Pediatrics Perspective

Coughs, Colds, Children, and Over-the-Counter Remedies Howard Markel, MD, PhD, comments on a recently publicized topic: How safe and effective are cough and cold medicines for young children?
April 05, 2007
Is There an Autism Epidemic? Howard Markel, MD, PhD, writes about a recently published book that questions the classification of autism as an epidemic.
Experts And Viewpoints, February 07, 2007
Big-Box Store Clinics and Children's Health Clearly, providing quick and convenient healthcare is a big and burgeoning business, but at what long-term costs?
November 30, 2006
Circumcision, Religious Freedom, and Herpes Infections in New York City The NYC Health Department figured out that the newborns contracted their herpes shortly after undergoing ritual circumcisions by the same mohel.
October 17, 2006
The American Response to the Obesity Epidemic Physicians do not know how to give sound nutritional and dietary advice, Dr. Howard Markel contends.
Journal Article, August 29, 2006
The New Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine Dr. Howard Markel argues that this vaccine must be made widely available to all.
July 27, 2006
Rotavirus Vaccine: Costs and Benefits Rotavirus is, perhaps, the most common cause of diarrhea in the world. So it really was earth-shaking news when, on February 3, the FDA approved an effective oral vaccine against rotavirus.
May 26, 2006
Don't Let Asthma Take Their Breath Away This year marks the 10th anniversary of the free Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, where the majority of participants would not have sought treatment for breathing problems without the screening.
May 12, 2006
The Trouble With Asperger's Syndrome What will future generations conclude about our society's eccentric impulse to medically label and chemically alter human behaviors temporally or culturally viewed as abnormal?
April 13, 2006
To Treat or Not to Treat: The Pediatrician as a Parent Lawyers have a saying that the attorney who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. Is it the same for physicians caring for themselves or family members?
December 20, 2005
AIDS and the Global Village It is essential to understand the contemporary history of how democratic nations have managed, or mismanaged, the AIDS epidemic because many responses are rooted in epidemics of past eras.
December 20, 2005
Professor of Pediatrics Much has been written of late about the need to improve medical education. This professor knew how to prepare physicians to be humane, ethical, and compassionate.
October 25, 2005
A Bout of Flu The needs and complaints of ill children can seem relentless, causing even the most devoted parents to become exasperated and desperate for a physician with magic to "make the monster go away."
October 03, 2005
Tobacco: Our Biggest Health Foe The new legal wrangling over the big tobacco settlements and the long-term effects of teen smoking are the inspiration for this month's column from Howard Markel, MD, PhD.
June 24, 2005
Postmortem Years ago, no medical school applicant would have admitted to having a mental health problem because it would have been interpreted as evidence they weren't "strong enough" to practice medicine.
May 31, 2005
Parents and Substance Abuse Parents who use illegal drugs, abuse alcohol, and use tobacco put more than 35 million of the nation's children at increased risk of substance abuse and physical and mental illness.
May 02, 2005
Special Delivery During my medical career, I have attended hundreds of newborn deliveries. But last week was particularly special because I entered the delivery room not as a pediatrician but as an expectant father.
April 06, 2005
Why Doctors Have a Difficult Time Treating Obesity Even more disturbing than the fast food, soft drinks, and inactive pursuits that have invaded children's daily lives has been the relative inactivity of physicians in arresting this problem.
March 02, 2005
High Anxiety: American Baby Care Advice Over the Past Century When reviewing children's experts over the past century, one cannot help but recognize an unintended consequence of the modern movement: many parents today seem worried about their ability to parent.
January 26, 2005
Father and Son Reflections on a father-son relationship -- competition, loss, and abiding love.
December 21, 2004