PRAIRIE DOC®
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Television
  • Podcasts
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Book

When We Know Better

9/13/2020

 

When We Know Better

By Debra Johnston, M.D.
 
Early in the pandemic, I had occasion to page through photo albums my mother assembled during my childhood. Some of those happy images chilled my physician heart. There I was, two months old, sleeping peacefully on my stomach, in the middle of a sheepskin rug.
 
There I am, seven years later, seated with my siblings on lawn chairs in the bed of the pickup truck as my parents drove us home. We navigated that 15-mile trip multiple times a week for months.
 
There I am, age 12, grinning from my perch atop a wagon load of corn. On the way home from the co-op, I would ride standing on the wagon hitch while my siblings sat on the fenders.
 
Bear in mind, my parents seemed especially safety conscious for the time as evidenced by snapshots of us buckled into our primitive car seats. And, when sunscreen was introduced, I remember my classmates basking in baby-oil while I was slathering on the SPF4.
 
As the saying goes, when we know better, we can do better. That philosophy should apply to us all, throughout our lives.
 
During my years in medical school, we taught parents to lay their babies down for sleep on their backs or their sides. Now we know better…back sleeping on a firm mattress with a taut fitted sheet and no blankets or teddy bears, presents the lowest risk of SIDS. And, research continues. 
 
Early in my career, we recommended children not be allowed to eat peanut products until at least age two to reduce allergy risk. Now we know better…early introduction to small amounts of peanut butter and other highly allergenic foods is the preferred strategy for most children. Still, research continues.
 
The history of medicine, and of science, is one of constant research and evolution. Some things we once thought we knew, did not hold up under further objective study. It is critically important that we challenge and examine our options and re-evaluate the way we have always done things. We must expect adjustments and be willing to change when healthier alternatives are revealed.
Obviously, I survived the dangerous situations of my childhood. However, too many children do not. We can never eliminate all risk, but we can, and must, continue to invest in the scientific process, using the best available data to determine the most effective solutions, even to old questions. 
Debra Johnston, M.D. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www.prairiedoc.org and follow Prairie Doc® on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming on Facebook and broadcast on SDPB most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.  

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

PRAIRIE DOC® MEDIA IS A PART OF HEALING WORDS FOUNDATION.

FIND SCIENCE-BASED PEDIATRIC MEDICAL INFORMATION ON OUR SISTER SITE. 
Healing Words Foundation logo
Play Eat Sleep logo
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Television
  • Podcasts
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Book