pediatric housecalls Robert R. Jarrett M.D. M.B.A. FAAP

11 Posts in "Childhood Diseases" Series

• Childhood Diseases Parents Should Know: Intro/Index – 15 Jul 2014
  A series of the most common childhood diseases that are either so common or so deadly that all parents should know about them


• Part 1 - Croup, Bronchiolitis – 17 Jul 2014
  Creating our own list of "diseases all parents should know about" so you don't have to go to the scam site on the internet by the same name, we begin with parhaps one of the most common but frightful diseases for new parents to deal with: Croup and Bronchiolitis.


• Part 2 - Otitis, Glue ear – 21 Jul 2014
  If you're considering the diseases that all parents should know about, ear infections are hands-down the most common. Why should you know about them? Because they can lead to what some people call "glue ear" and that can mean surgery. Here's all about it.


• Part 3 - Hand, Foot, Mouth and Fifth disease – 29 Jul 2014
  Hand-Foot-Mouth (yes it's really called that, even by doctors), Pink Eye (conjunctivitis) and Fifth Disease (yes this too) are a cluster of annoying maladies that I'd bet you don't get out of parenthood without knowing about. Real common, not usually so significant that they're talked about.


• Part 4 - Rotavirus - Kawasaki's – 10 Aug 2014
  The next two diseases all parents should know about are Rotavirus and Kawasaki's viruses, producing diarrhea and… well, Kawasaki disease; also called mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, an import from Japan via Mexico.


• Part 5 - Varicella - Rubella – 18 Aug 2014
  One of the legacies my generation was most proud to leave you, our grandchildren, was the eradication of Varicella, Measles, Mumps and Rubella; BUT, we were waylaid by your parents! They ALL are coming back now because of the needless hysteria over vaccinations. So, they're on the list of things you SHOULD know as parents.


• Part 6 - Diptheria - Tetanus – 3 Sep 2014
  After last week's post I remembered another "broken" legacy due to vaccination hysteria: Diptheria, Pertussis (Whooping Cough) and Tetanus—real killers from my parents' day that we licked and now are coming back to haunt are great-grandkids. All easily prevented by the DPT shot.


• Part 7 - Meningitis - Scarlet Fever – 11 Sep 2014
  Deadly and debilitating, both are dangerous maladies plaguing every family with an involved child before the advent of Penicillin, pretty much the first antibiotic. Meningitis was almost uniformly fatal and "strep" throat debilitatingly producing scarlet fever and heart disease. These too, all parents should know about if only to provided historical context and understanding about why we think and do like we do.


• Part 8 - Polio - MRSA – 23 Sep 2014
  A "first" memory of my childhood was going door-to-door collecting for "penny's by the inch" fund for Polio, a untreatable virus which either killed a person or sent them into an "iron lung" until the virus ran its course. MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus) is a bug-a-boo that this generation needs to fight because we're running out of antibiotics that work (for reasons covered elsewhere).


• Part 9 - Impetigo - Influenza – 1 Oct 2014
  Impetigo and Ringworm are common skin infections with "hidden" sequelae that come in the back door if they're not treated. Influenza still kills babies and grandparents while making the rest bed-riddenly ill. Fortunately, there are vaccines now readily available for all ages although annoyingly need to be repeated each year.


• Part 10 - Lyme - Allergies – 9 Oct 2014
  Ticks cause Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, so let's talk about them; and, I almost forgot about allergies, we absolutely cannot forget them. Every parent should know about allergies.