Friday, October 30, 2015

India parent vaccine questions - Gap between different vaccines - Hepatitis A & MMR vaccine?

Question : 
My son is 5 years and 4 months old boy. He had his MMR2 vaccine yesterday. His Pediatrician is saying that he is ready to take Hepatitis A1 vaccine next week.

My question, can he take Hepatitis A1 vaccine first dose next week or not?
Should be there any days interval between two vaccines ?

Thanks in advance,

Answer :

There is no need to have a gap between MMR & Hep A vaccine. Your pediatrician is right in suggesting that it can be taken next week.
A gap of 1 month is needed between 2 injectable live vaccines ONLY. These include Chicken Pox, MMR, BCG, measles, Yellow Fever etc. 2 Injectable Live vaccines can be given on the same day OR at a gap of 1 month.
Hope this helps

Why Are Doctors So Selfish? Guest Author Dr Aniruddha Malpani

The word doctor is derived from the word docere, which means to teach. This means an integral part of every doctor's job should be to educate their patients. However, lots of doctors are selfish, and want to hoard the knowledge. They refuse to share it with their patients. Thus, some doctors get irritated when patients ask them questions and they say things like, "Don't try to cross examine me. And if you ask me questions, that means you don't trust me. And that means you should find another doctor. And if you want me to be your doctor, you need to trust me and not ask me any questions at all."
While most doctors are happy to explain to patients what they are doing for them, it's not enough just to do this one on one in the privacy of our consulting rooms.  As doctors, if we want to show society that we stand up for our patients, we need to be much more generous with our medical knowledge, and share it with the rest of the world. The best way to do this is through a website, because your website allows you to reach thousands of people all across the country. You can provide this information in local Indian languages. Patients respect and trust you, and this respect and trust will increase even more when you're willing to be open and share information with them. Not only will this help to improve the standing of doctors in society, it will also show that we doctors care for our patients and put their interests first.
If we want to be thought of as being thought leaders, we should also be seen as being transparent. We should show that we are willing to share the specialized information we have with our patients so they can look after themselves better. Doctors are considered to be medical experts. Sharing our wisdom with our patients will strengthen our standing in society even further.  As doctors, we acquire a lifetime of medical wisdom; and then when we die, we carry it to our grave, which is such a shame. Why aren't we willing to be generous and to share what we have learned - not only with our medical students and with other doctors but with the rest of the world as well.
Patients appreciate this kind of openness, and it will help to reassure them that their doctor is willing to put their interests first and share the information he has with them. If doctors don't learn to do this, patients will continue to treat us with suspicion, which will get progressively worse over time. We now have an opportunity to redeem ourselves by being generous with the knowledge which we possess and quite frankly, the more of this we give away, the more we will get back in return. After all, what's the point of being an expert if you don't share your expertise with others?
Source Docplexus discussion  (only available for registered doctors)

Monday, October 26, 2015

Learned helplessness - a lovely blog by a learned pediatrician .. tips for bringing up your child


By: WILLIAM G. WILKOFF, M.D.
 OCTOBER 5, 2015
Apparently, it is well known among canine behavior specialists that under similar situations dogs will look at human faces while wolves continue about their business – usually eating (“Why Is That Dog Looking at Me?” by James Gorman, New York Times, Sept. 15, 2015).
It also has been shown that when presented with the challenge of opening a food container that has been sealed shut, dogs will give up quickly and look to a nearby human, presumably for help. On the other hand, wolves raised by humans don’t look for help, suggesting that this looking to humans for help behavior may have a genetic component.
If the container of food has been altered so that it can be opened, but only with significant effort, the wolves will persist until they succeed. The adult dogs give up too quickly to succeed and instead look to humans. But, it is very interesting that in some preexperiment trials, at least one 8-month-old puppy kept at it until he was able to open the container, suggesting that in addition to some genetic influence, hanging around humans may foster what we might consider learned helplessness.
This observation wouldn’t surprise the product engineers tasked with developing child-resistant closures that can be easily opened by an adult. And I’m sure this evidence of learned helplessness in an animal wouldn’t surprise those who believe that welfare in any form is an abomination. As a card-carrying centrist, I will leave that argument to the polarizers on both ends of the political spectrum.
But I think this observation is most interesting because it raises the question of how often today’s parents are contributing to their children’s sense of helplessness. You only have to watch a child or grandchild tackle and construct a Lego project to realize that children are natural problem solvers. They get the trial-and-error thing. The problem is that too often we adults intervene at the first hint of failure, and in doing so, screw up the beautiful simplicity of the trial-and-error method of learning.
Watching someone struggle with a challenge for which you know the solution is difficult, particularly difficult if the struggler is your child or spouse. It is tempting to step forward and offer, “Here, let me show you how to do it.” Or, even worse, “Let me do it for you.”
To return to the canine world, consider the dog that brings a ball or stick to his/her master and then sits patiently waiting for the object to be tossed. If nothing is thrown, the dog will eventually give up and curl up for a nap. Puppies, on the other hand, don’t expect someone to initiate the game. They will paw at the ball until it moves or chase some unsuspecting insect playmate.
While offering children the chance to participate in organized sports is preferable to having them sit inside watching television or glued to a computer screen, the pendulum has swung a little too far toward the “organized” side of things. Too many parents seem unaware that if children are placed in an environment with room to run, a ball or two, and a few older children from whom they can model behavior, the children will organize themselves. They will figure out how to choose teams, make rules, and settle disputes.
The sad thing is that too many children have been offered so few opportunities to exercise their own powers of invention that they believe they are helpless to organize themselves. To them a sport is just a miniature version of what they see on television and comes complete with full uniforms, organized teams, sidelines lined with adoring fans ... and – of course – team pictures and trophies for everyone at the end of the season.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “Coping with a Picky Eater.” Email him at pdnews@frontlinemedcom.com.
Source

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Dengue Update from IAP - Indian Academy of Pediatrics

Recent Update on Dengue Illnesses
 
Dengue virus (DV) is a single stranded RNA virus belonging to   the Flaviridae family. It has been classified into four serotypes, DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4, which are genetically and antigenically different.  DENV 1 and DENV-3 are less dangerous than DENV2 and DENV4, out of which type 4 is less virulent than type 2. Infection with one dengue serotype confers lifelong immunity to that serotype but may result in an increased risk of complications if subsequently infected with another serotype. The virus is sensitive to heat and is susceptible to many common disinfectants including ethanol, sodium hypochlorite and glutaraldehyde.
 
Kindly download the following link for more details:

Monday, October 12, 2015

India Parent FAQs - Vaccine Rotavirus Shortage

Query : 
My baby is 6 months old now. 2 nos. Rotavirus vaccine {Rotatec} is given to her. But now 3rd vaccine is not available in market. And I search on internet that, rotavirus vaccine should not be given after 8 months of age. Is completing all 3 dosage are necessary. Shall the 3rd vaccine can be given after 8 months or 2 vaccines are enough.


Answer : 

You are quite correct that Rotateq is not available at present.
Also unlike other vaccines, this HAS to be completed below a certain age(8 months max) .
The good news is that the Rotavirus vaccine can be substituted by a different brand in case of any shortage.
So I would recommend that you can take the last dose of Rotarix / Rotavac without any problems.
Warm regards

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Indian Parents Vaccine FAQs - Measles Vaccine after measles like disease

Query : 
Respected Sir

Good morning
My son is ten month old his measles vaccine is due still now. I wanted to know is it create any problem in the future. But he has already suffering with measles when he was seven month old.


Answer :  
Your son should be given the MMR vaccine.
Nowadays we prefer this vaccine over the Measles vaccine at 9 months.
Since this also protects against Mumps & Rubella, it makes sense to take it even if your son has had measles.

Regards