Flu or Cold??? or just sick?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by llpitlwp

This is “flu” season and you can become very sick …it is epidemic in some cities. Even if you have had a flu shot you can come down with Influenza symptoms that were not covered by the “flu vaccine”.

Here in Chicago, some of the hospitals are having to turn people away from their emergency rooms and send them on to another hospital for care due to so many cases of flu.

CVS Minute Clinics can offer you the flu shot if you have not already had one…it is not too late!

CVS Minute Clinics are in many states throughout the country.

Here in Chicagoland, they are clinically affiliated with Advocate Healthcare and are staffed with nurse practitioners and or physician assistants…there may be a Minute Clinic that is convenient to you.

You do not need an appointment and your insurance may cover your visit…if you do not have insurance Minute Clinics accept several forms of payment including credit cards.

If you find yourself in need of vaccinations, a physical, wellness screen or treatment for common family illnesses, you might consider CVS Minute Clinic…if there is one available near you. Their website can also give you information and perhaps answer any questions you might have before you visit a Minute Clinic.

MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who provide treatment for common family illnesses and injuries, administer vaccinations, conduct physicals and wellness screenings, and offer monitoring for chronic conditions.

Our practitioners can:

Diagnose, treat and write prescriptions for common family illnesses such as strep throat, bladder infections, pink eye and infections of the ears, nose and throat

Provide common vaccinations for flu, pneumonia, pertussis, and hepatitis, among others

Treat minor wounds, abrasions, joint sprains and skin conditions such as poison ivy, ringworm and acne

Provide a wide range of wellness services, including sports and camp physicals, smoking cessation and TB testing

Offer routine lab tests, instant results and education for those with diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or asthma

Most services are available for those age 18 months and older, but ages for specific services may vary. To see services available and age restrictions in Massachusetts, click here.

Please check the individual service, and read the following “what to know” sections before your visit.

http://www.minuteclinic.com/flu/

Symptoms	Cold	Flu
fever	rare	usually present
chills	uncommon	fairly common
tiredness	mild	moderate to severe
onset of symptoms	appear gradually	can appear within 3-6 hours
coughing	hacking, productive cough	dry, unproductive cough
sneezing	common	uncommon
stuffy nose	common	uncommon
runny nose	sometimes	common
sore throat	common	uncommon
general aches/pain	slight	common, often severe
chest discomfort	mild-moderate	often severe
headache	uncommon	uncommon

Disclosure:

I was not compensated in any way for this post…all opinions are my own.

Of course, if you are seriously injured or ill you would want to call 911 or visit your nearest Emergency Room.

Links:

http://babygooroo.com/2010/12/common-illnesses-flu/

Dilemma: “Halloween and Kids with Food Allergies”

Posted on October 25, 2012 by llpitlwp

As Halloween excitement heightens so can the anxiety of a parent whose child has a food allergy.

Kids with food allergies can feel left out when it comes to parties and activities such as Trick or Treating. With some simple preparation, parents can ease their own anxiety as well as the anxiety of their kids. Who would not want to lessen their child’s anxiety?

Years ago, when my own children were small…we were concerned about candy containing pins and razor blades. My husband missed our daughter’s first Halloween because he was ex-raying candy at the local hospital, making sure it had no foreign objects in it.

Now it is a combined worry…tainted candy and candy containing food allergens. For contemporary parents, life has become complicated beyond the lives of their own parents.

Here are a few tips for a safe Halloween for children with food allergies.

Teach your child about allergies and Halloween

Chances are very good, you have already talked to your child about his/her food allergy. It may be a good idea to reinforce this information before Halloween and talk about the plan in place to keep them safe from a reaction to any candy. It might be good to tell them, all kids’ candy should be inspected before eating…it is not just because they have allergies that makes inspection necessary. This could help them feel that they are not being singled out because of their allergies.

Sort candy and treats at home

Set up a special place to sort all candy…one by one inspect it carefully for ingredients.

Have emergency medications handy

Have your meds handy while Trick or Treating, just in case…better to be safe than sorry.

“Switch Witch“

You might want to adopt the “Switch Witch” in your home. Children pick out a few pieces of candy and leave the rest out overnight for the “Switch Witch,” who will take it and leave them a present. This gets rid of all unwanted candy and usually makes kids happy to see it go.

Preventing Sports Concussions Among Children…Some Ways To Help

Posted on October 18, 2012 by llpitlwp

I see those positives. Yet if it were my call, those millions would be playing touch football instead. Many would be learning the fundamentals of tackling and other football skills. But they would not be playing tackle football until they turned 14.

via Preventing Sports Concussions Among Children | CSH Greenwich Middle School Parent Blog.

This is a statement made by

Robert C. Cantu, a clinical professor in the department of neurosurgery and a co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the Boston University School of Medicine, is a co-author with Mark Hyman of the new book “Concussions and Our Kids.”

After reading this blog post from a parent blog at Greenwhich Middle School, I could not help but agree with Dr. Cantu from a medical point of view.

It seems to me, many parents do not realize, their children are not just small versions of adults. Fact: children are still growing and their bodies are not strong enough for contact sports until around age 14.

So why do I see so many “little” kids playing soccer all over our town…where many of the parents are in fact doctors…shouldn’t they know better??? I would think so!

Why is it that sports play such an important role in our lives even when the statistics show that injuries in childhood can have long lasting effects later on in life?

Shouldn’t parents be advocating for stricter playing rules for contact sports that are played by children younger than fourteen years old?

How do we as parents and grandparents call for rule changes for contact sports, given all we now know about sports injuries in childhood?

Concussions are serious and traumatic encephalopathy is not something to be taken lightly.

Even broke bones can be much more serious in childhood because the growth plates can be injured causing a much more complicated healing process.

Schools, sports groups and parents should be aware of the seriousness of contact sports injuries.

Maybe when insurance companies and sports groups realize this is as a new area of culpability, things will change and kids will not be put at risk. Risks that children, themselves are unaware of…after all if kid’s parents encourage these sports, they should be safe to play…right???

Should your nanny homeschool your kids?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by llpitlwp

10 Reasons to Consider Having Your Nanny Homeschool Your Children | Nanny Jobs.

Did you ever consider “homeschooling ” your children?

I never did but my girls are older now and well out of high school and college.

Back in the day…homeschooling in our little town was mostly done by moms that were a little “weird” when it came to their kids. I cannot even explain what a “little weird” means since I admit, I never got to really know any of these moms or their ideas about education.

In hindsight, perhaps I should have…but, I never was that patient to even consider “homeschooling”.

However as a grandmother, I am realizing that there are definitely some reasons and benefits to homeschooling your kids.

Today while reading, I came across this article which touts some reasons to actually consider having your “nanny” homeschool your kids. Now, that is a concept that I could have grasped when my kids were school age, since it would not have been me doing all the work 24/7 with my girls.

What about you?

Would you consider hiring a nanny who could also homeschool your children if you could afford the costs?

There are some good reasons why homeschooling might be appropriate for your child…do you have a child that fits into one of these categories where homeschooling would be beneficial?

victim of bullying
special needs
behavior problems

I would love to hear your opinions even if you don’t have kids…what do you think about this concept?

Whooping Cough…A Tragic Story… Shot by Shot

Posted on October 10, 2012 by llpitlwp

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

In early January, we noticed Brady was coming down with a cold. But when his fever spiked to 104, we had to rush to the ER for a whole bunch of tests. But after a while, they sent us all back home. After a scare like that, I started to send out Facebook posts to keep our friends and family updated on how Brady was doing.

via Brady’s Story | Shot by Shot.

If you have read this blog for awhile you then know that I recommend giving the full complement of vaccines to your children.

This story is something you, as a parent, should read if you are thinking about not vaccinating your children.

The reason there has been so little incidence of pertussis is that the last generation has been vaccinated against this deadly illness. But currently children who are not vaccinated are at risk of contracting pertussis…”whooping cough”.

“Whooping cough” is a horrible disease and death from pertussis is equally horrible and uncomfortable since it seems that a child dies from suffocation or not being able to breathe and get enough oxygen into their tiny body.

I have witnessed children dying…it is one of the most emotionally painful things that I have done in my career as a nurse. To stand by and know that there is nothing more that medicine can do to prevent a child from dying is excruciatingly frustrating and sad. To watch a family witness the death of their child is more painful than words can ever describe.

If you are questioning whether or not to vaccinate your children, please read Brady’s story. Do legitimate research and stay away from celebrity opinions because they are just that opinions…find a doctor that you trust and listen to him/her.

Resources:

Infections, Immunization, Vaccines

Vaccinations for Children, Why and When.

Vaccine Controversy….History Repeats Itself

Whooping Cough

Teaching your kid to fight…would you do this?

Posted on October 1, 2012 by llpitlwp

Yesterday, I witnessed a very disturbing scene in an urban playground.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon in Chicago, at a playground nestled among the skyscrapers near Millennium park.

Our extended family was there with the youngest among them, a 2 year old little boy and 4 year old little girl. Both, fortunately, remained oblivious to the inappropriate activity encouraged by the parents and nanny of two seemingly unrelated boys.

The young boys seemed to be around 7 or 8 years old…one was several inches shorter than the other but they were evenly built….they were “duking it out” in the middle of the playground.

At first the other “parents” yelled at them to “cut it out” and “stop”, but the boys seemed intent on throwing punches and kicks to the body and groin paying no attention to the bystanders.

I watched somewhat in horror…especially when I noticed one boy’s parents watching and encouraging their son in this activity. They were not phased by any of the other parents’ comments.

I realized the taller boy was there with a nanny and toddler sister when he ran to his sister’s stroller to grab his sword out of its sheath. The nanny quickly took it away but sent him back into the “ring”. This was probably the only appropriate adult behaviour that I witnessed.

Finally…I could not contain myself as I watched this scene unfold and I approached the dad…

“Do you speak English?”…I asked.

He mumbled…that he did. I then told him, that what he was doing was inappropriate and that other children in the playground should not be made to witness this…his response was …”then don”t watch”…I then said that we could not help but witness the fighting, and this was a “playground” where we teach our children not to fight.

At that point, I walked away and approached the nanny, who was also just watching from another vantage point…I essentially told her the same thing and said that it was shameful of her to encourage this activity.

The nanny gathered the boy fighter and little girl and quickly left the playground…then other couple hung around watching their son play nicely with some other kids on the playground equipment .

I am still processing this scene and wondering if what I did really mattered…no other parents stood up to this man…did this mean that they were not appalled or was it urban apathy and “don’t get involved” that was playing in their heads?

I will never know for sure…but what I do know is that I basically stood alone facing this dad…speaking my mind…and I would probably do it over again.

What would you have done if you witnessed an activity like this at a playground?

I felt like I was watching a “dog fight”…and I had a flashback of an episode of “Law and Order SVU” where a child died of a ruptured spleen under suspicious conditions.

It was later found that the young boy was encouraged to fight by his dad and there were other dads, who brought their boys to a group at night in a park and set them free to fight…it was a disgusting show… but now I realize it seems that it is all too real.

Win a Back to School Gift from Hallmark!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by llpitlwp

There is nothing like little surprises and my grandchild loves them as much as I do.

Hallmark Cards has just the cutest items to surprise your child during lunchtime.

Many years ago, when my own girls were young, I was working and left home before my girls got up for school. I tried very hard to somehow connect with them prior to their leaving for school or while they were in school.

I always left them breakfast and for lunch I would use a cookie cutter to shape their sandwiches into “heart” shapes. Every now and then I would leave a handwritten note.

Then, when they both went to “sleep away” camp I had to depend on “snail” mail to deliver, cards, letters and packages. It was fun choosing from companies that specialized in camp baskets designed for kids away from home, who were not allowed to have candy and food items in their cabin….not easy!

As school reopens….I find myself along with my daughter trying to make lunch not only healthy, but interesting and fun. It is an opportunity to share a moment during the day to say something special to a sweet little girl starting out in the world.

Here are some of the fun “Back to School” Hallmark items that I found to help make my grandchild’s lunch a memorable moment of her day at school.

Enter the contest below if you would like to win these items in a Back-to-School Gift Pack from Hallmark!

Win It!

I get to give one Back-to-School Gift Pack to one of you! To enter, tweet the following and leave me a comment letting me know you did:

Tweet “@LoretteLavine I want to win the @Hallmark Back to School Gift pack.

Extra Entries:

Follow ParentingintheLoop on Facebook
Follow Hallmark on Facebook
Follow LoretteLavine on Twitter
Follow HallmarkCards on Twitter

Leave one comment per task letting me know you did, or already do.

Sweepstakes run from today, September 7 until Saturday Night September 9th

I was not compensated for this post. I was given product for review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

There is no winner for this gift pack from Hallmark as there were no comments or tweets related to this post.

“Toast Tuesday”

Posted on September 4, 2012 by llpitlwp

My “toast” today is to kids’ lunches…the parents that make them and to The Stir.

“Hey Mom…Whats for lunch?”

Labor Day Weekend is all but over… happily, we have already made a school lunch for the first day….it is in the fridge!

Just came home from dinner with friends….the “last summer supper” as we like to call it, I opened up my FB page and saw this wonderful video with “My Plate” Guidelines.

In honor of tomorrow, the first day of school, I knew it had to be shared. The link contains some fab school lunch ideas and the guidelines are the easiest.

Kids deserve something delicious, healthy and interesting at lunch don’t you think?

These are not even over the top ideas.

Just have a little fun and be creative or let the recipes be creative for you.

What are you serving for lunch on the first day back to school?

School lunches and snack time stress me out. There. I said it. We are about to go back to school, and at my house, that means five days a week, for my two kids, I need to pack lunches that consist of more than just turkey thrown in between two slices of bread, and snacks other than pretzels. I know I can be more creative than that, and I truly want my kids to eat better than that. Plus, I am really into following the new MyPlate Guidelines, which recently replaced the food pyramid I grew up with but never paid any attention to to help make sure my kids learn to eat balanced meals.

via White House Chef Schools Us on Healthy Lunches VIDEO | The Stir.

“Week in Review” from ParentingintheLoop

Posted on August 31, 2012 by llpitlwp

Tantrum discussions are trending…but then when aren’t they trending online somewhere in the parenting/grandparenting sphere?

Here are my picks this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend…we are trying to capture some last rays of the summer, leaving our footprints in the sand and making memories to last us through the coming Fall and Winter.

The study, led by Lauren Wakschlag, Ph.D., also debunked the common belief that temper tantrums are rampant among young children. Although temper tantrums among preschoolers are common, they are not particularly frequent, the research shows. Less than 10 percent of young children have a daily tantrum. That pattern is similar for girls and boys, poor and non-poor children, and Hispanic, white, and African-American children.The study found key differences between “typical” tantrums and “atypical” tantrums.

When Tantrums Signal Something More | Strollerderby.

Very interesting information regarding typical and atypical tantrums, if you have a question about your preschooler’s meltdowns you might want to check out this new information from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

When to Worry about Kids Temper Tantrums: Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University.

This post from Core Parenting, discusses how to deal with a tantrum with emotional competence. Agree or disagree it just might help get you through the next toddler/preschooler meltdown.

So the next time your child has big emotion, change the way you think and see and respond in the moment. Change your thoughts from “Oh no, not again!” to “Yes! Another opportunity to practice emotional competence!” Take a deep breath and be amazed at the hard work your child is doing. Learning about emotions is difficult, engaging work. Be there, by their side.

For The Love Of A Tantrum | Core Parenting – Parenting Resources in Portland, Oregon..

Sick Days and Preschoolers

Posted on August 29, 2012 by llpitlwp

School days bring sick days…children somehow pass around the nastiest of germs. Fevers from unknown viruses seem to be the most common and the most perplexing. None of us like to see our little one suffering from a fever.

Coughs and colds come winter are common and mostly annoying with endless sniffles and runny noses. Medications to treat cough and colds are not recommended for preschoolers

A child who is puking is really a challenge….many times I have run out of towels and linens before the vomiting ends…but in all cases do not give anti-nausea meds. Consult with your pediatrician to avoid dehydration.

Baby Center has a short list of medications not to give to preschoolers.

Check it out or better yet print it out and keep handy as the “out sick season” starts with the beginning of school.

Eight medicines you shouldn’t give your preschooler | BabyCenter.

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Category Archives: Kids