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Keeping your school aged child healthy

Cold and flu season presents many threats to the health of your school aged child, whether it is preschool, middle school or beyond. We want you to feel empowered to help keep them healthy by teaching them some fairly simple tools to avoid those germs.

• Keep their fingers out of their eyes, nose and mouth
  Healthy yes, easy no. However, our hands touch countless numbers of germs every day and we transfer those germs to our own bodies by putting our fingers in our own mouth, nose and eyes. I often find that teaching a young child how this occurs helps them to avoid putting those fingers in unwanted places.
• Teach them to wash their hands every time before we eat and after leaving the bathroom
• Avoid the water fountain
  Although the janitors try hard to keep them clean, often the child before yours left their own germs on that water fountain and they will pass to many children before the fountain is cleaned again. Instead, send your child to school with their own water in a sports bottle that will not leak.
• Teach them to use their elbow to cover their mouth when they cough and nose when they sneeze
  This helps us not share our own germs with our neighbor.

Vaccines

Vaccines are the biggest public health advancement that modern medicine has made. Countless lives have been spared because of their development. Our providers strongly believe in vaccines and their benefits to all children, but we also want you, the parent, to feel that you are doing the right thing for your child. If you have concerns about vaccines, please talk with us. If you want to do more research on your own, we ask that you look at the sites listed here as the answers will be based in the facts and science.

This CDC site was designed originally for medical providers but has tremendous amounts of medical information for parents:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/provider-resources-factsheets.html

For any questions regarding Thimerosol:
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/UCM070430

A Pediatrician explains vaccines:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/fact_myth_immunizations.html

This World Health Organization document talks about how vaccines are tested and their safety:
http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/thiomersal/questions/en/

New office open

Our new Marion office is now open! Located at 1204 N. Main Street, we are directly across the street from Walmart. We have more space which will decrease your waiting time when you come to see the doctor. We still offer separate well and sick waiting areas. Come check it out!

Flu Shots Available

We are now offering flu shots in the office. Please call to see which vaccines are in stock since we are getting new shipments every day. We recommend a flu vaccine for every child 6 months of age and older. There are two types of flu vaccines: Injectable vaccines and intranasal vaccines (nasal spray). Please talk with one of our providers to see which vaccine your child can receive.

For more information visit the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Colds and Congestion

This is the time of year for head colds. Remind your children to WASH THEIR HANDS often to prevent the spread of these common illnesses. We do not recommend any over the counter cold medicines if your child is under 2 years of age. Most children with colds just need proper rest and more clear liquids to drink during this time. Many times a child will have a fever with a cold. If your child is not improving after a few days, or seems to be getting worse, we would be happy to see your child in the office. Remember, if your child has fever they need to STAY HOME FROM SCHOOL UNTIL THEY ARE FEVER FREE FOR 24 HOURS.

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