The Check Up
Asthma & Children
By Dr. Yvonne Juarez, Chief of Pediatrics for Kaiser Permanente Fresno
Every day there are children in the Valley who struggle to breathe. Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightening of the chest are just some of the problems children with asthma face.
It’s a disease that can drastically impact their quality of life if not managed well. Some children need medicine to play sports, others have difficulty sleeping. A few suffer from bad asthma attacks requiring frequent doctor visits or can even need emergency room treatment or hospitalization.
May is Asthma Awareness month and a good time to remind everyone about the asthma epidemic facing our nation. Nationwide, nearly 25 million people suffer from this disease, including 7 million children. It continues to be a public health concern and currently accounts for more than 15 million physician office visits and nearly 2 million emergency department visits each year.
Asthma is one of the most common serious chronic diseases facing our children. Asthma disproportionately affects more children here in Fresno County compared to the rest of the state. Nearly 20% of Fresno County children have been diagnosed with asthma, according to the most recent data available from the California Health Interview Survey. Statewide, 14% of children have been diagnosed with the disease.
The Valley’s poor air quality is one factor that subjects more of our children to asthma. A family history of this disease also can make your child more susceptible to breathing problems. Allergies can trigger or make this disease worse in kids.
To read the entire article, please subscribe to Totts Magazine. Click here
For more information regarding asthma and proper ways to use inhalers, please visit my website at http://permanente.net/doctor/yvonnejuarez
The Daily Routine
Taking care of our children’s health is every parent’s top priority. Oral health is especially important to the well being, development and health of your child. Dr. Jeff Evans and Dr. Jeff Kunkel of California KIDDS Pediatric Dentistry have given us the tools to not only keep your children’s teeth healthy but lay the foundation for a lifelong and healthy dental routine.
Newborn to 12 months:
At bedtime wipe your baby’s gums and tongue after nursing or bottle feeding with a soft damp cloth or a tooth tissue like a Spiffies-baby tooth wipes. Starting this at a very young age, even before your baby has teeth, helps them to become accustomed to you caring for their mouth and can make brushing less of a battle when your child is older. It is also important to remember to do this even if your baby falls asleep while nursing. Once the teeth have begun to erupt and first foods are introduced it is critical to wipe the teeth and gums clean or use a soft tooth brush. Also avoid saliva sharing activities such as cleaning off a pacifier with your own mouth or sharing utensils between siblings or other family members. Saliva sharing activities can spread cavity causing bacteria from one person to another and can inoculate a baby with these bacteria increasing their chances of getting cavities at a very young age.
1 to 2 years of age:
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The Truth About Autism
Provided by Brain Balance Achievement Centers of Clovis.
Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in the umbrella category of PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Experts estimate that 1 in 100 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females. The Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can often be reliably detected by the age of 3 years, and in some cases as early as 18 months. Studies suggest that many children eventually may be accurately identified by the age of 1 year or even younger.
What are some common signs of autism?
There are three distinctive behaviors that characterize autism. Autistic children have difficulties with social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests. These behaviors can range in impact from mild to disabling.
The hallmark feature of autism is impaired social interaction. Parents are usually the first to notice symptoms of autism in their child. As early as infancy, a baby with autism may be unresponsive to people, not bond properly with parents, or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time.
A child with autism may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement. Parents often report not being able to “connect” with their child. These children may fail to respond to their name and often avoid eye contact with other people. They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they can’t understand social cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions, and therefore do not watch other people’s eyes or faces for clues about appropriate behavior. They often lack empathy and are egocentric.
Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking, twirling, and flapping or in what is thought to be self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging. These behaviors are often referred to as “stims”. These stims are actually a way the child compensates for lack of proper sensory motor input. Autistic adults that are now able to communicate report that times of constant movement (stims), close/deep physical contact or when being wet (in shower or pools), as the only times they can actually “feel” themselves. It has also been reported that what we call stims is actually an autistic individual’s way of interacting with his/her environment.
To read the entire article, please subscribe to Totts Magazine. Click here
For more information on Autism and other behavioral and learning disabilities, call Brain Balance at (559) 324-0200, visit them on the N/E corner of Herndon & Willow, or visit their website at www.brainbalancecenters.com.
The Post Board
What does your favorite date consist of for you and your spouse?
Any date! Hah, just kidding, although it seems like those are an enigma these days. Our favorite date is to grab dinner, or even just appetizers and a drink and then go and get a foot massage. It sounds funny but it is by far the most awesome night away from our kids. We get to talk uninterrupted AND experience relaxation…together, not a usual occurrence in our house. Plus after a drink and a massage, you sleep like a baby!
Relaxed Mom & Dad in Fresno
Our favorite date is any time away from our kids where we get to prepare for our outing in an empty house. My mother recently started picking up the kids before we go out, so that we can get ready hassle and stress free. It is amazing!!!! There is nobody pulling toilet paper off the roll while I am in the shower or experimenting with red lipstick while I am in the closet. And best of all, no teary dramatic good byes. It’s so quiet and relaxing…it’s almost like a date in itself!
Dressing Childless in Fresno
How do you choose whether to start your child in Kindergarten or wait one more year?
I defiantly would not want to encourage or discourage another mother from making any sort of decision for her own child, but I can attest that this decision was a bit of a struggle for me. My son is the most wonderful, bright eyed, energetic, and loving little boy…but let me emphasize the “energetic.” He has a late January birthday so I really pondered holding him back. I wasn’t as much concerned about Kindergarten or even his early elementary days, but more so say junior high, when his urges might be a little less controllable under pear pressure. I thought that be keeping him back, no harm would be done academically or emotionally. And that a little more maturity could come in handy later done the road.
His pre-school teacher could not have disagreed more. She really pushed me to have him tested as she believed he was ready on all fronts. So to appease her I did. He far surpassed even my expectations. So…what to do?
I sat back and dug deep about why I didn’t want him to go and the answer was fear. The reality is whether he goes this coming year or the next, all of the same hurdles are going to meet him face to face. There are always going to be challenges in his life. It is my job to give him the skills to learn how to deal with them and I am better off instilling them now rather than later.
So off to Kindergarten he will go this fall…
Kindergarten here we come in Clovis
Questions for our next issue:
How do you know it’s time to find new child care?
What was your most memorable Mother’s day?
We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this and other issues.
