patients against the human papilloma virus, also known as HPV. HPV is a virus that is easily spread by skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity with another person. Over 75 percent of sexually active individuals acquire at least one type of HPV at some point in their lives. HPV can cause genital warts in both males and females. It is the main cause of cervical and other cancers in females, and also …Continue reading →