With numerous publications, presentations, and awards, Dr. Rolnick is a decorated leader with superior clinical expertise and a passion for helping children and mothers. Currently, Dr. Rolnick specializes in general pediatrics while caring for her young son.
What advice do you have on how to keep our families healthy this winter?
The most important part of keeping healthy is good preventative care. Vitamin D is crucial to our immune system and we tend to have lower stores during the winter. It has been shown to reduce the number of days of upper respiratory tract illnesses (URI) in randomized controlled trials. Try to focus on minimally processed, or even better, whole foods with micronutrients (vitamin D, zinc, amino acids) that are vital to our immune system.
Another study shows that children who had more steps per day had fewer days of URI-like symptoms proving the importance of physical exercise. Good prevention measures include seeing your doctor regularly, staying up-to-date on vaccinations and good hand hygiene.
What are the key differences between a common cold and an illness that requires a doctor’s attention?
Signs of respiratory distress including breathing fast, and using extra muscle to help breathe, where the muscles between the rib may be moving in and out, require a doctor’s attention. Other symptoms include a persistent fever (more than 48hr of greater than 100.4F), worsening fever, or irritability even after treating the fever. A persistent fever may be a sign of a bacterial infection, which is more likely after a viral infection in general.
Now that the holidays are over, what advice would you give to those of us who indulged a little too much and want to get back on track with our diet?
It is never too late to make a change; do not underestimate the power of habit. Pick one goal that you want to work on a week, even something as small as drinking one glass of water before anything else in the morning, and commit to it.
Choose something achievable and stick to it. Once you have made it a habit, choose another. Keep going, we can always improve ourselves.
It is never too late to make a change; do not underestimate the power of habit. Choose something achievable and stick to it. Once you have made it a habit, choose another. Keep going, we can always improve ourselves.
