Last day of chemo

Here’s a message Michelle posted on Facebook on Sunday:

“I’m totally celebrating the fact that tomorrow is my last chemotherapy treatment – I MADE IT! The 7 weeks of radiation that I’ll do next will seem like a cakewalk compared to chemo. Thanks to everyone praying for me and sending me good vibes – it is really working because I feel stronger than ever, and I still have my … eyebrows! Plus, I’m totally chemolicious, baby!!!”

Thoughts on the mammogram debate

In case you didn’t see Michelle’s letter to the editor in Sunday’s Yakima Herald-Republic:

To the editor — Re: The Nov. 17 Associated Press article about new guidelines for screening mammograms.

Apparently, the federal Preventive Services Task Force under the Obama administration knows more than the American Cancer Society when it comes to screening women for breast cancer! Is it just me, or is this statement outrageous? According to the Associated Press, under the new guidelines recommended by this task force, women do not need mammograms in their 40s and should not even bother with performing self-breast exams.

Oh, really? Never mind that a self-exam and mammogram found my cancer at age 39 (and I was not in a high-risk category); it seems that the new guidelines are nothing more than a cost-saving measure to pay for universal health care! If thousands of women between ages 40 and 50 die due to these new guidelines, then that’s a sacrifice we need to make for universal health care? No way! Thanks, but I’ll still be following the guidelines of the American Cancer Society and not some politically motivated task force.

It’s sad that after a decade of gains being made by women taught to perform self-exams and get recommended mammograms that we now have government saying, “It doesn’t matter.” Well, it will always matter to me!

MICHELLE BERTHON

Yakima

Kids can learn yoga, too

Parents and children ages 4-8 can learn basic yoga principles and enjoy exercise in a non-competitive atmosphere at Yakima Yoga’s Saturday classes for kids.

These drop-in classes led by Gina Ord integrate basic yoga poses, music and relaxation. Handouts will be provided each session so kids can practice at home.

Kids’ Class meets from 10-10:45 a.m. select Saturdays: Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 2, Feb. 20 and March 13. Cost is $12 per family for each session, or purchase a six-class punch card for $60. Arrive 10 minutes early for your first session to register. Wear comfortable clothes and bring your own water and mat (or you can borrow a mat).

Yakima Yoga is located at 25 N. Front St., Yakima; enter through Carousel restaurant. For more information, visit yakimayoga.com or call 910-1151.

Half-way through!

Here’s a little update from Michelle’s Facebook page on Tuesday:

Had chemo on Monday morning, Gut Busters at the YMCA later that night, and yoga tonight. See, a little chemotherapy will not keep me down, and as of yesterday, I’m half-way to the finish line!

She’s had three of six treatments so far. Aside from feeling tired from the chemo — and being absolutely tired of cancer taking over her life — she’s kept up a great attitude and has been able to avoid getting sick so far.

— Sara Bristol

Chemo, second round

Hi all, it’s Sara here. I got an update from Michelle this morning, so I thought I’d share with you all that she’s doing really well so far. She received her second dose of chemotherapy on Monday and was able to go work out at the Y that evening!

After the first round of chemo in September, she felt just fine for about five days. On the sixth day, she felt like she’d been clobbered by a ton of bricks. Guess we’ll know soon enough whether that pattern’s going to repeat itself. In the meantime, here’s what Michelle’s been doing this week:

“Chemo on Monday, ‘Gut Busters’ at the YMCA on Monday night, a white blood cell booster shot on Tuesday (plus yoga on Tues. night), a trip to Northstar and the Wellness House on Wednesday (plus Target to buy Alexandre’s cowboy costume), then home in time to do 2 loads of laundry!  Okay – so now I’m tired, but I cannot seem to ‘become accepting’ of a messy house. Tomorrow (Thursday), I’m doing Pilates in the AM (a healthy body goes hand in hand with healing!), yet more lab work in the afternoon, and yoga in the PM.”

Whew! Just reading that schedule is wearing me out…  I’ll let you know when I get another update.

— Sara Bristol

‘It happened to me’: Three Yakima-area moms share their breast cancer stories

If you think breast cancer only concerns women your mother’s age, think again. If you’re a woman, this story is for you.

It’s the story of three mothers from the Yakima area who each battled breast cancer before she turned 40. Rare, right? Not exactly.

Let’s crunch some numbers: According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Of that number, 95 percent involve women age 40 and over.

So — whew! — only 5 percent involve women under 40. That means mothers in their 20s and 30s can put that concern on the back burner and get back to making dinner, right? Because that’s just, um, let’s see… about 1 in 165 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer before age 40.

Bet you know 165 women. Start with your friends and family. Then there’s the ladies at church and work. Mothers at MOPS or the PTA. Hey, don’t forget to include yourself.

So far, medical experts can’t predict who’s going to get breast cancer. More than 70 percent of the women who get it do not have a family history of the disease.

Unfortunately, the most significant risk factors for breast cancer are just being female and getting older. So it’s more likely to occur as we age, but breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54.

Thankfully, there’s a little good news: The five-year survival rate, when breast cancer is caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is 98 percent.

That’s why we see a lot of pink in October. The official color of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, pink now rivals pumpkin orange as the month’s predominant color: Pink ribbons, pink M&M candies, pink “Save the Ta-Tas” T-shirts. It’s all about raising money for breast cancer research and reminding women to take care of themselves with monthly breast self-exams, regular visits to the doctor and, beginning at age 40, an annual mammogram.

Just don’t be fooled into thinking you can ignore this one until the big Four-Oh lights up your birthday cake. The moms in this story each will tell you that a self-exam saved her life.

Katherine Anderson, diagnosed at 32

She was young and healthy, with no family history of cancer, when this Selah mom felt a lump during a breast self-exam in June 2007. The lump was fairly small but felt different, so Katherine went to her doctor to have it checked out — just to be sure.

“I was told that it was nothing the first time I went in,” Katherine recalls. “By November, it was really painful where my lump was, which is not normal.”

She went back to the doctor, who suspected a cyst and ordered a mammogram. After seeing the images, the doctor requested a biopsy.

“At that point, I knew I had breast cancer before they even biopsied it,” says Katherine.

As they went in to get the results of the biopsy, Katherine’s husband Chad assured her everything would be okay.

“He was like, you can’t have it. People your age don’t get breast cancer.”

Katherine’s tumor was 5 centimeters in diameter at the time she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer, which had already spread into some of her lymph nodes.

Katherine underwent chemotherapy followed by surgery to remove the tumor, known as a lumpectomy, then radiation. One of the hardest parts, Katherine says, was seeing how her illness affected her kids, Alyssa and Evan, now 9 and 7. Alyssa slept in Katherine’s bedroom and Evan, then a kindergartner, would sometimes ask his mom if she was going to die.

“It just rips your heart out,” Katherine says.

Now in remission for over a year, Katherine, 34, is a preschool teacher for the Toppenish School District.

“Early detection is so important,” she says. “Doing the self-exams and getting a second opinion and trusting yourself that you know your body. That’s what I’ve learned from all of this.

“You think about it (cancer) every day, but you just try to make the most of each day. It’s forever changed me.”

Carole Jevons, diagnosed at 27

Today, she’s a busy West Valley mom to three daughters. Carole doesn’t think about breast cancer too much anymore. And that kind of surprises her, actually. There were so many days she thought she’d never forget.

Step back 15 years: Carole’s grandmother was a breast cancer survivor, but Carole wasn’t worried about it for herself. After all, she was just 27, married with no children yet. Breast cancer was something that happened to older women — like her grandmother.

Health-conscious, Carole did the perfunctory breast self-exams anyway, not expecting to find anything. However, one day, she felt an unusual lump: “Rock hard, like a marble, but it didn’t hurt,” Carole recalls.

“I just figured that it was nothing, How could it be anything? I was 27.”

She was young, healthy and fit. She felt great. But after a mammography and biopsy, Carole learned she had Stage II breast cancer. Even the doctor couldn’t believe it; he sent the tissue sample twice to the lab to confirm.

Carole had a lumpectomy, followed by six months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. When the treatments ended, she was ready to start a family.

Three years later, Carole got the go-ahead from her doctor. She and husband Enrique started a new chapter in their lives with the birth of their daughter Nicole.

Then, when the baby was just 6 months old, a mammogram — now a regular part of Carole’s follow-up routine — detected a new primary tumor in her other breast.

This time, Carole opted for a bilateral mastectomy, determined to kick breast cancer for good.

“And then I got it again.”

Her daughter was 4 when Carole found a third lump on her chest near the scar where her breast tissue had been removed. “How could it be? There’s nothing left,” she wondered.

After a lumpectomy, she went through chemotherapy a second time.

Today, Carole has been cancer-free for eight years. In addition to Nicole, now 12, Carole and Enrique have 3-year-old twins, Natalie and Lauren. The couple own and operate Mad Science of Yakima County.

In the 15 years since her first battle with breast cancer, Carole’s mother and an aunt have also been diagnosed with breast cancer. However, doctors haven’t been able to link the women to any known cancer gene or explain why Carole had cancer at such a young age.

“I’ve met a lot of people (other survivors) who were so young. I was surprised,” she says. At the time, “I thought I was the only one.”

“I’ve heard some women who are scared and say they don’t want to do it (get a mammogram) because it hurts. But I’m telling you, it’s just a minute or two of hurting that can save your life.”

Michelle Berthon, diagnosed at 39

Just this summer, the last week of June, Michelle and husband Todd celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Alaska.

“It was the best vacation we’ve ever had,” Michelle says, enthusiastically ticking off a list off the couple’s adventures: Rock climbing, sea kayaking, riding a zip line.

Aboard the ship, Michelle also performed a breast self-exam, a precautionary task she’d been through roughly once a month for years. This time, she felt a lump.

“I was not nervous or worried,” recalls Michelle, who’d had two benign fibroadenomas removed in the past. Still, the stay-at-home mom to Alex, 5, and Madeleine, 3, arranged for a mammogram as soon as she got back to Yakima.

When she was called back for a biopsy, Michelle still wasn’t worried about cancer. After all, she reasoned, she eats well and works out at least four times a week. “I feel great.”

So, it caught Michelle by surprise when she learned in July that she had a Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in her right breast. The tumor was fast-growing, but Michelle found it early, before it had spread into her lymph nodes or other tissues.

Nine days after her diagnosis, and just three weeks after she found the lump, Michelle had surgery to remove the tumor. A month later, she had a second surgery so doctors could make sure they’d removed all of the cancerous cells; test results indicated the surgeries were a success.

Dreading the sickness and hair loss caused by the cancer-fighting drugs, Michelle began chemotherapy in mid-September. She remains confident that early detection, aggressive treatment and prayers of support will help her win this battle.

“I have no doubt I’ll make it to the five-year mark,” Michelle says. “I’ve never had any doubt.”

According to the Young Survival Coalition, many young women and their doctors are unaware that they are at risk for breast cancer. Young women are often diagnosed at a later stage than their older counterparts.

The YSC encourages young women to become advocates for their own health and become educated about breast cancer. Learn more at youngsurvival.org.

— Sara Bristol

Just getting started

So, the idea behind this blog is to give Michelle’s friends, as well as Playdate’s readers, an opportunity to follow her progress as she battles breast cancer. Some posts will be written by Michelle, while others will be written by me (Sara Bristol, the coordinator of Playdate) and some posts may be written by other folks who are close to Michelle or have expertise with cancer, etc. That’s one of the advantages of blogs, I suppose. They’re an open forum, a work in progress. So, we’ll just start writing and posting and see where this takes us.

First, I want to get you caught up on what’s been going on in Michelle’s life this past week. She started chemotherapy on Monday, Sept. 21 at her doctor’s office here in Yakima. Chemotherapy is a process of treating disease with chemicals that kill cells (both good an bad). Chemo, as it’s commonly called, is effective in fighting cancer because it kills cells that divide quickly (one of the key properties of cancer cells). However, there are plenty of “good” cells that also divide quickly and are harmed in the process, such as hair follicles and cells in the digestive tract. So that’s why chemotherapy patients eventually lose their hair and become sick from the treatments.

However, the sickness and hair loss typically doesn’t happen right away. Michelle’s doctors have told her she’ll start to experience more of these nasty side effects as the chemo drugs begin to build up in her system, probably after her second or third treatment.

So, let’s back up a minute: Michelle had her first treatment last Monday. It was a five-hour process that basically involved her staying in one place while the drugs were delivered intravenously. She’ll receive treatments every three weeks. (I’m not sure how many treatments she’s expecting to receive, so we’ll have to answer that question later.)

Michelle’s mother Diana was able to come from Port Angeles for the week to support her and help with the kids. Michelle was tired last week, but she was able to work out (at a slower pace) and do some yoga, which was helping her feel more “normal.” (She typically works out at least four times a week.)

I got to see Michelle in Bellevue for a few minutes on Friday. I happened to be in town visiting a friend; she was there for an appointment at Anton’s Hair Company. Rather than wait for her hair to fall out, Michelle decided to keep it. She had a custom wig made from her own hair.

It was a bold move: Michelle watched in the mirror as Anton shaved her head completely bald. She had a feeling of “detatched acceptance,” Michelle told me later. Just one of many tough decisions she’s had to make — and this fight’s just getting started.

— Sara Bristol

Meet Michelle

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Oct/Nov 2009 issue of Playdate Magazine featuring three Yakima-area moms who had been diagnosed with breast cancer before age 40. While the other two mothers are in remission, Michelle Berthon’s battle with cancer is ongoing. This blog is designed to keep you updated on her story. To start, please meet Michelle:

Michelle Berthon, diagnosed at 39

Just this summer, the last week of June, Michelle and husband Todd celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Alaska.

“It was the best vacation we’ve ever had,” Michelle says, enthusiastically ticking off a list off the couple’s adventures: Rock climbing, sea kayaking, riding a zip line.

Aboard the ship, Michelle also performed a breast self-exam, a precautionary task she’d been through roughly once a month for years. This time, she felt a lump.

“I was not nervous or worried,” recalls Michelle, who’d had two benign fibroadenomas removed in the past. Still, the stay-at-home mom to Alex, 5, and Madeleine, 3, arranged for a mammogram as soon as she got back to Yakima.

When she was called back for a biopsy, Michelle still wasn’t worried about cancer. After all, she reasoned, she eats well and works out at least four times a week. “I feel great.”

So, it caught Michelle by surprise when she learned in July that she had a Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in her right breast. The tumor was fast-growing, but Michelle found it early, before it had spread into her lymph nodes or other tissues.

Nine days after her diagnosis, and just three weeks after she found the lump, Michelle had surgery to remove the tumor. A month later, she had a second surgery so doctors could make sure they’d removed all of the cancerous cells; test results indicated the surgeries were a success.

Dreading the sickness and hair loss caused by the cancer-fighting drugs, Michelle began chemotherapy in mid-September. She remains confident that early detection, aggressive treatment and prayers of support will help her win this battle.

“I have no doubt I’ll make it to the five-year mark,” Michelle says. “I’ve never had any doubt.”

– Sara Bristol

Safe Kids: Helmets essential for safe bike riding

By Kurt Tyrrell
For the Yakima Herald-Republic

Spring is here, which means many families are preparing to enjoy the outdoors on their bikes. Before you head out, there is a little work to be done.

It begins with finding the bikes in the garage, and rearranging “stuff” so you can wheel them out. That’s the hard part. Next, be sure to check tire pressure, patch any mysterious holes, and maybe add a little lubricant to the chains.

Then make sure the brakes work, and that seats are properly adjusted to the ever-growing children.

Check, check and check! You’re ready to roll, right?

Not quite. There is one other thing that needs to be checked for every rider, and that is the bike helmet. Adults and kids alike need to have them, and if your little one is like most, last year’s helmet may no longer fit.

May is Helmet Safety Month, making spring the perfect time to ensure that all of your loved ones (including yourself) will be safe as you wheel about. Since no one ever plans to have an accident, it’s important to teach children — and to model — that helmets must be worn each and every time a person rides a bike, or any wheeled toy.

Sometimes children mistakenly believe that they don’t need to wear helmets when they’re riding near home, yet 53 percent of vehicle-related bike deaths to children happen on minor roads and residential streets.

It’s unfortunate, but each year approx-imately 135 children die from bicycle-related injuries, and another 267,000 nonfatal bicycle injuries occur. Helmets can reduce the risk of severe brain injuries by 88 percent; however, only 15 percent to 25 percent of children 14 and under usually wear them.

It’s a parent’s responsibility to instill the importance of wearing a helmet every time a child rides. In our house, if you don’t want to wear it, you don’t get to go.

Safe Kids Yakima County suggests you follow these simple tips for making sure that your biking adventures roll along smoothly:

* Make sure the helmet fits and your child knows how to put it on correctly. A helmet should sit on top of the head in a level position, and should not rock forward and backward or side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled, but not too tightly. Safe Kids recommends the “Eyes, Ears and Mouth” test:

EYES: Position the helmet on your head. Look up and you should see the bottom rim of the helmet. The rim should be one to two finger-widths above the eyebrows.

EARS: Make sure the straps of the helmet form a “V” under your ears when buckled. The strap should be snug, but comfortable.

MOUTH: Open your mouth as wide as you can. Do you feel the helmet hug your head? If not, tighten those straps and make sure the buckle is flat against your skin.

* Make sure the bike is the right size for the child. There should be about one inch of clearance between the bike frame and the child’s groin when the child’s feet are flat on the ground. Also, make sure the bike is in good repair — reflectors are secure, brakes work properly, gears shift smoothly, and tires are tightly secured and properly inflated.

* Check for the CPSC label. A helmet should be labeled to indicate that it meets the standards set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

* Remember, bike helmets are for biking. Kids should not wear bike helmets on the playground (where the straps can get caught on equipment and cause injury) or for activities that require specialized helmets (such as skiing or football).

* Model and teach proper bicyclist behavior. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against it. Stay as far to the right as possible. Use appropriate hand signals and respect traffic signals, stopping at all stop signs and stop lights. Children should not ride without supervision until they have demonstrated that they always follow the rules.

* When in doubt, get help. The sales staff at any bicycle shop or outdoor recreation store should be able to provide expert advice on fitting and adjusting bikes and helmets.

OK. Bikes tuned up? Check! Seats all adjusted? Check! Everyone have a bike helmet on? Check!

Now you’re ready to head out and explore our wonderful Yakima Valley. Happy cycling!

Memorial Hospital’s Community Education Department located at 2506 W. Nob Hill Blvd. sells bike helmets at a reduced price of $10. With the purchase of a helmet, you will receive a free personal fitting.

* Kurt Tyrrell is the Passport to Health program Coordinator for Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and a member of Safe Kids Yakima County. He is a Certified Health Education Specialist and a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. His column is produced in cooperation with Safe Kids Yakima County, a local consortium of organizations, agencies and individuals actively promoting child safety.

Colic FAQs

WHAT IS COLIC? Look for the rule of threes: A pattern of intense and inconsolable crying lasting at least three hours, at least three days a week for three or more weeks. The crying generally occurs at the same time each day, often in the evening.

Colic affects as many as one in four babies. The crying typically begins when babies are a few weeks old and often subsides by 3 months. In 90 percent of babies, colic ends by 9 months.

Read the Caro family’s colic story here.

WHY DOES IT OCCUR? Despite much research, there’s still no answer to this question. Colic equally affects boys and girls, bottle-fed and breast-fed babies. A baby’s birth order is not necessarily an indicator of whether they will have colic.

There’s some evidence that babies have a higher risk of developing colic if their mother or father was a colicky infant. A family history of allergies or exposure to smoke also increase the likelihood of colic.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I THINK MY BABY HAS COLIC? Contact your pediatrician at the first suspected signs of colic. The doctor will need to rule out several other causes of sudden-onset screaming in a newborn, as well as help you decide the best treatment for your baby. Always check with your doctor before trying a new treatment (even those homeopathic remedies that Great Aunt Ethel swears by).

Create a support group! It’s important to remember that you are not alone in dealing with this stressful time in your baby’s life. Remind yourself that it will pass, but in the meantime, let your family and friends know what is going on. Don’t feel guilty leaving your baby with someone trusted for an hour or two to get a breather! There are many online support groups that deal with colic as well. Remember, it takes a village to raise a child – especially one with colic.

Source: mayoclinic.com

What are the benefits of probiotics during pregnancy?

What are the benefits of probiotics during pregnancy?

ASK THE DOCTORS If you have a health question, we’ll find the answer. Write to the doctors at talkback@playdateyakima.com.

Dr. Robel says: Probiotics, or friendly bacteria that reside in our gut, may increase fertility and reduce early miscarriage as well as help prevent eczema and allergies in infants, according to several recent studies.

Probiotics are found in yogurt and other fermented foods. They serve to protect us from infection and help prevent a wide range of health problems including constipation, diarrhea, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies and various skin problems.

New research is finding that probiotics may also be beneficial to women trying to conceive. In a study done in Belgium, supplementing with a probiotic while women underwent in vitro fertilization increased the rate of conception compared to women not taking the supplement. Likewise, several studies have found that women given a probiotic at the onset of pregnancy have lower rates of spontaneous miscarriage in the first trimester.

Besides the benefits to mom, there are benefits to your infant. Taking a probiotic supplement for the last three to four weeks of pregnancy may reduce rates of eczema and allergies by as much as 50 percent, according to a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Probiotics can be obtained by eating yogurt labeled as containing “live and active cultures.” Also, there are various supplements that can be taken.

Always speak with your health care provider before taking any supplements, including a probiotic, to decide if it is right for you. Also, not all supplements are created equal so it’s important to get a recommendation to ensure you are getting what your body needs.

— Heidi Robel, ND, is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist in private practice in Yakima.
She’s expecting her first little one in August.

Will thumb-sucking harm my child’s teeth?

SECOND OPINION
by Ashley Tercero, DDS

Will thumb-sucking harm my child’s teeth?

ASK THE DOCTORS If you have a health question, we’ll find the answer. Write to the doctors at talkback@playdateyakima.com.

Dr. Tercero says: Non-nutritive sucking habits (finger or pacifier sucking) are normal in infants and toddlers. These habits help address a child’s need to feel secure.

Although normal and harmless for young children, non-nutritive sucking can result in long-term problems if persistent. Prolonged finger or pacifier sucking can lead to a permanent open bite and other dental and jaw deformities.

In order to prevent these problems, the habit must stop by age 5. However, the difficulty of ceasing this habit increases with age, so it’s best to stop the habit before age 3. If the habit persists beyond the age of 3, it’s recommended to see a dentist for professional evaluation.

— Ashley Tercero, DDS, is a children’s dentist at Yakima Pediatric Dentistry.
Her 7-month-old daughter, Kya, doesn’t have any teeth.

What is postpartum depression?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.

What is postpartum depression?

ASK THE DOCTORS If you have a health question, we’ll find the answer. Write to the doctors at talkback@playdateyakima.com.

You’ve just had a baby. You’re not sleeping, your hormones are completely confused, your body hurts and there is this constant crying noise in your ear. Who wouldn’t be a little depressed?

The “baby blues” are common, and usually develop within the first few days after birth. You might experience mood swings, anxiety, sadness and insomnia. This is a transient phenomenon and usually resolves without treatment within two weeks.

Postpartum depression is also common, developing in up to 10 percent of mothers, but often goes unrecognized. The symptoms can be nonspecific, including fatigue, sadness and crying, insomnia, feeling guilty or inadequate, being overwhelmed, poor concentration, decreased libido, anxiety and not wanting to do usually enjoyable activities. In rare and extreme cases, a woman can develop psychosis (a loss of contact with reality).

Treatment usually involves a combination of counseling, medication, exercise and spiritual or emotional support. Some women are more prone to developing PPD, so if you have a previous history of depression or other mental health issues, you may want to talk to your doctor before the baby arrives. Usually, a mother doesn’t have a follow up appointment with her doctor until six weeks after delivery. It’s important to seek help sooner if there are any concerns for PPD.

— Ryan Moultray, DO, is an osteopath at Selah Family Medicine. Will and Owen call him Dad.

Help the medicine go down

Many children balk at swallowing pills or dislike the taste of liquid medicines. If that sounds like your kid, the pharmacists at Yakima’s Apothecary Compounding Solutions have a few tricks that might be able to help.

Compounding pharmacists Bob Murdock, R.Ph., and Marc Murdock, D.Ph., specialize in working with doctors and patients to customize medications. For kids, that can mean medicated lollipops, gummies, topical creams or a special medication-dosing baby bottle.

For folks with allergies or other special needs, the apothecaries can avoid dyes, fillers and preservatives found in traditional prescription medicines. Their shop, located in the Creekside Business Park at 40th and Washington avenues, also stocks a limited line of over-the-counter drugs as well as children’s vitamins that aren’t loaded with aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup.

For more information, call the pharmacy at 248-9065 or visit apothecarycs.com.

Shoot down the flu

Winter is the greatest ally to one of our least favorite respiratory diseases: The flu.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents help youngsters defend themselves against this nasty airborne illness with an annual flu vaccine. The vaccine is encouraged for kids between 6 months and 5 years old.

“There’s not a vaccine that’s recommended for kiddos younger than 6 months,” says Dr. Ryan Moultray, an osteopath with Selah Family Medicine.

However, he adds, the flu vaccine — offered as a shot or, for kids over 2, a nasal spray — is suggested for older children with chronic illnesses, including asthma and diabetes.

“Over age 5, in a healthy kid, it’s optional,” he says. “You can get it, but it’s not formally recommended.”

The vaccines are designed to target the most common and most vicious strains of influenza, a viral infection with symptoms including severe cough, muscle aches, headache, fever, shortness of breath and sore throat. It’s definitely not a “stomach bug.”

For more information about whether a flu vaccine is right for your child, or to find out where you can get the vaccine, call your child’s doctor.

— Sara Bristol

Caught the cold?

This time of year, it’s hard to know how to comfort little ones when they’re coughing and suffering from a cold.

The FDA last year issued a report warning parents against giving over-the-counter cold medicine to young children, particularly infants and tots under age 2. So, what’s a parent to do?

“There are some simple steps you can take to alleviate your child’s discomfort,” says Dr. Duane Teerink, a father and osteopathic physician at Pacific Crest Family Medicine.

• Use a humidifier.
• Get rid of postnasal drip with a bulb syringe.
• Never give medicine intended for adults to a child.
• Do not use antihistamine products to make a child sleepy.

Dr. Teerink says cough medicine should not be given to a child under 4 years old without your doctor’s specific recommendation.

“Coughs can be hard to treat sometimes,” he says. “If simple measures don’t alleviate the cough, call your family doctor or pediatrician.”

— Debra Yergen

Avoid a haunted mouth

You can’t hide from candy at Halloween, so children’s dentist Dr. Ashley Tercero has a trick to prevent your kids’ sweet tooth from haunting their mouths:

Eating a handful of candy at one sitting is better for your teeth than snacking piece-by-piece throughout the day, says Tercero, owner of Yakima Pediatric Dentistry.

“When parents want to limit the amount of junk food kids have, they tend to ration it out,” she says. “From an oral health perspective, that’s probably the worst thing you could do.”

The explanation: Each time you eat a piece of candy, it coats the teeth with sugar. Bacteria living in the mouth then feed on the sugar, resulting in the production of acids that eat away at teeth and cause cavities. Saliva will naturally clean the sugar off your teeth in about 30 minutes, but the process starts over each time you eat another piece of candy.

Also, saliva production decreases while we’re sleeping, allowing bacteria to wreak more havoc if we go to bed with dirty mouths.

So, Tercero advises parents: “The most important brushing is the nighttime brushing, and make sure it’s after the kids have eaten their last meal.”

— Sara Bristol

Here’s the trick: Keep candy a treat

When kids and parents think about Halloween, two things that come to mind are fun costumes and lots of candy. When kids come home with pounds of candy, what’s a parent to do?

“Binge eating is never healthy, so of course kids shouldn’t eat it all right away,” says Dr. Kerry Harthcock, a pediatrician on the medical staff at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. “As a parent, I also know that events occur where there are sweets and kids are going to want to consume more sugar than normal.”

The trick for parents is to establish limits. Harthcock encourages parents to set “rules for the event” – be that a birthday party, Halloween, or any other holiday where tempting treats will be readily available.

“Establish a plan and discuss it with your children before the kids go out to avoid battles when they get home,” he says. “Since kids vary in age and size, there’s no one-size-fits-all for Halloween. It’s more important for parents to establish and maintain healthy parameters that they feel comfortable with than for them to follow a precise serving size.”

Harthcock notes a couple other important reminders:

• Occasionally you can enjoy candy as part of a meal, but not as a substitution for fruits and vegetables.
• Binge eating of any kind is not a good model for kids to do or see their parents do.
• Don’t feel like you or your children can’t enjoy candy or sugar. Just use it minimally as a treat and not a reward.

— Debra Yergen

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