Deciding to go to an urgent care center instead of an emergency room depends on the severity of your symptoms. Here’s what you need to know from Erick Eiting, MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Mount Sinai Union Square.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends approximately 10 well-baby and well-child visits in just the first two years. These routine checkups are very important in assessing your child’s development. Micah Resnick, MD, a board certified pediatrician at Mount Sinai Doctors Queens, explains why.
Well visits are used to make sure your baby is thriving, check the child’s progress against broad established milestones, and provide routine immunizations. You can take a look at the Developmental Milestones Checklist created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, the AAP has a recommended vaccination schedule for those 18 years and younger.
During well visits, your baby will be checked from head to toe. Your child will be weighed and measured, including the head circumference. Pediatricians will examine the baby’s heart, lungs, skin, abdomen, and more. The first year is such an important time, filled with rapid, and often delightful, changes. While I always want to assure parents that all is well, these visits give pediatricians a better chance to discover issues early.
At each visit, your pediatrician will learn more about your baby’s temperament and development. Does your baby make eye contact, smile, and laugh? Is your child able to support his or her head? During early development, I always recommend that parents talk with and read to their baby frequently. Remember, it is never too early to start reading books with your child. Please try to limit screen time before the age of two.
I also take this opportunity to check in on parents. How are you and your partner getting along together? Have you been getting out together without your child? What do you do when problems really get to you? I talk to parents about their interactions with their child, asking questions like: Do you feel attached to your child? Does your child appear attached to you? I try to take the time to question the parents further about their home life. I like to ask about what a typical day looks like. How is the multitude of tasks required to raise a child shared. If things aren’t going so well at home, if parents have more concerns, or we just need more time to talk, I often ask parents to follow up with me in a week or two for more discussion. I am a pediatrician because I love to advocate for children, but I also enjoy taking care of families.
As your child gets older, she will take a more active role in the visit. Pediatricians will ask your child questions and try to engage her in healthy habits including engagement in exercise and good nutrition and sleep habits. For your adolescent child, annual exams present an excellent opportunity to discuss behavioral and socio-emotional concerns, plan for the future, and complete a physical exam to ensure that puberty and growth are progressing appropriately.
I believe in empowering all parents and children. I want my patients to help me improve the quality of care provided by thinking about the visit ahead of time and writing down any questions and concerns. I do my best to answer patient questions and provide resources to help families stay healthy.
Please remember that this information is not a substitute for direct medical advice.
Micah Resnick, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician at Mount Sinai Queens and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His clinical interests include well-child care, adolescent health, preventive medicine, and patient and family education. By educating patients and their families, he empowers them to make healthy decisions and strengthens their compliance with clinical recommendations.
These visits allow your pediatrician to evaluate the overall health of your child and offer a good opportunity to ask burning questions about feeding, rashes, sleep, and toilet training. Bring a list if you can, to address any general questions on how to improve care and support prevention strategies.
The first well visit takes place when your baby is around three days old. Your child will then be scheduled for a visit at two weeks old, and then two, four, six, nine, and 12 months.
After the 15-month, 18-month, and two year checkups, annual well visits are recommended. Sometimes, Dr. Resnick recommends scheduling a visit for toddlers at 30 months.
Patients with short bowel syndrome have unique dietary constraints because they have trouble absorbing nutrients. Kwai Lam, RD, clinical nutrition coordinator at the Mount Sinai Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplantation Center, provides advice on how to obtain optimal nutritional intake with this difficult condition.
Kwai Lam, RD
In the United States, it is estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 people suffer from short bowel syndrome, a rare condition that occurs when an extensive length of the intestine is removed, typically during surgery to treat diseases, injuries, or birth defects. It has debilitating effects, often contributing to poor quality of life and a greater chance of disease or death.
Dietary modifications aim to optimize nutrient and fluid absorption, and reduce diarrhea, malnutrition, and dehydration. What a patient can consume will depend on the anatomy of their remaining intestine. For example, the diet for someone with a colon will differ from someone without a colon. (See chart below.)
For all short bowel syndrome patients, foods with high sugar content should be avoided as they can exacerbate diarrhea. Meal planning should focus on including more complex carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes. Whole-grain products, raw vegetables, fruit peels, and nuts should be excluded due to their high fiber content and propensity to aggravate diarrhea. Dietary fat should be eaten in moderation, especially in individuals who have their colons since mal-absorbed fat in the colon along with a diet high in oxalate increase the risk of forming kidney stones.
Fluids with high sugar content, like juice and soda, cause an influx of water into the intestine, resulting in a laxative effect. Ideally, patients should consume fluid known as oral rehydration solution, which has a balanced ratio of sugar to sodium. Contrary to common beliefs, most sport drinks are not the best choice for this population, due to their high sugar and low sodium contents. Water and other fluids with no sodium or sugar, may be tolerated in some individuals who have their colon. However, these beverages tend to promote sodium and fluid loss, leading to further dehydration in individuals who have their colon removed. Oral rehydration solutions are recommended for all who have short bowel syndrome. They can be purchased commercially or made at home using three common household ingredients: water, table salt, and sugar.
| Colon | No Colon | |
| Carbohydrate
Fat
Fiber
Oxalate
Fluids |
50-60% of calories
Complex carbohydrate
20-30% calories
Soluble fiber
Restrict
Oral rehydration solution and some hypotonic fluids |
40-50% calories
Complex carbohydrate
30-40% calories
Soluble fiber
No restriction
Oral rehydration solution |
Craig Katz, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains how the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program, is often the last line of defense for immigrants who have failed multiple times to convince Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers that they have a “credible fear of persecution or torture.”
We all know someone—a relative, friend, coworker, or acquaintance—who has had a heart attack or stroke. Together, these devastating events are the leading cause of deathin the world. Fortunately, they are also preventable. And taking steps to avoid heart attacks and strokes may help protect you from dementia, too, according to Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief, The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Director of Mount Sinai Heart.
Stephanie V. Blank, director of women’s health at Mount Sinai Chelsea, explains to Metro New York the risks, symptoms and treatments of ovarian cancer. September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.