Matthews Chiropractic Center » Infants and Childen

FOOD DRIVE for Matthews Children

Matthew Leibman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:50:17 +0000

Dear Patients and Friends,

Our office along with other Matthews chiropractic offices, have founded an organization called “Chiropractors Hearts and Hands for Matthews Children.” The purpose of this organization is to support the Matthews Help Center by annually collecting non-perishable food items for needy children and their families in the Matthews region during the week of Valentine’s Day. This year, our food drive will run from Monday, February 13th through Friday, February 17th. Donations will be collected in our office.

Any non-perishable food items that you would like to donate to our cause would be greatly appreciated by our office and the children of Matthews that we care for and serve.

Thank you for your thoughts and donations as we strive to improve our community one child and family at a time.

Dr. Leibman

Avoid OTC Cough & Cold Meds for Children Under 4

Combat Colic with Chiropractic Care

Matthew Leibman — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:38:00 +0000

‘Twas the night before a big meeting, preparations were made,

Would we sleep a few hours before the screaming invades?

Outfits laundered, feedings complete, Mommy and Daddy were prepared to retreat,

First there was whining and then full bore, we knew we’d be up a few hours more…

If you are a parent who has experienced a colicky infant, then this story is all too familiar. Excessive, unexplained crying/fussing for hours a day, multiple days a week, for an extended period, in an otherwise healthy infant is not music to my ears either, but unlike many parents, I was able to adjust my children regularly when they were infants. Certainly, I am biased concerning the benefits of chiropractic care for most everyone, but in the case of colicky babies, there is good research to support the benefits of spinal alignments.

It has been posited that colic is caused by birth trauma and/or spinal misalignments in infants^[1] and if you’ve witnessed a natural delivery, you can imagine how this could impact a newborn’s spine. Whether the treatments are referred to as chiropractic adjustments, manipulation, or spinal alignments, the goal is the same – to restore normal spinal motion. Treatments for infants are not the usual adjustments to which parents might be accustomed. The correction for a baby appears more as maintaining gentle pressure to areas of the spine with the fingertips.

A May 2009 analysis reviewed 16 cases of infants receiving chiropractic care. In all the cases, upper cervical misalignments were found in all subjects and chiropractic intervention helped to resolve symptoms of acid reflux and colic^[2]. More recently, a Danish study^[3] determined that a decline in excessive crying in infants receiving chiropractic treatment for colic was not a function of children simply outgrowing their excessive crying behavior and therefore lends support for the implementation of chiropractic care in these cases.

The benefits of early chiropractic interventions don’t just allow parents to sleep better while their infants are a few months old. An October 1999 study found that colicky infants treated with chiropractic care experienced fewer instances of “temper tantrums, fell asleep more quickly, and stayed asleep longer than the untreated control subjects” at least up to 2 to 3 years of age^[4].

I certainly understand that parents have concerns about any new treatments that their children receive. New responsibilities and sleep deprivation make all your decisions about a newborn challenging. If you have any questions, please email me at info@matthewschiro.com or call Matthews Chiropractic Center at 704.841.3833.

References

Clinical Chiropractic 2004 (Dec); 7(4): 180-186
J Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic May 2009: 1-7
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2010(Sep); 33(7): 536-541
J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2009 (Oct); 32(8): 635-638

Choose the spoonful of sugar, but not the medicine

Avoid OTC Cough & Cold Meds for Children Under 4

Matthew Leibman — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:45:35 +0000

This year at Matthews Chiropractic Center I’ve become a new parent. As a parent, I am acutely aware of the desire to make our children feel well ASAP. I am also cautious of everything that I give to my child to eat, drink and feel better. Readers to this space will remember an early September 2008 posting recommending alternative methods of relieving cough and cold in children under 2 years old (“Choose the spoonful of sugar, but not the medicine”). In that posting I highlighted the FDA’s recommendation to avoid use of OTC cough and cold remedies for children under 2 year of age.

Recent news recommends avoiding over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for children until 4 years of age. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) is an industry group representing the manufacturers and distributors of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and nutritional supplements. On October 7, 2008, the CHPA announced that leading manufacturers are “voluntarily transitioning the labeling on oral OTC pediatric cough and cold medicines to state “do not use” in children under four years of age.”

If you are still using these remedies in question, please be very careful to follow your pediatrician’s instructions, measure doses correctly, and keep track of when doses are given. To learn about an alternative to OTC cough and cold medications, see the earlier article Choose the spoonful of sugar, but not the medicine.

Choose the spoonful of sugar, but not the medicine

Matthew Leibman — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:44:16 +0000

A January 2008 FDA Public Health Advisory “Recommends that Over-the-Counter (OTC) Cough and Cold Products not be used for Infants and Children under 2 Years of Age.” The risk of serious and potentially life-threatening side effects has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to advise parents not to treat infants and children under 2 years of age with OTC cough and cold medicines. The FDA is still reviewing safety information regarding the use of these OTC medicines in children 2 to 11 years of age and anticipates communicating its recommendations in the near future. The FDA stated, “we are aware of reports of serious side effects from cough and cold medicines in children 2 years of age and older.”

Helping Honey

A December 2007 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine study should help parents find an alternative to OTC medications for their children having trouble sleeping at night due to upper respiratory tract infections. The findings of this recent study suggests that buckwheat honey is a great remedy for children 2 to 18 years old with nocturnal cough and difficulty sleeping. When the study compared honey, honey-flavored dextromethorphan (cough medicine), and no treatment, for children suffering from nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief. Overall, the trial found that “honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection.”

**Please keep in mind that honey should never be fed to infants under 12 months of age.**

Raw honey should not be given to infants under one year of age because of the rare possibility of infection with the bacteria that causes botulism. And remember, as with all health issues concerning children, please consult your family’s pediatrician regarding treatment of your child’s ailments.

Finding Answers

At Matthews Chiropractic Center, I strive to provide excellent treatment of the spine and assist patient’s with all their health and wellness concerns. Stay tuned to learn more about current health, wellness, and chiropractic topics as I work to help keep patients and readers well and informed.

Review the FDA advisory at: http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/advisory/cough_cold_2008.htm

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine article:
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/161/12/1140