My son and I are on yet another round of antibiotics, this time for strep throat. I’ve always been a bit cautious with antibiotics, I suppose because my father is an immunologist and rarely drugged us as kids. He sort laughed off that notion it seemed everyone else had that if your nose runs, all you need to do is call the doc and load up on some antibiotics. My father argued that antibiotics did nothing for viruses, the cause of the flu, most sore throats, bronchitis and the common cold. If anything, he said, taking them unnecessarily could arm …read more

Three times in the past six days (that includes the weekend) the school nurse at my son’s elementary school has called me, and three times I’ve had to pick up my little boy from school. He’s not sick. If anything, he was a little stuffy. The first two check-outs were due to him spitting up mucus – a ritual he does every time he cries heartily or wakes up stuffy from a cold or allergies. The last time was from the scabby crust that formed on the end of his nose – just in time for school picture day. The …read more

Day after day we have had rain and rain and more rain to the point I believe we may never have to suffer through another drought again. It is frustrating for my little boy whose season-opening T-ball and soccer games have been canceled due to too-soggy playing fields. The five-day forecast has no glimmer of sun, just gray clouds and lightning bolts. I fear this next week of ballgames will be canceled as well.
For entertainment Saturday my son burned some of his energy by dancing in a heavy downpour of rain. I watched from my in-law’s garage and laughed as …read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC – announced a new travel warning for Mexico today. The travel warning was issued due to confirmed cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection in Mexico.
CDC recently confirmed seven of 14 specimens sent to them for testing by the Mexican National Influenza Center are positive for the swine virus. The specimens are similar to the viruses already identified in the US.
The travel warning comes as the CDC is concerned that continued travel to Mexico from the US presents a serious risk for more outbreaks of swine flu in the US.
Are your …read more

An Indianapolis city official has announced that it’s 24 year old bottlenose dolphin has died from cardiac complications. What would the implications for a heart attack be in dolphins you ask?
Possible risk factors for the problem are similar to those of humans: genetics, infections, viruses or circulatory problems.
After all, we are all mammals. And to be 24… that is like us being 85 years old. I hope Phoenix the dolphin is remembered fondly!
via Forbes.com