Articles tagged with 'news' | Checkup Newsroom

Seasonal illnesses are in full swing and hitting Cook Children’s at an unusually high rate. The medical center is under a ‘Facility Alert’ due to an extremely high census. On Monday, Nov. 18, our staff saw 567 patients in the emergency room, which...

The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the state’s first child death of the 2019-2020 Flu Season in a tweet on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Texas DSHS reported the 5-year-old child from the Rio Grande health region did not get the flu shot...

Hi. My name is Landry Murphy. I’m a teenage girl with a lot of hopes and dreams, but with a lot of desires comes big responsibilities. One responsibility that I did not get to “choose” is being a Type 1 diabetic. I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic and a ...

Germs are gross. Kids are gross. Germs and kids are doubly gross. As parents, we know this is true, especially during this time of year. The illness visits are piling up in my office and throughout the Cook Children's system. The days off sc...

I’ve never been a big proponent of giving a baby medication for normal fussiness or spitting up. But when the fussiness symptoms are severe and consistent with reflux or the baby is not gaining weight well, treatment with an acid reduction medicat...

On Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, the third annual Cook Children's Veterans Day Commemoration took place at the medical center.  Following the presentation of flags and the National Anthem by Myka McDonald, RN, Cook Children's Veterans Group (CCVG) chair ...

Tomorrow night, your biggest worry should be how much candy you are allowing your kids to eat on Halloween. Before you head out with your little trick-or-treaters, here are a few tips for you and your family to keep in mind this Halloween. 1. Remi...

Does your child have the sniffles, sneezing, tummy aches or worse? They aren’t alone. Last week, eight children tested positive the flu at the medical center, according to Laboratory results from Cook Children’s. What’s interesting is that seven c...

Parents get croup and whooping cough mixed up all the time at my office. I think it’s really important to know the difference – one is fairly common, and the other is much more rare – and can be deadly. Croup is a common viral infection I see d...

If you live in Keller, specifically if you have a child at Timberview Middle School, you may have received an email confirming  a case of whooping cough, or pertussis, in the area. If you are concerned about your child, here are seven facts you ne...

Your child comes home from school or daycare with a note alerting you to a case of hand, foot and mouth disease. You grab your phone and type in a few keywords and are immediately overwhelmed with the wealth of information on the internet. So, ...

"95% of baby foods contain heavy metals" "Heavy metals in baby foods leading to lower IQs" You might have seen these headlines in the past few weeks as a result of the report, "What's in my baby's food?" from the Healthy Babies, Bright Futures ...

Many of us were caught off guard as severe storms, including at least one confirmed tornado, swept through the Dallas-Forth area Sunday evening. But you may be surprised to also learn that severe weather is actually quite frequent during this time...

Suicide rates among young people rose at an alarming rate in the U.S. between 2007 and 2017, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC found: That suicides increased by 56% during the 10-year sp...

“His cough is sooo croupy!” When parents report a croupy cough, it means different things. Some parents call bad/deep/dry/wet/rattly coughs croupy. When I think of “croupy cough,” I mean “barky” like a dog or a seal. We are seeing quite a bit o...

A mom reached out to us, asking about the way her child stored food in his mouth. The stuffed cheeks reminded us of a chipmunk. And honestly, it sounded kind of cute. Until, we discussed the issue with one of our experts. Alaina Everitt, a license...

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the beautiful process of a fever. Yes, I’m a mega-dork for the functions of the human body ... and yes, I think fever is a great thing in most settings. Fever has been recognized as being around for thousands of y...

It’s 3 a.m. and your child wakes up feeling like an oven. Quick! Where’s your thermometer? The preceding message was a drill. A drill that I should practice more often because when the heat is on, I flame out every time. Let’s assume you are...

By Megan Cole, Emergency Department Nurse, Cook Children's Medical Center I have had the privilege of working in the Emergency Department at Cook Children’s for 10 years, with three of those years as a nurse. I often have people ask me, “How do yo...

Your child’s throat is sore, has a headache and a fever. Is it strep or the flu? Maybe, both? Strep and flu are two very different things, although they may have similar symptoms at times. First, let’s distinguish between the two. The flu...

By Cindi Coker Ever found yourself  Coming and Going?? Mommy Memory Failing?? Brain on Overload?? Well, I find myself there VERY often, not only because I am a mom of twin 15-year-old boys but as a mom of a severely handicapped child. Most woul...

By Megan Cole, Cook Children's Emergency Department Nurse Food allergies are a frequently discussed topic among parents and medical professionals. If you are not a parent of a child with food allergies, chances are high that someone you love, or s...

Fortunately, chest pain in kids is rarely their heart but here are 5 signs that you should be worried about: The pain is "crushing" or pressing down. There are other symptoms like passing out, nausea or skipping/racing heartbeats. The pain is ...

1. When a child has a sore throat, in general, there is a 37 percent chance that it is strep (Group A Strep, aka, Streptococcus pyogenes) 2. Fifteen-20 percent of kids WITH NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL will be POSITIVE FOR STREP if tested. This means 15-20 ...

When it comes to childhood, not all experiences are left in the past. Some stay with us and impact our development mentally, physically and emotionally for years to come. Specifically, adversity and traumatic experiences like abuse, neglect and high ...

With unseasonably warm weather hovering in the mid-90s, most Texans probably aren’t thinking about the cold and flu season right around the corner. And only time will tell for sure, but some indicators lean toward a potentially severe influenza se...

As the parents of six, Dave and Jeanie Caselman have mastered the art of handling whatever life throws at them. Whether it’s school events, sports, graduating from high school or starting college, they thought they had experienced it all with the...

It’s that time of year again. With flu season upon us, many parents are breaking the news to their kids that it’s time for “a shot.” It’s also a time you likely dread as much as your kids, knowing how helpless you feel when they are anxious and yo...

Along with routine questions about your child’s diet, growth and development, more and more pediatricians are asking children difficult questions about depression and thoughts about suicide. Kristen Pyrc, M.D., co-medical director of Psychiatry at...

By Ashley Parrott Christian Englert was born with genetic hand tremors, like many of his family members. The tremors were never an issue, especially when he was drumming or doing school work … until he turned 15 when they helped diagnose a rare br...