A lot of parents ask me if the generic version of a given medication is the same as the brand name. Some ask because they want to save money while others ask because they believe the name brand is always better and want "the best." It seems both sides of the debate have strong points to make.
For years, the FDA and AMA have firmly stated that generic medications are as effective as their brand name counterparts and that is largely true. Both
This past weekend was homecoming at my daughter's high school and because I see a lot of teenagers in my practice, it was a busy week. Some came to the office to try to rid themselves of an illness in time for the dance while others arrived with the hope that I would be able to cure their acne quickly. If only the acne-laden kids had come in a few weeks earlier there would have been some hope for smoother skin by the weekend.
Almost everyone
Tongues are funny things. Sometimes they will look like they have patches of the top layer of skin removed (geographic tongue); other times they will look like a ripe strawberry with a very red, somewhat swollen background and the papillae of the tongue looking like the seeds (as seen in strep infection), and one of the most common appearances in infancy is a tongue with a white fur-like coating.
Not all white tongues are problematic.
Recently, I had a baby in the office who had been running a fever for almost three days. He didn't have any other symptoms: no runny nose, diarrhea, rash or big change in his sleeping patterns. He was teething and his parents had originally chalked up the fever to that (even though teething causing fever is a myth), but as the days passed they thought they had better be on the safe side and brought him in. As predicted by his history, he had
Did you know babies make tears from the very start of life? They don't make a ton of eyeball lubricating tears initially, but within even a few days, they are making plenty to keep the eye from getting excessively dry. For many newborns, this becomes abundantly clear as the tears begin to spill over the edge of the eye because the drainage system is clogged up.
This blockage or narrowing of the drainage system of the eye is commonly known as a
Posted by: drmolly in Influenza, cough, antibiotics on
Apr 28, 2009
More cases of swine flu have been identified in the last day or so and there will undoubtedly be more to come. A couple of probable cases have been found in Michigan and even in my little office, I have sent cultures on two people who have been in contact with others from Mexico who had symptoms.
I have had a ton of questions from patients and Detroit News readers about the swine flu and here are the most frequently asked with answers:
Q: My
Posted by: drmolly in technology, antibiotics on
Mar 15, 2009
I am a techno-geek. I love everything from computers to smartphones to text messaging. I no longer own any medical books, instead referring to online professional resources to hunt down information when I need or want it. So it was with great excitement that I explored a new medical application from Verizon Wireless designed for families.
The application is called "The Pill Phone" and is available to Verizon customers for $3.99 per month. I
Posted by: drmolly in staph, skin, mrsa, illness, antibiotics on
Mar 15, 2009
This week new data came out about resistant staph aureus, also known as MRSA (methacillin resistant staph aureus) and "flesh-eating bacteria." More children are getting skin infections with this bug than ever.
About 18 months ago, several high schools in the area closed for a few days to rid the locker rooms of this bacteria when large outbreaks among football players and wrestlers occurred. This was appropriate to help decrease the spread, but
Posted by: drmolly in Influenza, illness, antibiotics on
Mar 15, 2009
Influenza season is here and every day I am asked my thoughts about using antiviral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza to treat children. Here's the truth about the myths and realities about using antivirals in kids:
Antivirals shorten the course of the illness. True, but only by about a day. Influenza lasts about nine-14 days with runny nose, cough, fatigue, body aches throughout the course of the illness and fever for the first
Pink eye seems like a straightforward condition, yet it is more complex than you would think. Not all pink eyes are contagious and some can indicate truly serious conditions. How do you tell the difference?
Contagious pink eye comes on suddenly, sometimes associated with goopy discharge and often associated with other symptoms of illness like a runny nose or fever. Not all contagious pink eye infections need eye drops, though. If the eye is
