Anxiety abounds today, including among children.  Is there any reason to doubt why it’s rampant?  Covid.  The war in the Ukraine.  Terrorist attacks in Israel.  45 families marking tragic first-year Yahrzeits on Lag B’Omer this week.  Attacks in the local public transportation systems.  A bomb scare at our own local JCC.  Unfortunately, the list is […]

Another “C” word is presently putting fear in the hearts of parents and pediatricians alike. It’s called the Croup. The croup is a not uncommon illness of childhood. Yet this season, it has entered the stage of pediatric health care with a vengeance. Let’s take a moment to discuss the croup and what can be […]

Yom Tov is over. Time to turn our thought to influenza or flu season which is just around the corner. Flu season generally runs from October through May. My readers know I am a proponent of the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine assumes special importance this year. Let’s start with the flu vaccine during “ordinary” […]

My lifelong drive to do for people and for my community is one of the reasons I became a physician. But my drive is not just about doing. It’s about doing the right thing and doing it properly. Hence, what I’m about to say may not be popular. Yet winning a popularity contest has never […]

Uncertainty Noun 1. The state of being uncertain 2. Something that is uncertain or causes one to feel uncertain Uncertainty is part of life and it most certainly sums up the last five months of life in this world. Covid-19 barreled into our lives, turning almost everything upside down and inside out. Many people were […]

In transparency, these musings are being written over what should be my lunch time. However, I have no appetite (a rare occurrence) following a harrowing morning. The phones have been ringing off the hook, a scene that is repeated daily nowadays, and I understand why. But we all need to take one big collective step […]

“Dr. Lightman – Will there be camp this summer?” This question rolls off every parent’s tongue nowadays, together with a look of longing that rivals that for a rebuilt Jerusalem replete with the Beit HaMikdash functioning at full capacity. I sure hope that summer camp happens. This important tool for lifelong growth could possibly happen […]

The rollercoaster called COVID-19 has slammed the world. It is a vortex of information, misinformation and everything in between. Facts and speculation about this moving target change so quickly that a fatiguing mental whiplash is one of its results. Back in the “ancient days” of this pandemic, meaning less than two weeks ago, scientists believed […]

Winter 2020 — The virus Hylton I Lightman MD DCH(SA) FAAP It’s been quite the sick season and it’s not even the middle of February yet. Your child is coughing or sneezing. The runny nose. The fever which can make even the most rambunctious child into an endearingly pathetic creature. Waiting rooms in pediatric and […]

Nowadays, it would be difficult to find someone who has not heard about the coronavirus. Loads of information and misinformation is swarming about as scientists across the globe grapple with how to deal with and arrest it. Here is your guide to what you need to know. The new coronavirus, which is also known as […]