Health Information

Antioxidants

Breastfeeding — including information on mastitis, meds to increase milk, and more

Babyproofing Tips — including list of poisonous plants

Calorie Boosters — for kids who aren’t gaining weight well

Circumcision — information on anesthesia

Colic — babies who cry over 3 hours a day

Cord Blood Banking — The American 

Academy of Pediatrics recommends donating cord blood to a public bank, rather than storing it for your own child’s use, since the likelihood of you using it yourself is low. You can read more here on HealthyChildren.org. Here’s an overview of public cord blood banking.

Cough and Cold —Items you may wish to use for a cold:

Hungarian Baby-Nose Vacuum: This device attaches to your vacuum cleaner and sucks snot out of a baby’s nose. Here’s a video.

Nosefrida, The Snot Sucker: This one uses your own mouth to suck. There’s a filter in-between the baby’s nose and your mouth.

Dermatology —  a link to a dermatology diagnostic tool that may help you

Diarrhea

Drowning Prevention — The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends drowning prevention class. I especially recommend it for any young child who will be at a privately owned pool this summer. Here is a guide to water safety from CHOP and a drowning prevention class. Many neighborhood YMCAs also offer lessons, and this is a list of swim classes in the Philadelphia area (compiled in 2016, but still useful).

Fever

Food Allergy Prevention — More and more studies suggest that LATE introduction of solids may lead to an INCREASED risk of food allergies, while EARLY (4-6 months) introduction may lead to a DECREASED risk. Here are some articles on this topic:

• Food Allergy Articles: These are a few medical articles on the topic. This is a very large file and will take a while to load.

• AAP Guideline: introducing food

• The Peanut Allergy Puzzle Article, from the New Yorker

• EAT Study: early introduction of allergenic foods to induce tolerance

• Early exposure to food and food allergy in children

Fluoride Varnish — recommended from the first tooth until age 5. Here’s more information about when and how to come in for your child’s flouride varnish treatments.

High Blood Pressure

Iron Deficiency Prevention — AAP Guidelines say, start iron supplements in breastfed babies at 4 months

Measles

Migraines

Nanny Hiring — If you are hiring a nanny, please pay for him or her to be tested for Hepatitis B and tuberculosis to see if she has them, and to be checked for immunity against measles, mumps and chicken pox, before starting. Also, provide for the nanny to receive a flu vaccine each fall, and a Tdap vaccine (against whooping cough) within 2 years of starting with a newborn, as well as give proof of a hepatitis B and hepatitis A vaccine at some point in the past.

Overweight — how to prevent it in young children & how to lose weight

Probiotics — an article from Dr. Lieberman

Ringworm

Sleep — an article from Sleep Journal on Methods of Sleep Training for Babies and Young Children & another article on long-term effects of Sleep Training at age 6 years old (no long-term effects are seen)

Smoking Cessation

Thrush

Ticks — what to do if you find a tick on your child

Tuna Fish — how much is safe?

Tylenol and Ibuprofen — this very interesting article from the American Academy of Pediatrics questions the safety of acetaminophen (Tylenol). Worth reading before giving your child this common over-the-counter medication. And concerns about renal function and ibuprofen in infants are probably overstated. That said, do be careful with ibuprofen if your infant or child is dehydrated, and give Tylenol until they are better hydrated.

Vaccine Information — our vaccine page has links to Vaccine Information Statements by the CDC and to the AAP information site on immunizations, as well as a number of interesting articles.

Violence — talking about it with children

Vomiting

Yeast Diaper Rash