Test Yourself: 20 Things Many Pediatricians Get Wrong

Andrew Adesman's Babyfacts sets parents straight on common health issues

Posted: February 18, 2009

Are you smarter than a pediatrician? Test your knowledge of children's health and safety facts against the pros. When pediatrician Andrew Adesman quizzed his peers, he found that half of the pediatricians answered one quarter of the questions wrong. See if you can beat their score. Here are 20 situations that stumped the experts, gleaned from Adesman's new book, "Babyfacts" (Wiley, $15.95).

Sugar makes children hyperactive.
1. True
2. False
If you keep your baby awake during the day, he'll sleep soundly at night.
1. True
2. False
Newborns should be bathed daily.
1. True
2. False
Wounds need to air out at night to heal properly.
1. True
2. False
Over-the-counter cold remedies are safe, speed recovery, and achieve faster cures than letting a cold run its course.
1. True
2. False
Eating raw carrots will not improve a child's vision.
1. True
2. False
A fever of 104 degrees won't cause brain damage in a baby.
1. True
2. False
The best way to stop a bloody nose is to tilt the head back.
1. True
2. False
You should wash your newborn's clothing in special detergent.
1. True
2. False
Sitting close to the television won't damage a child's vision.
1. True
2. False
If a child has a seizure, place a spoon or a wallet in his mouth so he doesn't choke or swallow his tongue.
1. True
2. False
Treat a burn with butter or ice.
1. True
2. False
If your child can move an injured body part, it's not a broken bone.
1. True
2. False
After a bee sting, don't squeeze out the stinger for fear of injecting additional venom.
1. True
2. False
Shopping cart seats are the safest place to put a child.
1. True
2. False
No need to avoid spicy foods or alcohol if you are breast-feeding.
1. True
2. False
If your child has a cough and yellow or green mucus, he has an upper respiratory infection and should be treated with antibiotics.
1. True
2. False
It's never a good idea to heat a baby bottle in a microwave.
1. True
2. False
Co-sleeping is a bad idea; babies need to sleep in their own beds.
1. True
2. False
Putting a child to bed with a light on will damage his eyes.
1. True
2. False

Read the answers to this quiz here.

From a mother of twins: ALL children in daycare s/b bathed EVERY day

My children are rarely sick even though they are in daycare. I think it's due to nightly baths. I have friends who's kids are sick, even in summer, where my sister and I do not have that problem. Putting a child into a clean bed after crawling around dirty daycare floors sounds so gross, plus they are usually covered in snot b/c both daycares that we've been at do NOT do a great job of cleaning up their faces. Carefully using Dove soap then Vaseline after totally eliminates dry skin; don't use baby lotion, it's crap. Now, when my twins do get sick, 1 tsp. of baby Benedryl helped IMMENSELY when they were under 1 to help dry out their sinuses and help them sleep, that Vapor Rub, and those vapor plug-ins. Before the recall, Little Remedies had an OTC for baby colds/coughs too that worked wonders to help with the coughing at night. Stick to the dosage and you'll be fine and do NOT mix!!! Know what you are giving your child! Sleeps helps to fight colds and making baby comfortable results in good sleeping. Band-aids are gross when left on at night b/c they keep the moisture and germs in. Germs thrive on moisture, so as long as there is a scab, pull that bandaid, pour some peroxide, rinse the bubbles when they are done, some Neosporin and it will heal faster. I've proven that. Bottles in the microwave are ok b/c you should NOT heat anything baby consumes ANY longer than 20secs at the most. That does NOT melt plastic or crack glass bottles unless your microwave is broken. How hot were these mothers making these bottles? Better yet, for formula fed, just leave a pitcher of tap water on the counter and use that at room temp. For cold milk from fridge, just take the chill out. Breast milk can stay out for 8 hours. Using a Sharpie marker to date/time the pumped milk helps and isopropyl alcohol wipes the Sharpie off just fine.

Carol of IL @ Oct 21, 2009 11:04:52 AM

Remedies?

Your "remedies" aren't common sense, their just "traditional"ways Using ice instead of running water or an ice pack increases the risk of frostbite on a child whose skin is not yet thinkened like an adult's is. If you peel a scab off it reopens the wound to infection and can further tear the skin around the wound, not a good idea to do to a kid who it may not feel so "good" to. Baby's milk shouldn't be heated in the microwave because the microwaves heat unevenly, meaning you could 'test' the milk and think it's fine while somewhere else in the bottle it's hot enough to burn baby's throat. You should never insert anything into the nostril because it introduces germs into a direct path to the bloodstream, pinch it closed for about 5 minutes, wipe off the blood and wash hands and your good to go.

Mary of OR @ Apr 09, 2009 13:23:18 PM

Mother's remedies

I'm not convinced the correct answers are right. When I burn myself on the stove top and get an ice cube on the would within 1 minute, it will not blister and the pain subsides. After 5 minutes of ice treatment, the burn is not even noticeable. Treating small burns only with cool water does little to reduce the pain or subsequent burn reaction. Using butter on a burn does not work at all. Nose bleeds require laying down with the head elevated at a 45 degree angle and the insertion of an appropriate amount of wet rolled up toilet paper into the bleeding nostril. After 10 minutes, the bleeding is likely to stop and the bloodied TP may be withdrawn. Bandaids on wounds tend to remain wet and infective and it's nothing like dry air to help make natural scab once healing past one day. The scab keeps out germs and possible infection, unless you peel it off (which feels good to me). Plastic baby bottles in microwaves causes some to give off posionous fume, crack, melt or distort. Better to heat in microwavable container, then pour into sterilized baby bottle. Untempered glass bottles should not be microwaved as they may crack or burst. I could go on. Like most things in life, there's the expert opinions (often totally contrary from both sides), and then there's common sense things that practice proves works in the real world. Who needs yet another expert to muck up our lives?

Tony Lee of CA @ Mar 11, 2009 16:38:25 PM

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Test Yourself: 20 Things Many Pediatricians Get Wrong

Andrew Adesman's Babyfacts sets parents straight on common health issues

From a mother of twins: ALL children in daycare s/b bathed EVERY day

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Test Yourself: 20 Things Many Pediatricians Get Wrong

Andrew Adesman's Babyfacts sets parents straight on common health issues

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