Category: Pediatric Advice

September 28, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Life is full of contradictions. As a pediatrician I worry about children being exposed to too much screen time, as this has been shown to disrupt sleep and has replaced some of the time children are interacting with real people or moving their bodies. Social Media has been a conduit for child exploitation as well, as adults who are evil-doers have made contact with children through the different platforms. Yet at the same time, Dr. Plastic Picker is a social media Instagram creature. I exist because of social media, Facebook and Instgram, although I think my heart belongs on this blog and in clinic. How can your social media semi-savy pediatrician advise you to limit your social media?

(more…)

July 23, 2020

by drplasticpicker

I saw a set of siblings 4 and 5 years of age yesterday for their physicals and one set of vaccines, and mother expressed the same frustration that many parents are having. “How do I keep the kids brain developing?” Many parents are in the same position. School is moving on-line, and on-line school is supoptimal for the development of a 4-6 year olds. Many parents ask me for advice, and I am a doctor and not a teacher. I always direct parents to teachers and educators. But I understand, they trust me. I have made a lot of mistakes raising and still raising my children. But our teen and tween children are healthy, inquisitive people and generally considered good students. Most importantly they are happy and they have what I think most of my patients consider really good brains. So here are some suggestions from your pediatrician who is NOT A TEACHER. Are your children 3-6 years of age? How do you keep them stimulated?

(more…)

June 12, 2020

by drplasticpicker

One of the proudest professional moments of my life was during the year I was chief resident, the pediatric senior class at Man’s Greatest Hospital had a 100% pass rate on the pediatric boards. It never made sense to me that the hallowed institution that I trained at did not have 100% pass rate. Indeed the occupants of the chief residency position were known to make markedly less than 100%. But the year I was Chief Resident, the senior class had a 100% pass rate and I passed well over a few standard deviations as well. This was in large part because I had to delay my boards because I had a baby during Junior Year and made up some rotations. I took my exam with the senior class which was below me. So I studied with them. While I had more time and was studying and completed four years worth of PREP questions sitting in the the chief residency office, I created Pediatric Board Review power points from my notes. When there was any empty lecture time during Morning or Noon conference when the lecturing attending showed up late or the admitting team was stuck on the floor, I had multiple power points ready to go. I am proud of the legacy of that 100% pass rate.

But can you believe that in the entire 2015-2019 AAP Prep Questions there is only 1 question about iron deficiency anemia? This is the most common issue we encounter as general outpatient pediatricians and there is one question! Well this former Chief Resident and current Assistant Boss and now eco-warrior Dr. Plastic Picker is going will rectify this situation.

(more…)

May 21, 2020

by drplasticpicker (with daughter Plastic Picker’s help)

Parents are cooking more meals for their children during COVID-19 quarantine. We have continued to do well child visits for kids that require vaccines, and several parents in my practice asked me for breakfast ideas. I think the combination of more inactivity due to quarantine and more screen time, has worsened the pediatric constipation crisis and widenened the pediatric fiber deficit. In addition, when we are scared to browse through the grocery store – I think parents are falling back on more processed foods and that as you know leads to Taste-Bud Dysfunction https://drplasticpicker.com/taste-bud-dysfunction-lets-dial-down-the-salt-and-sugar-in-snacks/.

(more…)

May 3, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Back in October, I attended the American Academy of Pediatric National Conference in New Orleans with Dr. Dear Friend. We were there with a group of pediatricians from our health-care system, and it was a high-yield conference. Part of it was because we actually traveled to the conference and it was a fun destination. We had too much fun attending the lectures during the day, exploring new Orleans at night and also trying to reduce our plastic use! One of the talks we attended was on Pediatric Hypertension.

(more…)

April 14, 2020

by drplasticpicker

This is definitely one of those topics that Dr. Plastic Picker is a much better pediatrician now than I was at the beginning of my career. It helps that I myself have gone through puberty, completed a clinical year of pediatric endocrinology, and am semi-successfully guiding my own two children through this process.

This can be both a stressful and wonderful time in life. There is a sense of loss for the littleness of your children. I had this profound sense of loss because I worked so much when they were little. I miss the warmth of those young bodies snuggling up to me at night. The promise of that time would often get me through the long overnight calls or urgent care shifts. Our daughter had a profound sense of loss as well. When her body began changing she said that she did not want to grow up. Our son was very nonchalant about the whole thing, which is true to his easy going personality.

But as I tell my children and my patients, puberty is a wonderful thing because it means the body is working! It means that your hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is functioning as it should and you’ve reached this milestone. If you didn’t go through puberty by a certain time, it would be a medical problem. I would have to start getting blood work, radiographs and maybe MRI your brain. As a pediatrician, I am aware of the dangers of being little as well. You are more susceptible to diseases which is why there are more vaccines when you are young. Little children can’t physically protect themselves as well. So I look at puberty, as a wonderful time that children are gaining bodily strength. They are developing themselves to be adult people. Because in the end the purpose of raising children and protected them while they are young is to get adults, and then they can protect and fend for themselves. And now my own teenagers can get things I need from the upper shelves that I can’t reach! Score!

(more…)

March 29, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Today the politicians are again arguing about who is to blame for the skyrocketing COVID-19 cases. But in California, there is a glimmer of hope. We began mandatory quaratining relatively early, and in our community our local leaders have been working together across the aisle to help our homeless communities and provide rent relief to our population. Beaches are closed and our local friends the Police were driving calmly up and down the beach telling our relaxed San Diegans to disperse. I was born and raised in San Diego, and I have a great love for my homeworld (Star Trek reference). In this increasingly polarized world, there is still a sense of civic responsibility and engagement in my hometown. I am hoping this helps us #flattenthecurve. Looking at the prediction models, it looks like we will likely have enough ICU beds for our county. So I am still vigilant but hopeful. I wrote yestserday that the best way I can help, is by doing the job I am qualified to do – a general outpatient pediatrician who middle-manages a department and is responsible for a few actual outpatient clinics https://drplasticpicker.com/be-like-a-tree-during-the-covid-19-cytokine-storm/.

So in that vein, I will be an outpatient pediatrician and give general advice about eczema! This is such a common problem and I hope this gives you some relief since we are trying to keep these “minor” issues at home. But minor issues are important to deal with as well.

(more…)

March 23, 2020

by drplasticpicker

The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging. The silver lining is Harvey Weinstein and Paul Rand have coronavirus. I don’t wish ill will on anyone, but I hope they have to wait in line at their local ED. I took a vacation day prior to knowing the pandemic was going to happen, as the kids originally had the day off school. The kids are home due to school closures, and I decided to just roll with life and keep my day off. I return to work tomorrow.

But rather than wasting energy and ranting at the poor decisions being made at various central government level or becoming unreasonably upset when I see former premed students on Facebook at weddings when they are doctors and supposed to model #socialdistancing and #flatteningthecurve, I will instead focus on things that are in my realm of control. I will today write about 5 things you should not waste money on.

(more…)