DR. MOM

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By: Cynthia Litman


Pearl of the Day: House calls R us

When it comes to being on constant booger patrol with my kids I find the “revolutionary” pearl stated by Dr. Benjamin Spock to moms of “you know more then you think you do” reassuring albeit added pressure.

Your child’s health is your responsibility. In this regard, moms must be hawks. It’s an unwritten rule that when you give birth, you take a short form of the Hippocratic oath to care for your children.

Great, another thing I’m supposed to master. I’m not a doctor, but I play one almost every day, whether it’s kissing a boo-boo, fetching ice for my kids or tracking their next scheduled doctors visit.

We navigate the reams of information on how to best care for our kids. The solicited and unsolicited opinions alone can make you sick. What doctor to see, courses of action you should take, risks, what your parents did in their day, my heart rate is accelerating. Caring for children is not for the faint of heart.

Being overly hawkish is counterproductive since your kid’s can’t live in a bubble and stress is harmful to your health. I like humorists Josh Billings’ pearl that “there's lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their (& their children’s) health that they haven't the time to enjoy it”.

Even before giving birth people said “your kid’s will get sick”. I still fear this. I knew they would get sick and prayed it wouldn’t be so terrible. Yet could I handle it?

My approaches with my first and second child are vastly different. My son had his first fever at six months old. I was both relieved and scared. I was on the horn to his pediatrician who walked me through each raise of a degree in his temperature. I remember holding my son in my arms, he was piping hot, practically immobile and so beyond mushy. It was the saddest yet sweetest moment. I held him and reassured him (& myself) he’d be okay. He was.

When my second child was hit with the fever virus and had a few straight days of 100+ fever, I didn’t even flinch. I went for the medicine, sponged her down and waited for it to break. It did. But when she had a minor surgical procedure around her first birthday (happy birthday honey), she bounced back much quicker then I did. That experience put me through the emotional ringer.

Asclepios: Greek God of Medicine

The children’s health care pendulum constantly swings. Many moms are opting for a more natural course steering clear of modern vaccines. It was (and for some is) believed that illness stemmed from social situations, religious beliefs like evil spirits plaguing your body or a punishment from the gods. Hippocrates “the father of Western medicine” was the first to dispel these notions and see illness as deriving from “environmental factors, diet, and living habits” (Wikipedia). Fast forward to modern medicine and the illness origins shift again towards diagnostic medicine.

I picture the pre-western medicine days much like, Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa, where if you had any kind of infirmity, “you’d go to the dying hole and died.” Actually, that’s kind of like my house growing up, if you got sick you were put in quarantine lock down in your room, fed chicken noodle soup and were a total leper.

With advances in both western and eastern medicine, charting a health care course for your child raises many doubts and insecurities among parents. I try to take the best from both worlds. My medicine cabinet is stocked with common symptom battlers – fever reducers, Saline Nose drops; preventative – vitamins and herbal – immunity defense drops; essential oils - peppermint oil for stuffy noises; and belief nets – sage, incense and lots of prayer beads!

When sage-ing your kids isn’t enough, trust your instincts and health care professionals. Freaking out doesn’t help. Taking action does. It’s easy to fear the worst. We’ve all heard fluke stories. Every other week there’s a recall of household medicines and even vaccines on the market (remember the recall on the swine flu vaccine last year, that was fun) and changes in recommended approaches.

My mommy spidey sense is sharpening. I can tell when my kids are getting sick. They are slower, quieter and mopey. I know for the next week or so they’ll be out for the count. Plans cancelled, parties de-rsvp’d, it’s time to just rest up, bust out the chicken soup and amp up the TLC quotient.

I pray that my mother instincts will kick in if they were ever (god forbid) in dire immediate need - choking, seizure, allergic shock, 105+ fever, etc. It’s hard not to panic and fear the worse.

Sure, I now have my pediatrician’s number memorized and am constantly amazed at how with all our moving parts any of us function. Health is our greatest commodity. Health care just so happens to be a trillion dollar industry looking for your dollars.

Yes, we must trust our instincts and like my grandparents said "hope for the best." Move over medicine man, Dr. Mom has all the right scrips.

Be well!

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia Litman d/b/a Tigris Imprints. All Rights Reserved.

DISCLAIMER
I am a momma and not a doctor. I could have researched the “medical” information and the historical and cultural approaches to health care for years. This article is just a scratch of the surface for discussion. The history here is by no means complete and I love Wikipedia. Please conduct your own research, consult your physician and own belief systems whenever proceeding to make medical decisions for your family.