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Health
A child infected by the pertussis bacteria, wracked by violent and rapid coughing spasms, will only stop coughing when all air has been expelled from the lungs. Deprived of air, the child must inhale as much oxygen as possible—causing the telltale...
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Blog
Remember that measles epidemic this past winter—the one that sickened over a hundred people and had millions worrying about this vaccine-preventable disease? California sure does, and it just did something major to prevent it from happening again....
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Health
You’ve no doubt heard of the controversy surrounding vaccines and autism, and perhaps wondered if there’s any truth to the idea that childhood vaccines either cause autism or are somehow implicated in the onset of childhood autism. Rest assured...
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Pregnancy
With the COVID pandemic continuing and flu season starting, it’s the perfect time to brush up on how to best support your immune system in pregnancy. Pregnancy is a time when your immune system is actually somewhat suppressed, so these tips are...
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Health
You’ve probably heard that kids who go to daycare get sick more often—but is there a bright side to all the sniffles and colds? Does exposure to more kids at a young age actually help your child develop better immunity? At birth, a baby’s immune...
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Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its mid-year report recently totaling the number of measles cases in the US from January 1 through July 14. In that period, the US had 107 confirmed measles cases in 21 states as well as the...
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Blog
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if your child got the measles? As pediatricians, I know my husband and I never did. Despite receiving medical training in different parts of the world, neither one of us had actually ever even seen a...
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Blog
An increasing amount of parents are choosing to delay or spread out vaccines for their infants and toddlers. Dr. Allison Kempe and her colleagues at the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that in a typical month, 93 percent of...
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Health
In the United States, vaccines are administered beginning at birth on a schedule that lasts into adolescence. The same vaccine is frequently given in multiple doses over the course of several years—this helps build up full immunity. Some vaccines...
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Health
Nearly 20 years ago, measles in the United States was all but a distant memory, and the disease was declared eradicated. Beginning around 2012, however, measles began to make a dramatic comeback, with outbreaks across the country and a steadily...
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Pregnancy
Most people are aware of the role vaccines play in helping to eradicate large-scale outbreaks of deadly diseases, but what about in pregnancy? Should vaccines be avoided when you’re pregnant? Or do you need them to protect your baby? The...
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Blog
Feeding peanut butter to a baby used to be taboo. Not anymore. According to new guidelines from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the answer to the question of whether or not you can feed your baby peanut butter is...
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Blog
This week, a child in a local school developed chicken pox. She was sent home until no new lesions cropped up and all old ones crusted over — about five to seven days. Her siblings, who have not yet shown any symptoms, are out of school for at...
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Blog
Chickenpox parties. Chickenpox lollipops. A simple Internet search can yield a plethora of information to the vaccine-wary parent. Yet as with all things Internet-related, misinformation abounds. Is exposing an unimmunized child to the varicella...
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Blog
On June 30, 2015, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 277 (SB277), which tightened requirements so that parents could no longer opt out of vaccinating their children if they were attending state licensed schools, daycares, and...
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Blog
This week, one mom has her twin routine down pat, but her husband wants to change it up and show them off. Another mom wants to know if it’s safe to give her child pollen since her husband and she already take bee pollen. See what our...
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Blog
On January 5, 2016, emergency crews were called to Our Kids Daycare and Learning Center in Middleton, Idaho. The reason: concern for carbon monoxide poisoning. The daycare center’s director, Robin Hagaman, noted that some of the 12 toddlers in the...
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Blog
The media had a field day recently when results from a new study about the flu vaccine and its safety in pregnancy were released. Despite the authors themselves saying that practices should remain unchanged based on this one small study, many...
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Blog
This week in Dear Bundoo, one mother worries that her daughter’s bad habit isn’t only gross but can possibly make her ill. Dear Bundoo, My five-year-old will not stop picking her boogers. The worst part is that she doesn’t just pick them…she eats...
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Baby
Sushi is considered a healthy eating option and its popularity is growing in the US. Many parents wonder if it is safe for their young child to eat sushi and when they can safely introduce it in the diet. According to the American Academy of...
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Health
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a contagious disease typically characterized by fever, sore throat, and rash on the palms or soles of the feet. Affected children might also have a decreased appetite and blister-like sores in the mouth. Hand, foot,...
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Health
The manufacturing process of vaccines is complex but can be oversimplified into a few steps. First, a bacteria or virus (or a part of one) is inactivated so that it can no longer make us sick but can still cause our immune system to recognize and...
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Health
Allergies are an increasingly common health concern for children. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the rate of allergies in the industrialized world has been rising steadily for 50 years. Today, as much as 40...
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Baby
You know that most childcare experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend breastfeeding for the first six months of life whenever possible. But what’s so special about breast milk anyway? Lots of living cells — Breast milk is...
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Baby
Your 7 month, 1 week old baby is likely discovering one of the great joys of childhood: toys. At this age, your baby can likely transfer objects from one hand to the other, sit without the support of his or her hands, and find objects that are...
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Baby
At 2 months old, your baby is turning into Superbaby — at least that might seem how it looks from the outside, now that your baby can hold his or her head up at a 45-degree angle for extended periods of time and may seem to be attempting pushups...
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Baby
In recent years, formula manufacturers have introduced a number of new formula preparations with added ingredients that are meant to provide additional health benefits during feeding time. These enhanced formulas include ingredients like...
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Health
Has your baby caught his or her first cold yet? If not, it may be around the corner. For many babies, cold season is year-round. The immune system works by learning, meaning a baby must be exposed to a particular cold virus before developing...
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Baby
Baby-led weaning is one way to start solids with your baby. It involves skipping the spoon and allowing your baby to self-feed solids that are prepared in graspable and dissolvable forms, such as sticks of cooked meat or ripe fruit cut into wedges...
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Toddler
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Health
Meningitis is a rare but serious condition caused by inflammation of the protective membranes (called meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord. It’s usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection, especially infection with Haemophilus...
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Baby
Your 6-month, 3-week-old baby is likely discovering one of the great joys of childhood: toys. At this age, your baby can likely transfer objects from one hand to the other, sit without the support of his or her hands, and find objects that are...
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Baby
At 2 months old, your baby is turning into Superbaby — at least that might seem how it looks from the outside, now that your baby can hold his or her head up at a 45-degree angle for extended periods of time and may seem to be attempting pushups...
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Health
Antibodies are created by the immune system after infection with a virus or bacteria. They are the proof that our immune system has fought a particular virus or bacteria before. For example, if you have received a vaccination against varicella...
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Health
As useful as they are, antibiotics are not a cure-all for childhood illness. They are only effective against bacterial illnesses and have no effect on viral infections, such as the common cold or the flu. Unfortunately, widespread and inappropriate...
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Health
Fifth disease is one of many common childhood illnesses that typically occur in the first several years of life. Otherwise known as erythema infectiosum, fifth disease is caused by a virus known as parvovirus B19. This virus is easily spread from...
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Toddler
Food-borne illnesses do not discriminate — anyone can become sick — and raw oysters have earned a reputation as a potentially dangerous food. Also, some groups of people have a greater risk of serious illness than others, including children. Eating...
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Baby
Has your baby caught his or her first cold yet? If not, it may be around the corner. For many babies, cold season is year-round. The immune system works by learning, meaning a baby must be exposed to a particular cold virus before developing...