HOT TOPICS:
1) School/Camp/College forms:
2)Sick Visits at CAHC during cold/flu season
3)Medicaid patients: you may need to reapply even if you still qualify. Please double check that your children are actively insured.
4)Illness prevention: Flu Shots, Covid Boosters and RSV immunization
5)Ticks--they're back!
FORMS:
School/Camp/College forms: This is the beginning of form season! Generally, there will be a "yellow form" (age 0-4 for daycare/preschool) and a "blue form" (age 5+ for school/camp/sports) on file from your child's last wellness visit. You may print these from the Athena patient portal and they are "good" for 1 year from the time of the visit.
If your child plays a sport the form can't expire anytime during that season from the first day of tryouts to the last day of the season. Sometimes this requires an extra visit for a "sports physical" if their form will expire during their season. Your insurance may or may not cover a sports physical. We will work with you to try to accommodate these visits as best we can.
We request that you give our physicians 5-7 days to complete these forms. Camp forms are often lengthy but most camps will accept the State of CT Blue form that we provide.
College forms often require lab tests, TB tests or other information that may not be routine. Please ask your senior to download their college forms as soon as they decide on their school and get those forms over to us to review and complete at least a month before they are due back to the college. This allows any additional testing or blood work to be completed or any vaccines updated that might be required.
SICK and URGENT VISIT APPOINTMENTS
We expect that the fall/winter will bring the usual illness we see as children have returned to school and cold/flu season has begun. If you feel that your child needs to be seen please CALL the office to schedule a visit.
Portal messages are not monitored 24/7 and should not be used to request an office visit or for more complicated discussions which would be better served with an office or telehealth visit.
On the WEEKENDS we ask that you call in the morning as we are available for shortened morning hours on the weekends for urgent visits.
Our physicians are on call 24/7 for urgent matters after hours but please keep non-urgent calls (medication refills, form requests, wellness visit scheduling) to business hours.
If your child is coming into the office for a sick visit, please bring all of their medications with them (inhalers, spacers, etc.) to review. Please mask if your child is over the age of 2 and has cough, runny nose, congestion, fever, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, or pink eye. This helps to keep other patients and our staff safe.
Fever reducer dosages are located on our main page. Close this tab and search under "more" at the top of the website. Always dose by WEIGHT, not age, when giving pain reliever/fever reducer.
MEDICAID PATIENTS
As the "Public Health Emergency" phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has come to an end, some Medicaid patients may need to re-apply even if they still qualify. Please be sure to check that your family or child is still eligible and that you are still active. Many people have been dropped from Medicaid coverage even if they still qualify. Please check that you and your children still maintain coverage.
ILLNESS PREVENTION
We strongly recommend that all family members have updated immunizations to prevent spread of preventable illnesses during your gatherings.
Influenza vaccine is recommended and available for anyone over 6 months of age at our office.
COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all over age 6 months of age. We have vaccine available for children age 6 months-11 years. Children age 12+ can get the vaccine at local pharmacies with their parents. There is an updated vaccine for 2023-24 winter.
RSV Immunization is available for newborns through 8 months of age. There is a very limited availability at the moment. However, pregnant parents can get a similar immunization during pregnancy which will protect your infant through their first RSV season. AND family members over age 60 can get an adult immunization for RSV to protect themselves and protect the young members of your families.
Pertussis vaccine is generally part of the TDaP vaccination adults get every 10 years. Pertussis causes “whooping cough” which can be deadly to young infants who have not yet had all of their pertussis immunizations. For adults, pertussis can cause a serious cough that can last for months and they can pass this deadly illness to young infants.
Pneumococcal vaccine (“pneumonia shot”) is recommended for all eligible not only to protect the adults in the family but also to protect young children and medically fragile individuals.
A reminder to please stay home and avoid gatherings if you are sick or feeling ill. COVID-19 testing is still recommended even for mild symptoms as it can still be quite variable in it’s presentation…everything from a mild scratchy throat to a mild cough to high fevers and pneumonia can all be attributed to COVID-19.
Hand washing is an excellent way to prevent spread of germs, covering coughs appropriately, cleaning high touch surfaces (door knobs, handles, etc) and not sharing utensils when sick can be helpful. Ventilation such as cracking a window or running a HEPA filter in a room during gatherings may help as well. Wearing a mask when you are sick and have to be around others is a great way to prevent sharing your illness with others.
Flu shot info: https://www.healthychildren.or...
Covid vaccine info: https://www.healthychildren.or...
RSV antibody information: These links also contain a video that may be helpful to determine if your child is breathing too fast or too hard which always requires a call to our office.
RSV: When It's More Than Just A Cold
Almost all children get RSV at least once before they are 2 years old. For most healthy children, RSV is like a cold. But, some children get very sick with RSV. With RSV season starting earlier than usual again this year, here's what parents need to know.
https://www.healthychildren.or...
Immunization information specifically about the RSV immunization:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/v...
TICKS
The following PDF from the CDC contains general information about managing a tick bite.
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/pdfs...
Removing a tick: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/remo...
If you find a tick on your child, the best thing to do is remove it quickly by lifting straight up with fine-tipped tweezers. You may need to give a bit of a tug as ticks adhere to the skin quite well. The key is to get off all the parts of the tick that are at and above the surface of the skin. The ticks have barbed "antennae" that they use to hold themselves in place but the "feeding" part of the tick is not on the barbed antennae. Often there are one or two small black dots that remain after removing the tick. These may remain behind and do not cause lyme disease. The body will work them out like a small sliver over the next few days. Digging out these antennae can increase the risk of skin infection. It is best to leave them alone.
Next, clean the area off with soap and water.
If the tick was possibly imbedded in the skin and feeding it will be engorged (full) of blood. Ticks that carry Lyme disease need to be actively feeding for at least 24-48hours to transmit lyme disease to a person. If a tick was found on your body and was removed within that time frame, the risk of getting lyme disease is extremely low. This is why doing a very thorough tick check every night before bed is important. Ticks tend to like areas with folds or creases such as behind ears, armpits, the back of the neck, the groin, belly button, under scrotum, behind knees, etc. so check those areas particularly closely.
**Old fashioned "tricks" for removing ticks with vaseline or a hot match actually increase the risk of transmitting lyme. The best thing to do is to remove the tick quickly with tweezers.
If the tick was possibly attached for longer than 24-48 hours and was engorged, it is best to closely monitor the area of the bite daily for the next 3-4 weeks. There will be some pinkness and even a "bug bite" mark at the site that lasts a few days as would any insect bite. However, if an enlarging ring-like rash evolves in the area of the bite, your child should be seen in our office for evaluation. The lyme rash is generally flat, not itchy or warm and it does enlarge over several days. This would suggest early lyme disease and this rash is easily treated with a course of antibiotics.
Other symptoms that would require a call to the office in the weeks following a tick bite would be an unexplained fever, joint pain or swelling, or severe headache.
Additional information can be found on the Healthy Children Website:
https://www.healthychildren.or...