Paging Dr. Andy! Provides Sensible Advice for Busy Families

 

The doctor is in! Paging Dr. Andy is a new series from Awestruck, a network and lifestyle brand for millennial moms, debuting this month and featuring ER physician, pediatrician and mom, Dr. Andrea Thorp.

 

In each episode, Dr. Andy takes viewer’s daily medical questions to the street to demystify common emergencies and use her sensible doc meets mom know-how to give parents peace of mind. Paging Dr. Andy aims give parents and alternative to chronically Googling kids’ symptoms, by offering reassurance from an actual medical professional that will help decipher if it’s pink eye or just eye crust, ear infection or just teething.

 

Episodes of Paging Dr. Andy will post weekly to Awestruck’s channel on the go90, a free new entertainment app available on any iOS or Android device.  Once you’re logged into go90, just hit the browse icon and search for “Paging Dr. Andy.”  I love how accessible Dr. Andy is and how she provides sensible advice for busy families!  Whether you have a newborn or a child in elementary school, we can all use quick advice from time to time. Our contributor, Charly James had a chance to interview Dr. Andy about her new show and how she balances being a mom and work.  And if you have a question for Dr. Andy let us know and she just might feature your question on her next show!  Just post on dandelion moms FB Page under this post.

 

 

1  What attracted you to do this format/show with Awestruck?

 

There is so much information to wade through on the Internet that parents become overwhelmed and often scare themselves into coming to the emergency department. This platform is an entertaining and light-hearted way to get medically sound advice to parents.

 2.   You are a full-time ER Physician/Pediatrician and mom of two boys. Will Paging Dr. Andy be an easy balance for you and your family? How do you balance career, being a mom, and a wife currently? What will change/challenge you in that regard?

 

Is adding one more thing to my plate easy? No. Like most moms, I have a revolving “to-do” list that never gets finished. I do have a supportive husband who handles my career tangents and I am indebted to him for picking up the slack on so many occasions. Time together as a family has to be scheduled (especially date-night with my husband) or life just swallows up this time. As far as the show, it has been fun involving my kids in watching the episodes. Prior to now, I would leave for hours to “go to work” and now they can see a small bit of what I do when I am away.

 

3. Why did you decide to become a pediatrician?

 

I chose to work in pediatrics because of how kids react to illness. I have cared for critically ill children and most often they face it with such bravery and rarely feel sorry for themselves. I have compassion for kids and families in that journey; I feel that my care is making a difference in their lives.

 

4.  What seems to be the overall number one reason that parents bring their kids to the ER that really is not something to panic over?

 

Fever. Unless your child is a neonate, has a problem with their immune system, or the fever is really high (over 105), fever is just a symptom of illness. There is so much fear surrounding fever, but in the age of immunizations, that fear is no longer substantiated in most cases.

 

 

5.  You’re a mom and a doctor. How do you feel about the “mommy gut intuition”? I speak from experience when I say: “I just know there is something/or feel that there is more to something” and have actually had doctors look at me with the “crazy mom over here” expression.

 

I believe in a mother’s intuition. I believe that intuition makes me a better doctor also. But if I have a mother who has brought their child because of the intuition that something is wrong, I will ask the mom, “What do you feel is wrong?” In my experience, I have stumbled onto some unusual diagnoses based on a mother’s intuition but, more often, the flu is just the flu. In most cases, the child does not have a serious illness; it is just that the mom has not been given a reasonable explanation that satisfies her concerns.

 

6.  Some kids eat paper and dirt and various other things. Can you explain the difference between normal curiosity and PICA in layman terms?

 

Kids put stuff in their mouths all the time; it is normal behavior as infants/toddlers explore their world. PICA is the act of eating a non-edible item without nutritional value for more than 1 month. It is important to make sure your pediatrician knows that your child is searching out the non-edible items to eat. They will evaluate for toxins (lead paint), anemia, and/or intestinal blockage.

 

7.  Picky eater or something else (sensory processing disorder etc)? Are there clear ways to tell or an age when it should change? What about the pediatricians/doctors that say: “if they’re hungry they’ll eat … they’re not going to starve” what are some points/tips can you give as that is always a worry on if a child is eating enough and right balance.

 

Being a picky eater usually starts in pre-school aged children. They start to get food jags (only eating certain foods) and they start to exert their control over what goes in their mouths. If I were to summarize my thoughts on this issue it would be to offer 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, offer a wide-variety of foods that the rest of the family is eating (avoid making a separate meal for the picky eater), supplement with a multi-vitamin if the intake is inadequate, and pick your battles wisely.

  

8.  There’s an app for everything and even wearable tech now for babies and children. What are the best apps out there in your opinion to download and what are some great tech (not necessarily wearable) gadgets out there for parents, babies and kids (broken in age groups)?

 

Apps and gadgets make our parenting experience convenient but they only have value if they fulfill a need. The “best” gadget for one parent could be a nightmare for another. For example, If you need to know every moment your baby makes a sound or turns while sleeping, there is a gadget for that. However, that may be an absolutely annoying gadget for the parent that wants to sleep when the baby sleeps.

 

9.  Energy drinks are not child-friendly; what about protein shakes? Can you explain “why” regarding both and similar drinks perhaps marketed under other names that try and distance themselves or give the illusion as ‘being new and/or different’.

What about flavored water?

What about yogurt or yogurt smoothies? I would rather give my child regular yogurt than the ones marketed towards children that seem to be nothing but sugar. Advice?

 

There are a lot of questions intermixed here.

• Children do not need energy drinks. They have plenty of energy already, and if they seem tired all the time, evaluate their sleeping habits.
• Protein shakes are usually not necessary as long as they are getting a well-balanced diet. Your pediatrician may recommend protein shakes for strict vegan diets or if a child is having a hard time gaining weight.
• Flavored water is good for those kids who refuse to drink any water. School-aged kids need 6-10 glasses of water depending on activity/sports. If they are drinking juice or milk instead of water then flavored water may be a good alternative.
• Yogurt is very high in sugar…almost as much as non-diet soda. Products marketed for kids are no exception. Even though yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium, keep a tally on your child’s sugar intake if yogurt is a part of their diet.

 

10.  I know several children that are very athletic. Some want to do more than standard exercise (run, jump, and practice for certain sports) such as working out and lifting weights. At what age can a child start to incorporate those into their life.

 

Ask yourself what your kid trying to accomplish. This is usually not an issue with elementary-aged kids but your middle-school or high-school kid may start to ask. Using weights under the guidance of a sports medicine specialist or trained coach for sport-specific strength training can be safe. Just allowing your teenager to go to the gym to pump iron and “bulk up” is usually done without long-term goals or safety in mind.

 

11.  Getting an accurate temperature. Do I use a real thermometer (under the tongue, or under the arm), a thermometer strip, an ear thermometer, a forehead thermometer or what and does that change with age? Is there one you personally recommend?

 

Great question. We talk all about thermometers and temperature on an up-coming episode of Paging Dr. Andy…keep watching. 

 

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