ReVision Wellness

10/28/2026

Before your little ghosts and superheroes head out Saturday night, a few quick costume tips from your pediatrician! 🎃

Be seen. Trick-or-treating happens after dark, and costumes are often dark too. Reflective tape on the costume or candy bag, plus a glow stick or flashlight, helps drivers see your kids.

Check the fit. Costumes that drag on the ground are a tripping hazard when kids are running house to house. If there's a mask, make sure they can see clearly. Face paint is often the safer choice.

Keep props soft. Swords, wands, and pitchforks should be flexible, not sharp or rigid. For little ones, watch for small decorations that could be a choking hazard.

Stick to sidewalks. Halloween is one of the busiest nights of the year for kids on foot. Use crosswalks, and make sure younger kids have a grown-up along.

Spooky, not scary for the wrong reasons! Share this with a parent getting their kiddo ready for Saturday. 👻

10/26/2026

Something exciting is happening in healthcare, and I don't think enough people are talking about it. 💚

More and more employers are offering direct primary care as an employee benefit. The reason is simple: when people have a doctor they can actually reach, they use less of the expensive parts of the system. Fewer urgent care trips, fewer ER visits, and fewer small problems that grow because no one caught them early. That lowers costs for the employer and makes care better for the employee. I truly believe it's where healthcare is headed.

But here's the part I care about most: kids aren't small adults.

Children change quickly as they grow. Newborn checks, development, behavior, ADHD, anxiety, the 2 a.m. fever. Pediatrics is its own specialty, and families deserve someone trained specifically to care for their children.

I'm proud to be one of only three board-certified pediatricians in Wisconsin practicing direct care, and the only one outside a big city. Central Wisconsin families shouldn't have to drive to a big city for this kind of care.

If your workplace is exploring direct care, or already offers it for adults, I'd love for kids to be part of that conversation. Employers and HR teams can reach me at [email protected].

And parents: you can always use your HSA here, with or without an employer program.

10/23/2026

Did you know you can use your HSA card at ReVision Wellness? 💳

Your Health Savings Account was made for exactly this: paying for your child's care with pre-tax dollars. That means every visit costs you less than paying out of pocket.

No claims to file and no surprise bills. You see the price up front, swipe your HSA card, and you're done.

Questions about what's covered? Send us a message or visit www.revisionwellness.health.

10/01/2026

🎉 Happy 1st birthday, ReVision Wellness!

One year ago today, we opened our doors inside Anovia in Marshfield with a hope of offering pediatric care that feels personal, unhurried, and honest.

To every family who has walked through our door this year: thank you. You trusted us with your little ones (and your not-so-little ones!), you spread the word, and you made this place feel like home.

We're grateful for this community, and we're excited for what's ahead. Here's to year two! 🎂

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09/16/2026

Fever, sore throat, cough, pink eye…and sometimes diarrhea? It sounds like your child caught three illnesses at once, but it could actually be adenovirus.

Adenovirus is really a family of viruses, and it can cause a surprisingly wide range of symptoms in kids.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics' Red Book, adenovirus can cause common cold symptoms, sore throat and tonsillitis, ear infections, and something called pharyngoconjunctival fever, essentially fever and sore throat along with conjunctivitis, or pink eye.

Certain adenoviruses can also cause gastroenteritis, meaning vomiting or diarrhea. Less commonly, adenovirus can cause illnesses such as croup, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or even inflammation of the bladder.

For most otherwise healthy children, treatment is supportive: keeping them hydrated, managing fever and discomfort, and giving them time to recover.

And because adenovirus can spread through respiratory secretions and contaminated hands and surfaces, good handwashing and cleaning frequently touched objects can help limit transmission.

The children we worry more about are young infants, immunocompromised children, or kids who develop signs of more serious illness, because severe adenovirus infections can occasionally occur in these groups.

So if your child isn't drinking well, is having trouble breathing, seems unusually sleepy or ill, or you're concerned about how they're doing, call your pediatrician.

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09/08/2026

If your child's bedroom looks like broad daylight at 8 p.m. this summer, blackout curtains might be one of the simplest sleep tools you're overlooking.

During the summer and early fall, longer daylight hours can make bedtime tough, especially for younger kids whose bedtime arrives well before sunset.

That's because our sleep-wake cycles are strongly influenced by light and darkness. Darkness helps create an environment that supports our body's natural sleep signals, including melatonin. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a dark sleeping environment as one way to support healthy sleep.

So yes: blackout curtains can absolutely be helpful, especially if your child's room gets a lot of evening light, early-morning sunshine, or bright outdoor lighting. AAP guidance even specifically suggests heavy or blackout curtains when light is bothering a teen's sleep.

But blackout curtains aren't magic.

The bigger picture still matters: a consistent bedtime and wake time, a calming bedtime routine, a comfortable room temperature, and getting screens out of the bedroom are all important pieces of healthy sleep.

And don't make the entire day dark. Morning and daytime exposure to natural light helps reinforce your child's circadian rhythm too.

So if later sunsets are wrecking bedtime? Blackout curtains are a reasonable, and pretty simple, thing to try.

09/02/2026

Your child wakes up with a pink, goopy eye. So… are they contagious for 24 hours? Three days? A week? The answer is: it depends on what's causing the pink eye.

"Pink eye," or conjunctivitis, isn't one single illness.

If it's allergic conjunctivitis, it isn't contagious at all.

If it's caused by a virus—which is very common in school-aged children—it can spread while your child is having symptoms. Think of viral pink eye a little like the common cold: kids may actually be contagious before you even realize what's going on.

And here's something parents are often surprised to hear: antibiotic eye drops don't treat viral pink eye or make it less contagious. Adenovirus, a common cause of viral conjunctivitis, can even remain contagious for quite a while.

Bacterial conjunctivitis is different and may sometimes need antibiotic drops, depending on the situation.

So does every child with pink eye need to stay home until they've had drops for 24 hours? Not necessarily. School and daycare policies vary, but AAP parent guidance notes that many cases are viral and shouldn't automatically require antibiotics or prolonged exclusion.

Your best defense? Lots of handwashing, avoid sharing towels and pillows, and try to keep those little hands away from the eyes.

If you're unsure what type your child has, that's a great reason to check in with your pediatrician.

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08/13/2026

If your child only complains that their legs hurt at bedtime, but they're running around perfectly during the day, it may not be what you think.

Parents often worry that nighttime leg pain means something serious, but many children experience what's commonly called growing pains.

Despite the name, we don't actually know that they're caused by growth. What we do know is that they're common in young children, especially between the ages of about 3 and 12.

Growing pains usually happen in the evening or at night, often after an active day. They're typically felt in both legs, especially the calves, thighs, around the knees, and they're gone by morning.

Kids with growing pains don't limp. They don't have swollen joints. And they're able to run, jump, and play normally during the day.

Gentle massage, stretching, a warm heating pad, or an age-appropriate dose of pain medicine if needed can often help them feel better.

But here's when it's worth calling your pediatrician.

If the pain is only in one leg, causes a limp, wakes your child every single night, comes with swelling, redness, fever, weight loss, or continues into the daytime, that's not a typical pattern for growing pains and deserves a closer look.

Most growing pains are completely harmless, but knowing what is and isn't normal can help parents know when to seek medical advice.

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08/08/2026

That huge mosquito bite on your child's arm might look alarming, but it doesn't always mean it's infected.

Every summer, I hear the same concern from parents: "This mosquito bite is huge! Does my child need antibiotics?"

Most of the time, the answer is no.

Kids often have much stronger reactions to mosquito bites than adults. Their immune systems respond more dramatically, so the bite may become very swollen, red, warm, and incredibly itchy over the first 24 to 48 hours.

That doesn't automatically mean it's infected.

A normal mosquito bite reaction usually itches much more than it hurts. It often peaks in size after a day or two before slowly improving.

To help with symptoms, use a cool compress, try an over-the-counter anti-itch cream like hydrocortisone if appropriate for your child's age, and consider an oral antihistamine if your pediatrician recommends it. (benadryl is out, the long acting ones like zyrtec/claritin are in!). And as hard as it is, encourage your child not to scratch, since scratching is what often leads to a true skin infection.

So when should you worry?

If the redness keeps spreading after a couple of days instead of improving, becomes increasingly painful, starts draining pus, or your child develops a fever, it's time to have it evaluated.

Big doesn't always mean infected. Sometimes it just means your child's immune system is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

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08/04/2026

If you're checking your child for ticks, you're probably missing the most common hiding spots.

It's that time of year when kids are spending hours outside—hiking, camping, playing sports, or just exploring the backyard. And with all that outdoor fun comes an increase in tick bites.

The good news is that one of the best ways to prevent tick-borne illnesses is also one of the simplest: a thorough tick check at the end of the day.

But here's where parents often miss them.

Ticks love warm, hidden places. Be sure to check behind the ears, along the hairline and scalp, under the arms, inside the belly button, around the waistband, behind the knees, between the legs, and around the groin. They can be incredibly small—some are no bigger than a poppy seed.

If you find a tick, don't panic. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it as close to the skin as possible and pull straight upward with steady pressure. Avoid twisting, burning it, or covering it with petroleum jelly. Those methods don't work and may actually increase the risk of disease transmission.

Most tick bites don't lead to illness, but keep an eye out over the next few weeks. If your child develops a fever, unusual fatigue, severe headache, or a spreading rash—especially one that looks like a bull's-eye—contact your pediatrician.

A two-minute tick check after outdoor play can make a big difference. It's one of the easiest summer habits you can build into your family's routine.

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