I always tell new moms that if you can breastfeed for two weeks, then you can breastfeed for two years. The point is, while our species has been breastfeeding for millions of years, sometimes it’s not intuitive. Getting to the two week point isn’t always easy, but once you’re there, you’ll be able to continue “forever.”

So, how to get through those first two weeks? Practice. Fortunately, your newborn will become hungry for a meal every two hours, on average, giving you many opportunities to practice. For the first few meals, a newborn can feel full after eating only one teaspoon of colostrum (the initial clear milk). The size of a person’s stomach is the size of his fist. For a baby, that’s pretty small. So relax about not making a lot of milk those first few days. But remember, your baby’s needs will change and she will start to require more milk. A nursing baby tells the mom’s body to produce more milk by stimulating the breast. Nurse more often and production will increase. Traditionally, moms are told to attempt a feeding every 2-3 hours. But babies do not come with timers, and Dr. Lai tells moms the interval of time between feeds is not as important as the number of times the breast is stimulated. Around 8-12 feedings a day is usually enough to get a mom’s milk to “come in.”

Some lactation consultants advocate allowing the baby to feed on one breast as long as she wants before switching sides. I am more of a proponent of efficiency (I had twins, after all). What works well for many of my patients for the first few days is to allow the baby to nurse for 5-8 minutes on one breast, then break suction and put the baby on the other breast for the same amount of time. If your baby still seems hungry, you can always put her back on the first breast for another five minutes, followed by the other breast again for five minutes. Work your way up to 10-15 minutes on each side once your milk is in, which can take up to one week for some women. Nursing the baby until a breast is empty gives the baby the rich hind milk as well as the initial, but less fatty fore milk. Close mom’s kitchen for at least an hour after feedings. Beware of being used as a human pacifier.

Advantages for this feeding practice:

1. Prevents your newborn from falling asleep before finishing a feeding because of the activity of changing sides
2. Stimulates both breasts to produce milk at every feeding
3. Prevents mom from feeling lopsided
4. Prevents mom from getting too sore
5. Allows time in between feedings for mom to eat, drink, nap, use the bathroom, shower (remember, these are essentials of life)
6. Teaches baby to eat in 30 minutes or less.

I have seen improved weight gain in babies whose moms breast feed in this way. However, if your baby gains weight well after feeding from one breast alone each feeding, or if you are not sore or dangerously fatigued from allowing your baby to feed for a longer time, then carry on!

How do you know if your baby is getting enough milk? While all babies lose weight after birth, babies should not lose more than 10% of their birth weight, and they should regain their birth weight by 2-3 weeks of life. Young babies should also pee and poop a lot (some poop after EVERY feeding) which is a reflection of getting enough breast milk.  Count on about one pee diaper for each day of life and one poop diaper for each day of life (three days old = 3 poop diapers and 3 urine diapers). Yellow poop is a sign that milk in going through your baby. Good urine output shows that your baby is well hydrated. Your child’s doctor will weigh your baby by two weeks of life to make sure he “makes weight.”

Many good sources can show you different suggestions for feeding positions. Experiment to see which is most comfortable for you and your baby. If you notice one spot on a breast is particularly full and tender, position your baby so that his chin points towards that spot. This may make for  awkward positions, but in this way, he drains milk more efficiently from the full spot.

When you first get home with your newborn, if the visitors in your house aren’t willing to do your dishes, then kick them out. It’s time to practice feeding.

Helpful websites:

To find a  lactation consultant near you see the International Lactation Consultant Association

For our moms across the world and the States- La Leche League International and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia- breastfeeding tips for beginners

For moms in Bucks, Mongomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania- Nursing Mother’s Advisory Council

Julie Kardos, MD with Naline Lai, MD

©2012, 2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

Recent comments by politicians have brought vaccines back into the public eye. In this post, we get down to basics.

Did you ever wonder how a vaccine works?

To understand how vaccines work, I will give you a brief lesson on the immune system. Trust me, it is interesting. Let me give you an example of me. When I was eight, I had chicken pox. It was a miserable week. I started out with fever and headache, then suffered days of intense body itching from blister-like spots, and ultimately, because I scratched off some scabs, ended up with scars. During this time, my immune system cells worked to battle off the chicken pox virus. Immune cells called memory cells also formed. These cells have the unique job of remembering (hence the name “memory cells”) what the chicken pox virus looks like. Then, if ever in my life I was to contact chicken pox again, my memory cells could multiply and fight off the virus WITHOUT MY HAVING TO GET SICK AGAIN WITH CHICKEN POX. So after I recovered, I was able to play with my neighbor even while he suffered with chicken pox.  I returned to school where other children in my class had chicken pox, but I did not catch chicken pox again. Even now, as a pediatrician, I don’t fear for my own safety when I diagnose a child with chicken pox, because I know I am immune to the disease.

This is an amazing feat, when you think about it.

So enter vaccines. A vaccine contains some material that really closely resembles the actual disease you will protect yourself against. Today’s chicken pox vaccine contains an altered form of chicken pox that is close to but not actually the real thing. However, it is so similar to the real thing that your body’s immune system believes it is, in fact, real chicken pox. Just as in the real disease, your body mounts an immune response, and makes  memory cells that will remember what the disease looks like.  So, if you are exposed to another person with chicken pox, your body will kill off the virus but YOU DON’T GET SICK WITH THE CHICKEN POX. What a beautiful system! Rather than thinking about a vaccine as a foreign substance, think of it as a substance that is able to strengthen your body’s natural immune system.

Before chicken pox vaccine, about 100 children per year in the US died from complications of chicken pox disease. Many thousands were hospitalized with pneumonia, skin infections, and even brain damage (encephalitis) from chicken pox disease. Now a small injection into the arm can prevent a disease by creating the same kind of immunity that you would have generated from having the disease, only now you have one second of pain from the injection instead of a week of misery and possible permanent disability or death. I call that a Great Deal!

I used the example of chicken pox because the vaccine was invented during my own lifetime. However, I could have used the example of polio, which, prior to its vaccine development in 1955, paralyzed 10,000 children per year in the United States, or measles, which infected 4 million children per year and killed 3000 per year in the United States before doctors began to give children a vaccine against measles in 1963.

All vaccines operate by this principle: create a safe environment for your immune system to make memory cells against a potentially deadly disease. Then when you are exposed to someone who actually has the disease, you will not “catch” it. Your body will fight the germs, but you do not become sick. If everyone in the world were vaccinated, then the disease itself would eventually be completely eradicated. Even if MOST people were vaccinated, this disease eradication can occur, because the majority of immunized people protect the few who are too young or too ill to receive vaccines themselves. This happened with small pox, a disease that killed 50 percent of infected people. There is no longer small pox because nearly everyone on earth received the small pox vaccine. Now we do not need to give small pox vaccine because the disease no longer exists. This is a huge vaccine success story.

Friedrich Nietzsche said “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” We pediatricians feel this is unacceptable risk for children. We would rather see your child vaccinated against a disease in order to become immune rather than risking the actual disease in order to become immune. The vaccines that we give children protect against diseases that can cause serious, lifelong disability or death.

Hopefully this blog post answers your questions about how vaccines work. For more details or more in-depth explanations, I refer you to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) website www.aap.org, the Immunization Action Coalition, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Education Center,  and the book Vaccines: What You Should Know, by pediatricians Dr. Paul Offit and Dr. Louis Bell.

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD

© 2009, 2015 Two Peds In a Pod®, updated 9/2015

For more information about vaccines, please see our prior posts: Should I vaccinate my child?, Closure: there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, Fact or Fiction: a flu vaccine quiz for all teachers, babysitters, parents, and anyone else who breathes on children, Do vaccines cause autism?, Measles outbreak: would you recognize measles in your child?, A vaccine parable , and Are my teen’s vaccines up to date?

It’s only a few weeks into the school year and we are running out of snack ideas for our kids. We looked back and found a couple of our favorite posts for snacks by guest bloggers Dr. Roxanne Sukol and  Health Coach  Mary McDonald .  Click here if you are in the same boat:

Packing your child’s school lunch: Beware of junk food disguised as healthy food

Overhauling the Sports Snack Stand

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD

2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

Dr. Lai staggers under the load of her high schooler’s back pack

Although we see in the news that ebooks are replacing textbooks, our kid’s backpacks look heavier than ever. Returning is physical therapist Dr. Deborah Stack with backpack pointers. -Drs. Lai and Kardos

With the return to school, we wanted to remind you of some healthy backpack tips including adjusting your backpack. I recall the first day of school one year when the “first day of school” photo showed my not-quite-100-pound child bending in half under the weight of a backpack, trombone, lunchbox and art portfolio. I quietly decreed that it would not happen again. To make sure it does not happen at your house either, consider a few suggestions to keep your children healthy:

1. A traditional backpack with two shoulder straps distributes the weight more evenly than a pack or messenger bag with a single strap.
2. Look for wide, padded straps. Narrow straps can dig in and limit circulation.
3. Buckle the chest or waist strap to distribute weight more evenly.
4. Look for a padded back to protect your child from pointy pencils etc.
5. Look for a lightweight pack that does not add much overall weight.
6. Multiple compartments can help distribute weight.
7. Place heavier items close to the spine instead of in front pockets.
8. Compression straps on the sides or bottom of the backpack can compress the contents of the backpack and stabilize the articles.
9. Reflective material allows your child to be visible on those rainy mornings.
10. A well fitting backpack should match the size of the child. Shoulder straps should fit comfortably on the shoulder and under the arms, so that the arms can move freely. The bottom of the pack should rest in the contour of the lower back. The pack should “sit” evenly in the middle of the back, not “sag down” toward the buttocks.

How much should that tike be toting? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 10-20 percent of body weight and the American Physical Therapy Association recommends no more than 15 percent of a child’s weight. Here’s a chart to give you an idea of the absolute maximum a child should carry in a properly worn backpack:

Here are some ideas to help lighten the load, especially for those middle school kids who have a plethora of textbooks:

1. Find out of your child’s textbook can be accessed on the internet. Many schools are purchasing access so the students can log on rather than lug home.
2. Consider buying an extra set of books for home. Used textbooks are available inexpensively online.
3. Limit the “extras” in the backpack such as one free reading book instead of five. I am not exaggerating; one day I found five free reading books in my child’s backpack!
4. Encourage your child to use free periods to actually study, and leave the extra books in his locker.
5. Remind your child to stop by her locker between classes to switch books rather than carrying them all at once.
6. Consider individual folders or pockets for each class rather than a bulky 3-ring notebook that holds every subject.

You may need to limit the load even further if your child is still:

• Struggling to get the backpack on by herself
• Complaining of back, neck or shoulder pain
• Leaning forward to carry the backpack

If your child complains of back pain or numbness or weakness in the arms or legs, talk to your doctor or physical therapist.

When used correctly, backpacks are supported by some of the strongest muscles in the body: the back and abdominal muscles. These muscle groups work together to stabilize the trunk and hold the body in proper postural alignment. However, backpacks that are worn incorrectly or are too heavy can lead to neck, shoulder and back pain as well as postural problems. So choose wisely and lighten the load. Happy shopping!

Deborah Stack, PT, DPT, PCS
With nearly 20 years of experience as a physical therapist, Dr. Stack heads The Pediatric Therapy Center of Bucks County in Pennsylvania. She holds both masters and doctoral degrees in physical therapy from Thomas Jefferson University.

2010, 2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

Dr. Kardos says she still remembers when her friend dumped her back in 7th grade. Guest blogging for Two Peds in a Pod, is child and adolescent counselor Dina Ricciardi with advice to help walk your kids through the experience.

It can happen very quickly, and often without explanation: your son or daughter gets “dumped” by his or her best friend or group of friends. One minute they are inseparable; the next, your child is left out and being ignored, and is completely bewildered as to why or what happened. Welcome to cliques, a typical part of the tween and adolescent landscape. While enduring these shifts in peer relationships can be extremely painful for both of you, there are some things you can do to help your child emerge safely on the other side of the experience.

Do empathize. Make sure your child knows that you understand why they are upset, and that you would be too.

Do take your child’s grief seriously. We adults know that friendships change and shift over time, and that we all survive. However, your child may see this as the worst thing that has ever happened to her, and she may be right.

Don’t downplay your child’s pain. It’s normal for him to feel hurt and rejected, and to question his own actions and the authenticity of the friendship.

Do keep an eye out for bullying or name-calling. If the situation seems to require it, enlist the support of school personnel to monitor things under their watch.

Don’t disparage or belittle the offending friend(s). It might feel good in the moment, but it can set the wrong example and make it difficult for your child to reconcile if the opportunity presents itself.

As a parent, it is hard to watch your child suffer. Our instinct is often to try to fix the situation, which we need to resist. Part of adolescence is allowing our children to develop their own identity and to learn relationship skills. Through their peer relationships, they learn sophisticated concepts such as trust, loyalty, empathy, compassion, and tolerance. They also start to encounter difficult emotions such as jealousy. The most important thing we can do as parents is be available to help our children sort out their feelings and to give them a different perspective. We can also help them discover that while peers are important, they can be strong and fine on their own, and do not need other people to give them their identity. This helps them value themselves as individuals. In the process, maybe we parents learn something new also. Buckle in; it can be a bumpy ride!

Dina Ricciardi, LSW, ACSW

Dina Ricciardi is a psychotherapist in private practice treating children, adolescents, and adults in Doylestown, PA. She specializes in eating disorders and pediatric and adult anxiety, and is also trained in Sandtray Therapy. Ricciardi is a Licensed Social Worker and a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers. She can be reached at dina@nourishcounseling.com.

Dr. Lai adds: Help your kids cultivate their interests. As they do their interests, they will look around and find that  those kids will become their friends. The hardest part about adolescence is figuring out your own interests, and not those of your peers.

2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

Baby spew doesn’t always require reflux medications

In our office, two-month-old Max smiles ear to ear, naked except for a diaper and a bib. His worried mom asks me about the large amounts of spit up Max spews forth daily. “He spits up after every feeding. It seems like everything he eats just comes back up. It even comes out of his nose!” she says. Max gained the expected amount of weight, an average of one ounce per day, since his one-month check-up. He breastfeeds well and accepts an occasional bottle from his dad. Even after spitting up and drenching everything around him, he remains comfortable and cheerful. He is well hydrated, urinates often, and poops normally.

In short, Max is a “happy spitter” Other than creating piles of laundry, he acts like any healthy baby.

With some states now legalizing pot for recreational use, drug education for kids has never been more critical. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement this past year opposing legalization because of its potential harm to children, teens, and young adults. We welcome Dr. Shannon Murphy who dispels myths surrounding marijuana. – Drs. Kardos and Lai

Why is pot so different today than 30 years ago? Pot is 5 times stronger than the 1980’s.

THC, the psychoactive ingredient in the plant, previously hovered around 3%. Now the average THC level is closer to 16%. As of this year, some plants have been tested with levels reaching between 20-30% THC. There is a new form of pot known as hash oil that is almost pure THC with levels around 90%

I heard pot was not addictive. Is that true? Pot is addictive.

In fact, the younger you are when you start using pot, the more likely you are to get addicted.10% of adults and 17% of young adults who try pot will become addicted to it. If one chooses to use on a daily or near daily basis, the addiction rate climbs to 25-50%.

How long does pot stay in your body? Pot is different from many other drugs because it can stay in your body for days after use.

In addition, the more you use pot, the longer it stays in your body. For regular users, it can remain in your body for several weeks. As a result, there is a sub acute impairment that persists with many users once the initial “high” has worn off.

When used, pot is distributed throughout one’s body. These areas include the brain and spinal cord, heart, lungs, muscles, and fatty tissues. In fact, it is stored in fatty tissue. If one is pregnant and one uses pot, not only will the mom be affected by pot, but so will her unborn child. It also concentrates in breast milk. People who use marijuana should NOT breastfeed their baby.

Isn’t pot safe to use? I heard it was safer than other drugs. Pot is harmful to the brain, heart, and lungs.

Regular use of marijuana, particularly at a young age, can create biochemical and structural changes to the brain. Some of these changes are not reversible. Moreover, the effects are dose dependent. The more you use, the more likely to affect change.

Marijuana causes cognitive impairment. It harms learning, memory, attention, and critical decision-making. A recent study showed that regular use of marijuana at a young age causes a permanent decrease in IQ of up to 8 points.

Marijuana is linked to the development of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Research has shown that regular daily to weekend use of pot increased one’s risk of psychosis 3-5 times that of the general population. Sadly, we are seeing this played out in states like Colorado where people have died from psychosis related events.

The American Lung Association has reported that pot has more cancer causing agents than tobacco smoke. Like tobacco, it causes chronic cough, wheeze, phlegm production, and frequent infections.

Marijuana has cardiac effects as well. Temporal links have been found between using pot and arrhythmias, stroke, and other major cardiac events.

What are “edibles”?

In 2014, with the legalization of pot in Colorado, the marijuana industry began selling food products with infused THC. These products, which include candy, cereal, pop tarts, and sodas, are indistinguishable from regular food.

In fact, exposure of kids to marijuana increased by 200% over this last year because of these products. These accidental poisonings were secondary to exposure of kids to edibles typically in their home. Many kids ended up in the ER, some with serious complications like seizures and difficulty breathing.

What does “dabbing” mean?

Dabbing is inhaling vapors from heating a concentrated form of pot. Dabs, which are also known as BHO (butane hash oil), “budder”, “honeycomb”, or “earwax” contain much higher concentrates of THC, usually upwards of 90%. Dabs are much stronger than a single joint and the high is administered all at once.

How does smoking pot affect driving?

Driving high is dangerous to the driver, others in the vehicle, and people sharing the road. In fact, marijuana is the number one illicit drug found in the blood stream of drivers involved in fatal car accidents.

Pot impairs skills needed to drive safely. It negatively impacts alertness, coordination, and reaction time.

Pot and alcohol don’t mix. Using both drugs at the same time has been shown to increase the THC level in one’s blood stream. This makes for a deadly combination on the road.

Is it okay to use pot while pregnant?

It is NOT okay to use pot while pregnant. As mom gets high and feels the effects of the drug, so does the unborn child.

Studies have shown that children exposed to marijuana in utero have lower scores on visual and motor coordination as well as lower scores on visual analysis and problem solving. In utero exposure is also associated with decreased attention span and behavioral problems. Finally, studies have shown that teens are more likely to be marijuana users if their mom used while pregnant.

What if my teen says that since pot isn’t a big deal anymore and many of their friends are using it?

Now more than ever, it is incredibly important to speak clearly regarding the risks of pot use. Many teens see legal as meaning safe, so we are entering a critical time when it comes to our kids and marijuana use. Here are a few suggestions when it comes to talking to your kids about drug use in general.

Talk early and often. This should not be a one-time conversation.

Make sure your child knows your rules on drug use and set clear consequences if these rules are broken. Role-play real life situations so kids can know how to respond when confronted with scenarios that may involve drugs.Base education about pot and other drugs on facts.

Check out the National Institute of Drug Abuse website for up to date information. To learn more visit www.learnaboutsam.org .

Shannon Murphy, MD, FAAP

Dr. Murphy is a board certified general pediatrician who currently serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Practice Advisory Committee for Adolescent Substance Use. She heads a non-profit coalition, SAM Alabama, whose goal is to educate parents and kids on the public health issues and safety concerns associated with marijuana.

2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

A snippet from a quick search on youtube for “true laugh”

There’s another game in town called “Find your true laugh,” but it is no laughing matter. One kid lies down and another kid either sits on the recumbent kid’s chest or pushes hard on the recumbent kid’s chest with his hands (think CPR chest compressions). As the recumbent kid starts to laugh, his laugh purportedly changes. In this case, in addition to compromising a kid’s airway, the force of another person pushing hard on the chest can lead to rib fractures and, as one of our patients discovered painfully, even a fractured sternum. Rib fractures are acceptable as a side effect of CPR but are not an acceptable side effect of a game.

Tweens in particular seem vulnerable to trying the “Hey, this looks fun, let’s try it, ” airway blocking games. Explain to your tween that anything that can possibly interfere with breathing can hurt him.

Dr. Kardos tells tween patients:

Your nose is for breathing air. NOT for breathing fumes from glue or markers in order to get high. Called “huffing,” this can lead to sudden fatal heart arrhythmias.

Your mouth is also for breathing. Tweens can all recite the dangers of smoking cigarettes, but they can find it amusing to breathe in crushed candy, which can irritate lungs, or to try to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon while taking the “cinnamon challenge.”The coughing and vomiting that result from this challenge are evidence of its potential danger.

Air moves through your neck to reach your lungs. Tweens play the “choking game” by strangling themselves in order to get a brief high before passing out. Tell your kids to never tie or loop anything around their necks, for obvious reasons. Kids have died playing this game.

Your lungs are in your chest. To get back to the find your true laugh game: this game involves smushing the chest. Point out that lungs can’t expand to hold air if someone is crushing your chest.

Earlier in this summer, Dr Lai  turned  around at a party to find a pile of tween girls on the rug giggling and trying to push in each other’s rib cages. After explaining to the girls why one should never block her airway, one of the girls  ferevently nodded and said , “I see, like the bologna game?”

“What bologna game?” asked Dr. Lai

” The one where you take a piece of bologna, cover your mouth and inhale it in.”

“Yes, like the bologna game, ” said Lai with a sigh.

What will they think of next?

Julie Kardos, MD with Naline Lai, MD
©2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

Gas is another topic most people don’t think much about until they have a newborn. Then suddenly gas becomes a huge source of parental distress, even though parents are not the ones with the gas. It’s the poor newborn baby who suffers, and as all parents know, our children’s suffering becomes OUR suffering.

So what to do?

• Start feedings before your infant cries a long time from hunger. When infants cry from hunger, they swallow air. When a frantically hungry baby starts to feed, they will gulp quickly and swallow more air than usual. If your infant is wide awake crying and it’s been at least one or two hours from the last feeding, try to quickly start another feeding.
•  Burp frequently. If you are breastfeeding, watch the clock, breastfeed for five minutes, change to the other breast. As you change positions, hold her upright in attempt to elicit a burp, then feed for five more minutes on the second breast. Then hold your baby upright and try for a slightly longer burping session, and go return her to the first breast for at least five minutes, then back to the second breast if she still appears hungry. Now if she falls asleep nursing, she has had more milk from both breasts and some opportunities to burp before falling asleep.
•  If you are bottle feeding, experiment with different nipples and bottle shapes (different ones work better for different babies) to see which one allows your infant to feed without gulping too quickly and without sputtering. Try to feed your baby as upright as possible.
• Hold your infant upright for a few minutes after feedings to allow for extra burps. If a burp seems stuck, lay her back down on her back for a minute and then bring her upright and try again.
•  To help expel gas from below, lay her on her back and pedal her legs with your hands. When awake, give her plenty of tummy time. Unlike you, a baby can not change position easily and may need a little help moving the gas out of their system.
• If your infant is AWAKE after a feeding, place her prone (on her belly) after a feeding. Babies can burp AND pass gas easier in this position. PUT HER ONTO HER BACK if she starts to fall asleep or if you are walking away from her because she might fall asleep before you return to her. Remember, all infants should SLEEP ON THEIR BACKS unless your infant has a specific medical condition that causes your pediatrician to advise a different sleep position.
• Parents often ask if changing the breast feeding mother’s diet or trying formula changes will help decrease the baby’s discomfort from gas. There is not absolute correlation between a certain food in the maternal diet and the production of gas in a baby. However, a nursing mom may find a particular food “gas inducing.”  Remember that a nursing mom needs nutrients from a variety of foods to make healthy breast milk so be careful how much you restrict. Try any formula change for a week at a time and if there is no effect on gas, just go back to the original formula.
• Do gas drops help? For flatulence, if  you find that the standard, FDA approved simethecone drops (e.g. Mylicon Drops) help, then you can use them as the label specifies. If they do not help, then stop using them.

Julie Kardos, MD with Naline Lai, MD

©2011, 2015 Two Peds in a Pod®

You may not think of your kitchen as a convenient pharmacy, but parents used common kitchen items successfully to treat various maladies long before CVS and Walgreens were invented. 

Crisco– May not be healthy to eat, but smeared on skin, it’s an old fashioned but effective treatment for eczema or dry skin.

Oatmeal– Crush and put into the end of a hosiery sock. Float the sock in the bathtub for a natural way to moisturize skin.

Olive Oil–

• Put a couple drops into the ear three times a day to loosen ear wax (don’t put in if your child has a hole in their ear drum eg. myringotomy tubes).
• For cradle cap, rub into your baby’s scalp and use your fingernail or a soft brush to loosen the greasy flakes.
• Also use to kill lice.  Work the oil through the scalp, tuck hair into a shower cap and wash off in the morning. Although studies are unclear on how well this method works on lice, it certainly is worth a try.

White vinegar-If swimmer’s ear is suspected, mix rubbing alcohol one to one with vinegar and drop a couple drops in the ear to stop the swimmer’s ear from progressing (don’t put in if your child has a hole in their ear drum eg. myringotomy tubes).

Ginger– Boil ginger to make a tea to take the edge off nausea

Honey– Shown to soothe coughs-give a teaspoon of dark (buckwheat, for example) honey three times a day. However, NEVER give honey to a child who is younger than one year of age because it may cause infant botulism

Lemon– An old singer’s trick—combine lemon juice with honey in tea to alleviate hoarseness

Salt– Mixed into lukewarm water, gargling with salt water will help ease sore throat pain

Baking soda:

• Mix with water to make a paste to help soothe itchy skin, from maladies such as poison ivy .
• Can also be mixed with water to make toothpaste if you run out of your usual minty whitener.
• Another use of baking soda: one part baking soda with 4 parts corn starch makes a natural underarm deodorant.

Sugar: Mix sugar into weak tea (or your ginger tea from above) and give small amounts frequently to soothe your older child’s nausea and help rehydrate after vomiting.

Ice: Ice not only decreases swelling when applied to injuries, it can also be used to combat the itch of bug bites and poison ivy.

Kitchen sink: This is an excellent place to wash any cut, scrape, or bleeding wound under running water with soap. Immediately after a burn, rinse the burned skin under cold water for several minutes to limit the extent of the heat injury. Contrary to popular lore, DO NOT put butter on a burn. You may, however, put butter on your toast. In small amounts.

Naline Lai, MD and Julie Kardos, MD

©2015 Two Peds in a Pod®, revised from 2011