Influenza (the flu) is a very contagious infection that occurs most frequently in the fall and winter months, typically because people spend more time in close contact with one another. The flu is caused by the influenza virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs. Most people who get the flu will only have a mild illness. Other groups of people like children, the elderly, and those with underlying medical illnesses may have a more serious reaction to the flu. What does the flu look like? It can take a day or two for an infected person to show any[Read more...]
What is bed-wetting? Nocturnal enuresis, or bed wetting, is a condition in which your child cannot control their bladder while they are sleeping, and end up urinating (peeing) during their sleep. Bed-wetting is very common in children under the age of 6 years old, however 7% of 7-year olds, and 1% of 13-year olds still wet the bed. Generally children begin to stay dry during the night when they reach the ages of 3 to 8-years old. Unintentional urination at night is part of growing up, and a normal thing that each parent will encounter during their child’s development. Generally[Read more...]
Infectious mononucleosis, often referred to as “mono” or “the kissing disease” is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). The reason it’s called the “kissing disease” is because the virus is transmitted by saliva, so you can get it through kissing, but also from a cough or sneeze, or sharing a glass or utensils with someone who is infected with mononucleosis. Typically the infection is most common in adolescents, with 35-50% of them showing symptoms, but also can be seen in young children, but these cases often go unnoticed for lack of symptoms. Who is at risk for Mono?[Read more...]
Itching, scratching, weeping skin. Interrupted sleep, daytime annoyance (or worse). Bad picture days. If your child has eczema, you probably recognize problems that occur commonly in your day-to-day life. Eczema is an immune condition. In the spectrum of immune disease, it’s relatively small. Other immune conditions often produce more disability, side effects from medications, sometimes organ transplant. But if eczema is in your home, it’s bad enough. For many, there are also triggers in the environment, including hot weather, humidity, sweating, stress, and some allergens such as pets and dust mites. You may also have heard eczema referred to by[Read more...]