Since spring has arrived and Texas experienced an above average winter be prepared for the mosquitos. What is the best way to avoid mosquito bites? Use an insect repellant.  There are three ingredients that are the best:  DEET, lemon eucalyptus, or picardin.

DEET is safe for kids but chose one with a 10 % to 30 % concentration of DEET. Use one with a lower concentration if only out for an hour or two. Use a higher concentration if going to be outside longer. Things to remember with DEET are that it should not be applied more than once a day and it is not intended for babies 2 months and younger.  DEET can be used on exposed skin, clothes, socks and shoes but avoid the faces or the hands of young children. Also do not use DEET as a combination product with sunscreen because sunscreen needs to be applied frequently and DEET should only be applied once.  The last thing to remember is to avoid spraying it around the mouth so that it will not be ingested.

The second repellant that is safe to use that can protect against mosquitos is picardin. It is often found in many insect repellants used in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. It can usually be found in the active ingredients under the name of KBR 3023.

The last repellant that is safe to use is oil of lemon eucalyptus which is also known as P-menthane diol or PMD. The thing to remember with this is not to use under the age of 3 years old.

We hope everyone enjoys the beautiful spring we are having and stay protected from those pesky mosquitoes.(Information obtained from Kidshealth.org)

Betsy Dehart, MSN, RN, CPNP

Spring is finally here, kids are enjoying the outdoors. Around this time of year we need to be thinking about proper sun protection.  Always put sunscreen on your child before going outside, starting at 6 month of age. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before leaving and re-apply every 2 hours, sooner if they have been swimming.  Use a sunscreen with sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher and that it blocks both UVA and UVB light. Use products with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide because the compounds are less irritating. For infant under the age of 6 months, it's best to avoid the sun. Try to keep your infant in the shade under an umbrella, covered in light weight and light colored clothing. 

Grace Khouri, M.D.

Acetaminophen changes

We hope that everyone is having a safe and happy New Year thus far.

 I wanted to highlight some changes in the formulation of acetaminophen that you will notice on the shelf in the pharmacies.  Tylenol brand has made a push to simplify all of their acetaminophen products by changing their Infant Tylenol drops to the same concentration as their Children’s Tylenol product.  Essentially, both the Infant Tylenol and Children’s Tylenol give 160 mg of acetaminophen in every 1 tsp.  (5ml) of medication. They are basically now the same product, just packaged in different size bottles.  This is in contrast to some of the other acetaminophen brands such as Pedia Care Fever Reducer/Pain Reliever, as well as the generic brands of acetaminophen.  In these brands, the Infant version still contains 80 mg of acetaminophen in 0.8ml of medication which is more concentrated than the Children’s preparations and the new Infant Tylenol.  We want you to be aware that the dosing for these products is not equal!  If you have any questions about what dose of acetaminophen is appropriate for your child, please feel free to give us a call and speak with one of our nurses who can assist you.  It will be very helpful to them if you have the version of acetaminophen that you have on hand with you at the time you make the call.  That allows us to give you accurate information regarding the correct dosage.  If you are unable to call, please note that there is a dosing chart for acetaminophen available on our website under patient resources.  It gives the dosing for all ages and preparations. 

For more information, please visit www.pawylie.com.

Nicole Lanman, M.D.

A reminder for all parents about recent changes in infant's and children's liquid acetaminophen products. Manufactures have changed the amount of acetaminophen in these medicines to one standard amount. The change was done to help reduce dosing errors that can lead to accidental overdoses. During this transition, you will find both concentrations on store shelves until the old concentration is phased out. So please be aware of the tylenol concentration you have at home and have the bottle with you when you call our office for the specific dosing for your child.  For more information about this topic and other similar topics, please check out our Patient Resources link on our website at www.pawylie.com

Grace Khouri, M.D.

Happy Holidays!  We hope you and your family are enjoying the cooler weather and making lots of memories during this joyous season.   We are excited to introduce our new website (pawylie.com) and our hope is that it will prove to be a useful resource for your family.  One of the new features is the symptom checker.  Through collaboration with healthychildren.org, this tool allows you to click on the symptom that your child is experiencing and it will provide possible causes, home care advice and reasons to call or have your child seen.  We have also included a page of helpful resources (under Patient Resources) that include Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen dosing, vaccine information, as well as safety recalls.  We hope you will check out those links!  Under the immunizations link on the home page, we have included a table that explains the immunizations given at each of the well visits.  We have also provided a link to the American Academy of Pediatrics website on this page to give more information about the diseases these vaccines protect against.  Lastly, we have a link on the home page to our After Hours page which gives the number to the after- hours triage service, as well as information about Children’s Medical Center-Dallas and Legacy, Acute Kids Urgent Care, and Pediatric After Hours Urgent Care.  Also, a quick reminder that we follow Wylie ISD inclement weather policies, so if Wylie ISD is closed, we will not open that day.  If Wylie ISD has a delayed start, we too will be opening late.  Someone from our office will contact you in this circumstance to confirm your appointment time.  We hope you enjoy our new site and we look forward to a healthy winter! 

Dr. Nicole Lanman