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(Photo provided) With the arrival of spring, parents have been itching to ask me how they can tell the difference between an allergy or a common cold, so here goes: ¯ Between 40 and 50 million Americans are affected by allergic diseases. While most children with colds and allergies will have noses that run, children with allergies will do a lot more sniffling and sneezing, not to mention itching, along with having more watery eyes with dark circles from rubbing them so much due to allergic irritation. ¯ Common colds are caused by germs called viruses while allergies represent the body reacting to an environmental trigger such as pollen from grass, ragweed, and trees, mold, dust mites, animal dander, and even foods and medications any of these can cause a release of chemicals including one called histamine that results in the allergic symptoms I just described. ....
Dr. Lewis First (Photo provided) Parents have been anything but faint of heart to ask me about what to do if their child or teenager should experience a fainting episode. Well, let me pass out some information on this particular topic. – – Fainting represents a temporary loss of consciousness as a result of blood not going to the brain due to a drop in blood pressure. It is characterized by dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, blurred vision and sweating until adequate blood can reach the brain. – – There are many reasons why a child or teenager can faint and most of them aren’t serious in young people. ....
(Photo provided) Parents have been stealing lots of tips from me on what to do if they find their child stealing something. While stealing a base or a basketball from another player may be fair play in competition, when a child takes something that belongs to someone else, it isn’t fair even if it’s something as small as grabbing a piece of candy from a store or from someone’s home without permission. Younger children under 4 may not understand that stealing is wrong but by age 5 or 6, they understand what’s right and wrong, and it’s at this point that stealing is recognized by both child and parent as an unacceptable behavior. ....
(Photo provided) Parents have been all choked up, especially during this pandemic, asking me whether their baby or toddler might have a breathing problem called bronchiolitis. Well let me put everyone in the nose, or in the know, when it comes to learning about this illness. – – Bronchiolitis is a contagious inflammatory disease of the tiny airways that lead into the lungs. It can last one to two weeks, usually occurs in winter and early spring, and usually results in not just inflammation but mucus build-up in those airways, making it hard to breathe especially for those with the tiniest of air passages, meaning babies and, even more, infants born premature or those with a chronic heart or lung disease. ....
(Photo provided) Parents have been asking me some tough questions recently about their teenagers being stressed to the point they might try to hurt themselves or even try to commit suicide. This is a topic that should be stressed for all parents, so let me try to provide some helpful information. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for 15 to 24-year-olds, and the risk of this occurring is four to 10 times higher if teens have access to firearms in the home. Who is at risk for thinking about suicide? Usually, it’s the teen who feels disconnected and isolated from family and friends (and that can certainly be the case in the midst of this pandemic), or perhaps an adolescent who might have an underlying and undetected mental health disorder like depression. Often a stressful event such as failure at school, a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a major family conflict can trigger thoughts of suicide in a teen. ....