Swimmer’s Ear: Reduce the Risk
Swimmer’s ear (medical term otitis externa) is very different from the run-of-the-mill inner ear infection (otitis media). Swimmer’s ear is an infection along the ear canal, when the ear canal remains moist (think swimming) and creates an ideal environment for bacteria to grow and create an infection. In North America, 98 percent of cases of […]
Chronic Constipation: Is it Something in the Diet?
Between 5-30% of children are constipated. Here’s how to address this condition
Inflammation and Recurrent Illness: A Parent’s Guide
Inflammation is an intricate, complex response by the whole body to what it perceives as a threat.
Recurrent Illness: Stress and Illness
When we adults live in a fight-or-flight state every day, this makes it more likely that our kids will also be in a fight-or-flight state, which can wreck havoc with their minds, bodies, and spirits.
Eczema: Much More than a Skin Condition
As an integrative pediatrician I have learned that eczema is a complex interplay between our genetics, immune system, skin integrity, and the microbiomes of the skin and the gut. Learning how to treat illness using the best of both conventional and integrative medicine has absolutely transformed the way I am able to help kids with eczema.
Reflux: Common, but Not Normal
In 2006, when I was a year out of residency, I prided myself on the fact that I could manage my pediatric patients’ symptoms—whatever they were—with medications. I did what I had been trained in medical school and wrote prescriptions for laxatives, antihistamines, antibiotics, antacids, and steroids (topical, inhaled, oral, or even sprayed into the […]
Your Easter Candy Strategy Session
As I sat down to write this blog, I could feel the collective motherly stress rising, knowing kids will soon face all the yummy, colorful, and sugary candy that accompanies most holidays, especially Easter. The parents who worry the most during the sugar holidays are the ones whose children turn into a different child when they get their hands on the candy.
Grounding: Five Reasons to be Outside and Barefooted
Being barefooted and outside has many health benefits. My entire life, I have always gone barefooted as much as possible. It makes me feel good, and now that there is a growing body of research on grounding or earthing, I can justify my desired shoeless existence. And yes, I find it comical that we have […]
Get to the Root Cause of Common Childhood Illnesses
I am dealing with a bug issue in my kitchen right now (I am sure they are not only in my kitchen but saying they are only in my kitchen at least makes me feel better). Yesterday I noticed there was a crack along the bottom of the caulking where the beadboard and countertop meet, along with tiny […]
How to Treat Constipation and “Bowel Accidents” Without Medication
The video below addresses the case of a 7-year old little girl who was having constipation and “stooling” accidents every day. She came to see me with three years of encopresis despite being on ½ capful of MiraLAX® (Polyethylene glycol 3350) daily. She’d also had recurrent urinary tract infections and was on a prophylactic antibiotic to help prevent any […]
