Troy pediatrician Dr. Molly O’Shea blogs on children’s physical and mental health, as well as offers parents tips on scheduling and other elements of well-being for infants through high-schoolers.
Kids seem to get a lot of ingrown toenails. I’m not sure exactly why, if it’s because they are picking more at their nails or if parents are trimming them too often or not often enough, but whatever the reason red, swollen, tender areas next to the nail happen frequently. When the skin around a… Continue reading
Children start having dreams at a very young age and sometimes wake or become agitated during the night as a result. Not all waking or agitation is due to dreaming, though. Night terrors can also cause significant night-time distress but are managed differently. Here’s the scoop on some differences. Timing: Nightmares tend to occur long after… Continue reading
Fevers are rampant right now, and sometimes it’s tough to know when to head to the doctor when your child is sick with a fever. Here are some things to keep in mind as you try to decide. Fever indicates that the body is fighting an infection. Both bacteria and viruses cause infections, so the… Continue reading
Bosco cheese breadsticks. Corn dogs. Nacho chips with cheese. These are some of the main dish offerings in my kids’ school district and I have to believe that none of these is healthy, nor likely to help win the war on obesity. Of course there are salads and fruit and turkey sandwiches too, but I… Continue reading
Pink eye is a huge hassle. Kids are kicked out of school or daycare for it routinely and yet many really aren’t that sick. Most kids with pink eye will get better on their own without any treatment but because the infection is quite contagious, using eye drops is common. Pink eye can be due… Continue reading
One recent Thursday afternoon, a family called the office because their daughter’s daycare center had notified the family that one of the children there was suspect for having measles. Naturally the parents of this young child were concerned. Their child was still too young to have received the vaccine, and they didn’t know what to do.… Continue reading
It’s that time of year. Pneumonia time. There are two major types of pneumonia — bacterial and viral — and sometimes differentiating between them can be tough. Most pneumonias are caused by viruses and accompany other cold symptoms. Viral pneumonia typically presents pretty early in the course of illness and is hallmarked by lots of… Continue reading
Mono. We’ve all heard of it and almost everyone knows that the illness is associated with tremendous fatigue. What many don’t understand is that the fatigue is virtually never the only symptom. Sometimes parents of groggy teenagers who lack the energy to do their school work or chores and who sleep until noon on the… Continue reading
It’s stomach flu season. Ugh. Lots of diarrhea and some vomiting are rampant right now. Meanwhile, food poisoning gets a lot of press because some forms of it can result in truly serious illness, including kidney failure and death. Whether your stomach bug is a normal stomach flu or food poisoning, the management is the… Continue reading
I loved recess as a kid. When I was a student I went to a Catholic school and we didn’t even have a playground, and yet every day we went outside and played on the asphalt of the church and school parking lot. We jumped rope or played kickball or tag and I loved every… Continue reading