Pediatric Office News: What’s Being Seen On Long Island

I’m happy to say that, for the past few weeks, there hasn’t been a great deal of illness in Nassau County.  We’re grateful that, for the time being, there have been no cases of Flu, Swine or otherwise.  All tests have been negative for many weeks.   The same can be said for strep throats.  This germ seems to be on vacation as it usually is late in the summer.

Yet, there appears to be a mild “fever virus” making the rounds affecting mostly children under 3 years old.  Most of the toddlers and infants are not very ill, just running fever for two or three days.  Stools might be a little loose and the kids slightly fussy but otherwise having no other symptoms.  This might be the ECHO virus (cute name) which we often see at this time.  So far, we’re seeing very few cases of Coxsackie infections (sores in the mouth, hands, feet and tush) and very few respiratory problems except for those kids with wheezing or nasal allergies.

Quite a few small children are having skin problems at this time: eczema flare-ups and nasty mosquito bites.  We’re also seeing quite a large number of infants with diaper rashes.  That’s really not surprising since, with the very high humidity, there is a tendency for diaper areas to stay wetter than usual.  Also at this time, kids may be drinking more liquids and their stools might be mushier.  Nothing is more irritating to the skin than contact with loose stools.

A few pointers:  change diapers more often and apply a barrier cream that contains zinc oxide, such as Desitin, Balmex or Triple Paste.  A trick to really dry the infant bottom between changes is to very carefully use a hair dryer to briefly blow the moisture off.  Make sure you test the blower’s heat by continuously keeping your hand on the baby’s skin, making sure that the back of your hand (and the baby’s skin) is not getting hot, just dry.  Avoid using petroleum jellies (Vaseline) in diaper areas, since that will trap moisture and promote the growth of yeast.  Another little trick, especially if the stools appear to be mushy, is to give the baby one or two ounces of cranberry juice (Ocean Spray cocktail) to drink.  This will change the pH of the stool and sometimes cure the rash.  If a rash persists, it’s best to have the Pediatrician see it to rule out yeast or a bacterial infection.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

William J. Mesibov, M.D.

Kidfixers, Syosset

www.kidfixer.com