Articles

Colic – is it reflux, gas or an over-sensitive baby?

March 6, 2015

The "C" word in baby circles. It brings terror to the hearts of parents everywhere. But what exactly does "colic" mean? Colic is actually defined as excessive crying: an otherwise healthy and well-fed infant who cries more than three hours daily more than three days a week for more than three weeks. However, the term is thrown around loosely, and often implies tummy aches. Regardless of the definition, if your baby, or a baby you know, cries even close to that amount, you may want to read on. Here are the medical facts about colic: birth order does not affect colicmethod of...

What is Molluscum and What Can Be Done About It?

February 16, 2015

Adolescents 13-18, Babies 0-2, Children 5-12, Toddlers 2-4

Molluscum contagiosum, usually just referred to as Molluscum by your family doctor, is a viral infection of the skin. It is usually seen in school aged children and looks like pearly/skin colored bumps with small indents (known as umbilication) in their centers. Location: They show up seemingly 'out of the blue' in all sorts of areas but usually they stick to places where two skin areas rub together such as elbow creases or fingers. In my practice I often see them on legs as well. Symptoms: Generally the only symptoms will be the presence of small skin colored bumps but at times they can...

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How to Treat Cradle Cap Naturally

February 1, 2015

Babies 0-2

Whether it's a few specks or a thick yellow coating, most babies have some cradle cap at some point. It is a common condition that causes no problems, and eventually (usually) goes away on it's own, but it can be quite irritating to parents. Facts about cradle cap, or seborrheic dermatitis: It's the pediatric version of Seborrheic Dermatitis, and it typically appears in the first month of life. We don't really understand why it happens. It is typically not itchy (as the adult version is) and it bothers no one but the parents. It usually resolves on its own, within weeks to...

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Tummy Massage for Every Body

January 19, 2015

General Health Tips, Naturopathic Tricks and Tips

One of the best ways to help your little one and yourself is through the use of therapeutic massage. I often suggest Tummy Massage (or to be technical, abdominal massage) to my patients and their parents. Tummy massage can be helpful in a few different ways: a gentle tummy massage for your infant can help to soothe them and also help gently stimulate their gut to move along gas that may be causing them undue pain. Older children and adult patients greatly benefit from abdominal massage to help stimulate a bowel movement when they are having issues with constipation. Constipation...

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Ear Infections and Naturopathic Medicine

January 11, 2015

Babies 0-2, Children 5-12, Toddlers 2-4

We've all known that poor girl who had to have tubes put in her ears. Or that poor boy who's taken more rounds of antibiotics than his weary parents can count. Ear fluid buildup, and ear infections, are all too common for children. Tubes and antibiotics, though sometimes necessary, are over-prescribed by well-meaning doctors. Is there a naturopathic solution? (NOTE: this article addresses middle ear infections, not outer ear infections, or "swimmer's ear" as they are commonly called.) Why Do Kids Get So Many Ear Infections? The main reason is anatomy. Adults have ear canals that slant down towards the nose and mouth...

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VIDEO – Successfully treating earaches with homeopathy and other natural medicine

January 11, 2015

Babies 0-2, Children 5-12, Toddlers 2-4

This video is a special one-hour webinar done for the National Center of Homeopathy by Dr. Amy Rothenberg. The video includes slides on diagnosing and treating otitis media (ear infections) with homeopathy and natural medicine. This is an awesome freebie video - check it out! Enjoy! ...

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5 Tips to Get Your Family Healthy for the New Year

January 1, 2015

General Health Tips

While not necessarily easy, intentionally forming healthy habits—and having your family get onboard with you—is possible! You just need to be armed with the following strategies: 1.) Create a plan. Focus on one area at a time. If you get too ambitious, you run the real risk of overwhelming your clan! Maybe you want to get active, eat more healthy food, and simplify your life, but you’ll need to pick only one and hone in on that to start. For example, begin by upping your activity level and scheduling regular family bike rides, hikes, joining the local Y, etc- three days a week. Action: get...

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Meet Dr. Currey

December 7, 2014

Uncategorized

Welcome, my name is Danielle, I am a mother of two middle schoolers, doctor, teacher, wife, knitter, and human being. My family and I call Clackamas, Oregon our home, and we love, love, love living in the Northwest. I have been practicing naturopathic medicine in my private clinic since October 2013, and living the principles of naturopathic medicine far longer. My family and I focus on staying active, eating nourishing whole foods, being life-long learners, and doing what we love everyday. This wasn’t always so easy. After some turmoil in our family life, a few moves, and a remarriage, my children...

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A naturopathic approach to infant GERD/reflux

November 18, 2014

Babies 0-2

GER(D) is often the first diagnosis a baby receives, which can make it quite scary. What is GERD? GER(D) is gastroesophageal reflux (disease); it’s also called heartburn, reflux, or acid reflux. It occurs when the contents of the stomach reflux up into the esophagus. The pH of the stomach contents is quite low, or very acidic. The acid burns the esophagus, which is built for a much higher pH. To clarify, a diagnosis of GER means that the symptom of reflux is occurring; a diagnosis of GERD indicates a larger disease process that includes reflux as a symptom. Why do stomach contents go...

What would happen if a second grade class took a trip through the digestive system?

November 10, 2014

Nutrition

Over the past several years, I have been working with school age children in the classroom, and I have had the opportunity to teach nutrition, digestion, and elimination to the second graders of my husband's class three years in a row now. This is a lot of fun, and and we all learn a lot. As a class project, one group wrote a book about an imaginary trip through the digestive system. Here is the transcript: “Second Grade Digestion Adventure!” It was a normal day in second grade. We were transcribing our Riggs words into our English Notebooks. The words all had to do...

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What to do if your child has a vaccine reaction

October 30, 2014

Uncategorized

So first of all, I want to say that vaccine reactions do happen. Serious vaccine reactions for most standard children's vaccines are estimated to be quite rare, ranging from 1 in 100,000 to less than 1 in a million doses given. (The exception to this is febrile seizures with the MMRV combination vaccine, or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella, which occur in an estimated 1 in 1,250 children. Though febrile seizures do not cause permanent complications, they are scary as heck. Unless a child has an urgent need to receive both vaccines at once there really is no reason to give both at the same...

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Why I Practice and Why I Blog, by Dr. Teresa Neff

October 17, 2014

Naturopathic Philosophy

People ask me why I love working in pediatric naturopathic medicine so much. Well, aside from the babies being adorable and snuggly, and the kids being creative and inspiring, I love it because the strength of body and the inner healing power of a child is remarkable to observe. Naturopathic medicine holds that nature and the human body possess innate healing power, which we call the Vis Medicatrix Naturae, or the Vis for short. This means that left alone, nature and the human body will try to heal. Thus, we look to achieve healing by removing obstacles to healing, allowing nature...

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Why you should not rely on lab tests alone.

October 6, 2014

Naturopathic Philosophy

Don't get me wrong, when I have a piece of paper that tells me when something is off- that is wonderful. Lab values are useful in the evaluation of disease and the monitoring of treatment. But, and this is a big but, laboratory tests are not supposed to be a doctors first line of gathering information. Medical labs are more common place than physical exam in many medical offices these days. I am not sure if this is because of insurance dictating time, or our over reliance on something "smarter" than us to diagnose disease. I would never dispute that it is...

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What’s in Your Lunchbox: Tips and Tricks from the Experts

September 28, 2014

Adolescents 13-18, Children 5-12, Parenting, Toddlers 2-4

Packing healthy lunches that kids will eat can sometimes be tricky. Many factors make it even more difficult: conflicting dietary advice, financial and time restrictions, food sensitivities or strong preferences, and school lunch policies. Our family faces all of the above issues, and has found an approach that works. We are gluten- and dairy-free, and we also exclude peanuts. (For everyone’s olfactory comfort!) School lunches are obviously not an option. Throw into that a tight budget and the rigorous schedules of a Naturopathic doctor, a second grade teacher, and two children who attend a school with high expectations for homework, and...

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Introducing Solid Foods

September 21, 2014

Babies 0-2, Nutrition

This is an exciting event in a new parent’s life, but it can feel overwhelming and produce anxiety. There are different ways to introduce solid foods, and each method has ardent supporters and vehement detractors. Five different sources may give you five different “best” or “only” ways to do it. My goal is to provide clear information based on the latest scientific research. Evidence regarding solid food introduction is evolving as new research takes place. Some information you find is based on old research. The guidance I give is based on my understanding of the most current research in this...

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Choosing Homeopathy for Your Children

September 15, 2014

Children 5-12

Choosing Homeopathy for Children There are so many choices to make as parents these days. Natural childbirth or not? To nurse or bottle feed? Cloth diapers or disposable? Family bed or crib? How many years between children? What type of preschool or schooling? The choices and options for many families in our times are endless. So, too, for the kind of medical care to use. How much is safe to treat at home? When is it imperative to get the opinion of a trained medical professional? What if my partner and I don't agree? In my last 28 years of practice I...

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When to NOT use essential oils (Essential oils can cause seizures in kids)

September 8, 2014

504

General Health Tips

1/3/2015. Update from Dr. Erika: DON'T THROW OUT YOUR ESSENTIAL OILS! I've been getting a lot of comments from folks who read this article and are terrified to use essential oils now. Please, read the article carefully - topical or diffused essential oils can be very safe and effective in kids when used correctly! Remember to adjust dose to your child's weight - if 1-2 drops is effective for an adult, then 1/2, 1/5, or 1/10 of a drop may be effective (and safe) for your child. When to NOT use essential oils Are you an essential oil user? Chances are the...

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Bacteria in the Placenta

September 2, 2014

Pregnancy

An article was recently published in “Science Translational Medicine” entitled “The Placenta Harbors a Unique Microbiome”. The researchers collected placentas from 320 subjects and analyzed DNA to accurately identify which strains of microbial life were present. There's bacteria in the placenta? In the past, placentas and the intrauterine birth environment were thought to be sterile sites. This study shows that is simply not true. The researchers found microbiota from the Firmicutes, Tenericutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria phyla. But the most interesting piece of information is where did the placenta bacteria come from? Bacteria found in the placenta have to come from somewhere and you...

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When you sleep, are you producing enough melatonin? Like when it is turkey day!

August 25, 2014

Adolescents 13-18, Parenting

Sleep does wonders for our bodies...

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The Principles of Naturopathic Medicine, or How Red Sorrel Taught Me What I Already Know

August 21, 2014

Naturopathic Philosophy, Uncategorized

I was recently diagnosed with a serious problem: red sorrel in my yard. I knew it was there; I watched it spread from the parking area last summer to my yard this spring. I saw those blades of beautiful red flowers waving in the breeze all over my yard. But I had no idea that I had a problem. When my neighbor came over and gave me the diagnosis, I tried not to panic. I did what any good patient does - I got on the Internet. I found some optimistic and cheery sights touting its great culinary and medicinal...

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Tips for Eating Healthy on the Road

July 29, 2014

Children 5-12, Toddlers 2-4

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Summer vacation season has officially arrived. One of the most common questions I get from parents in my practice is: How do I get my family to eat healthy meals on vacation? Short answer: It’s not easy, and it requires some planning. What to Expect When Eating on the Road with Kids First, I want to say that vacation is vacation, and to expect to eat 100% farm-fresh organic home-cooked meals is just not realistic. So let's all take a deep breath and give ourselves some grace to expect that things will not be perfect. My priority for families on...

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