FYI, on the “promoting the book” angle, there is a radio interview program produced by the Dallas/Ft. Worth NPR affiliate, KERA, called “Think” which has hour-long interviews and takes calls on-air with authors just like you guys. They have done interviews about the HPV vaccine, and talked about infectious tropical diseases and their spread(streaming podcast available) and I think this book may be just up their alley. They also offer to buy books for donors during the pledge drives, so if you get on during the pledge drive you may be able to get the station to buy some copies as thank you gifts if you do an intriguing interview. This is Texas, so you may get some anti-vax callers that you will need to be able to firmly but respectfully rebut. That having been said, KERA has one of the largest listening audiences in the nation, both in terms of ratings and coverage.
You can listen to some of the podcasts in their archive to get a feel for the types of interviews they do. Keep in mind the host does read the book before every interview, so expect some intelligent questions about the contents, not just vague generalities.
Has there been an official announcement? Kolga and I have been involved in efforts to stop her from being on the show. I had not heard of anything stating it was a done deal. Ugh.
In case no one here reads Cafe Society, yes, I was watching The View this morning when Baba herself announced it. I really don’t watch it anymore but I happened to be awake earlier than usual today.
Great to hear. I am finishing nurse practitioner school and recently did my peds rotation. Anything that I can point to in order to demonstrate that vaccinations are safe I’m all up for.
If you ever get the desire to take on fever phobia I have a mediocre masters culminating project that can point us all in the right direction.
Fever phobia? All of the woo-heads that we’ve encountered in relation to this issue WORSHIP fever - it’s “the body’s way of cleansing itself,” it “resets the immune system,” it’s “evidence of the natural healing properties of the body.” More feverphilic than feverphobic
All good things to be sure, but god forbid we augment that with a little (no so) modern science. :eek:
I’m currently an emergency room RN (for only 6 more months, yay!) and I educate at least 3-4 parents a day on the fact that a fever is merely a symptom of a child’s illness and by itself is in no way harmful to the child.
Sorry to get too far off topic – the book looks great and I’ve order a copy.
How so? Brain damage does not occur until 107-108 degrees. A fever will practically never get that bad – which is why it is important to make the distinction between hyperthermia and a fever. If you over bundle a child or lock them in a car then they can get hyperthermia and die. A body setting it’s internal thermostat to “fever” won’t do that.
Even in the case of febrile seizures there are no lasting health effects or predisposition to fevers later in life.
Since the advent of HIB and PCV immunizations the rate of peds bacteremia is also virtually zero. Unless a child looks septic or has specific symptoms to direct additional testing current treatment recommendations for vaccinated kids over 90 days and a fever >102.2 is a UA only. Additional testing usually isn’t even considered until 104 degrees.
In 1995, our pediatrician said the thing about fevers: with rare exception harmless in and of themselves. She recommended treating them with Tylenol for (as she put it) “humanitarian reasons”. The kids just feel better when the fever is down. But the fever itself isn’t the problem.
She did send us to the ER who my son ran a 106F, since he was under a year old, that was getting quite high and because it could be a sign of a bad infection.
What I was taught (in a 2011 Peds rotation of nursing, not medical school) is that it’s not the fever that is dangerous, but the speed of the onset. That is, fever of 104 that comes on during the course of a day or two, not a big deal. Fever of 104, give 'em some Tylenol, temp goes to 99, don’t give 'em Tylenol 6 hours later and fever of 104 shoots back up over an hour - seizure risk. So it’s really important, if you do decide to give fever reducers, to keep giving them until the kid is feeling better.
Anyone know if this is the current thinking, or am I out of date?
The current research points towards a temperature of greater than 104 degrees increasing the likelihood of febrile seizures and that the rate of temperature increasing does not matter. Additionally, the use of antipyretics appears to be ineffective at preventing recurrence of febrile seizures.
(if the OP would prefer we can take this discussion from her tread to GQ – just give us a gentle nudge)
Even then, the seizures themselves aren’t a huge deal - as long as the kid doesn’t hurt themselves during it. Scary as hell, but not a huge deal.
My son ended up in a seizure loop which could have been the sign of something more serious. In his case, the brain got in the habit during the fever. Valium broke the loop and that was the last seizure he had - fourteen years ago.
I frequently see “only one available” on my own Amazon pages and know other people see it too – I wouldn’t worry about it; I honestly think it’s a gimmick to get people on the fence with a book to go ahead and order. Sure they’ll soon show “Gotta warn you, another buyer here was just on the lot and very interested in this item. Said he’d be back this afternoon.”
