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

Do children need to take vitamins?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Heidi Robel, N.D.

Do children need to take vitamins? Read more

Do you recommend any vaccines for teenagers?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Heidi Robel, N.D.

Do you recommend any vaccines for teenagers? Read more

What’s the difference between medical degrees?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Heidi Robel, N.D.

I need to find a new family doctor. What’s the difference between an M.D., a D.O. and an N.D.? Read more

Are there any programs for overweight kids?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Heidi Robel, N.D.

I am the parent of an overweight child (age 10). We have been actively looking for some type of class for children with this problem. I have called doctors’ offices, the YMCA and various gyms. I have been turned away at all places. With obesity beginning to be out of control for our youth, Yakima needs to start offering things. I know I am not alone. Children do much better when interacting with children their own age and who have the same problem. I am beginning to see her self-esteem go down. Is there any help you can offer? Or maybe you know of somewhere I haven’t looked. Read more

What’s the deal with peanut allergies?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Heidi Robel, N.D.

A few weeks ago, I heard that you shouldn’t give peanut products to young children because of allergies. I’d never heard about this before and I give my kids peanut butter sandwiches all the time! What other foods should I know about? Read more

Should I give my child cold medicine?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Judy Harvey, M.D.

I’m confused about the news regarding cold medicine for children. I have two preschoolers who have already had several colds this season. Is it OK to give them cold medicine? What else can I do to help them feel better? Thanks. Read more

What’s the difference between the flu and a stomach bug?

SECOND OPINION
by Ryan Moultray, D.O.
and Judy Harvey, M.D.

I often hear people saying they’ve had “the flu,” but I’ve always thought influenza was fairly rare — and very serious. What’s the difference between the flu and a stomach bug? Also, should my kids get a flu shot? Read more

Build an A+ lunch

Somewhere between deciding what’s for dinner and whether to pick up another gallon of milk — always! — you find yourself cooling off in the grocery’s refrigerator aisle trying to think of something for the kids’ lunch. Read more

« Previous Page