Scrolling through Facebook, you see your favorite parenting group. At midnight, someone posted a picture of their toddler’s cheeks, covered with prickly spots and said, “She’s had a fever of 102 for three days now. Does anyone know what this could be?” The comments recommend an ice bath, essential oils, pulverized oatmeal, hydrocortisone ointment and perhaps, eliminating apple juice.
At Bay Street Pediatrics, we understand that parents want to make the best health choices for their child. As we are constantly learning new things about human health and development and updating or replacing old recommendations when better solutions are backed by solid, verifiable research, it can be difficult to know where to get the most reliable and trustworthy answers.
When it comes to pediatric health, the very best place to ask your question is with your Bay Street Pediatrics healthcare provider. While we are on call 24/7, we know you may sometimes turn to other resources.
There are many qualified medical professionals on social media and websites, but these reliable, science-backed voices can be drowned out by the scream of influencers, “advocates,” and bad faith actors. These people typically offer inaccurate information under the guise of “natural,” “organic,” “traditional,” and “home remedy” buzzwords that appeal to concerned, caring parents.
To sort the good information from the outdated or misleading information, ask yourself three questions about the information you’re seeing:
- Who’s saying it?
- Where are they saying it?
- Who are they saying it with?
Who’s Saying It?
Anyone can put information on the internet, across a variety of platforms and formats. While a lot of influencers and advocates profess to have data for their claims, most of it is anecdotal, without research studies or peer-reviewed results. It usually exists in a small, closed vacuum, with the same unproven statements being circulated and cited again and again. Scientists, however, have a higher bar for proving the effectiveness of treatments – and research shows that content developed by healthcare providers is much more trustworthy than content developed by those who are not trained and educated providers.
When you look for the most updated information, make sure you’re getting it from someone with credible education and credible citations. Does the person have the proper accreditations? Are there external factors that might motivate the information – are they selling a book, formulas, ointments or supplements? Are they telling you to ignore evidence-based medications and treatments to purchase their solution that “doctors don’t want you to know about”?
Where Are They Saying It?
When you want high quality information and your Bay Street Pediatrics provider isn’t available, consider using sources we ourselves might use. The American Academy of Pediatrics collects and curates new information for pediatricians and parents, and they have an easy-to-use website with a Search bar to answer your health concerns across all ages and stages. We might turn to research-driven medical schools like Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Other valuable sources include innovative health institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, all with search bars for your convenience.
Who Are They Saying It With?
The easiest way to see if a piece of information is scientifically sound is to check their cited sources. No sources? That’s a sign that while the content might be interesting, it isn’t scientific and there’s a significant risk that it could be harmful and expensive. Evidence-based scientific research has sources, usually a lot of them, and those sources are all from credible people and organizations.
Unfamiliar or alarmist sources? Sources that are associated with solutions that promise quick and thorough results? If the site or author is relying on sources associated with supplements or products, “best-selling” books, or classes, understand that they are using fear and suspicion to drive people away from evidence-based, trusted and proven treatments and towards costly products and services that can cause real harm to children and to the adults that love them.
When you see a parent asking perfect strangers for medical advice, please comment, “Call your pediatrician” – or post a link to this blog. You’ll help a family get accurate, evidence-based, trusted information to care for their child.