Whether you are prepping for your child’s very first day, or you’ve been through it before, the transition from summer vacation back to school can be tough! Dr. Komal Afzal, DO, a pediatrician at Dignity Health Medical Group – Dominican, offers the following tips to help families prepare for a healthy school year. 

Resisting Antibiotic Resistance

Maybe this has happened to you: After you develop a cold or flu, a family member offers you their unfinished bottle of antibiotics to help you kick it. Should you take them?

In short: no, no, no. The efficacy of antibiotics, one of medicine’s most important weapons in fighting bacterial illness, is becoming compromised by misuse. In a 2013 interview, CDC associate director Dr. Arjun Srinivasan said:

All about the Flu Vaccination

It’s that time of year again: flu season. Homes and workplaces across the country are already experiencing the first wave of influenza. Almost everybody gets infected with it at some point in their lives. For most, it amounts to a few days of the usual unpleasant symptoms: fever, sore throat, cough and body aches. But influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death.