Dr. Mom - M'S GEMS

By: Melissa Goldberg

I chuckle to myself every time I reach my chin to my child’s forehead to see if they are warm with a fever. Why? Because growing up I never understood how my mom could tell whether I was running a fever just by using her chin. Now as a mom, once I see those glassy eyes and notice my little one can’t keep his head up, the momma instinct kicks in and my chin moves toward the forehead. It's almost like once you walk through the door with your new addition, you inherit these mommy abilities of which you never had before.
It’s unavoidable that our children will get sick. They get runny noses, coughs, belly aches, fever, the flu, a cold, allergies and more. One of my favorite childhood memories is when my mom used to take care of me when I was sick. She would put fresh and comfy sheets on the couch (we didn’t have televisions in our bedrooms back when I was young), set up a tray stand, make sure I had plenty of liquids to drink and she would let me watch all the television I wanted (if only we had DVR’s back then!). Looking back, as the patient, I kind of enjoyed being sick, especially if it was weekday and i got to stay home from school.

So now that I have children of my own, when they get sick, I try to slow down and cater to my children while they are under the weather. With a combination of allowing nature to takes it’s course, a couple of old school remedies (chicken soup) and a dose of western medicine they eventually get better. Just this summer, I think I may have made life a bit too comfortable for my son, because he seemed to be enjoying the extra attention and continued to milk his ailments for an extra day or so. It was when he realized camp had started and he was missing all the fun by laying on the couch that he was cured.

Since I am not a doctor, I will not provide medical advice to you when it comes to making your children feel better. Instead, I will offer some gem’s that can help sick time go a little smoother for you and your family.

Make Your Doctor Visits Productive - Based on the way the medical system is set up, we all know doctor visits are very quick. Although doctors often have limited time to spend with each patient, they do want to help you and your children. To make sure all your questions are answered and your physician can make a proper diagnosis, here are a couple of ways to make each visit productive.
• Write down any questions or thoughts you want to share with your physician before
you go into the exam room.
• If your child takes routine medication, make sure to have a list of the names and
doses with you. Make sure you know if you need refill prescriptions.
• Be honest and give your physician as much information as possible, this helps when
your doctor is trying to see what is wrong. Do not be embarrassed, your physician’s goal is to help your child feel better and not to judge. (It’s okay if your little one gets a hold of a whole pack of gum, chews and swallows the whole pack and now has a bellyache)
• Be optimistic & patient.
• Become an expert about your insurance coverage. Know where you have to have lab
work done, where you are supposed to go for testing, don’t expect your physician to know this information.

Optimize Immunity - My nanny used to always say, “Prevention is the best cure” and she was right. Although it’s inevitable that our kids will get coughs and colds, there are ways to build immunity and keep germs at bay.
• Teach children to wash hands frequently with soap and water
• Brush teeth
• Make sure children get enough sleep
• Balanced diet (see Summer Feast)
• Lots of exercise
• Drinks lots of water, keep hydrated
• Encourage optimism
• Vaccinate (we'll discuss the pros/cons and controversy at a later date)
• Vitamins (not advice, just an option for very picky eaters)

Get the Facts - Knowledge is power, but as Dr. Arnie pointed out on this weeks radio show, there is way too much information out there. It’s important to seek resources that have balanced information. A random Google search can lead you to an over whelming amount of information and often times wrong data. If you are faced with a health issue and you would like to learn more about it, ask your doctor if the office has any literature and patient education available. You can also ask your physician what web sites or books to read on specific topics you are interested in. Some resources he mentioned were www.aap.org (American Academy of Physicians) www.webmd.com or www.Mercksource.com.

Stock Up Your Medicine Cabinet - It’s good to keep some of the basics on hand in a place far away from little fingers. I am not advising to self medicate, but many times a physician will recommend some over the counter relief over a phone call. ***If your little ones are Band-aid whores like mine, those beige Band-aids will not fly. It’s got to be character themed Band-aids and colorful boo boo packs or the boo boo will not feel better!

Use Your Gut! - "Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level."   ~Dr. Joyce Brothers
The “gut instinct” has been studied for years and scientists claim that often your brain knows more then you think. Once you become a mom, it seems like a whole new set of senses emerge. According to my husband I now have eyes behind my head, a dog’s sense of smell, sonic hearing and I can predict the future (like the cup of milk without a lid spilling all over the table).

Always trust your gut. Just recently a friend brought her son to the pediatrician because he had been complaining of pain and not feeling well. The physician ran routine blood and some other tests and everything came back fine. She had the feeling something was wrong because she could tell her son was not himself. After a couple of weeks and several visits to doctors offices still no diagnosis. After sharing her frustration with another mother, a suggestion was made about Lyme disease. She shared the theory with her pediatrician, they ran the necessary blood work and sure enough it came back positive. (Big snaps for this Momma and snaps for the doctor who embraced this momma’s gut feeling.)

The hardest part of being a mom, is the fact that when your not wiping boogies from little noses or consoling our little ones when they are under the weather, we are worrying about them getting runny noses and becoming sick. Remember, you are an essential part of your child’s health care team, not only when it comes to nursing them back to health but when it comes to finding out what is wrong.

So yes, just know as a mom you will wear several hats over time. Sometimes a doctor’s hat and sometimes an EMT (emergency medical technician) hat, a nurse’s hat, a surgeon’s hat (for nasty splinters) and more times then others an Orderly’s hat, cleaning up sick messes.

Take good care!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical physician. I am a momma and in no way, will I or can I offer medical advice. The above mentioned are ideas and suggestions and have worked well for myself. Please do your own research, consult your physician and own belief systems whenever proceeding to make medical decisions for your family.