What is Pediatrics ?

What do I do when I have questions after normal business hours?

Telephone calls to the Doctor after normal business hours are taken by Doctor himself or Secretary. They answer your questions about caring for a sick child and put you in touch with on-call pediatricians as needed to ensure the utmost quality of emergency care for your child after normal working hours.

How do I make an appointment?

When should I schedule my child's routine physical exams (checkups)?

Newborns are usually seen 48 hours after discharge. Thereafter the routine exams are performed at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age. Then from 2 years old onward, you come in for yearly exams.

How do I get a refill on a prescription?

If your child's physician has prescribed a medication that allows refills, we ask that you call us 3 days before your medicine runs out so that we will have time for your physician to approve the refill. Some medications are not allowed to be called in to the pharmacy and must have a written prescription presented to the pharmacist. If this is the case, please let us know which pharmacy you wish to pick up the prescription from.

We are expecting a child.  Can we come and meet you?

We welcome expectant parents for a brief visit with Doctor to get acquainted with and learn what to expect when the baby is born.

When should I turn my infant's rear facing car seat to the forward facing position?

The child must be both at least 12 months old and over 20 lbs in weight to be in a forward facing car seat. If a one year old is under 20 lbs, keep him or her rear facing. If an infant under 12 months is over 20 lbs, keep him or her rear facing. For large or tall children, make sure the child does not exceed the manufacture limits for height and weight in the rear facing position.

How soon after birth will the pediatrician see your Baby?

Your baby will be examined by the pediatrician within the first 24 hours of life. If you are delivering,doctor will be available to you and your baby. This will give you an opportunity to get answers to any questions you may have at that time. Your first routine well exam for your baby will be at 3 or 4 days of age.

How often will your child be seen for well visits and immunizations?

I recommend well visits at 3 to 5 days old, two weeks, two, four, six, nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen and twenty-four months and annually after that. Immunizations will be given at the two week, two, four, six, nine, twelve, fifteen and eighteen month, five and fourteen year well examinations. It is important that your child be scheduled for these examinations and immunizations.

What is Painless Vaccone?

The choice between a pain full and a pain less vaccine is available only in the DTP vaccine. This vaccine is used against Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertusis (the bacteria that causes whooping-cough). In this vaccine only the Pertusis part of the vaccine has been associated with side effects such as pain, fever and irritability. The DTP vaccine is of two types, the DTaP vaccine and the DTwP vaccine. In the DTaP vaccine, the a stands for acellular, meaning it is made with the parts of the Pertusis bacteria, while in the DTwP vaccine the w stands for whole cell, meaning it is made up of the entire cell of the deactivated organism. The DTaP vaccine is also known as the painless vaccine because it does not contain the entire cell of the bacteria, and does not cause common side effects such as fever, pain etc. The DTaP vaccine is a more expensive form and is not that different from the DTwP vaccine.

What are the benefits of the DTaP vaccine?

The DTaP vaccine protects your child against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough).

Diptheria

This bacterial infection causes fever, weakness, and a sore throat. A thick, gray coating develops in the back of the throat, which makes it hard to breathe or swallow and sometimes results in suffocation. If the infection isn't treated, toxins produced by the bacteria may affect tissues and organs throughout the body, possibly leading to heartfailure or paralysis.
 
Death occurs in up to 20 percent of cases in people under age 5 and over age 40. These numbers have changed little in the last 50 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Before the vaccine was developed in the 1920s, there were more than 175,000 cases a year on average in the United States. By contrast, only five cases have been reported to the CDC in the past decade.
 
However, outbreaks of diphtheria are common all over the globe, especially in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. So while the risk of getting diphtheria in the United States is low, the disease is only a plane ride away.

Tetanus

Tetanus (also called lockjaw) is a bacterial infection that can cause severe and painful muscle spasms, seizures, and paralysis.

It's not contagious. The bacteria live in soil and dust and enter the body through a break in the skin.People get tetanus from puncture wounds, burns, and other injuries – sometimes even minor ones.

Since the vaccine came into widespread use in the 1940s, the number of tetanus cases in the United States has fallen from about 500 to fewer than 30 a year. More than 10 percent of reported cases end in death.

Pertussis

Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, is a very contagious bacterial infection and one of the most common vaccine-preventable childhood diseases. Whooping cough causes coughing spells so severe that it's hard for a child to eat, drink, or breathe. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death.

Pertussis cases have been rising in the United States since the 1980s – and there have been significant outbreaks in recent years.

In 2012, there were more than 48,000 cases of whooping cough in the United States – the greatest number in nearly 60 years. Twenty people died, most of them infants younger than 3 months. Forty-nine states and Washington, D.C., reported more cases over the previous year. Colorado, Vermont, and Washington state declared epidemics in 2012, and significant outbreaks were reported in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Whooping cough cases reflect a continuing rise over the past two decades. But health officials point out that the overall incidence of pertussis has dropped 80 percent since the vaccine has been in use, and that there tend to be outbreaks every three to five years.

Before the vaccine was introduced in the 1940s, about 147,000 American children came down with whooping cough every year. The number of cases in the United States dropped to a historic low of 1,010 in 1976 but then began rising again as adolescents who had been vaccinated as babies lost their immunity and more babies went unvaccinated. There were more than 25,000 cases reported in 2004 and 2005.

To counter this trend, an additional shot called Tdap is now recommended for children age 11 or 12. The Tdap shot is also recommended for adults who didn't have one during adolescence, followed by a Td booster shot every ten years. 

Getting yourself vaccinated helps to protect your baby and any other babies you're around. Infants under the age of 6 months are at greatest risk of becoming severely ill or dying from pertussis.

Whooping cough remains a serious health problem among children in other parts of the world.