We had quite a few folks in here for our flu clinic on Saturday.
We will be doing it again on Saturday morning October 20th from 9:30-12:30
I have been seeing a fussy/ fever reaction in about 20% of the patients. This is usually resolved by the following day. It is actually an immune response that lets us know that the shot is working!
Hand Foot Mouth is still going around. Most of the kids are not terribly ill with it this week, but have the spots on feet, hands, butt and around the mouth.
I have seen tons of diarrhea out there.
Some of the cases seem to be food related, but I think there is a virus out there as well.
Food poisoning usually is accompanied by chills, body aches, fever as well as diarrhea and/ or vomiting.
There are lots of coughs and colds. Many of our kids with sensitive airways are pretty reactive and are wheezing. If your child has a nebulizer this is a good time to make sure you have some fresh tubing and medications on hand before we are hit with the Winter ailments. Call if you need refills!!
I do have some kids with high fevers and congestion, so far they have NOT been positive for influenza. This virus seems to be lasting about 4 days.
We have seen several cases of strep throat.
Nurse Judy Class update:
My next solid foods class will be held Wednesday evening October 3rd at 7:30pm
full class info can be found at www.nursejudy.com
Monday, September 24, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
hand foot mouth is back
I realize that hand foot mouth didn't make the list earlier this week.
Unfortunately this afternoon I have been fielding call after call about it.
It seems to be going through quite a few day cares out there.
Some of the kids have very spotty butts and seem reasonably well otherwise,
Some poor kids seem to be having a lot of mouth pain and are quite miserable.
Time fixes this virus. Your goal is to keep your little one hydrated.
A dehydrated child will have very low energy, decreased urine output and not a lot of tears or drool. They seem dry and droopy.
If you are worried about hydration do make sure to get them seen right away.
If your child is running around, has normal activity level, and reasonably wet diapers, then I am not concerned.
Keeping them comfortable is the best way to get them drinking. Even if they have no fever, it is appropriate to dose them up with tylenol or Ibuprofen ( motrin/advil).
Tylenol comes in a suppository form if they are resistant to taking medicine by mouth.
For older kids with mouth sores 1/2 teaspoon of benedryl mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of maalox..squirted around the mouth every 4-6 hours brings some good relief.
Most of the kids with the mouth sores do much better with cool, creamy foods. Avoid tangy things like orange juice that might sting.
Check out past posts for more info about the virus.
I will check back in next week
Judy
Unfortunately this afternoon I have been fielding call after call about it.
It seems to be going through quite a few day cares out there.
Some of the kids have very spotty butts and seem reasonably well otherwise,
Some poor kids seem to be having a lot of mouth pain and are quite miserable.
Time fixes this virus. Your goal is to keep your little one hydrated.
A dehydrated child will have very low energy, decreased urine output and not a lot of tears or drool. They seem dry and droopy.
If you are worried about hydration do make sure to get them seen right away.
If your child is running around, has normal activity level, and reasonably wet diapers, then I am not concerned.
Keeping them comfortable is the best way to get them drinking. Even if they have no fever, it is appropriate to dose them up with tylenol or Ibuprofen ( motrin/advil).
Tylenol comes in a suppository form if they are resistant to taking medicine by mouth.
For older kids with mouth sores 1/2 teaspoon of benedryl mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of maalox..squirted around the mouth every 4-6 hours brings some good relief.
Most of the kids with the mouth sores do much better with cool, creamy foods. Avoid tangy things like orange juice that might sting.
Check out past posts for more info about the virus.
I will check back in next week
Judy
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Update September 18th
We are seeing a little bit of everything.
Mostly the garden variety back to school illnesses abound.
There are lots of coughs, colds with fevers. Plenty of these have been turning into ear infections.
There are lots of kids with sore throats.
Less than half of these have been positive for strep.
There is a vomiting/ diarrhea illness that lasts for a couple of days..
There is active pertussis out there in the community.
I have had LOTS of head lice calls, Check those heads!
We have NOT seen positive tests for Influenza or RSV yet.
Remember that we do have our drop in FLU shot clinic on Saturday the 22nd from 9:30-12:30 here in the office. ( for our Noe Valley Pediatrics patients and families only)
Stay well, enjoy the last bits of summer
Judy
Mostly the garden variety back to school illnesses abound.
There are lots of coughs, colds with fevers. Plenty of these have been turning into ear infections.
There are lots of kids with sore throats.
Less than half of these have been positive for strep.
There is a vomiting/ diarrhea illness that lasts for a couple of days..
There is active pertussis out there in the community.
I have had LOTS of head lice calls, Check those heads!
We have NOT seen positive tests for Influenza or RSV yet.
Remember that we do have our drop in FLU shot clinic on Saturday the 22nd from 9:30-12:30 here in the office. ( for our Noe Valley Pediatrics patients and families only)
Stay well, enjoy the last bits of summer
Judy
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
General update 9/11
There are a lot of illnesses out there.
We are seeing a fever/cough that has been lasting about 4 days. The fever has been less than 102.
There are quite a few patients with nausea/vomiting. (some have a low fever), once the vomiting subsides along come the loose stools that hang on for 3-5 days.
There are lots of coughing kids around, some wheezing
Strep throat is around as well.
After a fairly quiet summer I am getting lots of calls about head lice.
We do have a fairly comprehensive head lice treatment guide that we will be happy to email you, but there is also a new prescription lice treatment out there called sklice if our plan A doesn't work.
It is also heavy tick season.
If you are out in any wooded areas please check yourselves and children from head to toe for ticks.
West Nile Virus is on the horizon.
Make sure there is no standing water around your house, and make sure your windows are screened!
FLU is not here yet, but we are busily getting folks protected. We will be having a drop in Flu shot clinic on Saturday September 22nd from 9:30 am-12:30pm
Please refer to earlier posts for more details.
Judy
We are seeing a fever/cough that has been lasting about 4 days. The fever has been less than 102.
There are quite a few patients with nausea/vomiting. (some have a low fever), once the vomiting subsides along come the loose stools that hang on for 3-5 days.
There are lots of coughing kids around, some wheezing
Strep throat is around as well.
After a fairly quiet summer I am getting lots of calls about head lice.
We do have a fairly comprehensive head lice treatment guide that we will be happy to email you, but there is also a new prescription lice treatment out there called sklice if our plan A doesn't work.
It is also heavy tick season.
If you are out in any wooded areas please check yourselves and children from head to toe for ticks.
West Nile Virus is on the horizon.
Make sure there is no standing water around your house, and make sure your windows are screened!
FLU is not here yet, but we are busily getting folks protected. We will be having a drop in Flu shot clinic on Saturday September 22nd from 9:30 am-12:30pm
Please refer to earlier posts for more details.
Judy
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
September 4th Weekly update
School has started and we are seeing a big upswing in the number of illnesses out there.
Here is what seems to be going around
We are seeing some croup ( barky cough at night, mostly okay during the day)
This typically lasts 3 days. Lots of fluids during the day and a humidifier at night are your best bets. If your child seems to be having labored breathing..Sit inside a steamy bathroom for a while, if not clearing head to the ER, the night air often helps a lot and more often that not they are much better before you get there.
There are lots of coughs and colds out there. Many of our kids who have a tendency to get wheezy are having a little flare up.
There seem to be quite a few kids with conjunctivitis.
I have seen quite a few kids with fairly intense vomiting that lasted for less than a day and then was gone. This was NOT associated with diarrhea or fever. it remains a mystery but all the kids are fine now.
We also have had a few cases of diarrhea
There is some strep throat out there. Some of the cases are Strep G that is not picked up by the quick test in the office. ( strep G can be treated with antibiotics if your child feels lousy, but it will go away on its own. We don't feel compelled to treat it the same we we do the Group A strep)
FLU SHOT UPDATE.
We currently have all forms of the vaccine in stock.
Call to make an appointment to get the shot, or come by our drop in flu clinic on September 22nd from 9:30-12:30 ( this is for Noe Valley Pediatrics families only)
Stay well!
Judy
Here is what seems to be going around
We are seeing some croup ( barky cough at night, mostly okay during the day)
This typically lasts 3 days. Lots of fluids during the day and a humidifier at night are your best bets. If your child seems to be having labored breathing..Sit inside a steamy bathroom for a while, if not clearing head to the ER, the night air often helps a lot and more often that not they are much better before you get there.
There are lots of coughs and colds out there. Many of our kids who have a tendency to get wheezy are having a little flare up.
There seem to be quite a few kids with conjunctivitis.
I have seen quite a few kids with fairly intense vomiting that lasted for less than a day and then was gone. This was NOT associated with diarrhea or fever. it remains a mystery but all the kids are fine now.
We also have had a few cases of diarrhea
There is some strep throat out there. Some of the cases are Strep G that is not picked up by the quick test in the office. ( strep G can be treated with antibiotics if your child feels lousy, but it will go away on its own. We don't feel compelled to treat it the same we we do the Group A strep)
FLU SHOT UPDATE.
We currently have all forms of the vaccine in stock.
Call to make an appointment to get the shot, or come by our drop in flu clinic on September 22nd from 9:30-12:30 ( this is for Noe Valley Pediatrics families only)
Stay well!
Judy
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