Woodbridge Kids Clinic

Hand foot and mouth disease ( HFM) is still around. We saw lots over the summer and it has not slowed down. It is caused by a virus called Coxsackie. Kids get spots on the palms and soles classically, but they can actually be anywhere. These don’t bother them much. They get mouth ulcers on the tongue and mouth and throat These  hurt a lot. They get fever for up to a  week.. It is contagious and we isolate them for a week. We use Tylenol etc for pain and fever and give Popsicles etc for throat pain.

You may have heard of the Enterovirus outbreak in the US. Enterovirus is something we see commonly.  These viruses can present with just fever often In this case it presents with an asthma -like attack. We haven’t seen any here yet but it’s probably coming. We will be prepared with some mask treatments for kids that are having these types of symptoms. I have oxygen monitors in the office as well.
If your child has a bad cough with rapid/noisy/laboured breathing it is something to be assessed.
> Hopefully it will be a quiet winter.

There is recent discussion about banning triclosan. This has already started in the US. Triclosan is found in many “antibacterial” products, especially soaps. There is concern about rising levels of Triclosan in lake water and effects like hormone disruption and possible bacterial resistance. Companies like Johnson and Johnson are looking at removing it.

Some truths:

– you don’t need antibacterial soap to wash away bacteria. Just wash properly.

-viruses cause the typical illness kids get like coughs and cold etc. “antibacterial soaps ‘ are no better than regular soaps for viruses.

-“tea tree” is effective for certain bacteria such as staph. I like to recommend this for acne.

We are at 40 innovation drive in Woodbridge ( see map above). We are in a clinic associated with family doctors, a walkin clinic, a pharmacy, optometry, audiology, speech therapy and physiotherapy.