I have been seeing kids coming in with impetigo this week. Impetigo is a contagious skin infection that causes pustules that ooze, crust over and spread. It often starts around the nose and mouth and spreads. It is common in children and can be spread by close contact with an infected person. It can be spread to other parts of the body by scratching.
It is treated by antibiotics and a child is usually safe to go back to school after 24 hours of treatment.
You can help to prevent impetigo by encouraging your child to wash their hands often, keeping their fingernails short, discouraging scratching and avoiding contact with an infected person.
See WebMD for more info.

Come see me at the clinic if you are not feeling well or you need a check up. 
Call 327-6407 for an appointment or walk right in.
Love yourself, take care of your health!

When you start taking antibiotics it usually takes 2 or 3 days before they really kick in. So be patient. Take care of your body in the mean time so that it can heal itself: get lots of rest (at least 8 hours of sleep per night), drink lots of fluids if you have a fever, or a UTI (water is great - no calories!), eat your fruits and veggies, take your multivitamins and Vitamin C. Destress and relax. It's better to rest and recover, rather than pushing yourself and not really giving yourself a chance to get better. The world will turn without you, and when you get back on you'll be able to give your best.
If you are coughing, you shouldn't be at work. Don't share your infection with your coworkers.
Love yourself, take care of your health! 

Most sore throats are caused by viruses. This means that antibiotics are not helpful for most sore throats. Please don't try to persuade your doctor to give you antibiotics if he/she doesn't think they are necessary. You should get better in about a week, no matter what medications you take. You can take over the counter medications for pain, like Tylenol or Motrin, increase your fluid intake, and gargle with salt water.
You may need antibiotics if you can see white stuff on your tonsils, if you have swollen painful neck glands, a high fever, no cough, or a very bad cough with chest pain and/or shortness of breath, if you feel and look absolutely awful, if you are immunosuppressed for some other reason, or if it's your child that is sick and they are very young. Please see your doctor in these cases.
Come see me at the clinic if you are not feeling well or you need a check up. Call 327-6407 for an appointment or walk right in.
Love yourself, take care of your health! 

Whenever you are prescribed antibiotics, please try to take them all. Many people stop taking them when they start feeling better or stop and save the rest for the next time. But if you do that, the infection isn't properly treated and may come back again, worse this time and resistant to that antibiotic. Most colds don't need antibiotics, but if you get them, love yourself, take care of your health, and take them all!