We were hopping in here today following the 3 day weekend. I am seeing lots of kids with fevers that have been lasting about 3 days. many of these have been followed by a rash once the fever is gone. We are seeing lots of kids with colds, coughs and ear infections. I still have a few kids with the remnant of hand foot mouth virus. Nothing much else to report. Have a healthy week. Judy

Monday update May 21st

We saw way more well child check ups than sick visits today, so perhaps we are moving away from the Winter illness season. We are having a lot of allergy complaints. There are plenty of folks with congestion, mild coughs and gooey eyes. We had several positive strep throat tests today. I have a few kids out there with a moderate fever that has been lasting four days. If there is a fever lasting for more than 3 days with a fussy kid then I absolutely want them checked out. IF however, they are consolable, eating and sleeping well and seem to be dealing this this, I am okay watching them for a few more days ( especially if it is early in the week) Stay well Judy

Flu update/ nurse judy classes

We have seen some confirmed cases of Influenza type B in the office. There are reports of one school where as many as 40 of the children have had this recently. Our patients are presenting with aches, low energy, fevers 102-103, sore throats and some congestion. The worst of it has only lasted about 3 days. I do not believe that this particular strain was covered by a flu shot. It is a little unusual to be seeing this so late in the season. I will keep you informed it the situation becomes more interesting I have scheduled my next several classes. June 9th 10Am Saturday morning is the Safety Class. This class includes, head injury, burns, poisons, pet safety, child proofing, choking rescue. June 13th 7:30 pm Wednesday evening is the Illness class. This class gives guidelines for when to worry about an illness, We review coughs, colds, tummy bugs, fevers, rashes common viral illnesses, etc etc etc. June 20th 7:30 pm is the Solid foods class. This class answers any questions about feeding your child, how to start, nutritional info, changes in bowel movements, how to read a growth chart etc etc etc. classes are $20/person small groups, RSVP needed nursejudynvp@yahoo.com or www.nursejudy.net There seems to be a new format with the blog spot..I am still getting used to it so forgive the jumbled look of the posts. I also just saw and old comment with a question about slap cheek. You can see the response by clicking on comments

Monday update May 14th 2012

I hope that all the mom's out there had a nice mother's day. We are seeing an increase in coughs and colds this week. I am seeing quite a bit of wheezing. Allergies are flaring and we have lots of conjunctivitis out there. For kids over one, It is worth seeing if claritin/ bendryl or Zyrtec help clear up the eyes. If an antihistamine helps then we are likely dealing with an allergic issue and anti bacterial eye drops are probably not necessary. With kids under one, many times goopy eyes come as a package along with an ear infection, so if they are fussy we probably want to take a look at them in the office. We have some kids with several days of moderate fevers, some positive strep throats and still some cases of Hand Foot mouth hanging around. Stay well Judy

Monday update may 7th/free car seat check

I hope all of you are enjoying the nice stretch of weather. Of course when that thermostat goes above 75 degrees, I know I am going to get calls about rashes. I have seen several types of rashes today. *Straight forward heat rash has the kids looking pretty rashy all over. It calms down within 24 hours once they have have been inside and cooled down. * Viral rashes, these come with or without fevers. I am still seeing hand foot mouth. As I mentioned last week some of the blisters are lasting several weeks. The kids have not been all that miserable. I am seeing a few cases of Slap cheek as well. *Eczema tends to flare up when kids are gorging on all these wonderful berries. This will be a dry red patchy rash that especially loves the insides of the elbows and the area behind the knees. The area right by the anus is often very red. We are seeing plenty of coughs and colds. There are a few cases of strep throat. I have heard reports that there may an odd strain of summer flu heading this way, but I haven't seen it. The city is offering a free child safety seat workshop to the first 25 folks who call. 581-2445 if you are interested. As your child grows it is always a great idea to have someone who knows what they are doing, check and make sure you are using the care seat correctly. stay Well, Judy