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Frequently Asked Questions
Flu Immunization
Respiratory Syncytial
Virus (RSV) Prevention
Judicious antibiotic use - resistance
Flu Immunization:
We recommend the flu shot for patients with chronic lung disease requiring daily medications (asthma, BPD, cystic fibrosis), heart disease, immunosuppressive diseases, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and diseases requiring long-term aspirin therapy such as Kawasaki and rheumatoid arthritis. We also recommend immunizing close contacts of high-risk patients. If you would like more information, please ask one of the physicians. The vaccine will be available in October.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Prevention:
RSV is an extremely common winter virus that infects approximately 2/3 of infants under 1 year and almost 100% of children under 2 years of age. In the USA, about 3 million children are infected each year with about 90,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths. The infants at highest risk are premature babies (especially less than 35 weeks gestation), those with lung disease of prematurity, and infants with severe heart disease. If your child is at risk for severe RSV disease, there is now a medication to prevent RSV that involves 5 shots over 5 months. The prophylaxis is safe and very effective.
Judicious antibiotic use - resistance:
More and more, we are finding that the usual antibiotics "do not work" for our patients. One reason is increasing resistance of certain bacteria to antibiotics. This means that some of our common bacteria can not be killed by our usual antibiotics, and that increasingly, we need to use antibiotics that should be saved for more serious infections. These more powerful antibiotics may need to be given in the hospital, and some bacteria are already untreatable.
A second reason is that many of the infections that we once thought were caused by bacteria are caused by viruses. Antibiotics do not cure viruses. Instead, the body gets rid of viruses on its own. As pediatricians, we are very concerned about the overuse of antibiotics, and the inappropriate use of the specialized antibiotics. Antibiotics can save lives, but used improperly, they can harm your child.
As your pediatrician, we will help to educate you about when antibiotics are appropriate and when they are not. For example, most ear infections need antibiotics, but some do not. Most children have thick green mucus with a cold, which is a viral infection, and do not need antibiotics. Most sore throats are caused by viruses. Strep throat is an exception and needs to be diagnosed with a strep test. As a parent, we encourage you to ask us questions. If we do prescribe an antibiotic, give your child the entire course, even after they are feeling better. Do not save antibiotics for another infection, as this will increase resistance, and may harm your child.