Collin Naugher NP

Collin Naugher NP Dr. Collin Naugher
DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC

👉Empowering parents to advocate for their kids
🥂Integrative care 🩺
Husband & Dad x 4️⃣

03/15/2026

Last month a kid sat on my exam table eating a snack and suddenly said something that made my stomach drop.

No rash.
No swelling.
Nothing dramatic yet.

Just one strange complaint.

I’ve heard that exact sentence before… and within minutes that child needed epinephrine.

It caught the parent completely off guard because most people are taught to look for hives first.

But allergic reactions often start much quieter than that.

Sometimes the first clues sound like:

“My tongue feels spicy.”
“My throat feels weird.”
“My tummy hurts.”
Or a sudden cough that wasn’t there a minute ago.

I’ve also stood on the other side of that panic. Two of my kids have egg and peanut allergies. When reactions start, your brain immediately goes to worst case scenarios.

So here are the red flags I watch for after a food exposure 👇

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🚨 Trouble breathing
🚨 Repeated vomiting
🚨 Swelling of lips or tongue
🚨 Hoarse voice or constant throat clearing
🚨 Saying their throat feels tight
🚨 Sudden extreme sleepiness or dizziness

If those show up after eating a possible allergen, that’s when epinephrine comes into play.

Here’s the science most people don’t realize.

Epinephrine works best early.
It opens the airway, raises blood pressure, and slows the allergic cascade happening in the body.

Waiting for things to get “really bad” is actually the risky move.

Early epinephrine saves lives.

If your child has food allergies, make sure you know exactly where that injector is and don’t hesitate to use it.

Follow for more simple ways to recognize serious kid health problems before they become emergencies. 🚑👶

Disclaimer: The posts on this account are for general information and entertainment, not intended as medical advice. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner, but interacting with or following this account does not establish a doctor-patient relationship nor does this information replace the advice of your own healthcare provider.

03/15/2026

Last week a dad brought his little guy in because of belly pain.
The kind where the child curls up on the exam table and says, “My tummy hurts.”

He looked worried and asked the question I hear all the time.

“How do you know when belly pain is serious?”

That question matters. Because some belly pain is nothing more than trapped gas or constipation… but a few causes are things you really don’t want to miss.

Here are 3 things I don’t do when I see abdominal pain.

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❌ I don’t assume it’s just a stomach bug
A lot of belly pain gets blamed on viruses. Sometimes that’s true. But pain that keeps coming back, moves to the lower right side, or gets worse with movement can be something else.

✅ What I do instead:
I ask where the pain started and where it moved. That pattern tells me a lot about what might be happening inside the belly.

❌ I don’t ignore the child’s behavior
Kids often tell the truth with their body before they say it with words. A kid who won’t walk, won’t jump, or guards their belly is telling me something important.

✅ What I do instead:
I watch how they move in the room. Sometimes I even ask them to hop or jump. That simple moment can reveal a lot.

❌ I don’t focus only on the stomach
Belly pain in kids doesn’t always come from the belly.

✅ What I do instead:
I check the throat, ears, and sometimes even the lungs. Strep throat and pneumonia can both show up as belly pain in younger kids.

🔬 Science fact:
One of the most common surgical emergencies in kids is appendicitis. The pain often starts near the belly button and then moves to the lower right side as the appendix becomes more inflamed.

If this kind of post helps you think through those stressful “is this serious?” moments, save it so you can come back later.

And send it to a friend who has a kid that randomly says “my tummy hurts.” Kids are really good at that. 😅

As always send me a comment or question below

03/13/2026

Last week I asked a simple question in clinic.

“How many wet diapers today?”

Long pause. 😅

It sounds like a small detail… but it’s actually one of the biggest clues I use when a kid is sick.

When vomiting, diarrhea, or fever shows up, the thing I’m quietly watching is hydration.

Here’s why.

Kids get dehydrated much faster than adults. Their bodies are smaller and they lose fluid from a few places at once.

🤢 Vomiting loses fluid
💩 Diarrhea loses fluid
🌡️ Fever burns fluid
🥤 And sometimes they just won’t drink

So the tank empties fast.

The easiest way to tell if there’s still fluid in the tank?

Urine.

If diapers are still wet regularly, that’s a really good sign the body still has fluid.

When the wet diapers slow down… that’s when I start paying closer attention.

Here are a few dehydration signs I watch for:

💧 Fewer wet diapers than normal
👄 Dry mouth or sticky lips
😢 No tears when crying
😴 Extra sleepy or low energy
🚽 Dark yellow p*e

Most mild dehydration can improve with small, frequent sips of fluids.

But there are a few red flags I don’t ignore.

🚩 Red flags
No wet diaper for 8–10 hours in babies
No p*e for 12 hours in older kids
Hard to wake or very sleepy
Fast breathing or fast heart rate
Sunken soft spot in babies
Vomiting that won’t stop

Dehydration is sneaky. It often shows up in the diaper count first.

So next time a kid in your house gets sick… watch the diapers. It tells you a lot. 👶

If this was helpful, send it to a friend with little kids. They’ll probably need it one day. 💧

03/13/2026

A few nights ago one of my kids ran in with a bleeding knee. You know the moment. Blood on the leg. Big eyes. Everyone suddenly very quiet while you decide what to do next.

I realized in that moment something kind of funny. The things I actually do for cuts now are different from what I was taught growing up.

Some of the old “go-to” tricks feel right… but they’re not always the best move for skin healing. So when my kid gets a cut, there are a few things I skip on purpose.

Here are 3 things I don’t do when my kid gets a cut 👇

❌ I don’t pour hydrogen peroxide on it
It bubbles, so it feels like it’s doing something important.
✅ What I do instead: I rinse the cut really well with clean running water and wash the skin around it with a little soap.

❌ I don’t leave it open to air out
That’s what most of us heard growing up.
✅ What I do instead: I put on a thin layer of Vaseline and cover it with a bandage so it stays protected.

❌ I don’t panic over the bleeding
Even tiny cuts can look dramatic.
✅ What I do instead: I hold steady pressure with a clean cloth for a few minutes. Most small cuts stop bleeding pretty quickly.

🔬 Science fact:
Cuts heal faster in a moist environment than when they dry out and form a thick scab.

Kids collect cuts like badges. It’s part of the job description.

If you ever find yourself staring at a bleeding knee trying to remember what actually helps…
save this so you can come back to it later and send it to a friend who still reaches for the peroxide first. 🩹

03/12/2026

Last week one of my kids woke up burning up.

I checked his temp. 103°F.

For a second I felt that little wave of panic… even though I’m a pediatric NP.

But then I looked at him.

He was sitting in bed asking for water and telling me about a dream he had.

And it reminded me of something I see all the time.

The number on the thermometer is usually not the most important part of a fever.

I’ve had kids come into clinic with 103 or 104, and they’re running around the room eating crackers.

When my kids have a fever, the first thing I watch isn’t the number.

It’s how they’re acting.

Are they drinking?
Talking?
Still themselves?

That tells me a lot more than the thermometer.

🚨 Red flags I would never ignore

Fever in a baby under 3 months

A child who is very hard to wake

They won’t drink or aren’t p*eing

Fast breathing or struggling to breath

Those are the moments I’d go get help right away.

But a kid with 103 asking for snacks?

Most of the time… their body is just doing its job. 🌡️👶

Save this for the next fever night.

03/12/2026

👇🏼Let me know your guess then come back for the answer!

👇🏼
!





👇🏼 It was...

Rhabdomyolysis!

🦠 This kid had Flu A — but what happened next can happen with other viruses too!

🏃‍♂️Follow along .np

As always send me a comment or question below

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