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This specific thing? Or just an iron chunk of some type?
The reason I know about this is the social aspect of trying to get people with endemic iron deficiency to use a supplement. If you're from the more industrialized would, I'd figure you'd take supplements that, while more expensive, may or may not be more effective.
Our daughter was less than 12 months old and had a cow milk protein allergy that was causing her to throw up most of the formula we were giving her (the allergy took us a while to figure out). We opted for trying to improve iron intake before going to pills, though if she was still deficient at her next check up that would have been what we did.
Pills? Iron supplements come in liquid form for that age.
My wife and I still prefer dietary changes to medicine when applicable
You should change your thought process and listen to the experts.
They also would have recommended dietary changes if they actually were applicable. It is this kind of belief that leads to increased harm and is solely the reason why so many children are being harmed and killed by extremely preventable causes.
I'm not accusing you of being someone as heinous as an antivaxxer, but this is the thought process that leads people down that path.
Im pretty sure the experts already talked with them back when the kid was having the problems
And for infants, doctors also prefer dietary changes before medicine, for incredibly obvious reasons
That is what I said. The doctor would only have suggested meds if it were necessary.
Im pretty sure the doctor gave them the thumbs up on trying dietary first, and Im pretty sure the doctor knows better than the guy trying to historically lecture that doctor retroactively.
The doctor is unable to stop them from their behavior.
Imagine yourself as a doctor. The patient has the plague. You say, "Take this antibiotic. It will go away." They say, "We prefer quarantine and chicken noodle soup".
Do you say ok? Or do you admonish them and risk they get angry and do nothing? Or do you say, that is better than nothing. It is their body.
The only ethical behavior for a physician in this situation is to say, "sure, try dietary modifications".
They were trying to prevent long term brain development issues by resolving the anemia the fastest evidence-based way, but the patient refused expert advice.
How about we imagine the scenario that happened?
A doctor suggests a solution, via direct supplements.
The parents ask if they can try dietary first, because they are correctly nervous about direct supplementation for an infant even if it is needed, and want to go for a safer option first if possible.
The doctor sees that the situation could also be solved via dietary supplementation, and is not so severe as to require direct supplements only, and says yes. Lets start with dietary.
The baby gets better, because dietary solved the problem.
Decades later, an internet troll tries to pretend that asking for alternatives and discussing your options with your doctor is akin to anti vax mentality, while drinking heartily from a solid lead mug.
Here, real medicine was practiced, and then someone who doesnt actually know what they are talking about tried to shame a parent for doing the completely normal thing of discussing options with their doctor
Trust me, I'm nowhere near an antivaxxer, if the pediatrician pushed even slightly harder for medicine as the solution then we'd have gone that way from the start. They were fine with us trying diet adjustments first and doing another visit soon after to see if the issue was resolved (it was).
I understand the concern though.
Do you even have kids? My daughter had low iron and all we had to do was give her less milk
I do. I also have a PhD from a medical school. That's why I know if eating less milk were the best solution for this individual, they would have said that.
Managing parents' anxieties is a major part of being a pediatrician. You don't suggest things that might scare parents when they are not necessary.
Yeah, but that stuff stains everything