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

Hello, and welcome to Pediatric House Calls. I am…
A Physician board certified in Pediatric medicine with Clinical experience including caring for infants, children and teens – well these days mostly children and teens up to twenty-one;
An Administrator experienced in top medical management for several national health insurance companies;
An Author of health care manuals, newspaper columns and even children's stories;
A Business Medical Consultant for drug companies, insurance companies and physician practices;
A Veteran of the US Navy in the Vietnam era;
And…
I make House-Calls.

Children’s Health: Less Healthy Than 50 Years Ago

Your grandparents and great-grandparents are always the shortest ones in all your family photos, right? It’s the same with all of us.

Your kids are taller, better fed and wealthier than your grandparents; so, why are today’s children LESS healthy than 50 years ago? Children’s health has actually gotten worse!
Read more →

Appendicitis

I’ve written before about appendicitis and the research going on to find the best type of treatment. A big part of that research is to make double-dog sure that it keeps people safe because this thing used to kill people right and left!

Contrary to what the charlatans on the internet try to get you to believe, NOT EVERYONE is safe waiting to see if antibiotics are the only treatment needed; and, not every doctor is bad just because they recommend surgery.
Read more →

As Much As You Want To Know About Autism – FIVE Videos

Here is a compliation of excellent video information about the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Beginning with Wendy Chung, geneticist at the Simons Foundation, who is working to characterize behavior, brain structure and function in people with genetic variations that may relate to autism. She explains what it is, why it seems to be increasing, what causes it, the genetics and the treatments—a lot!

Then there’s Faith Jegede Cole, a writer who tells of her two autistic brothers; Steve Silberman, a Writer and editor who describes a link between genius and autism; Ami Klin, a researcher looking for earlier diagnostic methods; and, Temple Grandin, who has Aspberger’s and is Livestock handling designer and autism activist.

See the video…

James Parkinson: Social Activist and Advocate, Parkinson’s Disease and Palentology

Dr. James Parkinson was born on World Parkinson’s Disease Day, April 11th 1755, in London, England. Of course he didn’t know it at the time. Come to think of it, neither did his parents; nor the fact that he would become one of the 50 most influential doctors of all time.

Affecting an estimated 1% of people over 60 years of age, what has come to be known as “Parkinson’s Disease” is one of the most common neurologic disorders known today.
Read more →

Doctor’s Talking About Puberty and Sex

It seems that talking about puberty and sex is one of most every doctor’s LEAST favorite tasks. I know that because some research projects have studied the subject in patients of all ages with diseases of all types and by doctors of all specialties.

Well, it shouldn’t really surprise any of you because it’s your least favorite talk with your kids too (assuming you’re a parent)—and they’re YOUR kids.
Read more →

Physical Signs of Hidden Heart Disease in Children and Teens

Once upon a time doctors were almost thought of as wizards; not so much any more and it all has to do with the ability (and desire) to do a thorough physical exam.

No kiddin’. Before the invention of so much gadgetry physicians relied on their acute senses for ever-so subtle clues the body gives when it’s not running full on all cylinders but before a part gives out entirely.
Read more →

John Snow: Water Pumps, Cholera and Epidemiology

I live in no fear that telling you Dr. John Snow is one of history’s top 50 influential doctors will give even the slightest concern.

If it does, it means you really have no clue that he was the one who basically took Cholera off the front page of every newspaper and gave the world toilets, sewer systems and public works departments—world-wide.
Read more →