How to Treat a Cold

So many children (and their parents) have colds now. Colds are often accompanied by fever and can make you feel really awful. Are you staring at the medicine display in the pharmacy, wondering which of the many cold medicines on the shelf will best help your ill child? How we wish we had a terrific […]

Drug Abuse in Teens

  Just reading the title of the blog makes most of us say “whew, not our problem!  But let me tell you about some statistics. The Monitoring the Future Study is a national survey that measures smoking, drinking and drug use in more than 400 secondary schools.  They report that 20% of 8th graders, 36% […]

Signs of Influenza

  The classic symptoms of the flu include a sudden onset of fever, headache, body aches, and fatigue, accompanied by upper respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, and runny nose *  Children younger than 3 years of age tend to have higher fevers, have a higher risk of febrile seizures, may have less prominent respiratory […]

Exercise is good

   We all know it but it seems researchers spend a lot of time proving it.  The American Journal of Physiology had an study comparing exercisers who were generally active versus those that were generally inactive. It turns out that the solitary workouts did little to decrease an individuals risk of heart disease, no matter how […]

Light Exposure and it’s Affects on Sleep

                Exposure to light and dark is a critical component of circadian rhythm and health. Bright natural light during the day helps regulate melatonin production. Stimulating blue-wavelength light, which is strongest in the mornings, has the most powerful effect on the circadian cycle. So having an early wake time and exposure to morning light is […]

How long will this cold last?!

 Colds are caused by a virus. There are actually hundreds of viruses that can cause a cold, although most of these viruses present with similar symptoms. Cold symptoms may differ between individuals, but they typically occur about 1-3 days after exposure to a cold. Here is a general timeline for what to expect: Days 1-2: […]

Myth or Fact??

Myth: Influenza Is a Harmless Illness, so Vaccination Is Unnecessary Although influenza is commonly considered to be a mild illness, this is certainly not always the case. Influenza can be a large threat to public health, with three pandemics and millions of deaths from influenza in the 20th century. During the last pandemic period of […]