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Sick Baby: Do You Google His Symptoms?
February 17, 2009 at 8:19 AM by Cafe Suzanne - Comments (9)
Do you search online for medical advice?
Let's say your baby has green goop coming out of her eye or he hasn't pooped in a few days, do you get online and start googling the symptoms and looking for advice? I know I do. And I inevitably end up more nervous about my baby's "problem" than when I started.
"Googling can lead parents down some dark paths," says JJ Levenstein, M.D., FAAP, a pediatrician in Encino, California. "Following the wrong paths on the Internet can lead to misinformation, confusion, and outright unnecessary fear."
I asked her what medical sites she recommends when you need good, reliable information.
Here are Dr. Levenstein's favorites (just click on the name of the organization or person to get to the site):
1. The American Academy of Pediatrics has wonderful information on children's health.
2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers great information about travel preparation, illnesses and disease.
3. The Mayo Clinic is a fantastic resource for information on illnesses, with a terrific section about medications and supplements.
4. Dr. Greene Alan Greene, M.D., FAAP, from Stanford, has a wonderful e-pediatrician site with a lot of good developmental content, as well as solutions to basic problems for babies, kids and young adults.
5. General Pediatrics discusses common pediatric health problems for patients and families.
6. The American Dietetic Association offers tips on feeding and nourishing your children and family.
7. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is a must-read for families with food allergies.
8. WebMD (www.webmd.com) provides health resources for the whole family.
9. The Cradle is a nice resource for pregnant moms and parents of young children.
Bookmark these sites so you'll have easy access to them the next time you're worried about your little one. That way you won't be misinformed or scared by your google search results. And remember, there's no substitute for calling your own pediatrician or naturopath.
What books and sites do you rely on when your baby is sick?
FILED UNDER: health
Comments:
If I hadn't been googling nobody would have listened to me when my daughter screamed non stop. "It's just colic." I knew in my heart it was reflux and allergies and we finally found a doctor to listen to me. I knew I wasn't crazy! Dr. Greene's website is fantastic.
i go to dr sears' website for any questions i have.
Dr. Sears is great too! I have all their books.
I call a REAL doctor!!
I also love Dr.Sears. I would much rather google stuff than be one of those mothers who runs to the doctor for every little cough and sniffle. I am intelligent enough to know the difference between reliable internet info and not reliable and whether my child truly needs medical attention.
Those are some great sites for accurate information. There are a lot of times when moms get worried, but don't think it's serious enough to call a doctor, and the internet - like it or not - it where a lot of women turn.
There obviously ARE some things where a woman should automatically call 911 or her doctor, but for the non-emergencies, these are great resources... and there ARE times when a mom finds that even though this doesn't seem like an emergency, it's possible it COULD be - and if that saves one baby, where's the harm? If the worst that happens is moms take their baby to the ER when they're okay, we're doing good.
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wow. thanks for the sites.
i know i start to google everything or look on cafemom. then i freak out and wait til hubby comes home and i tell him all these things.
my sons head was a little flat on the one side from the way he was laying so i looked all this stuff up and read that some babies have to wear helmets due to mishapen heads, and i freaked, call hubby at work and said "OMG !!! our son is going to have to wear a helmet!!" haha, so then of course I asked the Ped, & he laughed at me.
sstepph Feb. 17, 2009 at 9:12 AM