Peninsula Pediatrics

Category: Preventive Care

Cold and Flu Season

Posted on by Splash Creative

The sick season is here, and we’ve seen an increase in the number of patients with the common cold and flu. These respiratory infections often spread through close contact with sick individuals or by touching your face after coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. Fortunately, there are steps to take to protect your family and reduce the risk of illness this season. 

As recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we highly encourage families to vaccinate their children against the flu. Babies and younger children are particularly at risk of developing severe complications from the flu, which may require hospitalization. Since a baby’s immune system is still developing, it is more challenging for their body to fight infections. The flu vaccine strengthens your child’s immune system and helps protect them from the virus. Children should receive their first flu vaccine at six months of age. If your child is under eight years old and receiving the flu vaccine for the first time or has only received one dose previously, they will need two doses four weeks apart for full protection.

In addition to the flu vaccine, there are several preventive measures you can follow to keep your kids safe from getting sick. Remind your children to practice good hygiene such as washing their hands regularly with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially before eating or touching their face. It’s also important to disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Make sure to wipe down toys, tables, doorknobs, and other areas your kids come into regular contact with. Keep your kids away from anyone who is ill, including other family members in the household. Extra care should be taken when visiting crowded public spaces, such as airports, where germs are more likely to spread.

Even though there is no cure for the common cold or the flu, there are ways to help ease your child’s symptoms and make them feel more comfortable if they do become sick. Getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of fluids is essential. For congestion, you can use a nasal spray to loosen and help get rid of mucus. A cool mist humidifier or a warm bath can also be effective for relieving congestion. If your child has a sore throat, you can provide them with herbal tea mixed with honey. However, this should be only for children over one year of age. Honey is NOT safe for babies under the age of one. The recommended amount of honey for children between one and five is half a teaspoon. Kids ages six to eleven can have one teaspoon, and for children over twelve, they can have two. If this isn’t sufficient in soothing their throat, you can give your older child a cough drop, but make sure to follow the product instructions. 

If your child has a fever, you can give them acetaminophen or ibuprofen. But it’s important to follow the correct dosage based on your child’s age. We recommend following these guides for the right dosage: acetaminophen and ibuprofen. If your child’s fever is above 104°F or you have an infant under 3 months with a fever, seek medical care. 

In most cases, the cold and the flu will improve with home care. If your child’s symptoms persist or get worse, please call our office. We also advise calling the pediatrician if your child is under 3 months or if they have chronic health conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that put them at a higher risk of complications.  

 

Preventing Sports Injuries in Children

Posted on by Splash Creative

Engaging in sports offers children and teens a chance to stay active, build confidence, and foster friendships. Sports also bring a sense of excitement and accomplishment while helping young athletes develop essential skills. However, it’s important to also understand the risks of injury, especially if kids push their limits. There are many things families can do to protect their kids from getting injured so that they can enjoy sports safely.  

Common injuries from sports in kids include sprains, strains, growth plate irritation, and stress fractures (which are small bone fractures caused by repeated stress and impact). While all sports can cause injuries, sports with the most contact pose a greater risk of a traumatic injury. We recommend that young athletes avoid specializing in one sport too early. Playing a variety of sports not only provides opportunities to develop a broader range of skills, but it also reduces the risk of repetitive stress injuries. As a parent, you have a key role in guiding children toward age-appropriate sports that match their development and physical abilities. Your pediatrician can also help you assess this. 

To prevent injuries and ensure that sports remain safe and fun for kids, encourage your child to take time off. It’s best for children to take at least one day off each week and one month off per year from training for a specific sport. This allows the body to recover. Additionally, your child should have the appropriate protective gear that fits correctly, such as pads, helmets, mouth guards, and eyewear. It is also important for children to strengthen their muscles and flexibility.  Conditioning exercises that focus on the muscles used in sports can help build stability.  Stretching after practices or games improves flexibility – all of which helps prevent muscle strains.  

Another way to prevent injury is to ensure that proper techniques in sports are being used and that safety rules are followed. This includes avoiding head first sliding in baseball and spearing in football. If your child ever feels pain, they should stop playing at once. Playing through pain can turn a minor injury into something serious. Taking breaks during practices and games is also crucial. This is especially the case when the weather is hot so that your child doesn’t get a heat-related illness or fatigue-based injuries. Make sure your child stays hydrated and wears appropriate clothing for the weather as well.

Physical injuries aren’t the only concerns when it comes to sports. Emotional stress can also take a toll on young athletes. Although winning is exciting, it’s important to keep the focus on effort, improvement, and teamwork. Kids should feel encouraged to enjoy sports for the fun, health benefits, and learning opportunities rather than feeling pressured to win.

While sports injuries can’t always be avoided, these steps can minimize the risks. If you have any questions or concerns about sports injuries, call our office. We advise that your child gets evaluated if they experience any point tenderness over a bone, regardless if the swelling is only minimal. Even mild pain should be addressed as it can lead to greater problems.



Common Cold and the Flu 

Posted on by Splash Creative

It is that time of year!  The common cold and the flu are both respiratory viruses that spread more frequently during the winter months of the year. There are many respiratory viruses that can cause a cold.  Healthy children get about 6 colds a year.  Being near a sick person, especially when they cough or sneeze, can cause children and adults to pick up the viruses from breathing in the droplets released. You can also get infected by touching objects and surfaces that contain the viruses and then touching your nose and mouth. Good sanitary and hygiene habits such as washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds and wiping down surfaces with disinfectants are helpful practices to prevent becoming ill. For the flu, it’s important for your family to get the vaccine to prevent serious sickness and complications. 

Typical symptoms of the common cold include a runny nose, sore throat, loss of appetite, constant sneezing and coughing, swollen glands and low-grade fever. These symptoms show up when your child has the flu as well. But with the flu, you might also see a sudden and high fever, a dry cough, chills, headaches, body aches, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea. Children with the flu usually feel sicker than they do with the common cold and the flu often lasts longer. Flu symptoms can also remain for at least a week.  Colds are generally not serious.  With a cold, about 5-10% of children will go on to develop another health problem caused by a bacteria such as a sinus infection or an ear infection.  While there is no cure for the common cold or the flu, there are things you can do to help your child feel better. If your child is sick, make sure they’re getting plenty of rest and hydration. As congestion can be uncomfortable and leave kids feeling down, you can use a nasal spray with saline (salt water) to loosen and remove mucus. A cool mist humidifier is also effective for relieving congestion and making it easier for your child to breathe. Warm baths or sitting for 10-15 minutes in a steamy bathroom are helpful for clearing out congestion as well.  

To help soothe a sore throat, you can mix some honey into water or herbal tea if your child is older than 1. It is not safe for babies under one year of age to consume any honey. Children between ages 1 and 5 can be given half a teaspoon. For ages 6 to 11, you can give one teaspoon, and for children over 12, you can give two. Cough drops can also be used as a last resort if your child is older than 6, but it’s important to avoid giving your child more cough drops than instructed on the product.  

Fevers can occur to help your child’s body fight infections. But if they cause extreme discomfort, you can give your child an acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). Be sure to follow the correct dosage based on your child’s age. For the acetaminophen dosage table, click here. And for the ibuprofen dosage table, click here. 

Most cold and flu symptoms will go away on their own and home remedies will be enough to make children feel more comfortable. However, in certain circumstances, your child may need to see the pediatrician. Always call the doctor if your baby is under 3 months of age and has sick symptoms or you have a baby under one year with a fever. For any child older than 3 months, it is recommended to call the pediatrician if nasal congestion/mucus last more than 2 weeks, their cough lingers for 3 weeks or changes, they have ear pain, they have a fever that lasts longer than 3 days or sore throat that lasts longer than 5 days. 

Trouble breathing, also known as respiratory distress, is a reason to see a doctor right away.  These are some symptoms we worry about:  struggling for each breath or shortness of breath, trouble speaking or crying due to difficulty breathing, ribs pulling in with each breath, noisy breathing such as wheezing, fast breathing, lips or face turn a blue color.  Additional reasons to seek care right away are chest pain, severe muscle pain, extreme dehydration, or seizures. Keep in mind that risks for complications from the cold and flu are higher in children with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, an immune system condition, or lung, heart, or kidney disease. If complications occur, please bring your child to the doctor. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s sickness or fever, please contact our office.  

Wishing everyone a healthy winter season!