September 30, 2025 • 38 mins
Beloved Pediatric Emergency Department doctor and social media sensation Dr. Meghan Beach is trusted by millions on social media for her razor-sharp insights and relatable, no-nonsense style. She’s also changing the way parents receive and understand vital insights about children’s health.
Hear how Dr. Beach balances saving lives, raising four kids, and breaking down medical myths online. Plus, she reveals a few life-saving tricks every parent should know, including a surprising way parents could prevent severe allergic reactions.
Find and follow Dr. Beach on instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/dr.beachgem10?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Hey, whip smarties. Today we have an ultimate smarty guest.
You all know that in not just trying times, but
honestly all the time, I want expert information. I want
to ask people who are incredible in their field what
the rest of us who don't work in those fields
need to know. Whether that was talking to Jessica Malatti
(00:35):
Rivera in the early days of twenty twenty and the pandemic,
whether that's getting to talk to legal experts about civics.
There's so many things we all have questions about, and
there's a lot kicking around right now on the Internet
and in the media about health and medicine and doctors
and especially our kids. And it seems scary to me.
(00:56):
I know it seems scary to a lot of parents.
So I called up doctor Megan Beach, who is an
amazing pediatric emergency medicine physician whose social media account her
handle is at beach gem ten. I love so much
she makes me feel informed and happy and safe, and
(01:17):
I just asked her, Hey, will you come on the podcast.
Will you give us a little guidance? Can I ask
you some questions? And also, as everyone's favorite resident Asthma
Girley I need to know some things about asthma and allergies.
I just I got questions, and it's more than for
the DM chat. So doctor Megan has honored us with
her presence today. She is here to answer all my questions,
(01:38):
which hopefully will answer some of yours. I came to
know her during pandemic shutdowns. She got on Instagram and
started asking questions like I'm going to ask her today
and grew her page into this platform where she educates
people and parents and audiences everywhere on everything from diagnosing
foreign body injuries like in rusting metal girl brush wires, Yes,
(02:02):
seriously that happened, or practicing tips for managing common childhood
illnesses which we all need to know. She has incredible
medical expertise and as a mom of four relatability. She's
so skilled in translating clinical issues into understandable advice that
(02:23):
we all can digest and I know, for me makes
me feel safer. We're at a time where unfortunately science
feels like it's under attack, and it really feels more
important than ever to have trusted guides to help us
navigate the overwhelming world, not just of health, but the
overwhelmingly vulnerable world of children's health. So if you're feeling
(02:45):
the way I'm feeling, let's get smarter with doctor Megan Beach. Megan,
thank you so much for being here today. I think
that public health advocacy and also good science communication is
(03:10):
so important today when there's so much misinformation and so
much fear mongering, and like, I just have the biggest
brain crush on you and what you do, So I
just want to extend all of my thanks before I
ask you a million questions.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
No, you know, it's a different world that we live
in right now, and I appreciate that there's people out
there that understand that. You know, we're out here doing
our best, and the negative voices sound louder sometimes than
the positive ones, and so it's totally good to hear
some validation that there's people that are listening.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Absolutely, And you know, it's not lost on me that
you've built this incredible following online because so many people,
I think, feel the way we do. There's so many
parents out in the world going what can I trust,
what's real? What's not? What should I be maybe a
little scared of, but not completely sleepless over what am
(04:01):
I being told to fear? That I don't need to.
It's such a complex space because sadly, there's a lot
of people profiting off of misinformation, and we're all incredibly
vulnerable when it comes to the fear we carry for
the kids in our lives. So it's like, I get it,
and it's frustrating, and that's why I like to talk
to experts like you.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So before I ask you about your career, if it's cool,
I actually want to do a quick rewind down memory lane.
I always like to know how people grew up where
they grew up, and I'm really curious if you got
to go hang out with eight or nine year old Megan.
Was she one of those kids that from a young
age was like, I'm gonna be a doctor or did
(04:46):
you have totally separate goals as a child.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I grew up wanting to be a doctor, Like I've
wanted to be a doctor as long as I can
actually remember, my dad's father was a physician, and he
was someone that just took care of the community, like
would trade medical care for chickens if you couldn't pay. Wow,
he was awesome. My mom was in the medical field.
Cheese an X ray tech my dad was a law
(05:10):
enforcement officer, and so just having the like adrenaline on
one side and then the medical care on the other side. Yeah,
and I met in the middle with emergency medicine and
I very quickly fell in love with it, and it's
kind of all I wanted to do, like most of
my life.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Wow, So what do you think drew you to pediatric
emergency medicine? Was that sort of part of the rotation
you go through in med school where you have to
get into every specialty for a bit and then you
figure out what lights you up or did you always
kind of have a hunch that it would be emergency
medicine because of that sort of duality in your family.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I really liked the adrenaline aspect. Pediatrics was one of
the first rotations I fell in love with it. There
is so much hope when it comes to kids, there's
so much resilience in recovery possible. And emergency medicine was
actually a late rotation, so I didn't even know that
I was going to apply to it until the end,
and so I ended up applying for pediatrics and emergency
(06:08):
medicine in the match program. So when I submitted that match.
I actually didn't know what kind of doctor I was
going to be, if I was going to get picked
for emergency or pediatrics, but I kind of ultimately I
knew the end goal was pediatric emergency medicine, so I
knew I would be fine either way, but you know
which direction to go was still a mystery.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Do you get what's happening in my brain? Which is also,
to be clear, both from watching and acting on Gray's
Anatomy all these years, I'm like, oh, yeah, when you're
in your pieds rotation, like I hear myself saying the terms, which,
to be fair, I know because I once also thought
I was going to be a doctor, and then I
wound up being in the circus instead. Like do you
(06:49):
find that people who watch medical shows can banter some
of those like not quite Layman's just above terms with you?
Or are you like, I get it, everyone's seen twenty
years of great anatomy, but you have no idea what
you're talking.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
About, you know. I think it's cool with shows like
Gray's Anatomy and The Pit and some of the other
medical shows have really brought a lot of what it's
like to be a doctor, to be a resident, Yeah,
to kind of come up through the ranks to see what,
you know, a better idea of what it's really like
to do that. And so I think there's a lot
more terminology that used to be, you know, more medical
(07:24):
is now more kind of in the mainstream. And I
think it's cool because I think it's people have a
better idea of what I went through to be where
I'm at now, all those years of education and training.
So I don't I think a lot of people don't
take that for granted, and they understand that there's a
lot to it totally.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
You know, it's really interesting. You're bringing up something that
makes me think, I think, kind of pulling back the
veil on any of these worlds industries that seem kind
of glamorous or exciting, or that people assume must be
really hoity toity. You know, you become this big deal
doctor and everyone thinks, oh, wow, your life must be
(08:02):
so fancy, and you're like, do you know what my
life is? It's actually so crazy. I think there's something
too letting people in, and especially in the field of medicine,
letting folks who haven't gone through it, they haven't gone
through the years of schooling, the rotations, the residency, this
whole placement program, all those steps, letting people see that
(08:27):
doctors do this because they love it. Doctors do this
because they want to take care of people. They want
healthy kids, healthy communities, healthy families. There's so much misinformation
out online. You know, there's a lot of accounts saying, oh, well,
the reason vaccines are you know, fill in the blank,
crazy theory. Don't even want to say it because I
(08:47):
know it's nuts, is because doctors get paid. And recently
I saw a great science communicator, of which I, you know,
consider you to be one. My friend Jess Malatte Rivera,
who helped run the COVID track project, is another great one.
This great science communicator I follow said, actually, no, we've
had enough generations of vaccine science that we forget what
(09:10):
it was like when so many kids got sick and died.
We forget that one hundred, one hundred and fifty years
ago in this country, one in five kids died before
their fifth birthday. And by the way, vaccine storage is
actually very expensive, and most doctors lose money giving them,
but they give them because we need them. And that
was a point that I wish she didn't have to make,
(09:32):
but also I hadn't seen made before, and I was like, oh, yeah,
people probably need to know that it costs money to
give this kind of medical care and you do it
anyway because it's the right thing to do. And I
use that example only to say, because of this following
you've built up, you've been answering all these questions for people,
and you know, like so many you've said like, okay,
(09:54):
we're in lockdown, how can I help? What are some
of the things you've communicated to your audience that you've
seen really ring the like ding ding ding, Oh, I
didn't know that bell That helps shift the fear, and
that help people really trust science and medicine a little
bit more.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I think trying to break down some of the more
complex topics. You know, we use some of these words regularly,
like immunity and prevention, and as physicians and science people,
sometimes we're using these in a completely different context than
what a lay person would use, Like when you know,
we're talking about transmission in a community, someone else might
(10:36):
be talking about transmission person to person. So trying to
clarify those I think that there's been some breakthroughs. I
think one of the other big things that people don't
realize or maybe that you know, people make associations. They
think immunization's medication, and they use their knowledge of medication
and dosage and ingredients and they bring that to immunizations,
(10:58):
where immunizations are really not metations. Really, immunizations are something
that's completely different. They're not changing the physiology of your body.
They're not changing like the sodium calcium channels like some
medications do. They're stimulating an immune response, and that immune
response is creating antibodies and cells. But it's not you know,
a medication that you're taking every day for years that
(11:19):
we're worried about, you know, long term complications from and
fifteen years down the road, we're worried about something with
a medication which happens absolutely happy. Yeah, immunizations just don't
work the same way as medications do. And so I think,
you know, having some of those breakthroughs where people go, oh, okay,
you know, I was bringing that knowledge of medications and
(11:40):
thinking about immunizations. But I think that's kind of an
important distinction that helps people kind of pull those apart
and realize that there is a difference.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, do you think part of the reason that you
can really understand how to translate some of that terminology,
how to translate those linguists dick specifics if you will,
is because you're a mom of four. Because I find
that moms who are experts at anything complex, whether it's
(12:09):
the law, medicine, you name it, are the best at
explaining those things to the rest of us that are curious, afraid, excited,
whatever experience we're having. But like the lay people, if
I can get a mom who's an expert to explain
something to me, I feel like she gives me the
best lesson I've ever had.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I think it's possible. I had my first kid in
medical school, and then I had one in residency and
fellowship and as an attending so I've had kids like
I feel like forever. So I think it's possible. You know,
I think that we all have certain skills, and you know,
you could go your whole life and not realize that
you have this skill related to it. Maybe you would
(12:50):
be an excellent Obo player and you never, you know,
got the chance to play Obo. And I think that
the communication that I'm able to do on social media
is unlike skill that I have in real life, and
I think it's just something that it clicked and it worked,
and it brought these pieces of a puzzle together and
it works. And I don't know if it's having kids
or not, because I have had them forever, but whatever
(13:13):
it is, it works, and people are learning and getting educated,
and we're kind of breaking through some of these barriers
of the communication issues that we have between the medicine
and the people that don't have that background.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Maybe part of it even is the fact that you know,
you are you're a mom of four. You know what
moms need to hear, you know what information they should have.
You know that parents are being inundated with all this
stuff in the algorithm and how to kind of push
back against it. And I think that's really important in
(13:49):
times like this, you know, whether it's the COVID nineteen
pandemic outbreak in twenty twenty, when you started really speaking
to people on social media, which I would call a
public health service, whether it's you know, helping parents understand
what to do in an emergency. I saw one video
you did about like, oh a kids swallowed you know,
(14:11):
one of those crazy like brush scrubber things, and you
were like this is what to do? And I was like,
I would never have known this. You know, you give
great advice on all sorts of things, like you said,
from medication to allergic reactions in kids, what to look for,
you know, what might be a reaction to an ointment
versus actual exzema. Like, I've learned so much just from
(14:34):
watching you. How do you decide what you're going to
talk about? When you do decide to communicate about something,
Is it because you get an influx of questions? Or
is it because there's some sort of news like this week,
despite all scientific research having shown that there is no
(14:55):
correlation between a seedamnifin and autism. You know, we've got
a guy with no medical degree saying from the White
House pulpit that there is Like how do you help
parents and especially pregnant women not feel afraid?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah? I think uh as For like, how do I
decide about content? It's very very random, and it's usually
last minute. Yeah, And a lot of times it'll be
like a question or maybe like a case that I
had or an idea that came across. But a lot
of times it is you know, news or a press
conference or something that came up that you know, I said, oh,
(15:33):
you know, there's gonna be a lot of questions about
this or I see how this could be easily misunderstood,
So let's talk about it, let's clarify it. And there's
a lot of things out there. And I, like you said,
I am a mom and just because I'm a doctor,
it doesn't mean that I don't have like the fears
and anxiety of momming. I have all of those fears
in anxiety. And so you know, if I see something
(15:55):
and I go, oh, that makes me a little I
get I caught some feelings there. I want to make
a video and want to talk about it because I
want to bring it down to a level where we
don't need to be scared. These are the things that
we need to be watching out for, and these are
the things that we can do to help protect ourselves
or something like that. You know, with all of the
things that have happened in the last you know, months, years,
(16:18):
I've done my best to be very open about my
life and my feelings and try to address the things
that have happened in a way that I'm providing facts
and evidence based information and data to back up what
I'm saying. Things are very politically charged, and I really
(16:40):
I think we really just need to be focused on
the science and the data and where the evidence is
pointing us where our kids and for our families and
for our health in general.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I think that's so smart. You know. One of the
things that I saw this week that to your point,
helped me bring it down where I was like, wait,
what do you mean? And I've read the Sweden study
and I've went like hold on, you know, because I
did think I was going to go to medical school.
I weirdly like to read the AMA papers like it
helps me feel grounded when there's so much information and
(17:11):
so much noise. And when I read about actually the
risk to pregnant women, especially in their first trimester of fever,
I was like, oh, okay, this is the thing that
expectant moms need to know. They need to know the
risks of running a fever for the fetus, for their
unborn child, Like okay, And then I went down the
(17:33):
rabbit hole of that and went all right, I feel
better armed to understand where the most important weight needs
to be placed in this larger conversation. And something that
I really got excited to talk to you about because
you do such great videos and such great communications. Anytime
there's an issue, I'm like, what's doctor Beach saying? One
(17:57):
of the things that I am running into in my
family and extended family, you know, with all the littles
around and my godson, and everyone is trying to figure
out especially with kids that have sensitivities and ezema, and like,
you know, I'm the asthmatic ezema baby of my family,
so I know how it is is trying to figure
out what is a body having a little reaction to
(18:20):
something new, maybe a histamine reaction, and then what is
a body, especially a little body, experiencing if this is
really an allergy. And there's a lot of news out
there today, but the thing I really wanted to ask
you about was that, if you don't mind me asking
my most personal question, you know, how do you identify
(18:40):
a childhood allergy versus a sensitivity? How do you know?
And you probably see them in the er all the time,
Like what even are the allergies that bring kids into
the er the most? I feel a little riddorless on this,
and I'm nervous, so I want to ask doctor mom.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
The thing that we as er doctors cant concerned about
is anaphylaxis, and anaphylaxis is a life threatening emergency allergic reaction.
And if you have anaphylaxis, the treatment that needs to
be administered to save a life is epinephrine. And we
have a couple of different ways to administer it now,
you know, most notably is the EpiPen, which is a
(19:19):
kind of slam it into the thigh and it injects
the epinephrine. There's also a little nose spray now and
potentially down the road, even things that dissolve in the mouth.
So you know, I think people do get nervous with
EpiPens because it is a needle. They haven't used it before,
and so there's a lot of people that are hesitant
to use that EpiPen. And I would just so encourage
(19:41):
people if you are concerned that the patient, your child's,
someone in your community has an anaphylactic reaction, just administer
the medication. There's more harm for not administering it than
actually for administering it. And the definition for anaphylaxis is
a little it's there's not a real good a definition.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, how do you identify it?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
We usually say if you are exposed to something that
you potentially could be having a reaction to. And you
have two systems that are involved to body systems, so
like respiratory systems, skin you know, mucous membranes, and so
if you have hives and you're wheezing and you might
have been exposed to something, that's two systems. You've got
respiratory and skin anaphylaxis, go ahead and give the e
(20:25):
FI and get into the emergency department. A lot of
people will say, well, I'm just gonna try the benadryl first,
and we honestly don't recommend it. We don't want to
hide those symptoms. We want to treat them with the epinephrine.
Even vomiting like GI as a symptoms. So if you
had hives and vomiting, that could that could potentially be anaphylaxis.
Now there are times that you could have hives and
(20:46):
wheezing and it's a viral infection. So there is that,
you know, potential of like you have to pay attention to,
is there a potential for an interaction that could be allergic.
So anaphylaxis a little complicated, but again more toward the epinephrine.
That's the life saving treatment.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And now a word from our sponsors that I really
enjoy and I think you will too. Okay, can I
ask an asterisk question? So, for example, you could have
two of those symptoms and it's not anaphylaxis, it's you know,
(21:27):
some other reaction. But am I right to think, well,
maybe do you identify that it might be anaphylaxis if
two systems are engaged skin and respiratory will keep it
in the example, within an hour of eating, maybe an
hour of eating in a new place, or an hour
of eating a new food, what would kind of be
(21:48):
the timeline that for you would ring the alarm bell.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Yeah, so again with the potential for a new exposure.
You ate somewhere new, and these symptoms started pretty close together.
I think the kind of asterisk for me is, you know,
is it a viral infection? Generally you're gonna have like cough,
running nose for a couple of days, and then you're
wheezing a little bit, and then maybe you develop hives.
But you know, things have been going on for a
couple days and there's pretty obviously something else going on.
(22:13):
Whereas you know, you walked into a basketball game and
somebody had a cologne on and then you ate something
you haven't eaten before, and all of a sudden, you
you know, you start feeling some throat tightenness, you're wheezing,
and you have hives. Okay, maybe that that is more
likely to be anaphylaxis than a cute onset of a
viral infection, and the epinephron would be indicated.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Okay, So the even though acute for me, sounds pretty
quick when you say a cute onset of a viral infection.
To your point hypothetical, your kid's been sick for five
days and the symptoms are increasing as their body is
working harder and harder to fight the infection. You know
they're sick. The anaphylaxis is alarming in the rapidness of
(22:56):
its onset from zero right.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Usually anaphylex symptoms are going to happen within about we
often maybe fifteen minutes. Wow, I mean, they could be
seconds from exposure, but usually it's going to be within
a fifteen minute or so time period from whatever exposure
it is. So if all of a sudden you're good
and then you're not good, and you have two systems involved,
that would be something that would be concerning.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Okay, and the two system indicator is really nice. I
like a specific instruction. You talked skin and respiratory. You
mentioned mucosal. That's three. What are what are the other
systems that could be affected by an allergic reaction that
parents should know?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
So g I would be the other big yeah, okay,
you know, a vomiting diarrhead it would be the other
one in addition to the respiratory.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
So two of those four are really strong indicators. When
a kid comes in to the er with a severe
allergic reaction, what are the first steps that you take?
Because sure, if it happens at a school, at a
basketball game, you know, someone might have an EpiPen. But
(24:05):
if it happens and a family doesn't have access to
that and they bring their kid into the er, is
that the very first thing you do is the is
the EpiPen?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Absolutely? Still Oka Absolutely, And we you know we have
we're able to draw up at be from a vial.
It takes time, we actually have EpiPens in our department
that we can go all right, you know I'm concerned
about anaphylexis let's let's go and you know we can
get that very quickly to bedside, to start the treatment
for anaplexis.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
That's amazing because in my brain I was like, oh,
maybe you guys, you know, get a sick kid, check
them in, run an iv line, put the ePIE in
the ivy. You're like, no, I'm using an EpiPen too,
because it's the quickest and it's efficient. Okay, absolutely, person question,
but when you were saying people get nervous about doing
the shot in the thigh, can it go anywhere in
(24:55):
a thigh? Is it supposed to be the top, the side,
closer to the butt, closer to the knee. I've never
had to give one to somebody, so I realized I
would be nervous to do this.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Also, yeah, you generally kind of toward the outside of
the thigh, and you can even give it through pants
are clothing if it's an emergency, if you can't really
that spot, Yeah, that needle will go all the way
through obviously if you can get the pants down, and
it's reasonable to do that. But you know, if in
an emergency, you can go right through clothing kind of
on the outside of the thigh. And like I said,
(25:27):
there are other modalities now. So there's like a nose
spray that you can do. There is an automated one
as well, so you can you kind of put that
one right up against the thigh and you press a
button and it kind of talks you through it. So
there's some other ones now, but the most important thing
is just to get the epinephrin in the patient. There
are some trainers. If you have a child that has
(25:47):
anaflex or if you have it, you can ask your
doctor for a trainer and it'll you can literally just
kind of play with it. There's no needle in it,
so it's not gonna hurt you, and it shows you,
you know what this is what it feels like when
it releases. You know, you can feel the mechanism on
the inside. You can also like the one that talks
to you. It talks you through what you're doing. So
it's really cool. There's a lot of really neat technology
(26:10):
that's in the future coming which is exciting, but most
important thing for anphylaxis, the life saving treatment is just
to do the epinephrin.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah. Wow, Okay, that's really cool that there's options to
teach your kids what to expect if I went through
this recently, my partner's little one. One of her kids
has asthma, and I have asthma, and the terror about
the nebulizer on the first couple of times it had
to be used absolutely shattered my heart. And I was like, oh,
(26:41):
let me get mine. Ou like, I got a nebulizer,
let's go. And we started, during this asthma flair, having
like a nebulizer tea party at the little kid's table.
And now she's not scared of it. And it was,
you know, just luck of the draw that I could
do that for and with her, and that I've done
(27:02):
this my whole life. You know, I think I was
diagnosed with asthma when I was five or six. I'd
have to ask my mom, but it really I think
as adults we can forget how scary some of this
stuff is for kids. And I didn't know that they
had those. So that's really really cool, what a cool thing.
And I almost wonder too, if that's something that you know,
(27:24):
parents could talk to their kids' schools about, even saying, hey,
can you get some of these in classrooms so that
they know if their friend has to get an EpiPen
injection or if they have to get an EpiPen injection,
they don't have to be afraid.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
I try to bring the trainers with me, like when
I do like the Great American Teaching and stuff like that,
just to give the kids this is what it is,
this is how you can use it, and the kids
can do it on each other and on themselves. So
it's a great opportunity to kind of teach them this
is what it is, this is why we use it,
and this is what it feels like to actually use one,
which is neat.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
That's really cool. I know it's pretty difficult to prevent
exposure to allergens, whether a kid has a food allergy
or something that they don't even know about yet. But
are there things you recommend to parents, especially in that
early developmental stage where we're figuring out whether or not
a kid has allergies, whether or not a kid has asthma.
(28:16):
Are there recommendations you give them about reducing risk and
mitigating risk.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
I think we have a lot of really newish data
that shows that introducing things that are potential allergens early
in life, like some of the first introductions to foods,
actually help reduce the risk that they're going to continue
to have issues with those in the future. So we
actually recommend early exposure to peanut butter and regular exposure
to peanut butter as soon as babies are starting solids
(28:44):
from you know, that five to six month time, starting
with a small amount and just giving it every day,
especially for family, every day, just a small amount, and
then you can even you know, up to like a
teaspoon or something like that. The patients that have the
families that have allergies running in the family, these can
reduce the risk that the child will have reactions to
(29:06):
it in the future. And having a wide variety of
diet and regular use of things that are potential allergens
like fish and meats and vegetables and fruits that are
common allergens, introducing those early so that the body just
gets used to them is less likely to have a
reaction in the future. So we're getting you know, science
has kind of gone both ways. We used to say
(29:27):
avoid it until they're older, but now early introduction seems
to reduce the risk of having those allergies in the future.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
That's really cool. I mean I understand that with you know,
the the kind of genetic lottery that exists when when
kids are created, there's a high likelihood that a lot
of things are genetically inherited. Will the switch turn on
or off? We don't know, Like with allergies, So is
(29:53):
the idea because again, you know, I'm allergic to everything
as Maticgarreer, is the idea that, like, the more exposure
they have to these things, you actually increase the likelihood
that that switch won't turn on. They could have a
capacity to have allergies to foods, but should they be
exposed early and regularly, that might not turn into something
(30:17):
that is a reaction.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Yeah, so it's important to know what the allergies are.
And the allergy that we're talking about is an antibody,
an IgE antibody that's reacting to a substance that our
body seeses foreign or I mean really it is a
foreign substance, but our body is creating this IgE reaction.
And so if we're introducing them early and regular, the
(30:41):
body is not seeing them as the same type of
foreign and their IgE reaction isn't happening. So again, the
data is always changing, but I think it's right now.
The data really shows that early introduction and regular exposure
to some of these allergens reduces the risk in the future.
So I think that getting families, especially those that are
(31:03):
born at risk for allergies. We've got this kind of triangle, right,
So you've got asthma, allergies, and exzema in this little
triangle that these things tend to run together. So in
families that we have asthma and exzema and maybe some allergies,
consider you know, talking to your doctor about making sure
that you're introducing things like peanut butter and maybe certain
fruits early in the food journey as babies.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
That's really cool. When you were talking about the IgE response,
I was like, Oh, I get what you're saying. It's
sort of like having a terribly behaved dog at the
dog park that attacks the other dogs versus a dog
that can like chill and look at another dog and
be like whatever and go back to what it's doing.
It's like the exposure actually helps your body not attack
(31:51):
the thing that's moving through your system.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
YEP, absolutely, Okay, I like it.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
So when you talk about options like this, you know
what the data says. The cool thing about science is
it's always evolving, right, We're always learning more. We get
to perfect our recommendations, we get to tinker with our
plans based on new information, but based on what we
know now, if a child has complex allergies, would you
(32:21):
recommend parents focus on this sort of exposure therapy or
do you think they should also seek out an allergist
to create a plan. What does a plan like that
look like? And I ask because when I was seven,
I was on allergy shops for a while. My parents
are always like, hey, we got a bubble boy over here,
(32:44):
and I it was really helpful for me then, but
obviously I was too young to really know what was
going on and to feel like I'm armed with that
information now. So how does a parent know whether they
need to have a plan from an allergist or they
can just kind of manage at home symptoms and exposures.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
So I think starting with your pediatrician is always the
right answer. Pediatricians, you know we infant nutrition is you know,
we are specialists in that. So starting with your pediatrician
working through a nutrition exposure plan as little babies and
as they get older if they're having allergies and eggemn asthma,
I think getting into an allergist is a great idea.
(33:25):
There are so many, like I said, new technologies and
new data and research out there, and allergists are very
specially specifically trained to deal with this. So I think
getting into an allergist like Ruben Allergy, who's one of
my favorite people, would be a great place to start.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Okay, cool, is there anything that those of us you
know who follow you and support your work, but don't
you know live where you live in Florida. I asked
this question because my partners from Florida and we do
really love home, and I know it can be a
scary place to practice medicine right now with all this
hoopla about vaccine mandates, you know, potentially being eradicated, like
(34:05):
whether it's sort of rallying cry stuff or petitions to sign,
or even just like saying hi, we're supporting you from afar,
Like can we do anything from out of state to
support the work you're doing in state to try to
keep kids and families healthy?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
You know, I think it's tough. I think talking with
our congress people, representatives, senators to talk about what's really
important on a national level and making sure that science
and data and evidence are prioritized on a national level
is really important. So I think advocating through you know,
(34:41):
our means our representatives is the great place to start,
and I know always I would always appreciate the social
media support and all of the other creators out there
also pushing science and data making sure that we're supporting
them as well.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Yeah, I mean, I really try with folks you know,
like you and other friends in scientific fields. I'm like,
let me just engage with these posts all the time
so they're getting some positivity and some love. So all
of our whipsmarties at home. I'm so proud that my
audience is very like, very wise, and also they love
data like I do. Please go engage and leave kindness
(35:19):
for our medical heroes because they deal with a lot
of other stuff too. I really want to respect your time.
I'm going to ask you my last question, even though
I want to ask you one hundred more. For you,
you know, you do a lot of big work for
the world. You do a lot of big work in
a hospital. A lot of it is for community, but
(35:40):
like just for you, for doctor Beach, for Megan, what's
bringing you joy? And what is your work in progress
right now? And maybe it is for everyone, but maybe
it's like something you're working on for yourself.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
I would say that social media for me is it
really is a coping mechanism, the ability to connect with
like minded peace, you know. And I do post a
lot of like educational, sciencey stuff, but I post some
fun stuff too and obviously enjoy myself in that respect.
I am working on a nonprofit that will benefit kids
(36:15):
in the emergency department and then also kids in outside
emergency departments, to make sure that those emergency departments are
able to take care of kids that are sick. Not
every emergency department is the same, and the care that
kids get in an adult or community emergency department is
not often the same as they're going to get in
a pediatric er. And I want to kind of expand
(36:35):
that care, that good quality, evidence based care out to
these outside emergency departments, using this nonprofit, getting the supplies
and the knowledge out to those facilities, and then when
they get to the emergency department, keeping them comfortable, taking
away the stress and the trauma in the emergency department.
So those are kind of my passion projects right now.
(36:56):
But I'll be on a social media Really is the
way that I cope with all of the stuff that's
happening in the world.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Yeah, Well, I think especially when you are by nature
a helper, which you are. It can be a space
that you can step into to offer help. And sometimes
we feel a little boxed in by the world around us,
and this digital world, for all of its flaws, I mean,
you know, sometimes it's sort of accessible. Can also be
(37:25):
a space where you can like drop a life raft
out for people. And I really admire that you continue
to show up not just in your hospital every day,
but in these digital spaces every day, because I know
it's not an easy time to be an evidentiary and
science based medical professional. But I so appreciate what you do,
(37:47):
and I just appreciate you taking the time. I always
want to talk to folks who do what you do,
but in moments like this, when parents are so scared,
the fact that you'd take time out of your data
come speak to our audience really means a lot.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Me. Thank you,
Hey, whip smarties. Today we have an ultimate smarty guest.
You all know that in not just trying times, but
honestly all the time, I want expert information. I want
to ask people who are incredible in their field what
the rest of us who don't work in those fields
need to know. Whether that was talking to Jessica Malatti
(00:35):
Rivera in the early days of twenty twenty and the pandemic,
whether that's getting to talk to legal experts about civics.
There's so many things we all have questions about, and
there's a lot kicking around right now on the Internet
and in the media about health and medicine and doctors
and especially our kids. And it seems scary to me.
(00:56):
I know it seems scary to a lot of parents.
So I called up doctor Megan Beach, who is an
amazing pediatric emergency medicine physician whose social media account her
handle is at beach gem ten. I love so much
she makes me feel informed and happy and safe, and
(01:17):
I just asked her, Hey, will you come on the podcast.
Will you give us a little guidance? Can I ask
you some questions? And also, as everyone's favorite resident Asthma
Girley I need to know some things about asthma and allergies.
I just I got questions, and it's more than for
the DM chat. So doctor Megan has honored us with
her presence today. She is here to answer all my questions,
(01:38):
which hopefully will answer some of yours. I came to
know her during pandemic shutdowns. She got on Instagram and
started asking questions like I'm going to ask her today
and grew her page into this platform where she educates
people and parents and audiences everywhere on everything from diagnosing
foreign body injuries like in rusting metal girl brush wires, Yes,
(02:02):
seriously that happened, or practicing tips for managing common childhood
illnesses which we all need to know. She has incredible
medical expertise and as a mom of four relatability. She's
so skilled in translating clinical issues into understandable advice that
(02:23):
we all can digest and I know, for me makes
me feel safer. We're at a time where unfortunately science
feels like it's under attack, and it really feels more
important than ever to have trusted guides to help us
navigate the overwhelming world, not just of health, but the
overwhelmingly vulnerable world of children's health. So if you're feeling
(02:45):
the way I'm feeling, let's get smarter with doctor Megan Beach. Megan,
thank you so much for being here today. I think
that public health advocacy and also good science communication is
(03:10):
so important today when there's so much misinformation and so
much fear mongering, and like, I just have the biggest
brain crush on you and what you do, So I
just want to extend all of my thanks before I
ask you a million questions.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
No, you know, it's a different world that we live
in right now, and I appreciate that there's people out
there that understand that. You know, we're out here doing
our best, and the negative voices sound louder sometimes than
the positive ones, and so it's totally good to hear
some validation that there's people that are listening.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Absolutely, And you know, it's not lost on me that
you've built this incredible following online because so many people,
I think, feel the way we do. There's so many
parents out in the world going what can I trust,
what's real? What's not? What should I be maybe a
little scared of, but not completely sleepless over what am
(04:01):
I being told to fear? That I don't need to.
It's such a complex space because sadly, there's a lot
of people profiting off of misinformation, and we're all incredibly
vulnerable when it comes to the fear we carry for
the kids in our lives. So it's like, I get it,
and it's frustrating, and that's why I like to talk
to experts like you.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So before I ask you about your career, if it's cool,
I actually want to do a quick rewind down memory lane.
I always like to know how people grew up where
they grew up, and I'm really curious if you got
to go hang out with eight or nine year old Megan.
Was she one of those kids that from a young
age was like, I'm gonna be a doctor or did
(04:46):
you have totally separate goals as a child.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I grew up wanting to be a doctor, Like I've
wanted to be a doctor as long as I can
actually remember, my dad's father was a physician, and he
was someone that just took care of the community, like
would trade medical care for chickens if you couldn't pay. Wow,
he was awesome. My mom was in the medical field.
Cheese an X ray tech my dad was a law
(05:10):
enforcement officer, and so just having the like adrenaline on
one side and then the medical care on the other side. Yeah,
and I met in the middle with emergency medicine and
I very quickly fell in love with it, and it's
kind of all I wanted to do, like most of
my life.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Wow, So what do you think drew you to pediatric
emergency medicine? Was that sort of part of the rotation
you go through in med school where you have to
get into every specialty for a bit and then you
figure out what lights you up or did you always
kind of have a hunch that it would be emergency
medicine because of that sort of duality in your family.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I really liked the adrenaline aspect. Pediatrics was one of
the first rotations I fell in love with it. There
is so much hope when it comes to kids, there's
so much resilience in recovery possible. And emergency medicine was
actually a late rotation, so I didn't even know that
I was going to apply to it until the end,
and so I ended up applying for pediatrics and emergency
(06:08):
medicine in the match program. So when I submitted that match.
I actually didn't know what kind of doctor I was
going to be, if I was going to get picked
for emergency or pediatrics, but I kind of ultimately I
knew the end goal was pediatric emergency medicine, so I
knew I would be fine either way, but you know
which direction to go was still a mystery.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Do you get what's happening in my brain? Which is also,
to be clear, both from watching and acting on Gray's
Anatomy all these years, I'm like, oh, yeah, when you're
in your pieds rotation, like I hear myself saying the terms, which,
to be fair, I know because I once also thought
I was going to be a doctor, and then I
wound up being in the circus instead. Like do you
(06:49):
find that people who watch medical shows can banter some
of those like not quite Layman's just above terms with you?
Or are you like, I get it, everyone's seen twenty
years of great anatomy, but you have no idea what
you're talking.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
About, you know. I think it's cool with shows like
Gray's Anatomy and The Pit and some of the other
medical shows have really brought a lot of what it's
like to be a doctor, to be a resident, Yeah,
to kind of come up through the ranks to see what,
you know, a better idea of what it's really like
to do that. And so I think there's a lot
more terminology that used to be, you know, more medical
(07:24):
is now more kind of in the mainstream. And I
think it's cool because I think it's people have a
better idea of what I went through to be where
I'm at now, all those years of education and training.
So I don't I think a lot of people don't
take that for granted, and they understand that there's a
lot to it totally.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
You know, it's really interesting. You're bringing up something that
makes me think, I think, kind of pulling back the
veil on any of these worlds industries that seem kind
of glamorous or exciting, or that people assume must be
really hoity toity. You know, you become this big deal
doctor and everyone thinks, oh, wow, your life must be
(08:02):
so fancy, and you're like, do you know what my
life is? It's actually so crazy. I think there's something
too letting people in, and especially in the field of medicine,
letting folks who haven't gone through it, they haven't gone
through the years of schooling, the rotations, the residency, this
whole placement program, all those steps, letting people see that
(08:27):
doctors do this because they love it. Doctors do this
because they want to take care of people. They want
healthy kids, healthy communities, healthy families. There's so much misinformation
out online. You know, there's a lot of accounts saying, oh, well,
the reason vaccines are you know, fill in the blank,
crazy theory. Don't even want to say it because I
(08:47):
know it's nuts, is because doctors get paid. And recently
I saw a great science communicator, of which I, you know,
consider you to be one. My friend Jess Malatte Rivera,
who helped run the COVID track project, is another great one.
This great science communicator I follow said, actually, no, we've
had enough generations of vaccine science that we forget what
(09:10):
it was like when so many kids got sick and died.
We forget that one hundred, one hundred and fifty years
ago in this country, one in five kids died before
their fifth birthday. And by the way, vaccine storage is
actually very expensive, and most doctors lose money giving them,
but they give them because we need them. And that
was a point that I wish she didn't have to make,
(09:32):
but also I hadn't seen made before, and I was like, oh, yeah,
people probably need to know that it costs money to
give this kind of medical care and you do it
anyway because it's the right thing to do. And I
use that example only to say, because of this following
you've built up, you've been answering all these questions for people,
and you know, like so many you've said like, okay,
(09:54):
we're in lockdown, how can I help? What are some
of the things you've communicated to your audience that you've
seen really ring the like ding ding ding, Oh, I
didn't know that bell That helps shift the fear, and
that help people really trust science and medicine a little
bit more.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I think trying to break down some of the more
complex topics. You know, we use some of these words regularly,
like immunity and prevention, and as physicians and science people,
sometimes we're using these in a completely different context than
what a lay person would use, Like when you know,
we're talking about transmission in a community, someone else might
(10:36):
be talking about transmission person to person. So trying to
clarify those I think that there's been some breakthroughs. I
think one of the other big things that people don't
realize or maybe that you know, people make associations. They
think immunization's medication, and they use their knowledge of medication
and dosage and ingredients and they bring that to immunizations,
(10:58):
where immunizations are really not metations. Really, immunizations are something
that's completely different. They're not changing the physiology of your body.
They're not changing like the sodium calcium channels like some
medications do. They're stimulating an immune response, and that immune
response is creating antibodies and cells. But it's not you know,
a medication that you're taking every day for years that
(11:19):
we're worried about, you know, long term complications from and
fifteen years down the road, we're worried about something with
a medication which happens absolutely happy. Yeah, immunizations just don't
work the same way as medications do. And so I think,
you know, having some of those breakthroughs where people go, oh, okay,
you know, I was bringing that knowledge of medications and
(11:40):
thinking about immunizations. But I think that's kind of an
important distinction that helps people kind of pull those apart
and realize that there is a difference.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, do you think part of the reason that you
can really understand how to translate some of that terminology,
how to translate those linguists dick specifics if you will,
is because you're a mom of four. Because I find
that moms who are experts at anything complex, whether it's
(12:09):
the law, medicine, you name it, are the best at
explaining those things to the rest of us that are curious, afraid, excited,
whatever experience we're having. But like the lay people, if
I can get a mom who's an expert to explain
something to me, I feel like she gives me the
best lesson I've ever had.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I think it's possible. I had my first kid in
medical school, and then I had one in residency and
fellowship and as an attending so I've had kids like
I feel like forever. So I think it's possible. You know,
I think that we all have certain skills, and you know,
you could go your whole life and not realize that
you have this skill related to it. Maybe you would
(12:50):
be an excellent Obo player and you never, you know,
got the chance to play Obo. And I think that
the communication that I'm able to do on social media
is unlike skill that I have in real life, and
I think it's just something that it clicked and it worked,
and it brought these pieces of a puzzle together and
it works. And I don't know if it's having kids
or not, because I have had them forever, but whatever
(13:13):
it is, it works, and people are learning and getting educated,
and we're kind of breaking through some of these barriers
of the communication issues that we have between the medicine
and the people that don't have that background.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Maybe part of it even is the fact that you know,
you are you're a mom of four. You know what
moms need to hear, you know what information they should have.
You know that parents are being inundated with all this
stuff in the algorithm and how to kind of push
back against it. And I think that's really important in
(13:49):
times like this, you know, whether it's the COVID nineteen
pandemic outbreak in twenty twenty, when you started really speaking
to people on social media, which I would call a
public health service, whether it's you know, helping parents understand
what to do in an emergency. I saw one video
you did about like, oh a kids swallowed you know,
(14:11):
one of those crazy like brush scrubber things, and you
were like this is what to do? And I was like,
I would never have known this. You know, you give
great advice on all sorts of things, like you said,
from medication to allergic reactions in kids, what to look for,
you know, what might be a reaction to an ointment
versus actual exzema. Like, I've learned so much just from
(14:34):
watching you. How do you decide what you're going to
talk about? When you do decide to communicate about something,
Is it because you get an influx of questions? Or
is it because there's some sort of news like this week,
despite all scientific research having shown that there is no
(14:55):
correlation between a seedamnifin and autism. You know, we've got
a guy with no medical degree saying from the White
House pulpit that there is Like how do you help
parents and especially pregnant women not feel afraid?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah? I think uh as For like, how do I
decide about content? It's very very random, and it's usually
last minute. Yeah, And a lot of times it'll be
like a question or maybe like a case that I
had or an idea that came across. But a lot
of times it is you know, news or a press
conference or something that came up that you know, I said, oh,
(15:33):
you know, there's gonna be a lot of questions about
this or I see how this could be easily misunderstood,
So let's talk about it, let's clarify it. And there's
a lot of things out there. And I, like you said,
I am a mom and just because I'm a doctor,
it doesn't mean that I don't have like the fears
and anxiety of momming. I have all of those fears
in anxiety. And so you know, if I see something
(15:55):
and I go, oh, that makes me a little I
get I caught some feelings there. I want to make
a video and want to talk about it because I
want to bring it down to a level where we
don't need to be scared. These are the things that
we need to be watching out for, and these are
the things that we can do to help protect ourselves
or something like that. You know, with all of the
things that have happened in the last you know, months, years,
(16:18):
I've done my best to be very open about my
life and my feelings and try to address the things
that have happened in a way that I'm providing facts
and evidence based information and data to back up what
I'm saying. Things are very politically charged, and I really
(16:40):
I think we really just need to be focused on
the science and the data and where the evidence is
pointing us where our kids and for our families and
for our health in general.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I think that's so smart. You know. One of the
things that I saw this week that to your point,
helped me bring it down where I was like, wait,
what do you mean? And I've read the Sweden study
and I've went like hold on, you know, because I
did think I was going to go to medical school.
I weirdly like to read the AMA papers like it
helps me feel grounded when there's so much information and
(17:11):
so much noise. And when I read about actually the
risk to pregnant women, especially in their first trimester of fever,
I was like, oh, okay, this is the thing that
expectant moms need to know. They need to know the
risks of running a fever for the fetus, for their
unborn child, Like okay, And then I went down the
(17:33):
rabbit hole of that and went all right, I feel
better armed to understand where the most important weight needs
to be placed in this larger conversation. And something that
I really got excited to talk to you about because
you do such great videos and such great communications. Anytime
there's an issue, I'm like, what's doctor Beach saying? One
(17:57):
of the things that I am running into in my
family and extended family, you know, with all the littles
around and my godson, and everyone is trying to figure
out especially with kids that have sensitivities and ezema, and like,
you know, I'm the asthmatic ezema baby of my family,
so I know how it is is trying to figure
out what is a body having a little reaction to
(18:20):
something new, maybe a histamine reaction, and then what is
a body, especially a little body, experiencing if this is
really an allergy. And there's a lot of news out
there today, but the thing I really wanted to ask
you about was that, if you don't mind me asking
my most personal question, you know, how do you identify
(18:40):
a childhood allergy versus a sensitivity? How do you know?
And you probably see them in the er all the time,
Like what even are the allergies that bring kids into
the er the most? I feel a little riddorless on this,
and I'm nervous, so I want to ask doctor mom.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
The thing that we as er doctors cant concerned about
is anaphylaxis, and anaphylaxis is a life threatening emergency allergic reaction.
And if you have anaphylaxis, the treatment that needs to
be administered to save a life is epinephrine. And we
have a couple of different ways to administer it now,
you know, most notably is the EpiPen, which is a
(19:19):
kind of slam it into the thigh and it injects
the epinephrine. There's also a little nose spray now and
potentially down the road, even things that dissolve in the mouth.
So you know, I think people do get nervous with
EpiPens because it is a needle. They haven't used it before,
and so there's a lot of people that are hesitant
to use that EpiPen. And I would just so encourage
(19:41):
people if you are concerned that the patient, your child's,
someone in your community has an anaphylactic reaction, just administer
the medication. There's more harm for not administering it than
actually for administering it. And the definition for anaphylaxis is
a little it's there's not a real good a definition.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, how do you identify it?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
We usually say if you are exposed to something that
you potentially could be having a reaction to. And you
have two systems that are involved to body systems, so
like respiratory systems, skin you know, mucous membranes, and so
if you have hives and you're wheezing and you might
have been exposed to something, that's two systems. You've got
respiratory and skin anaphylaxis, go ahead and give the e
(20:25):
FI and get into the emergency department. A lot of
people will say, well, I'm just gonna try the benadryl first,
and we honestly don't recommend it. We don't want to
hide those symptoms. We want to treat them with the epinephrine.
Even vomiting like GI as a symptoms. So if you
had hives and vomiting, that could that could potentially be anaphylaxis.
Now there are times that you could have hives and
(20:46):
wheezing and it's a viral infection. So there is that,
you know, potential of like you have to pay attention to,
is there a potential for an interaction that could be allergic.
So anaphylaxis a little complicated, but again more toward the epinephrine.
That's the life saving treatment.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And now a word from our sponsors that I really
enjoy and I think you will too. Okay, can I
ask an asterisk question? So, for example, you could have
two of those symptoms and it's not anaphylaxis, it's you know,
(21:27):
some other reaction. But am I right to think, well,
maybe do you identify that it might be anaphylaxis if
two systems are engaged skin and respiratory will keep it
in the example, within an hour of eating, maybe an
hour of eating in a new place, or an hour
of eating a new food, what would kind of be
(21:48):
the timeline that for you would ring the alarm bell.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Yeah, so again with the potential for a new exposure.
You ate somewhere new, and these symptoms started pretty close together.
I think the kind of asterisk for me is, you know,
is it a viral infection? Generally you're gonna have like cough,
running nose for a couple of days, and then you're
wheezing a little bit, and then maybe you develop hives.
But you know, things have been going on for a
couple days and there's pretty obviously something else going on.
(22:13):
Whereas you know, you walked into a basketball game and
somebody had a cologne on and then you ate something
you haven't eaten before, and all of a sudden, you
you know, you start feeling some throat tightenness, you're wheezing,
and you have hives. Okay, maybe that that is more
likely to be anaphylaxis than a cute onset of a
viral infection, and the epinephron would be indicated.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Okay, So the even though acute for me, sounds pretty
quick when you say a cute onset of a viral infection.
To your point hypothetical, your kid's been sick for five
days and the symptoms are increasing as their body is
working harder and harder to fight the infection. You know
they're sick. The anaphylaxis is alarming in the rapidness of
(22:56):
its onset from zero right.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Usually anaphylex symptoms are going to happen within about we
often maybe fifteen minutes. Wow, I mean, they could be
seconds from exposure, but usually it's going to be within
a fifteen minute or so time period from whatever exposure
it is. So if all of a sudden you're good
and then you're not good, and you have two systems involved,
that would be something that would be concerning.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Okay, and the two system indicator is really nice. I
like a specific instruction. You talked skin and respiratory. You
mentioned mucosal. That's three. What are what are the other
systems that could be affected by an allergic reaction that
parents should know?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
So g I would be the other big yeah, okay,
you know, a vomiting diarrhead it would be the other
one in addition to the respiratory.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
So two of those four are really strong indicators. When
a kid comes in to the er with a severe
allergic reaction, what are the first steps that you take?
Because sure, if it happens at a school, at a
basketball game, you know, someone might have an EpiPen. But
(24:05):
if it happens and a family doesn't have access to
that and they bring their kid into the er, is
that the very first thing you do is the is
the EpiPen?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Absolutely? Still Oka Absolutely, And we you know we have
we're able to draw up at be from a vial.
It takes time, we actually have EpiPens in our department
that we can go all right, you know I'm concerned
about anaphylexis let's let's go and you know we can
get that very quickly to bedside, to start the treatment
for anaplexis.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
That's amazing because in my brain I was like, oh,
maybe you guys, you know, get a sick kid, check
them in, run an iv line, put the ePIE in
the ivy. You're like, no, I'm using an EpiPen too,
because it's the quickest and it's efficient. Okay, absolutely, person question,
but when you were saying people get nervous about doing
the shot in the thigh, can it go anywhere in
(24:55):
a thigh? Is it supposed to be the top, the side,
closer to the butt, closer to the knee. I've never
had to give one to somebody, so I realized I
would be nervous to do this.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Also, yeah, you generally kind of toward the outside of
the thigh, and you can even give it through pants
are clothing if it's an emergency, if you can't really
that spot, Yeah, that needle will go all the way
through obviously if you can get the pants down, and
it's reasonable to do that. But you know, if in
an emergency, you can go right through clothing kind of
on the outside of the thigh. And like I said,
(25:27):
there are other modalities now. So there's like a nose
spray that you can do. There is an automated one
as well, so you can you kind of put that
one right up against the thigh and you press a
button and it kind of talks you through it. So
there's some other ones now, but the most important thing
is just to get the epinephrin in the patient. There
are some trainers. If you have a child that has
(25:47):
anaflex or if you have it, you can ask your
doctor for a trainer and it'll you can literally just
kind of play with it. There's no needle in it,
so it's not gonna hurt you, and it shows you,
you know what this is what it feels like when
it releases. You know, you can feel the mechanism on
the inside. You can also like the one that talks
to you. It talks you through what you're doing. So
it's really cool. There's a lot of really neat technology
(26:10):
that's in the future coming which is exciting, but most
important thing for anphylaxis, the life saving treatment is just
to do the epinephrin.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah. Wow, Okay, that's really cool that there's options to
teach your kids what to expect if I went through
this recently, my partner's little one. One of her kids
has asthma, and I have asthma, and the terror about
the nebulizer on the first couple of times it had
to be used absolutely shattered my heart. And I was like, oh,
(26:41):
let me get mine. Ou like, I got a nebulizer,
let's go. And we started, during this asthma flair, having
like a nebulizer tea party at the little kid's table.
And now she's not scared of it. And it was,
you know, just luck of the draw that I could
do that for and with her, and that I've done
(27:02):
this my whole life. You know, I think I was
diagnosed with asthma when I was five or six. I'd
have to ask my mom, but it really I think
as adults we can forget how scary some of this
stuff is for kids. And I didn't know that they
had those. So that's really really cool, what a cool thing.
And I almost wonder too, if that's something that you know,
(27:24):
parents could talk to their kids' schools about, even saying, hey,
can you get some of these in classrooms so that
they know if their friend has to get an EpiPen
injection or if they have to get an EpiPen injection,
they don't have to be afraid.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
I try to bring the trainers with me, like when
I do like the Great American Teaching and stuff like that,
just to give the kids this is what it is,
this is how you can use it, and the kids
can do it on each other and on themselves. So
it's a great opportunity to kind of teach them this
is what it is, this is why we use it,
and this is what it feels like to actually use one,
which is neat.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
That's really cool. I know it's pretty difficult to prevent
exposure to allergens, whether a kid has a food allergy
or something that they don't even know about yet. But
are there things you recommend to parents, especially in that
early developmental stage where we're figuring out whether or not
a kid has allergies, whether or not a kid has asthma.
(28:16):
Are there recommendations you give them about reducing risk and
mitigating risk.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
I think we have a lot of really newish data
that shows that introducing things that are potential allergens early
in life, like some of the first introductions to foods,
actually help reduce the risk that they're going to continue
to have issues with those in the future. So we
actually recommend early exposure to peanut butter and regular exposure
to peanut butter as soon as babies are starting solids
(28:44):
from you know, that five to six month time, starting
with a small amount and just giving it every day,
especially for family, every day, just a small amount, and
then you can even you know, up to like a
teaspoon or something like that. The patients that have the
families that have allergies running in the family, these can
reduce the risk that the child will have reactions to
(29:06):
it in the future. And having a wide variety of
diet and regular use of things that are potential allergens
like fish and meats and vegetables and fruits that are
common allergens, introducing those early so that the body just
gets used to them is less likely to have a
reaction in the future. So we're getting you know, science
has kind of gone both ways. We used to say
(29:27):
avoid it until they're older, but now early introduction seems
to reduce the risk of having those allergies in the future.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
That's really cool. I mean I understand that with you know,
the the kind of genetic lottery that exists when when
kids are created, there's a high likelihood that a lot
of things are genetically inherited. Will the switch turn on
or off? We don't know, Like with allergies, So is
(29:53):
the idea because again, you know, I'm allergic to everything
as Maticgarreer, is the idea that, like, the more exposure
they have to these things, you actually increase the likelihood
that that switch won't turn on. They could have a
capacity to have allergies to foods, but should they be
exposed early and regularly, that might not turn into something
(30:17):
that is a reaction.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Yeah, so it's important to know what the allergies are.
And the allergy that we're talking about is an antibody,
an IgE antibody that's reacting to a substance that our
body seeses foreign or I mean really it is a
foreign substance, but our body is creating this IgE reaction.
And so if we're introducing them early and regular, the
(30:41):
body is not seeing them as the same type of
foreign and their IgE reaction isn't happening. So again, the
data is always changing, but I think it's right now.
The data really shows that early introduction and regular exposure
to some of these allergens reduces the risk in the future.
So I think that getting families, especially those that are
(31:03):
born at risk for allergies. We've got this kind of triangle, right,
So you've got asthma, allergies, and exzema in this little
triangle that these things tend to run together. So in
families that we have asthma and exzema and maybe some allergies,
consider you know, talking to your doctor about making sure
that you're introducing things like peanut butter and maybe certain
fruits early in the food journey as babies.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
That's really cool. When you were talking about the IgE response,
I was like, Oh, I get what you're saying. It's
sort of like having a terribly behaved dog at the
dog park that attacks the other dogs versus a dog
that can like chill and look at another dog and
be like whatever and go back to what it's doing.
It's like the exposure actually helps your body not attack
(31:51):
the thing that's moving through your system.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
YEP, absolutely, Okay, I like it.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
So when you talk about options like this, you know
what the data says. The cool thing about science is
it's always evolving, right, We're always learning more. We get
to perfect our recommendations, we get to tinker with our
plans based on new information, but based on what we
know now, if a child has complex allergies, would you
(32:21):
recommend parents focus on this sort of exposure therapy or
do you think they should also seek out an allergist
to create a plan. What does a plan like that
look like? And I ask because when I was seven,
I was on allergy shops for a while. My parents
are always like, hey, we got a bubble boy over here,
(32:44):
and I it was really helpful for me then, but
obviously I was too young to really know what was
going on and to feel like I'm armed with that
information now. So how does a parent know whether they
need to have a plan from an allergist or they
can just kind of manage at home symptoms and exposures.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
So I think starting with your pediatrician is always the
right answer. Pediatricians, you know we infant nutrition is you know,
we are specialists in that. So starting with your pediatrician
working through a nutrition exposure plan as little babies and
as they get older if they're having allergies and eggemn asthma,
I think getting into an allergist is a great idea.
(33:25):
There are so many, like I said, new technologies and
new data and research out there, and allergists are very
specially specifically trained to deal with this. So I think
getting into an allergist like Ruben Allergy, who's one of
my favorite people, would be a great place to start.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Okay, cool, is there anything that those of us you
know who follow you and support your work, but don't
you know live where you live in Florida. I asked
this question because my partners from Florida and we do
really love home, and I know it can be a
scary place to practice medicine right now with all this
hoopla about vaccine mandates, you know, potentially being eradicated, like
(34:05):
whether it's sort of rallying cry stuff or petitions to sign,
or even just like saying hi, we're supporting you from afar,
Like can we do anything from out of state to
support the work you're doing in state to try to
keep kids and families healthy?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
You know, I think it's tough. I think talking with
our congress people, representatives, senators to talk about what's really
important on a national level and making sure that science
and data and evidence are prioritized on a national level
is really important. So I think advocating through you know,
(34:41):
our means our representatives is the great place to start,
and I know always I would always appreciate the social
media support and all of the other creators out there
also pushing science and data making sure that we're supporting
them as well.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Yeah, I mean, I really try with folks you know,
like you and other friends in scientific fields. I'm like,
let me just engage with these posts all the time
so they're getting some positivity and some love. So all
of our whipsmarties at home. I'm so proud that my
audience is very like, very wise, and also they love
data like I do. Please go engage and leave kindness
(35:19):
for our medical heroes because they deal with a lot
of other stuff too. I really want to respect your time.
I'm going to ask you my last question, even though
I want to ask you one hundred more. For you,
you know, you do a lot of big work for
the world. You do a lot of big work in
a hospital. A lot of it is for community, but
(35:40):
like just for you, for doctor Beach, for Megan, what's
bringing you joy? And what is your work in progress
right now? And maybe it is for everyone, but maybe
it's like something you're working on for yourself.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
I would say that social media for me is it
really is a coping mechanism, the ability to connect with
like minded peace, you know. And I do post a
lot of like educational, sciencey stuff, but I post some
fun stuff too and obviously enjoy myself in that respect.
I am working on a nonprofit that will benefit kids
(36:15):
in the emergency department and then also kids in outside
emergency departments, to make sure that those emergency departments are
able to take care of kids that are sick. Not
every emergency department is the same, and the care that
kids get in an adult or community emergency department is
not often the same as they're going to get in
a pediatric er. And I want to kind of expand
(36:35):
that care, that good quality, evidence based care out to
these outside emergency departments, using this nonprofit, getting the supplies
and the knowledge out to those facilities, and then when
they get to the emergency department, keeping them comfortable, taking
away the stress and the trauma in the emergency department.
So those are kind of my passion projects right now.
(36:56):
But I'll be on a social media Really is the
way that I cope with all of the stuff that's
happening in the world.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Yeah, Well, I think especially when you are by nature
a helper, which you are. It can be a space
that you can step into to offer help. And sometimes
we feel a little boxed in by the world around us,
and this digital world, for all of its flaws, I mean,
you know, sometimes it's sort of accessible. Can also be
(37:25):
a space where you can like drop a life raft
out for people. And I really admire that you continue
to show up not just in your hospital every day,
but in these digital spaces every day, because I know
it's not an easy time to be an evidentiary and
science based medical professional. But I so appreciate what you do,
(37:47):
and I just appreciate you taking the time. I always
want to talk to folks who do what you do,
but in moments like this, when parents are so scared,
the fact that you'd take time out of your data
come speak to our audience really means a lot.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Me. Thank you,
Host
Sophia Bush
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