This winter, keep influenza (“flu”) in mind when planning travel for your family. 1. The winter of 2018 will be a significant flu season. The disease has already spread to virtually all parts of the country. The flu virus currently circulating has a history of causing severe illness in infants, and this year’s vaccine is […]
Mom, I think I am going to vomit. Motion sickness/Children/Prevention/Treatment – An Update
January 18, 2018 by
If no one in your family has ever been motion-sick, it’s only because they haven’t yet encountered the right (or is it the wrong?) ride. It may be a storm at sea, an “amusement” park roller coaster that spins in three dimensions simultaneously while riders are strapped in upside down, a ride atop a camel […]
Debunking Old Wives’ Tales
December 13, 2017 by
Hey parents, stop bugging your kids with antiquated notions about staying healthy outdoors in cold weather. True, practically none of you still hang garlic around your kids’ necks, place slices of onion in their socks, force-feed them cod liver oil, or wonder if you should feed fevers and starve colds, or vice versa. But let’s […]
IAMAT
November 29, 2017 by
Hi Readers: This issue of KidsTravelDoc includes a feature that will appear occasionally: introducing you to websites whose goals are similar to those of ours – i.e., helping to keep your children healthy and safe for travel and related outdoor recreational activities. If you and your family travel internationally and the name IAMAT is not […]
Children/Travel/Hotels/Bedbugs
October 30, 2017 by
Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite. But if they do, then take your shoe and Hit them till they’re black and blue. – Old nursery rhyme (author unknown) Everything you want to know (or, perhaps, would rather not know) about your kid(s) and you being bitten by bedbugs while in hotels is […]
Are you teaching your kids the latest findings on hand washing?
October 13, 2017 by
Hand washing/drying is rapidly becoming a science, “Hand Hygiene”, with ongoing research and frequent updates in recommendations (the importance of proper hand drying, for example). Hand Hygiene is a simple, low tech, low cost method that can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related illnesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections (cold or the flu, for example). […]
Hotel bathroom décor ranges from child-unfriendly to child-hostile
October 1, 2017 by
“I’ve got to go to the bathroom, very badly!” These are often the first words you hear from your young child as you check into a hotel after many hours on the road. However, no matter how urgent their pleas and how much they jump up and down, check the bathroom first to see if […]
Is air travel safe for infants/young children? Answers to your questions
September 9, 2017 by
(Folklore says that infants traveled by air centuries ago and the flights were healthier than those today. Storks “delivered” infants. Storks had the wisdom to skim rooftops, eliminating concerns of high altitude and the accompanying ear issues, dehydration, and excessive stomach air. Each newborn was a sole passenger enjoying fresh rather than recirculated air, with […]
Update on Poison Ivy: The Scourge of the Great Outdoors
August 23, 2017 by
Poison ivy is a good example for parents that if something is identified as “natural”, “organic”, “fresh” or “pure”, it is not necessarily “healthy” or “wholesome” — as advertisers and marketing people would have you believe. Poison ivy and its close cousins, poison oak and poison sumac, have no known redeeming qualities, except, perhaps, a […]
Diarrhea/Young Children/Travel
August 8, 2017 by
As far as young children are concerned, what does visiting equatorial Africa, attending day care/kindergarten, and swimming have in common? They increase the incidence of diarrhea in young children. However, even if your child(ren) do none of these and your house is compulsively clean you’ll still deal with several episodes a year. Are you aware […]
