Bambini Pediatrics PC
April 2011
- New use for old antibiotic
- Another determined family's story
Feb 2011
- What's behind all the whooping cough
- Can chocolate prolong life?
Last month, I went to see my doctor for a check-up. Told him I felt a bit run down. His advice included recommendations such as:- Get lab work to check hormone, vitamin, and mineral levels; get a urine assay for heavy metal exposure.
- Take supplements – including probiotics, omega-3s, vitamin D, vitamin C, B-Complex, digestive enzymes, and anti-oxidants such as MSM, adaptogens / tonic herbs.
- Increase consumption of mineral-rich (especially magnesium, zinc, iodine) foods.
- Limit or avoid processed sugars and grains, as well as casein and gluten.
- Practice some forms of detoxification (more on that later).
- Get more sleep, limit EMF exposure, and spend more time in nature.
A few days later I left for a conference on autism near Asheville. About halfway through, I realized that much of what I was hearing sounded like the advice that I had received for myself! True, there were more specialized tests cited that looked at yeast load, leaky gut, and glutathione. Moreover, some of the treatment protocols such as hyperbaric oxygen, TSO therapy, or stem-cells were much more involved.
But again, the similarity of the advice heard from my doctor and that given in the ASD talks gave me the sense that the victims of this wave of autism are the canaries in the coal mine: that is, these children are succumbing to conditions (toxins, deficiencies, other stresses) that, to some extent, are affecting the health of all of us. Likely, we will all benefit from paying careful attention to the efforts underway at identifying both triggers as well as treatments.
A while back, I took in a helpful online lecture on asthma by Ron Hunninghake MD. Based at the Riordan Clinic in Witchita, Kanses, he takes a neat, integrative approach to asthma – focusing on nutritional strategies to reduce the inflammation associated with reactive airways. In fact, the first 40 minutes or so of the talk details this facet.
After spending a couple minutes on the pharmaceuticals, Dr. H discusses another adjunct he has found helpful called the infra-spinatus respiratory reflex injection technique. Apparently, a few years earlier, a family physician treating patients with chronic pain by injecting various trigger points in their back discovered serendipitously that 15 of them had dramatic relief of thief asthma symptoms following the injection of a certain point just below the shoulder blade. The site corresponds with an energy meridian used in acupuncture.
Dr. H went on to try it on over 500 patients – with excellent results. The effects of the injection, which consists of lidocaine and steroid, last about two weeks. Their website holds an extensive video archive of talks on natural approaches to health.
Who Would Have Thought?
About this time last year, the parents of a two year-old boy from our practice noted that he was showing signs of developmental delay – something was not right. They took him to a local pediatric neurologist, who suspected & confirmed the diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome – the most common inherited form of mental impairment.
Certainly, there was a moment of disappointment. But they began researching their options and decided to consult experts in Sacramento at the Mind Institute. The doctors there made a number of therapeutic recommendations. One of the most astonishing was to start the child on a small dose of minocycline – an antibiotic typically reserved for severe acne management. Well, within a few days, the family was already starting to see improvements in mood, behavior, and communication skill! All we can say is, “Wow, who would have thought?”
And Along Those Same Lines 
Last fall, a set of 13 month-old twins came to us for a second opinion on management of their hypothyroidism. They had been born 10 weeks early, and like a number of premature infants, had abnormal thyroid tests. Over the next few weeks, while we started supplements like kelp and maca, it became apparent that one of them was developing a gross motor delay. Not surprising, since her MRI had show PVL – a type of brain scarring that premies are susceptible to. While her sister began walking, little Holly appeared to be heading toward cerebral palsy.
Parenthetically, at one of the visits, we asked if the parents had banked stem cells. We watched a YouTube together in the office of a little boy with cerebral palsy quickly come out of it following an infusion of his banked stem cells. The parents took this seriously, and called Johns Hopkins – where the boy had been treated. It turned out that they could not treat Holly.
But they were undaunted. Stem cell treatments, they learned, were available in Panama. To cut to the chase scene, they dropped what they were doing and flew down. Within a few days of the treatment, they noticed marked improvement in Holly’s motor skills! For more details on this remark story, click here.
February 2011
Swedish Snot Sucker
Starting about 3 months back, several parents brought to our attention that they were using an alternative to the traditional bulb syringe to clear their infant’s nose. The device is called the Nose Frida.It basically has three parts: a tube that fits over a nostril, a piece of sponge that goes in the tube, and a foot or so of soft tubing – the end of which goes – you guessed it – in mom or dad’s mouth!
Although it sounds a bit gross, it’s endorsed by Dr. Sears and there are hundreds of favorable reviews on Amazon. Locally, it’s available at Waddle-n-Swaddle.
Pertussis Upsurge
As most of us are well aware, pertussis has been making a steady comeback, especially in California. In some counties there, rates are actually as high – or even higher – than before the advent of the DPT vaccine. How so?According to an interesting show that recently aired, there’s two theories. One, espoused by Dr. James Cherry, a pediatric infectious disease expert from UCLA, is that the disease is being recognized more. That does make some sense. All the media attention likely has both doctors and parents alike out there thinking twice every time a child has a runny nose.
But Dr. Frits Mooi, a pertussis researcher from the Netherlands, believes that there is a new strain called P3 that’s responsible for much of the upsurge. This strain is not covered by the current vaccines. This certainly sounds plausible. Time may tell us which theory is correct.
Longevity Secret Revealed
Recently, I read a short biography of Jeanne Calment, the world’s oldest woman. In fact, she has the longest confirmed human lifespan in modern history. Born in Arles, France in 1875, Calment led a leisured life. At age 100, she could still ride a bike. At age 117, she finally quit smoking.