Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine
A few random notes. Winter is upon us, and this makes us
think about winter immunizations. I am in favor of the flu
vaccine, even for small children. The flu season is rumored
to be rougher this year. Varilax, the vaccine for chicken pox
is also recommended, even though it is made by our sponsor,
and as such it may seem that I am biased. I did immunize all
my children, who did not have chicken pox.
Someone expressed surprise at my bad words concerning Bamba,
the Israeli peanut butter snack. Peanuts are the most common
cause of fatal allergies, and as well, are difficult to
digest. They are full of fat. Chocolate spread sandwiches and
drinking sugary beverages are also a set up for fat
adults.
What are good substitutes? Nuts are filling and may be
healthier. Fruits are great -- we cannot hold on to enough in
the Leibman house. Drink natural juices, not sugary ones that
advertise all natural ingredients. Sugar after all is a
natural ingredient. Whether or not carbohydrates are worse
than fat is a subject of controversy.
Sandboxes are a lot of fun, but can be set ups for a number
of diseases. We discussed that cats like sandboxes and they
spread toxoplasmosis, which is dangerous for immune
compromised people (like cancer patients) and for pregnant
ladies. Another disease which we see often is enterobiosis,
which is pinworm. These small worms crawl out at night and
cause intense itching. They are easily treated by medication.
Bed linen has to be washed well. Occasionally, one can see
these worms leaving the body in the morning. Write me in care
of the Yated.
GlaxoSmithKline is the sponsor of this column.
