Tuesday, November 30, 2010

tummy bug back

This morning my desk is full of charts of vomiting kids.
Some have diarrhea, some have fevers with this..
so it is going around.....again.
Good hand washing please!!
Nurse Judy

Monday, November 29, 2010

Where did November go??

I hope everyone had a healthy and pleasant Thanksgiving holiday.
There is not much new going around.
Or biggest complaint is absolutely the ongoing cough.
We are seeing a bit more croup as we did last week and more of our kids are getting wheezy.
When your kids have colds and coughs please check in with us if
*you are noticing that the mucous is getting thicker and greener and not clearing
* there is a fever that is lingering for more than 3 days
* your child is much fussier than usual
*sleep is consistantly miserable for more than a few nights
**** and the most important thing of all..are the respirations labored??
Without listening to the sounds, look are your child. Is the breathing more rapid than usual? is the tummy going in and out more than usual?
These are signs that the breathing isn't as easy as I would like it and it might be worth a visit. it is certainly worth a call.
Now you can start listening. Is the breathing very noisy..from the chest?? Sometimes colds can cause noisy nose breathing from the nose...we are not bothered by that. We are interested in noises that seem to be coming from down in the lungs.
To recap.
Noisy labored breathing and /or fussy kids need to be seen.
Congested, stuff kids who are sleeping, eating, content, clear mucous....we can play the wait and see game.
While you are waiting, you can do the following to keep your kids more comfortable.
*Elevate their heads
*use a humidifier at night and/ or go into s steamy bathroom several times a day
*put saline or breast milk in the nose and use an aspirator or nose frida to suck it back out
*keep your child drinking as much as you can. Good hydration will keep the musous thinner and help it clear more easily.
Call as needed!!
Judy

Monday, November 22, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving/ some croup around

We are here only 3 days this week.
Perc will be available for any of your after hours needs during the holiday break.
Today we have had some weekend reports of CROUP.
Croup usually presents in the middle of the night with a very barky cough. Some kids actually sound like seals.
If this happens, stay calm and go into a steamy bathroom for a few minutes. Most of the time the symtoms ease quite a bit from either steam or going outside into the night air.
If you feel like your child is really laboring, it is reasonable to head over to the emergency room.
In most cases of croup the symtoms have significantly lessened by the time you get there, but in some cases the kids need treatment including a shot of steroids to calm things down.
The croup virus is quite contagious and usually lasts around 3 days, with nights being worse than the days.
Running a humidifier at night and giving lots of oral fluids during the day should help out a lot.

We still have some cases of hand/ foot/ mouth around including some unfortunate moms who must not have had it when they were young.
Most of what we have been seeing are the very persistent coughs and colds.
Anything that has been lingering for more than 3 weeks probably deserves an evaluation.
A few stragglers still have the tummy bug, but that has tapered off for now.

Hope you all have a happy thanksgiving and easy travels if you are braving the airports or doing a road trip
~Nurse Judy

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

upcoming flu clinic

We will having another flu clinic here at the office on Saturday morning November 20th from 9:30 until 12:30.
If any patients or family members need to get their first or second shots (or mist) feel free to drop by. No appointment is necessary.
We haven't seen any official cases of flu yet, but we are certainly seeing a viral syndrome that causes fairly high fevers along with some congestion.
Coughs and colds abound!
Enjoy the nice weather this week.. I fear that we are in for a change soon!
Stay well
Judy

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

November 9th

We have a whole shopping list of stuff out there.
There is still a tummy bug around, some strep throat and some hand foot and mouth.
There are plenty of coughs and colds as well.
Today I also spoke to quite a few folks dealing with head lice.

With all of the winter ailments keeping our phones and schedules very busy, it becomes very important to schedule your child's routine exams way in advance.

If you haven't yet gotten a flu shot we will be holding another Saturday flu shot clinic at the office on Saturday morning November 20th from 9:30 until noon.

Friday, November 5, 2010

This week in Illness

The tummy bug is still out there! Clear Liquids, BRAT diet, avoid cows milk dairy. (remember breastmilk is a clear liquid).

Had a few kids with upper respiratory symptoms plus a fever this week.

A couple of positive strep screens. The sore throat with congestion virus seems to be receding.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Warmly,

Nurse Charity

Soccer Injury Clinic!

UCSF Orthopaedic Institute and Sports Medicine with
San Francisco Sport and Spine Physical Therapy
is proud to present a free
soccer injury screening clinic
-- Wednesday November 10, 2010 5:30PM-7:00PM
At the UCSF Human Performance Center in Mission Bay.

Call 415.318.8138 to schedule.
Bring yourself and your questions.

Monday, November 1, 2010

November 1st

Last week we had a fairly horrid tummy bug making the rounds.
It is still out there but not quite as bad.
Today we mostly saw lots of colds and coughs.
There were several sore throats that were NOT strep ( always worth testing though)
If the sore throat is accompanied by lots of congestion it is less likely to be strep.
There are quite a few folks out there with mild to moderate fevers that are lasting for about 3 days or so.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!
Judy