Feel Better Soon: A Guide for Sick Kids

Podcast Transcript

Dr. Richard So:

Welcome to Little Health, a Cleveland Clinic Children's podcast that helps navigate the complexities of child health, one chapter at a time. In each session, we'll explore a specific area of pediatric care and feature a new host with specialized expertise. We'll address parental concerns, answer questions, and offer guidance on raising healthy, happy children. Now, let's talk Little Health.

Welcome back to Little Health. I'm your host, Dr. Richard So, a pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Children's. Today, as a part of our season on primary care, we're delving into the deep world of fevers, runny nose, and all those other unwelcome guests that make our way into our homes. Our guest today is Dr. Carrie Cuffman, a developmental pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Children's, and a mom of two young boys. Welcome Dr. Cuffman.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Thanks so much for having me.

Dr. Richard So:

You know, it's sick season, November to April. You're a pediatrician, you did your pediatric residency and a fellowship. Tell me a little bit about your journey.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman :

Yeah, so, um, as you said, I'm currently a developmental pediatrician. So, um, that means, you know, I went to medical school at Ohio State and then I did a general pediatrics residency at, um, Cincinnati Children's. Came back to the Cleveland area, um, to do my fellowship in developmental pediatrics at Rainbow. And now I'm, uh, working at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. And as a parent, tell me about your-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

... your parenting journey.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. So I have a, um, 5-year-old who, uh, I had, you know, in the middle of my fellowship. And then, and he's a, is a little boy, a wonderful little guy. And then I also have a two, almost 3-year-old, also a boy. So, um, those two little guys who keep me really busy.

Dr. Richard So :

So you got two little kids, you're a pediatrician and I'm assuming they're in preschool, daycare and it's that time of year everyone's getting sick left and right. You know, how do you decide when to call your pediatrician or when you go to urgent care or you would go to an emergency room for yourself?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

'Cause it's different being a pediatrician and a parent because you think you know it until your own kid gets sick.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

(laughs) Right. Yeah. I- it is so hard, you know, being a parent and a pediatrician 'cause sometimes you almost know too much, right? I tend, you know, not to rush my kids off to the pediatrician at the first sign of a runny nose or a fever. Right? Um, I usually kind of wait to see how things progress. Um, with a couple of exceptions. You know, my 5-year-old has gotten croup several times and so that has definitely been a time when we've gone to the ER because he has had really, um, si- loud breathing, right, which is strider and, um, odd movements of his chest called retractions. So, um, so, you know, that has definitely prompted us to go to the ER several times.

And then, you know, other reasons, you know, we would take our kids just kind of the pediatrician is, you know, if they really seem to not be getting better, continuing to have fevers, you know, for four or five days, pulling at ears, we think we need to take a look in, um, ears for your infections. That sort of thing really prompts us to go in and get a further look. But, you know, often you can tell if your kid has been sick for four days, they're starting to get better, you're probably okay. It's just a virus. Don't need to see the pediatrician.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. That's a big thing. Is it just a virus or fever? You know, when we get the calls in our office, you know, everybody's worried about the fevers and it depends on the age of your child. Obviously, if your child is a newborn under one month of age, you get 100.4. Yes, you're, you're calling your pediatrician who's probably gonna send you to the emergency room. But if you're a little bit older, these days post COVID, remember when we used to wash our groceries, you know.

You couldn't go anywhere with a fever. But I think that learning how to take a temperature is an important step on a parent. There's so many different thermometers out there. You know, there's a ear thermometer, there's ... I've seen the pacifier thermometer, there's the old school mercury thermometers. I don't even know if they make those anymore. And then there's a temporal scan where-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

... you get three different readings. And I know as a parent myself, I'm always checking myself.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So :

So taking your temperature and your child, number one, if they can't walk, you want the core temperature of your child, but everyone thinks it's a little bit of taboo. But if you do a rectal temperature and you call your pediatrician, you were trained very well as a parent because that's what we like. It's okay to give your child a little bit of Tylenol or Motrin or ibuprofen at six to nine months, but when do you start to get worried about a fever?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

So we use a temporal thermometer in my house. And so you're right, it can be confusing 'cause they're not as accurate. Right? But for ease, um, with a 2- and a 5-year-old, they would not appreciate a rectal temperature, right? And especially my 2-year-old, it's hard to get an oral, um, temperature with the digital oral thermometer 'cause he just doesn't wanna sit down and hold a thermometer in his mouth long enough, um, to get a good reading. So, so that's what we use. And you know, usually, we're looking for about, you know, a hun- that 100.4 number.

The temporal thermometer may read a little bit low so if it's reading a little bit, you know, lower than that and it's consistently, you know, 100.1 or something like that, we, we kind of figure they probably have a fever. But if you really need to know, you know, if you're tracking fevers or like you said, on a young infant, definitely when they were younger, um, we did do a rectal temperature to make sure we were getting the right reading, the right measurement.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. Because if you do, uh, a stick thermometer and you try and take it to the axillary, you may not be in the right spot.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman :

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

You might give us, you might miss the fever and give me the mattress temperature.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. (laughs) Right. (laughs)

Dr. Richard So:

With re- with regards to taking a fever, parents, they're afraid.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

They're afraid of the number. And I often tell them, to me, fever, it's not the disease itself. It's just the sign that something's going on, whether your child has an infection or something else going on. And I'm more concerned about the fever when your medication doesn't work.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

So if the fever is still present or your child has additional symptoms with that fever, you know, that's when you want to call your pediatrician. And if there's a, like if they're tugging at their ears or they got that moist cough with 102, yeah, these days there's a lot of pneumonia going on. We've been seeing it going around since July.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

It's, it's really awkward. I wanna go into, when we're treating the fever as a developmental pediatrician, you always hear the parents, my kid won't sit still and take the medicine.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So :

Like, they're spitting it out, they're doing this. What do you, what do you advise parents to do?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. Yeah. So, you know, I think that depending on the kid depends on how difficult this is. And you know, the, the best advice I give parents is to put it in something they really, really like. You know, if you have a liquid medicine and they like the taste, great. Give it to 'em in a syringe that you can just shoot right into their mouth. Right? If that just does not work, you know, they clamp their mouth closed and can't do it. I've had people put various medicines of chocolate syrup or you know, small amount so you make sure they're getting all of it. But you know, it really kind of depends on the kid and what their preferences are, right? But usually, using a syringe and shooting it in is a pretty, pretty good way.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. I think it's a two-person job.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

Sometimes for some kids, 'cause there's no opt-out, whether it's antibiotics, whether it's ibuprofen or Tylenol, there's no opt-out.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

And I feel that sometimes parents, whether it's an antibiotic, they waste it a lot because they try and mix it. But kids are smart. You can't fool 'em and-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah. You're not gonna fool 'em.

Dr. Richard So:

... and then, and then you build that mistrust.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

Like, my parents are trying to poison me.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. And then they won't drink it, and then you're stuck.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Uh-huh.

Dr. Richard So:

An- and then they're calling me and then what do you do? And sometimes I'll tell them to come in, but I think the bottom line is, is that when you have two people doing it, someone has to hold the person down...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

... lean back and squirt small amounts in the cheek, and then give them their chaser of what they like to drink. Whether, whether it's milk, whether it's water, whether it's juice. You do what you gotta do to get that down.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

And taking temperatures is really, really hard. But when kids are sick, you, you gotta be nice and have that empathy of what's going on. A- and it's tough as a parent.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

It is. Yeah. Absolutely.

Dr. Richard So:

But when your kids are sick, as pediatricians, we have different levels of sick, you know?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

Wh... You got kids in preschool. Let's talk about the normals really quick of how often your kids get sick. What do, what do you expect? You, you said that-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

I mean, I expect at least one illness a month, basically. And they could be ill for, you know, up to a couple weeks. So they may be sick like half the time, right?

Dr. Richard So:

So that's, that's for the kids that are, are not at daycare.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

So every kid will get a cold a month from November to April.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

But if you put 'em in preschool or daycare, parents, it's actually two colds a month.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

And we learned from COVID that colds last 10 days, that was the quarantine. You know, that's when you're contagious.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

And parents are saying, "Hey, I can't send them to daycare, but that's where they got sick."

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

When do you send your children like back to preschool ...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

... when they're in the middle of an illness.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Um, yeah, I send them after they're kind of starting to get better, usually, you know.

Dr. Richard So:

They don't have a fever.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

They don't have a fever, you know. They've been 24 hours fever-free, um, not, you know, 24 hours without vomiting if it's a vomiting illness. That sort of thing is usually what my rule because you know, (laughs) they would be out of school all the time if you waited until they were 100% better.

Dr. Richard So:

These are tough times. It's frustrating as a parent, you know, where you gotta miss work.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

Everybody's working now and I gotta pay the bills. Groceries are more expensive and I can't keep my kid out, out of school or daycare for that long to take care of 'em. It's tough being a parent.

Dr. Carrie Cuffma:

Yep.

Dr. Richard So:

But when do you think it's more of just a virus?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

So, you know, I think that, you know, classic runny nose, mild cough, a little bit of a fever, um, or you know, a, a stomach bug, right? A little vomiting, diarrhea without like significant belly pain maybe, uh, and a fever. Right? Those are probably gonna be just viruses. Right? In the absence of like really concerning symptoms, like you mentioned like a, like a really severe or, um, long-lasting cough could be a pneumonia, um, with a fever, right, in slightly older kids than mine. We haven't quite experienced it yet, but like strep throat is something we worry about, too. Right?

So if your kid has a really bad sore throat and a fever, it's worth seeing your pediatrician just to, um, you know, rule that out. But, um, but if, you know, you have runny nose, little bit of a cough, um, a little bit of a fever, um, but you know, generally, the kid is, you know, doing okay and acting okay, then it's probably a, a just a virus that you, you know, kind of the common cold, not something to really worry about.

Dr. Richard So:

What do you do to treat your kids?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

You know? There's, there's so many different things. You know, parents are frustrated, it's just a virus and they feel helpless and we have this innate need to do something.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

You know? What can parents do? Whether it's, it's your infant or your toddler...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

you know. Wh- wh-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

... what, what do you do?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. So, you know, what we use in my house is mostly just Tylenol or ibuprofen starting at six months. Um, and Tylenol even younger. So you know, that is what we use in my house and we really don't use anything else. Right. Because there's not a lot of evidence that any cough suppressant, decongestant, anything really helps.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. And some of those can hurt your kids. So ...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

... we know that there's so many different cough and cold medicines out there and whatever it says on the bottle, the American Academy of Pediatrics says you're not supposed to give it to a kid below six years old. 'Cause if you actually do suppress the cough, remember cough, it's the defense mechanism of the child to clear the mucus out of the lungs. If you try and suppress the cough, what happens is, is that mucus, it goes down to the lung, it becomes a nice nest or breeding ground for bacteria and it can turn into pneumonia. So if your child has like a cough and your fever of 102, yeah, it's probably time to call your pediatrician.

And when your kid's sick, if they're smaller kids, the one thing that you can do is you can use nasal saline drops and suction. That helps. And that's a whole nother technique. I'm not a big fan of the mists ...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Uh-huh.

Dr. Richard So:

... 'cause I just think if you put the mist on a dry booger, then you got wet booger that didn't move in an angry baby.

All right. But I think parents are afraid. They don't want to drown their baby. But I think putting ... When we're in the hospital and we're taking kids with RSV, we don't even count the drops. We just squirt five or six drops and then we suction the baby's noses up. I think you can do that at home. And three things happen when you put drops in your baby's nose. Number one, they cough, cough, cough, spit it out. Number two, you put the drops in, they sneeze, all the boogers come out and number three, cough, cough, cough and they swallow it. All three scenarios, your baby's mad at you ...

... but then they'll breathe better.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Exactly. Yes.

Dr. Richard So:

You know, but for the older kids, you can't get near their noses, you know?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

No.

Dr. Richard So:

And there's all these different things out there where like electric or battery operated booger suckers out there. There's the hookah style ones. I, I, I, I'm not personally a fan favorite of that one, but some of my partners are taking care of the viruses. Remember they're gonna last 7 to 10 days.

In, in the curve of an illness, we learned from COVID that your virus is gonna last 7 to 10 days. It always peaks on days four and five and then you get better 7 to 10. If at any time, you're getting worse, your fever's not coming down, you're having fevers 102 and up and your kid's tugging their ear. Obviously, call your pediatrician w- as your disease is progressing. But if you're getting days to 7 to 10 and they're getting better, alright, you can probably handle that at home with a lot of hydration and Motrin. But if it's going 10 days straight, I think that's time to call the pediatrician. But you can call the pediatrician at any other time.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. Absolutely. You know, I think if a parent has a concern, you know, we want to help your kids. Right? So we wanna hear from you if you have a concern. And sometimes all a parent needs is maybe just a little bit of education around what's going on. Right?

Dr. Richard So:

But-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

And reassurance.

Dr. Richard So:

And a lot depends on what time you call and whether there's an appointment.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

That's the frustrating part of a parent-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

... is that my kid can't make it to daycare. He's got a fever of 101.5. Okay. I call my pediatrician at 10:00 and all of a sudden, I can't get in. Then we'll say go to the urgent care. But I'm very big, um, in my practice to see who goes to the emergency room.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

So if you're going to the emergency room, I don't think an ear infection is necessarily an emergency 'cause I try and treat the emergency room, number one, if you have like a broken bone or a fracture or a bone sticking out, your kid can't breathe or is turning blue. Okay. Or your child's just dehydrated, needs IV fluids. Or if you need to go to the emergency room and your child's gonna get admitted for like observation with belly pain. But I think other than that, if you can't go to your pediatricians, your local express cares will help you out a little bit more.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm. Absolutely.

Dr. Richard So:

Staying on all of viral illnesses, it's flu season, RSV and you mentioned croup, you know. Croup, that's a big scary word for a parent, but I can name 20 different kinds of cough.

Okay. But everyone in my parent is everything's croupy, croupy, croupy croupy.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

Uh, talk about croup, you know, it's caused by the parainfluenza virus. Talk about some different kinds of coughs, you know ...

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

... that, that are more concerning or when do you call your pediatrician when you know there's cough?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah. So the croup cough is kind of like a seal barky cough. It's very distinctive. Right?

Dr. Richard So:

I think it's very dry.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yes. It's very dry. It doesn't have like that moist like juicy sound that some coughs do. Right?

Dr. Richard So:

There's some good YouTube videos out there ...

... that, that I show parents in my own office where it's more of a "uwa, uwa, uwa."

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

You know, versus a "crr, crr crr" you know.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

I love the sound effects.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah.

Because I, uh, I get the call early in the morning, always at 8:00 AM where what happens is, is, "Oh my kids had a croup cough," but I think it's a little kid who can't blow their nose.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

Or developmentally, they haven't had to learn to expectorate their phlegm where we come from and says like, "My kid can't hock a loogie." I think developmentally they learn that in third grade or eight years old.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

You know, when my kid was playing baseball, he goes, "Dad, watch this. Hwakkk."

I go, "What a proud dad moment that was." But what happens is, is I think they have that runny nose all night, "ah, ah, ah, ah." And then all of a sudden, in the morning, you get this postnasal drip, it's hanging in the back of their throat and all of a sudden, they don't know what to do. They cough, cough, cough and vomit.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm. Right.

Dr. Richard So:

And then they call the pediatrician right away. Then they come to my office and they sound beautiful because they don't have that postnasal drip anymore because they're more vertical and it's, it's, it's kinda like when they, "I swear to God, doctor, so he was coughing" and, but to me it's like, "Yeah, I get it. It's, it's like when I take my car to the mechanic, the noises aren't there anymore."

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. (laughs) And that happens. That happens in my household for sure.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of different viruses. There's croup and then the other big one is RSV, respiratory syncytial virus.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

Alright. And everyone is scared of that one.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

But in my world, I have different kinds of colds. Just like how you have your pain scale of 1 to 10.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

I have the Dr. So scale, 1 to 10, how bad is your cold? All right. And to me, the 10 out of 10 cold, that's the guy in the NyQuil commercial. Sniffling, sneezing, stuffy, achy fever and your kid can't get out of bed.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

And I'll ask a parent, "Yeah, your kid looks pretty good and, and on my cold scale, the Dr. So scale, it's ... your baby's like a two or three. I think that's good." And most parents will agree with that. And then I'm telling, "Okay, lemme tell you what a 7 to 10 is. An eight or nine is an RSV."

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Uh-huh.

Dr. Richard So:

All right.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

Uh, what do you still remember about like RSV-

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right

Dr. Richard So:

... back, back in your, your residency days?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. Well, you know, RSV can be a really nasty cold, but it can also cause bronchiolitis. Right? And that's, uh, what, what I remember seeing of RSV. And so bronchiolitis is a condition that often in younger kids, um, that can cause trouble breathing and, and can cause kids to even be admitted to the hospital. It's so bad, right? And that was what you were talking about needing suctioning. Those kids need a lot of suctioning 'cause there's so much snot, right? And it all just, um, clumps up in their airways and then they can't breathe well. And so, you know, that is one of the big concerns with RSV is it's one of the, you know, more common causes of bronchiolitis in, in younger kids.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah. We're testing for when your kid gets a cold. We're always worried about flu, COVID and RSV. That's one of the standard tests that we have in our office. But we're testing some of the bigger kids. When I say bigger kids, it could be like six and up or even a preschooler or toddler.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Richard So:

But RSV is more dangerous to a kid under six months.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

And we talk about bronchiolitis, those are the smaller airways. So we talk about the anatomy of the lung. You have your windpipe and it breaks down to bronchus left and right. And it's almost like rivers going to brooks going to creeks. And then when you have your little streams, those are your bronchioles and RSV causes a lot of mucus production and the smaller you are, the smaller the diameter of your airways are and those get clogged and they get inflamed and that to a little baby under six months old, those are the ones because to parents out there when your kid has a cough or a fever has a viral illness, alright, number one, the ... everyone is always worried about the cough. But as pediatricians worry about how fast your baby is breathing because when there's an obstruction from mucus or pneumonia, all right, the compensation the kids do when part of the lung doesn't work, remember the function of our lungs is to, to get oxygen from the air and put it into our bloodstreams. When part of that doesn't work, the compensation the kids do is I breathe faster to get more oxygen.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Yeah.

Dr. Richard So:

And when they're huffing and puffing, "uh, ha, ha, ha, ha," that's bad.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

So if they're not drinking or they're breathing fast, that's definitely when you're probably gonna go call your pediatrician. And if you say fast, labored breathing is the number one thing we look for after any cold, which can turn into pneumonia, that's probably when we're gonna send you to the emergency rooms. Call us. We're probably gonna send you there.

And the good thing about RSV now is we have the new vaccine.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

Right?

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

I know.

Dr. Richard So:

So pregnant moms can get it late in their third trimester and, and kids. But there's a little bit of hesitancy when newer things or newer vaccines or medicines come out, you know. You're a parent, but your kid's two years old, you know. Talk about like what hesitancy with that RSV vaccine or the flu vaccine because you and I know those are the sickest babies in the hospital.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

They breathe so fast. The reason why you get admitted because they're not drinking and when kids breathe fast, they stop breathing. That's why we admit you for observation, basically, if your, your baby has RSV. We wanna make sure that your baby doesn't stop breathing.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right. Yeah. No, that's, I think that's a great point. And I would 100% and ... (laughs) do and have, you know, gotten my kids all their vaccines, right? Including the flu vaccine, which is a great thing, right? It would be so wonderful if we didn't have to admit all these patients to the hospital, right? And I think that one of the criticisms people give of vaccines is that it, you know, doesn't work. It doesn't prevent the disease always. And that's true, right? It doesn't always prevent it, but it often makes it less severe, right?

So if you have a chance to like not have your kid be admitted to the hospital, not have a chance that they're gonna have trouble breathing, you know, some of these kids up e- end up in the intensive care unit, you have a chance to like have your kid not get that sick, 100% you should take it.

Dr. Richard So:

Yeah, that's exactly right. That's why I talk a lot about like the Dr. So cold scale 1 to 10. You may not be the 10 out of 10 cold, but if you get the vaccine, you may be like a five out of 10 or a six out of 10 cold where you can at least handle your child at home.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Mm-hmm. Right. Exactly.

Dr. Richard So:

All right. Because vaccines, nothing in medicine is 100%, you know, effective. But I, I tell parents that based on what we're talking about is that when you do get a vaccine, you know, and you hear that's, "Oh, it's only, like, 30% match." 30% match is better than zero when you're talking about if my kids get sick just at home, that's 7 to 10 days, you might get a fever or worse comes to worst, the worst case possible scenario is you end up in the hospital.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Right.

Dr. Richard So:

That's scary.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

Absolutely. It's very scary.

Dr. Richard So:

Thanks a lot, Dr. Cuffman.

Dr. Carrie Cuffman:

You're welcome.

Dr. Richard So:

I hope we provided some helpful information and reassurance as you navigate the ups and downs of childhood illnesses.

Thanks for listening to Little Health. We hope you enjoyed this episode. To keep the Little Health tips coming, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or visit clevelandclinicchildrens.org/littlehealth.