Spring, 2012
The unusually warm weather has brought an unprecedented number of ticks to our area. Children should be checked for ticks each night before bed if they have spent time outdoors. Look everywhere--ticks love warm dark places like skin folds and the scalp. The nymphal deer tick can be as small as a millimeter in size! If you find a tick, remove it by grasping it firmly with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out. To transmit Lyme Disease, a tick must be attached for more than 48 hours. If you are not sure how long the tick has been present, watch the area carefully for the next two weeks. Lyme Disease does not cause cough,sore throat, or runny nose. Call us if a red rash develops, or if your child develops fever, headache, neck pain, unusual fatigue, or generalized achiness.
Hyde Park Pediatrics welcomes you to your Family-Centered Medical Home. What is a Family-Centered Medical Home? The Medica Home is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, Family-Centered, coordinated, compassionate and culturally effective care. This means that our practice, as your medical home, is a central resource for all of your child's care needs. In our medical home your child's doctors and nurses will make you feel like you are an integral part of your child's health care team. We encourage parents to participate in all aspects of their child's care.
What should families of young children keep in their medicine cabinet? Families should maintain a well-stocked medicine cabinet in case an unexpected need arises. Hyde Park Pediatrics recommends that parents of young infants have available:
A digital thermometer, KY jelly and isopropyl alcohol; infant acetaminophen; diaper ointment; pedialyte; saline nose drops, a bulb syringe for removing nasal mucous, and a humidifier or vaporizer; antibiotic ointment; and a good moisturizer such as Hydrated Petrolatum.
For children older than 6 months we recommend adding:
Liquid diphenhydramine (Bendadryl); infant or child ibuprofen; pedialyte popsicles; sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher; calamine lotion; bandages of many sizes; and high quality tweezers for removing ticks and splinters.
