What if the way you were born had a lot to do with how good (or not-so-good)
your physical and mental health is today??

Scientists have been intensely studying the Gut-Health Connection for over two decades.

They’ve come to the realization that we are more microbes than human. Way, WAY more.

We are made up of 10X more microbe cells than human cells!  

Even more shocking - 99.9% of the genes in our body are microbe genes, not human genes…

Microbes are in the driver’s seat of our health. They impact every organ and system in the body that’s been studied so far. We aren't human, we're a Human Superorganism. (1)

OK... then what's the Gut-Birth Connection?

For thousands of years before the 20th century, we picked up our first microbes from our mothers on the way out – up our noses, into our gut and all over our skin. 

And sadly, many babies & mamas died of things that antibiotics or a C-Section can save them...

What Do You Mean 'Say No'? Shouldn't We Be Worried?? What About Seizures???

When our child is burning up with fever, it sets off a (normal, healthy) alarm in our brains. Of course we worry - we care about them! What we really want to do is to FIX IT. The problem is...

Getting the fever down won't fix the cause. 

It does make them (and us) feel better... Temporarily... Til the fever comes back... UGH! More alarms!

This fear alarm is a deep-in-your-primitive-brain emotional reaction. It's very real & it's meant to wake you up and put you into action. 

It makes sense. After all, for most of human history, fever in a child could be a really, really bad thing. Modern medicine is pretty modern - it's only been about 80 years that we could get an antibiotic for our child (if they need it)! 

So today, we can feel the fear, thank it for waking us up, and put our 21st century brains to work on the problem. 

...

Every wonder why you get itchy, watery eyes or all that nasal congestion when you are outside, around a cat or in a dusty place? Likely due to allergies!

Allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the nasal lining. Allergic conjunctivitis is due to inflammation of the lining of the eye.

WHAT CAUSES ALLERGY SYMPTOMS?

Outdoor allergies are due to weeds, grass and tree pollens, ragweed and molds. Molds are often worse after rains when their spores are released into the air. Indoor allergies are due to dust and animal dander. In people prone to allergies, the allergic pathway is triggered when exposed to these outdoor or indoor particles which trigger a cell response from cells called MAST CELLS.

Mast cells breakdown and release a whole bunch of chemicals creating inflammation in the nose, eyes and lungs and sometimes, the skin. The most common chemical is

HISTAMINE.

How can you tell the DIFFERENCE between a cold and allergies?

Prevention And Lifestyle Changes

• Use allergy covers for...

 So, why do we treat strep throat with antibiotics?

There are two main complications of strep throat that can occur if the throat
infection is not treated with antibiotics. First, a little background.

There are at least 50+ strains of group A strep bacteria.  

• Two strains (M3 and M18) can cause a heart condition called rheumatic fever.  
• Four strains (M 1, 2, 4 and 12) can cause a kidney disease called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
• Only 6 out of 50 strains (12%) cause these illnesses, BUT we can't detect
  which strain is causing the sore throat with our regular testing.
• So... because 12% is A LOT of patients for a pediatrician - 12 out of every 100 strep throat cases! - we give antibiotics to prevent these serious complications. 
• And oh by the way, your child well feel like million bucks in 24 to 48 hrs and can get back to the fun stuff of life.

Another potential complication of strep (and other bacteria & viruses)...

"I'm POSITIVE My Child Has Strep Throat! Please call in antibiotics ASAP!"  

Every pediatrician has experienced this phone call more times than they can possibly count. Often nights & weekends, funny enough...

If you've ever been that parent and you were asked why you were sure it was strep, you may have said: 

• It's SO painful, it must be strep.
• It looks so RED, it must be strep.
• I see white spots, it has to be strep!

Turns out, VIRUSES are the most common cause of all these symptoms, in both adults and children. And repeat after me, "Antibiotics Don't Kill Viruses!".


So how's a parent to know for sure?? Let's dig in a bit.

It's true that strep throat, caused by Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS), is the most common BACTERIAL cause of sore throat. Symptoms also often include: 

• Sudden onset of fever over 100.4 F
• Tender neck glands
• Swollen tonsils & painful swallowing

If your child has all 3 of these, they ...