by Mindy Calandro | Oct 23, 2016 | In The News, Kid's Health
Can you believe it is October? College football is in full swing (Gig’em Aggies), pumpkin spice abounds, and Christmas decorations are already popping up in stores. You know what else that means? Flu season is here!! You might be thinking…already?? Unfortunately, there have already been several cases of the flu in my office in the past few weeks and there have been small pockets of flu around the US (Aggieland- College Station, TX for those non-Aggies- actually had a flu outbreak just a few weeks ago). Here are your reminders for protecting yourself and your family from flu this year…and listen up, there is a change that all those kiddos will likely not be too happy about! These numbers should serve as a reminder that cannot be stated enough that flu claims the life of otherwise healthy children each and every year here in the US. We have not had a “bad” flu season in a few years, which typically means that we are due for a more severe season. Last years flu season was just plain strange…I really did not see much flu in my office until late January, but then the flu season lasted much longer than your typical year (I think I was diagnosing flu into May). There were 85 pediatric deaths in the US from the flu during the 2015-2016 season which, while still tragic and far too many, was less than the prior two seasons which saw 111 deaths during the 2013-2014 season and 148 deaths during the 2014-2015 season. These numbers should serve as a reminder that cannot be stated enough that flu...
by Mindy Calandro | Aug 25, 2016 | In The News, Kid's Health
If you or your family member has serious, life threatening allergic reactions, called anaphylaxis, then you are very familiar with the image above. For everyone else, this is an EpiPen which contains a dose of a medication called epinephrine that can be lifesaving in an allergic reaction. EpiPen has been manufactured by the Mylan company since 2007. For those that have severe allergies, they are instructed to carry these pens with them 24-7, 365 days per year, and this is especially true for children while they are in school. Those that have these pens at home are likely also acutely aware of the absolutely shameful price gouging that Mylan has done with EpiPens in the past 9 years. Wondering how this could happen? Yeah…so am I. These EpiPens come as what are called a “twin pack” meaning that one prescription will get you two of these pens. The reason that is so important is that sometimes, in life-threatening situations, one dose of epinephrine is not enough. Back in 2007, a twin pack cost around $94. Some may even be surprised by that cost knowing that it is a prescription that expires every year and that it is a medication you must get but hope to never use. Want to know the current cost of an EpiPen? How about just above $600?! That is an increase of over 400%. Insurance you say? That $600 price tag is the cost that many families are forced to pay given the higher deductible plans that are in the insurance marketplace these days. Shocked? Angry for those that MUST have this medication? Yeah…me too....
by Mindy Calandro | Aug 18, 2016 | In The News, WBRZ
Devastation. It is all around us. “You can expect rain for the next week or so.” That was the forecast from last week for here in Southern Louisiana…Baton Rouge to be exact. It started on Thursday with our “typical” summer afternoon shower, but then things began to change as the rain didn’t stop. Over the next 48 hours, we saw an estimated 4 trillion gallons of rainfall! The rivers began to swell and when all was said and done, every major river in and around Baton Rouge had broken prior records with some of these rivers reaching almost 18 feet ABOVE flood stage. The National Weather Service has called it a “1,000 year rain” meaning there was a 0.1 percent chance of that much rain in a given time period over a year. By the end of it all, the statistics are absolutely unfathomable: Over 30,000 people rescued as flood water rapidly rose 2 major highways closed as flood waters reached 4 feet on the roadways stranding thousands Over 10,000 people displaced to area shelters Between 75-90% of homes in hardest hit communities that have been flooded A death toll currently at 13 and will likely continue to rise as waters recede I had the opportunity to sit down with Sylvia Weatherspoon and Michael Shingleton on WBRZ News a few days ago to discuss important ways to help our children deal with this tragedy. You can check that video out below: Now, a few points I want to make about health issues and concerns for those that have waded in flood waters and experienced this tragedy first hand. If...
by Mindy Calandro | Jul 22, 2016 | In The News, Mommy Musings
This image. Of all of the images I have seen so far today, this is the one that leaves me absolutely heartbroken and sobbing. Look at that precious little girl in a beautiful dress with a delicate string of pearls and an expression that is wrought with unimaginable pain and anguish that no innocent child should ever have to experience. You see, her daddy, Matthew Gerald, was one of the brave Baton Rouge Police Officers who was murdered on July 17 by a hateful and purely evil coward. No child, spouse, mother, father, or loved one should know such pain. But yet, this same scene will play out two more times in the course of the next 48 hours here in Baton Rouge, just as it has played out 5 times in the past 2 weeks in Texas for those fallen police officers in Dallas. I have posted several times before about talking to your children about tragedy (you can click here to see my last post). This discussion never gets easier, and when the tragedy is in your backyard, it becomes even more difficult. But with the events that have transpired in this great nation in that past several weeks, there is another almost more important lesson we must make sure we are teaching our children on a daily basis - love. Children are not born with hate. They have a purity and an innocence about them that does not pick who they are going to play with based on if their skin is black or white, if they have curly hair or straight hair, or really any...
by Mindy Calandro | Jun 13, 2016 | In The News, Kid's Health
Mister Rogers was a wise man. Not only did I grow up wanting to be his neighbor and travel by trolley to the Neighborhood of Make Believe, but now as an adult and a parent of 3 small children, I find that many of his quotes in regards to children hold such unmistakable truths. And in times like these, his famous quote above really resonates with me not only as a mother, but also as a pediatrician. The horrific hate crime that unfolded in Orlando in the early morning hours yesterday has every American grieving for the senseless loss of life. As parents, we are once again left to struggle with our emotions of not only how to deal with the tragedy for ourselves, but also how to explain the unexplainable to our children. Unfortunately, this is not the first time in recent months, and perhaps even more regrettably that it will not likely be the last, that parents will be faced with the difficult task of discussing shocking and deadly events with our children. Below you will find my interview from November 2015 after the terrorist attacks in Paris where Brittany Weiss of WBRZ news and I discuss age appropriate ways to broach these difficult topics that no parent ever wants to have to bring up with their children. For additional tips and information about ways to talk to your children about tragedy, click here....
by Mindy Calandro | Jun 10, 2016 | In The News, Kid's Health, The Safety Files
It is a heartbreaking headline that we see each and every summer…”Infant dies after being left in car.” It happened just this week here in Baton Rouge when an 8 month old died after being left in a car for over 2 hours. On average 37 children die each year in the US as a result of being left in a hot vehicle. Already this year, there have been 11 children to die in hot cars which is a 275% increase compared to this time last year. As a parent, it is gut-wrenching and nauseating to even consider that such a tragedy could ever happen to you, but in the vast majority of these cases, these tragedies strike in very loving, caring and “typical” families. Some may say “I could never forget my child, that just wouldn’t happen,” but can you guarantee that? How many mornings do you leave your house and in a forgetful moment, think “Did I close the garage/turn off the coffee pot/lock the door?” How many times have you been preoccupied with thinking about a major presentation on the way to work? Have you gotten on your phone on your drive into work and become consumed with your conversation? And how many times has your usual morning routine been rerouted for one of a hundred different reasons? It is typically a change in usual routine or a distraction that can be the culprit of forgetting about precious cargo. Perhaps Daddy is in charge of morning drop off when he usually just heads into work, or maybe you have a sick little one who is staying...
