Wednesday's World

Just a quick warning about something we are seeing more and more of and I think it needs to be taken seriously.

The pool is always a place where children pick up all kinds of summer bugs - and strep is a big one.

Children don't always feel well. There are times they are tired, and there are times children are fighting off some little bug. They feel puny, listless, cranky and the want to sleep all the time.

Last winter, my Bill, age five, was cranky, listless and didn't really feel well for a couple of days. I don't think he even missed school. His mom passed it off as "a little something." Three weeks later, Bill broke out in a terrible rash. He was diagnosed with a staph infection in his kidneys that was brought on by an untreated strep infection. He has permanent damage to his kidneys as a result. He never had a sore throat; he never ran a high fever; he never had puss pockets on his tonsils. He simply didn't feel well for a couple of days.

If your child is listless, cranky, tired, and runs a little fever, you might look in his or her throat and have the child seen by a physician. It could be strep. If it is, he's not going to get out of it unscathed. He should be seen. Please don't wait for this to develop. Do something quick.

One way of checking a temp on a child when a thermometer is not available is putting your cheek to his cheek. If he is hot, he's got a fever. Hands don't check thermometers.

Best way of keeping a child's illness to an all time low is through diet and hydration.