Holiday Travel: Tips to Consider By DeLancey Fowler, FNP-C, Enterprise Pediatric Clinic As we approach the holiday season, travel is common and may bring some concerns, especially when traveling with kids. When visiting friends and family during the holiday season, take a few extra precautions to be sure your children stay safe and healthy.…
Read moreSuns out, buns out. . . hot dog and hamburger buns that is. With warmer days ahead, outdoor gatherings and cookouts are around the corner. Summertime always brings the risk of significant illness from poorly cooked foods or foods left to the heat of the sun and flies. Foodborne illnesses are preventable. The onset of…
Read moreType 2 Diabetes (T2D) happens when blood sugar levels are too high because the body cannot use insulin properly. Prediabetes is when the blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to meet the cutoff for diabetes. Prediabetes is usually present before someone is diagnosed with overt T2D. Interestingly, people with prediabetes…
Read moreA cardiac murmur is an extra sound realized when listening to the heart with a stethoscope. As blood is pumped through the heart and passes through the valves, normal pumping sounds are heard, but an additional sound often indicates the presence of a cardiac murmur. A murmur can be diagnosed in adults as well as…
Read moreCar accidents are the leading cause of death in children over 1 year of age. Every year, hundreds of children die, and thousands are injured in motor vehicle collisions. In 2019, 1,053 children under 14 years of age died in a car accident. Of these, 38% were not properly restrained with car seats, booster seats,…
Read moreEarly childhood literacy has been shown to be a pillar of school success and to set children up to be successful adults. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 34% of fourth graders are below their basic reading level. Being illiterate as a child can lead to difficulties with students graduating from high school…
Read moreIt’s the most wonderful time of the year! If you’re not careful, this can also become one of the most stressful times of the year. The pressure to have a beautifully decorated home, find the perfect gifts, and have smiling, grateful children at holiday gatherings can put a damper on the joy of the holiday…
Read morePumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, turkey and dressing, and cooler weather…the holiday season with parties, snacks and family gatherings is here. While this is a favorite time of year for many, it is often stressful with different places to be and events galore! In all the gathering and going, it can become easy to forget…
Read moreOctober is upon us. With October comes Halloween! Traditionally, Halloween safety is thought of in terms of younger children, trick-or-treating, and supervised school parties. However, Halloween season is not just for the little ones. You may find your teenager wants to help decorate the house. They may want to go trick-or-treating or go a Halloween…
Read moreThe two most common chest wall problems that cause concern for children or their caregivers are pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum. Pectus excavatum is more common in boys and is caused by an abnormality of the cartilage that attaches the ribs to the sternum (or breastbone). The result is that the sternum is pushed backward,…
Read moreSummer vacation is winding down, and families have been busy preparing for another school year. Back to school can be anxiety provoking for parents and students alike. With a little preparation—packing bags and lunches the night before, meeting the teacher before the first day of class—getting back in the swing of things doesn’t have to…
Read moreSummer vacation is winding down, and families have been busy preparing for another school year. Back to school can be anxiety provoking for parents and students alike. With a little preparation—packing bags and lunches the night before, meeting the teacher before the first day of class—getting back in the swing of things doesn’t have to…
Read moreSummer is here and is a great time to unleash the power of play with your children! Play is essential for child development and is an important way that children learn. There are many benefits of play such as gathering knowledge, social-emotional development, patience, problem-solving, reasoning skills, spatial awareness. Play provides children with the opportunity…
Read moreThere are a variety of options when it comes to childcare – stay-at-home parent, babysitter, nanny, or daycare. Allowing anyone to watch your child comes with an immense amount of trust, especially if he/she is your first baby and an infant! Many parents worry about daycare for several reasons, the main one being recurrent illnesses. Most…
Read moreThe 2022 – 2023 school year has seen an early surge in seasonal respiratory illnesses — the much publicized “tripledemic” of RSV, influenza, and COVID. Luckily, available public health data shows that as of early January, case rates of flu and RSV in Alabama and the Wiregrass Region are well below the peaks seen in…
Read moreReading and language are crucial to a child’s development. My own mother read to me every night as a kid, and it fostered a life-long love of books and learning. Studies show that reading aloud to children, even infants, more than just talking to them increases their vocabulary, IQ, and educational skills when it is…
Read moreGrowing up in south Alabama meant summertime pool parties and much anticipated trips to the lake and the beach. Since drowning is the leading cause of death for children one to four years of age, water safety awareness is critical for parents. For older children, water-related activities are the second most common cause of injury-related…
Read moreMom and dad, you’ve been making appointments with the pediatrician for years – eighteen of them – and suddenly, it’s time to transition your child from pediatric medicine to adult medicine! This transition has proven to be a challenge for parents and patients alike. The parent can no longer make the appointments and request medical…
Read moreIn pediatrics, concussion, or mild brain trauma, is a frequent cause of medical visits. Concussions are thought to affect millions of children a year and often occur from motor vehicle accidents, falls, other blows to the head, and other dramatic accelerations/decelerations of the head. A concussion is noted to alter the functioning of the brain,…
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