Holistic Pediatricians

Dr. Chheda – Do I recommend the flu vaccine every year? Yes I do. Why? I’ll tell you.

So the flu typically causes you to feel like you’ve been hit by an 18-wheel truck. It knocks you out, you’re out for a week, it’s contagious, and then you’re fine. However, kids under the age of 2 years and adults over the age of 65 tend to get into worse trouble. They can develop a pneumonia and then have to be hospitalized, and it can be fatal.

So those that are high risk – kids below the age of two, adults over the age of 65, and anybody in between who may have underlying respiratory issues like asthma or COPD – can get into trouble if they get the flu. And it’s to prevent that complication. It’s to prevent the pneumonia, it’s to prevent the hospitalization, and it’s really meant to stop the fatality of flu.

So why do I recommend the flu vaccine for everybody? Back in 2009, we had an outbreak of H1N1. In that particular year, H1N1 affected kids. Those over the age of 65 actually didn’t get that sick and they didn’t have the usual outbreak that they normally do. So the research went back and they found out that back in 1971, H1N1 was the strain that was in the flu vaccine that particular year.

So all of those adults above the age of 65 in 2009, when they were younger in 1971, they received a flu vaccine which contained the H1N1 strain. And lo and behold, 40 years later, it actually helped them because their body recognized it. When they saw H1N1, was able to produce the antibodies, and then they did not get sick. That particular outbreak, only the kids who had never received H1N1 in a flu vaccine got sick.

So even if the flu vaccine doesn’t protect you this year, or if you think that it’s “meh, nonsense” – 40 years later it might actually help when you need it. The flu strains do change every year and they can come back, as this has shown.

So if you’re thinking, if you’re on the fence about it, I would say go for it. It’s fine. Who wants to miss five days of work and five days of school and feel miserable? But it’s really the complications – the pneumonia, the hospitalizations, the fatality – that we’re trying to avoid.

Dr. Chheda – Pets are a great addition to any family. You know, whether it’s a dog, a cat, a turtle – you know, some people have rabbits, snakes – but pets are a great addition.

Kids love them. Kids can learn responsibility with them. The pets actually provide a sense of comfort. It’s been shown that petting animals can cause decreased blood pressure.

My cat sometimes does not appreciate being petted – he wanted to sleep – but it can decrease blood pressure and cause serenity and comfort. So pets are a wonderful addition to any family.

👩‍⚕️ Hi, I’m Doctor Shefali Chheda. I’m a pediatrician in Alpharetta, Georgia. I am a DPC doctor – direct primary care doctor. What does that mean?

I actually spend time with my patients. My appointments are scheduled for an hour long at a minimum. I will spend the whole hour with the patient and the parent and discuss any concerns they might have. I want to address all the issues. I want to be able to answer all your questions so you don’t feel like you’re rushed at all. I will give you time.

I also do home visits for newborn babies. Here I am at the front door of a home before I go on in. And then that way you don’t have to worry about bringing your newborn baby outside for the first month. So if you’re interested in a real relationship with a doctor, check us out at Harmony Pediatrics – HarmonyPeds.com.

Did you know that at Harmony, pediatricians actually go out to the school for 504 meetings?

What’s a 504 meeting? So a 504 meeting is a meeting that your school will hold if you are worried that your child has a learning disability, whether it be dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, and might require extra accommodations. Typically, there’s tons of paperwork that you have to fill out – your pediatrician has to fill out, teachers have to fill out – and then they have this meeting. Very long meeting, could be quite intimidating sometimes as well.

Most of the time, pediatricians do not have the time to do this. But because Harmony is a direct primary care practice, Dr. Chheda makes it a point to attend these meetings and advocate for your child.

Absolutely! Here at Harmony, the DPC does make the difference. We’re not bound by the contracts. Dr. Chheda can partner with you in order to advocate for the whole child, as well as treat the whole child.

So if you’re interested in these services and interested in more information about Harmony Pediatrics, give us a call: 770-475-9924. We’ll talk to you soon!

Dr. Chheda – 🏥 Okay, so your child needs surgery. Doesn’t matter what kind of surgery it is – surgery does involve some risks. But one risk that is prevalent in all surgeries is the risk of anesthesia. And you definitely want anesthesia.

📅 For children above 6 months of age, the risks of anesthesia are the same whether they’re six months, six years, or 16 years. We can do elective surgery above the age of six months without an issue. ⚠️ Under six months, the risk of anesthesia is greater, and so we try to prevent surgeries below six months of age. If it’s an emergency surgery, please have it done. One of my own children needed surgery at 10 days of age – it was emergency and needed to be done.

💚 We try to do surgery only for emergency reasons under the age of six months. Anything else that can be scheduled – wait until after 6 months of age.

Always discuss this with your surgeon and anesthesiologist.

Dr. Chheda – Do you have a toddler that’s not sleeping well? You know, 2 to 3 year old that just cannot fall asleep, is having a hard time staying asleep, wakes up all the time, is moving around, blah blah blah? He can’t sleep because his legs are on top of your leg. Does the same toddler also have a really picky diet and wants to drink milk all the time?

Guess what? When you have a lot of calcium in your stomach, your body can’t absorb iron. When you have low iron, you don’t sleep really well.

So if this sounds like your toddler, ask your pediatrician to check their hemoglobin level, check their iron level and see what’s going on. Don’t give your child iron – have it checked first, because too much can also be a problem as well too.

So always check your toddler’s hemoglobin level. All pediatricians check hemoglobin levels in toddlers. Get your toddlers checked and see what’s going on. Maybe it’s a simple fix – maybe a little extra iron, a little less milk will solve the sleeping issues.

Dr. Chheda – What is Mittelschmerz? Mittelschmerz is a German word that means middle of the month. And what happens is for women who are menstruating, they ovulate, and when you ovulate, an egg is being released from your ovary, and some women can feel it. It feels like a little cramp.

And so the egg is released, and exactly fourteen days later you will have your period if that egg is not fertilized. That’s why it’s called middle of the month.

And it’s great if you have Mittelschmerz or have some way of knowing when you’re ovulating, because that’s important for women to know. And like I said, exactly 14 days later is when you will have your period. It is that predictable.

Mittelschmerz is normal. I don’t want anybody to feel pain, but some women are very sensitive and they will feel that egg being released, the ovulation. And that middle of the month is called Mittelschmerz.

🏠 “Your doctor came to your HOUSE?” “Yes! We go to Harmony Pediatrics – DPC practice.”

👶 “She comes to the house for the first month so I don’t have to lug baby out. Full visit right here – weighs baby, examines, lactation support, sits and talks with us. She sees us in the comfort of our home.”

💚 “DPC is the way to go if you want a partnership with your doctor, not just in and out in 10-15 minutes.” 📞 Interested? Call 770-475-9924

Dr. Chheda – What do you do when you as the caregiver fall sick or get injured? I sprained my ankle this morning, and the whole morning routine of the house went into chaos because I’m the one that does most of the caregiving. And so what do you do at that point? Everybody’s upset, the routine’s upset, you’re upset, things aren’t going the way you want it to go. There is no good time to be sick.

So what do you do when that happens and you are the caregiver who’s gonna take care of everybody? First, give yourself some grace. The human body will fall ill at some point. You will injure yourself. It’s okay. Yes, it seems like it’s never a good time to be sick. Appreciate those days when you’re feeling great and healthy, but give yourself some grace when you are sick.

Ask for help. It is perfectly fine to ask for help, and it’s perfectly fine for things to fall out of routine until you can get a new routine back. There is no easy answer. The human body heals on its own schedule. You can’t speed it up. If something hurts, if there’s something swollen, it is going to take at least 48 to 72 hours before the body can control it and the swelling gets better. If you run a fever, it may take five days because that’s just the way the body works.

So take a deep breath. It’s gonna be okay. And then get well and incorporate lots of wellness into your routine so that you can heal faster the next time it happens.

Dr. Chheda – Teenagers and acne – this is what I tell all my teenagers. Acne is caused by hormones and by bacteria. There’s not much I can do about hormones. You’ve got hormones, I’ve got hormones, everybody has hormones.

Bacteria – anything that touches your face has got bacteria on it, so you wanna try to keep everything off your face. You would think that bangs are hiding your acne – bangs actually cause acne. Get everything off of your face. Get your hair off your face, get your phone off your face. I know teenagers don’t really talk like this anymore. Even glasses – if you can switch to contacts, that would definitely help any acne that you have at your temple area.

But the most important thing is you also have to wash your face twice a day, morning and night, to get rid of all that bacteria. So you have to use a good face wash specifically made for acne. There’s several different brands out there, they’re perfectly good. Just make sure it says face wash for acne. Do that twice a day, get all the bacteria off your face, and that is the first step in getting rid of acne. If your acne worsens, then talk to your pediatrician for other solutions.