Could I get some parenting advice? We are currently all in Florida at the in-laws. (more on that later). Frisco has had diarrhea with blood in it since Friday. he had a fever but it's gone now. He's otherwise fine and I don't know what urgent care could do but four days worries me. Suggestions?

Noonian, can you call the nurse hotline at your regular pediatrician?

I'd definitely talk to a nurse if I could, Nonian.

I'd be concerned about rotavirus if he hasn't been vaccinated for it. (I know it's a new vaccine within the last couple of years - not sure exactly when it was released in terms of Frisco.)

That mushroom pill - what does it mean for something to "support immune health"? I mean, pharmacologically, how is it interacting with your immune system? I see that claim all the time on various supplements and I can't for the life of me figure out what it actually means. (Also, claims like "it has extracts from 17 kinds of mushrooms!" always make me roll my eyes a little. Okaaaaaaay, that sounds like a lot of mushrooms. Are more mushrooms better? Better at doing what? But I'm generally suspicious of products which are forbidden by the FDA from making specific medical claims.)

what does it mean for something to "support immune health"?

It has pom-poms and does a little cheer from the sidelines. That makes me feel totally supported.

Also, claims like "it has extracts from 17 kinds of mushrooms!" always make me roll my eyes a little. Okaaaaaaay, that sounds like a lot of mushrooms. Are more mushrooms better? Better at doing what?

To make the cheerleader pyramid at halftime. You just can't do that with only one.

Serious question:

But I'm generally suspicious of products which are forbidden by the FDA from making specific medical claims.

Like vitamins? (Some people do think vitamins are sketchy; that's not a snarky question. I'm just curious where vitamins fall on your snake-oil-ometer. Because vitamins are also not allowed to claim more than vague statements about the structure/function of the body [i.e., improves sleep, supports healthy joints, etc.]. Anything that claims to cure/prevent an illness would be considered a drug.)

Like vitamins?

I think in most cases vitamins are a waste of money. In other cases they're potentially dangerous - the really sketchy "research" out there that recommends megadosing in order to cure cancer, for example.

And then there's the underlying problem of uneven manufacturing standards - I made my OB write me a prescription for my prenatal vitamins so that I could be sure I was getting the amounts specific in each pill. Surveys of dietary supplements (including vitamins) have found vast discrepancies between the doses on the label and what's actually in each pill. (See what happened to Gary Null, for example.)

Like vitamins?

I think in most cases vitamins are a waste of money.

Fair enough. Then I think an explanation of mushrooms' immune-strengthening effect would be a waste of your time and mine.

This article from Science-Based Medicine pretty much sums up my feelings on vitamins.

I think an explanation of mushrooms' immune-strengthening effect would be a waste of your time and mine.

Wow, um. Okay. I'll do my own research and keep my questions out of this thread. Sorry.

Wow, um. Okay. I'll do my own research and keep my questions out of this thread. Sorry.

Jess, your original question didn't sound like just a question; it sounded like, "I don't believe this stuff; why would you take it?" When you include phrases like "roll my eyes" and "generally suspicious," that doesn't come across to me as a neutral question. And I don't really feel the need to defend something that you're already disinclined to accept as effective. That's not an irrational response on my part; it's a practical one. Saves everybody time.