Introduction to Dr. Eric Galindo

Speaker 1 0:42

Here we are . Hello , hello everybody , and welcome to another episode of Beauty , of Breathing Podcast . I have another Instagram celebrity with me today , dr Eric , how are you doing ?

Speaker 2 0:57

How's it going , Renata ? Thank you for having me . Yeah , Speaking of celebrities , we were just speaking about Josh Madsen . So , yeah , I'm so excited . Look at my face . That's the way I am . I'm so excited . I mean I cannot I cannot hide it . I'm so happy to be here as your guest and and yeah , I love your title First breaths , first words . It's amazing . Yeah , it's going to be a great talk .

Speaker 1 1:21

So you guys hang around . We are getting ready to actually go live on both of our Instagram accounts so all of our followers can join in the conversation . You guys are welcome . If you're listening to this live , you're welcome to send us some questions as we start going through this wonderful talk we're going to have . So I'm going to go ahead while you guys are getting ready and we're going to introduce our speaker .

Speaker 1 1:43

So the topic today is from first breaths to first words , oral restrictions , airway health and team-based pediatric care , presenting Dr Gary Galindo , a pediatrician based in Guadalajara who is redefining how we care for our children . With nearly 20 years of experience , he's turned the standard consult into something much deeper , focusing on how breathing , sleep and oral function shape a child's development . From tethered oral tissues to airway health , to the importance of chewing and the impact of sleep on behavior , dr Galindo connects the dots between symptoms and root causes , bringing both precision and empathy to his practice . He's a board member of ICAP and an ambassador of the Bright Institute . Thank you so much for accepting our invitation . We have a couple of friends in common that connected us whenever we're looking for someone in Mexico to help one of our patients , so thank you for being here .

Speaker 2 2:49

Yeah , and I have a story , whenever there's a chance , about connection in Mexico and how like it was someone . It was an adult that had myofunctional therapy and that needed a third release and it was a complex case and she lived an hour drive from here and she had a myofunctional therapist from New York , but they were friends . She was doing therapy but she was ready for another release because of two bad releases previously and I connected her to Neil the chiropractor , our friend , because she needed his help and then the plan was all the way up to see dr zaggy to do a perfect release , a proper release , and then and it ended up working so well .

Speaker 2 3:33

So speak about connecting , so and from mexico all the way , all the way to california . So , uh , and , and , yeah , uh , and I was an adult . But uh , yeah , like we , we have to act early , right , yeah , 100 . This is interesting you mentioned in the few minutes that we talked before we went live and I was an adult , but , yeah , like we have to act early right , yeah , 100% .

Speaker 1 3:47

This is interesting . You mentioned in the few minutes that we talked before we went live . You mentioned Dr Zaghi . Of course , I've been working with Dr Zaghi for a while sending him patients . He's absolutely wonderful . We love him . You mentioned Dr Josh Medicine , who we just interviewed for Aerie Circle and for the Beauty of Breathing podcast , and you guys connected also with at Dr Zaghi's Breathing Institute .

Speaker 2 4:11

Yeah , exactly , I think I've texted him here and there . I mentioned like he has already three centers , 40 plus staff and I told him we need something like that in Mexico . I mean , if you're planning to expand , and he's just like you , he's such an entrepreneur and I know he's going to have some big plans all over the world , but we need them . I mean speaking of growing healthy and finding what could be a hindrance to your development . I mean it's such an important topic , right , and it's connected to the airway , like primitive reflexes .

Speaker 2 4:49

He was mentioning how you go from the gross motor , right , you go from the gross motor to the fine motor , and he's speaking how the tongue and the movement of and all the oral functions are sort of like a fine motor skills , right , and I see , as a pediatrician you mentioned right on it was like , uh , you hit the right chord that uh , as a pediatrician because I'm , by training as a pediatrician like ,

Connecting the Dots in Pediatric Care

Speaker 2 5:11

what does a pediatrician has to do with ? Uh , tongue ties and and and and the socks all breathe . It's because the only way , uh , I can contribute as a pediatrician is , uh , to connect the dots . I sometimes , I sometimes , when I tell the patients I know a lot about everything and at the same time , I don't , I know nothing , because I mean , I'm , I mean , I see people from your specialty Dr Zaghi has an ENT and orthodontists , chiropractors , craniosacral therapists I mean special people that are specialized in functional neurology .

Speaker 1 5:47

No yeah .

Speaker 2 5:49

And I'm just a general pediatrician , but I'm the primary care physician , you know .

Speaker 1 5:55

Just a general pediatrician . We need y'all's help . You know you guys are the first line in front of every child out there . You guys are the first line in front of every child out there and I'm going to say this the hardest professional to talk to to me has been pediatricians , because you guys are so busy , you have so much going on . You're over there saving lives , you know , and we just want a little bit of your time to talk to you guys about sleep . You know , let's do sleep studies as a how can we start doing sleep studies as part of screening for children just in ? You know , not in lab , but at home sleep studies or just having simple questionnaires , because I believe that it's such an important pillar that is being ignored by so many medical professionals when it comes to overall health . Why do you think we're not really looking at sleep ?

Speaker 2 6:51

I think it has to do with our backgrounds , right . I mean everybody started , I mean , as a therapist , as a pediatrician you need to have like a life-changing event , right , it's a never-ending process of learning . You have to be humble enough to say you don't know I think this has come from Zaghi and from someone else that you never know what you don't know , right , and you do like Dr Richard Baxter says , you're not ill-intentioned , you just do what you can with the information you have , right . And if you don't have that curiosity , that humbleness to say there has to be more , and if you get rid of that mindset of just being the band-aid , you know , to solving problems instead of going to the root cause . So to me as a pediatrician , from personal experience , I think it's the way we are trained and and and you need to have this , this enlightening moment , this aha moment , to say you know what this is just not making sense anymore . Trying to medicate kids from the early stages , right , with reflux medications , with trying to say , oh no , the solution for a two-year-old to sleep better is melatonin , right . Trying to say , oh no , the solution for a two-year-old to sleep better is melatonin , right .

Speaker 2 8:08

And then you find these amazing tools like the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire . You mentioned sleep studies . I mean , just try to find ways to ask the right questions right . Take the time , whenever you have the time , take a moment to ask the right questions , right . I have like screening questions that are like very focused .

Speaker 2 8:29

And then you find patients , bernardo , that say , by the way now that you mentioned , yeah , of course , I see that my kid is drooling at night . I know that he wakes up thirsty , you know ? Or , yeah , I have so many pictures on my phone of my firstborn , and every time I took pictures of my firstborn , when he was an infant and a baby , a little child , he was already sleeping . He was always sleeping with his mouth open , right , and uh , and then , like , so it starts from curiosity , and , and , then there's so much information out there . But it's like if you start from that point and then you go down the rabbit hole , right , and you never stop here we are right . We never stop . Here we are Right . We never stopped learning and and and .

Speaker 2 9:09

Patients like being able to listen , right , I take the time to listen because patients have so many things to say and and and . I think it's actually I know it's a cliche , but it's like just being with an open mind to say what else could there be there , right , what else could that be ? And then I think from Josh I could take the systems-based thinking right . He has this pyramid . You go like everything is connected and then moving away from the westernized way of seeing medicine , right . When I was like everything in compartments , right , this division of the human health , right . And then when you find out about fascia , this cotton candy , that's connected everywhere , right .

Speaker 1 9:53

I love the cotton candy .

Speaker 2 9:56

I just read it from Tom Myers book , so I just highly love it .

Speaker 2 10:01

Yeah , I mean , because it is actually a cotton candy , right , it goes , it's intertwined in every part of the body and in every part of your cells , right ? So when you have a systems-based thinking and then you help parents connect the dots , so you narrow it down and as a pediatrician , as a primary care physician , what I can contribute to your specialty , renata , is like trying to make like the connections of the specialties you need . So here in Mexico , that's what I do . A patient comes nowadays it's not only about the tongue tie , it's more about craniofacial development , right ? So what's going on ? So you have nowadays , mainly my consults , first-time patients are mouth readers , right ? So you have you need to ask about the oral habits , no , and then change your mindset , renata , because it's people here in Mexico . I know you speak Portuguese and uh , and you see in Latin America that , uh , like the pacifier is so ubiquitous , right , it's , it's so like I mean , and then it's a little bit of a culture , because in Brazil it's huge .

Speaker 1 11:06

I mean , I had a pacifier until I was four or six years old and you see eight-year-olds with a pacifier . In Brazil . I mean it's not that common , but very common for a four-year-old still to have a pacifier in their mouth all the time . It's cultural for sure .

Speaker 2 11:20

Yeah . So and it's not about shaming parents , it's telling them you know , it's okay that you didn't know , but I mean , let's find ways . Now I'm amazed with a , with a Nene pacifier , for example , like you need to the tongue to start working differently , you know . And then you try to explain in simple terms . You know what the pacifier is doing is separating , creating a gap between the tongue and the floor of the mouth and the roof of the mouth . So that's and all the biofunctional evolving system inside you , right , how the lips , the nose , the tongue , it creates this vacuum .

Speaker 2 11:55

So you try to explain parents in simple terms if you act early , right , acting early makes a difference because , for example , you deal with adults and you know it's going to take more time , it's like a marathon . So and and in marathon you get , you hit the wall and sometimes you want to abandon the race , right ? So and I , I think linda uh donofrio says like she likes to work better with adults , because when she works with kids it's like okay , you did it , now you have to do it for the rest of your life . Those good habits , now you have to do it for the rest of your life , you know those good habits .

Speaker 2 12:27

Now you have to do it because this is forever right . I mean good oral habits , good uh posture , good sleep , and now , uh , as you can see , and and stop me whenever you can uh , because I I speak too much .

Speaker 1 12:40

I said to you you're good , I love it . I do have a question , but keep going .

Speaker 2 12:45

So it's about trying to find ways to act early to have a better outcome , a more impactful change .

First Breaths and Oral Restrictions

Speaker 2 13:03

And in Brazil , I love it because they're trying to identify in utero right and like the malocclusions . They're trying to do ultrasounds to identify malocclusions that could cause a lot of trouble with the socks , follow breathe problems and a lot of troubles with breathing right .

Speaker 1 13:21

Yeah , tell everybody a little bit about that .

Speaker 2 13:27

So obviously we have our genetics right , but then , as Dr Felix Leal says , then we have epigenetics right . So you have , and then a myofunctional therapist that's pretty well known . It was a guest with Neil . It was like saying it's going to take . You mentioned you had a case yourself with pacifier use , if I understood correctly .

Speaker 2 13:49

So it's going to take like three or four generations if we want to do some epigenetic changes to see that we don't have this offspring of like , maybe this retrognetic small developing jaws , retrognetic small developing jaws , you know , because it's all about the weird society societies , like Dr Kevin Boyd says , the weird societies are Western , educated , rich , industrialized . So with our civilization habits we have to wait a few generations to see those changes . But to narrow to your question is we could be more impactful if , since the ultrasound , we could see a child that's already maybe sucking their thumb , because we know from early start , from the first trimester , there's already development of swallowing movements , right . So if we can identify early like again in brazil with tong tai identification protocol that they established in 2014 so so if you see that you have any changes , you could start using some kind of oral motor therapy to promote , because what I'm trying to explain is like , form follows function , right . So if you act early and that's why us pediatricians here in Mexico , we are the ones that are present at the birthing event yes , so if you're able to identify , you know , movement of the whole body , like a physical therapist says , do a lot of tummy time , extension of the neck , that's all these things .

Speaker 2 15:33

The fascia acts early . The like jaw says the autonomic nervous system from the polyvagal uh theory . So starting early so you're able to see how , in the first 12 months to 24 months of life , you see how the phase starts developing differently , right , and that's and just like , that's kind of like a conservative , conservative intervention , and you see better breathings , better breathers , better regulation of the nervous system , system , because now we know how it's connected , right , and then you have kids . Uh , you cannot imagine how long I told neil I don't know how long it has been that I have not given medicine for colic , you know oh my goodness , hearing this from a pediatrician , it's crazy .

Speaker 1 16:23

But how ? What inspired you to shift from traditional pediatric care to a more integrative approach focused on breathing , oral function and sleep ?

Speaker 2 16:34

I mean long story short , everything started with tongue ties and shout out to my mentors , dr Richard Baxter , dr Zaghi , I mean I , I know another cliche , but I do stand on the shoulders of giants and first it was tongue ties or restrictions , and then you know , eventually you're going to see that it's not enough , you know . And then so that was one part of the story , and the other one , renata , is like kids were not improving . I mean it as a pediatrician , with my medicalization , like like all medicine-based treatment , band-aid approach , kids were not improving , so we're not getting better . And and parents were all over informed because of social media and they were not , they were not finding the answers .

Speaker 2 17:25

And then I think I got motivated because when I connected , I mean now my right hand is a physiotherapist Every time a baby comes to see me they have to go to see a physiotherapist .

Speaker 2 17:39

I even do early interventions and I go to the nursery and I take with me a physiotherapist to check for primitive reflexes , the soft , solid , brief pattern , the need of a nidney pacifier . So , and then what I found out ? The combination of physio osteopathy , which shout out to Brazil , which is amazing the osteopathic school in Brazil and then me as a pediatrician , just being like the guide , and everything started working perfectly . I told Nio those stories , so that's why I got into this and , like I told Gigi Tadros , now this lens , it's hard for me to see it differently . I mean you have to stay with your open mind because I mean you were so biased , right , without confirmations , but I mean be aware that there's more to know always . But that's that's uh . That's the story of what uh brought me to this space .

Speaker 1 18:32

Yeah , that's incredible . And then you mentioned dr neo bukandani . He's an incredible chiropractor . Uh , in the west coast he's treated me before and , oh my gosh , you just melt on his hands . He is going to introduce us . So thank you , dr Neo . He's over here listening and you mentioned I just sent her a patient yesterday . So it's crazy how all of us are connected in such a way and with the same mission . You know .

Speaker 2 18:58

Yeah .

Speaker 1 18:59

What is it that one of my mentors says Something about ? You know there's no competition if we're all going in the right , in the same direction . You know it doesn't matter . All of us are going to be in different levels of our careers , even if we're in the same specialty . But if we're all going into the same direction , which is to help more patients find the root cause of symptoms and be healthier , we are all in this together .

Speaker 1 19:29

So I love that approach how did your early clinical experience with unresolved symptoms in children shape your current philosophy on pediatric care . You mentioned you started with tongue ties . What was it that you were seeing that you started thinking maybe the tongue restriction may be an issue ?

Speaker 2 19:48

Well , it was as a pediatrician I do believe I am to the heart a promoter of breastfeeding . So initially I was , like already not very happy with the pharmaceutical companies , uh , sponsoring physicians to go to the conferences you know so a lot . It all started . And then with my own kids that , uh , we didn't have . And my , my 14 year old , and I have a big pass right there he has a tongue tie . He cannot . So it's always personal , right . So I mean , breastfeeding was not working . And on ib , IBCLC who's amazing over here , she's kind of like my partner in all these cases and she mentioned , you know , what do you know about tongue ties A friend of my dad who's a pediatric surgeon told me how to do the scissor release and initially I didn't know a thing . I'd be very , very accepting to be criticized by Dr Gehary that I was just doing justa small snip , you know , of the tongue with the scissors and things were not improving .

Speaker 2 20:56

And then I discovered this world from therapists . I mean the connection from pediatric general care and physical therapy . I don't know from pediatric general care and physical therapy , I don't know You're going to listen to me so many times say physical therapy , because the body , the way you do as any kind of I don't know if it's the right word , but it's so many times mentioned that in the States , the body workers I mean

From Traditional to Integrative Pediatrics

Speaker 2 21:22

the CSDs , the OTs , everybody , even the myofunctional therapists , because you know , like it's not only about from the eyebrows to the base of the neck , right , it's all connected . So I think I mean finding ways that kids got better again , as I said . And you mentioned about collaborative work , right . I mean , if we focus on patients , on parents , which are looking for answers and not getting them , and I don't know if it's modernity , but you cannot see patients by yourself because the cases are too complex , right . And you find out that if you work together and you connect people to many specialties , you see better results right .

Speaker 2 22:13

So , and then you know it as a specialist if you only do the quick fix of a frenuloplasty and you don't do the pre-habilitation or the prep work , and if you don't do the follow-up , you're going to end up not getting any results . Not better breathing , not better functional patterns of the mouth , right , not better swallowing , a lot of compensations that decompensate many other things , right . So we need each other . So , uh , otherwise , otherwise I don't see myself . I don't see myself working on my own with all these complex cases . Uh , I mean , nowadays you need an allergist because I mean I have six million people .

Speaker 2 22:59

I mean six million people in the metro area here in . Guadalajara Can you imagine pollution here ?

Speaker 1 23:05

Yeah , I mean yeah .

Speaker 2 23:08

Cheers to your mate that you're drinking and my coffee .

Speaker 1 23:10

I am drinking yerba mate .

Speaker 2 23:15

Yeah , and so , and then , and all the you know , mold inflammation , chronic inflammation , so many things , environmental right as a as a specialist in your case . You see a lot of people having environmental issues , right , you see ?

Speaker 1 23:29

a lot over here where I am in georgia . Whenever you arrive and you're landing with the plane at this time of the year , you just see yellow . There's so much pollen over here . The biggest issue is definitely allergy to pollen . It is insane . My , all my furniture outside , everything is yellow . The car is everything's yellow .

Speaker 2 23:50

It's kind of crazy how intense it is the pollen over here yeah , and like dr zaki said , december on our update at the breathe institute , it's uh seeing beyond the airways as well , because so many things could influence , uh , I mean I love his phrase that it's that it's breathing is the beginning , but then you see what the factors are , uh , that could be influencing negatively , uh , your bad breathing right from the start . Formula , formula usage , bottle , drinking , pacifier , not movement . You know the compartment syndrome that Dr Gigi mentions Kids are all the time on their strollers . They're not moving enough .

Speaker 2 24:34

So then there's a connection , like a lifelong connection , of things you can do like interventions , connection of things you can do like interventions . So if you find all these connections and you see there's no quick fix and you encourage parents to keep , uh , looking for improvements and it's here and there , we're not perfect , you know it's here and there bit by bit , so , uh , so parents can endure , right , because if you tell them , oh no , there's going to be this long term , and you like , like , like , invade them with all this information , it's overwhelming . So you want parents to keep up right .

Speaker 1 25:09

A hundred percent and how ? What are some symptoms for parents listening ? What are some symptoms that you're looking for when a new baby comes in in terms of maybe could be tongue tie or lip tie ? What are you looking for ?

Speaker 2 25:25

I like from the basics that I've learned from physiotherapists you try to look for tensions , right . So , and then also from Josh , you try to look for the basic knowledge of primitive reflexes , right so , grasp the movement of the neck , all this asymmetrical tone , neck reflexes , the basic reflexes , right , the Babinski . So you try to look for neurological stability , right . And then you try to like and also a big mentor , nancy Calamusa , she told me , like the importance of the socks , follow breathe pattern . So you try to see the breathing pattern in a baby . I mean from even just using your eyes to see . So you put your finger you try to see uh , uh , uh , you see an actual breastfed , breastfeeding moment . So for parents , you could see the position of the positioning of the baby . Uh , if the baby has a lip seal , you can teach them the resting position of the tongue , right , you can tell them , you know it's important for the baby to move its neck from side to side . Unfortunately , here in Mexico we have a high rate of C-sections , right so , and you know from physiotherapists that already having a C-section , it's a flag that you have to understand that the kid was not having maybe the best proprioception right , the best movement activity in the womb . So you try to see . You know , a C-section it's not a shame , it's fine , it was a decision . A C-section , it's not a shame , it's fine , it was a decision . But we have to be more aware of baby's posture , baby's tongue position .

Speaker 2 27:07

Let's do an evaluation of a sock swallow breathe . Let's find you , as soon as possible , a consult with an IBCLC , and that's what I tell parents . So my dream team as a pediatrician is like okay , you come first week and I tell you okay , let's do an evaluation of the socks while you breathe , tell me about breastfeeding , tell me about a little bit about sleep . Let's see movements . Let's see those primitive reflexes . Let's look for neck tensions , right , let's look maybe from already , like one month . I've seen kids one month already having plagiocephaly . You know , that's a big sign , you know .

Speaker 2 27:43

Or kids that are like every time they're feeding , or you do the right questions , like feeding and they have like , just like the fists you know , always my son always had his hands like this yeah , and then you see the feeds , like the feet already like curled down like this , you know , like a , like a , like a like grasping , you know , and that's a sign according to uh , like what I've like this , you know , like a , like a , like a like grasping , you know , and that's a sign according to uh , like what I've learned .

Speaker 2 28:05

So you try to look for tensions , right , and then uh , so you take time to explain parents . That's what I would say as my answer , that's what I could tell parents . So , and then sometimes parents are not aware that it's not okay to have your not appropriate uh , a proper lip seal , lip seal , right . So I tell parents you know the baby , and like lift this chin as many times a day as possible and then lower the chin again and look at the tongue and it was like I didn't know that and it's like and and that helps baby self-regulate , right .

Speaker 1 28:37

Yes , I have a video of benny when he was asleep and I showed these on my talks . I just spoke this weekend in Seattle at the PNDC , which is a huge conference . It's funny because when they invited me I was so busy , you know , and I was like , yes , sure I'll come , and I thought it was a study club . I got there . It's a 4000 people conference . I had four lectures in one day and two of them were sold out . So I was super , super , super excited .

Speaker 1 29:09

And I show one video in one of these talks and it's of Benny whenever he was asleep , and I show exactly where you should push underneath the chin whenever if there's their mouth open . So you're not necessarily pushing the chin , you're pushing the tongue underneath . So you have to see where the tongue is right underneath here and then you push and you hold lightly , you just press on it gently and you wait for the child to swallow . As soon as they swallow you can let go , because the tongue stays up there and the lip stays , stay closed yeah , and you see , and when you try to do it like uh , repetitively , you see how I mean .

Speaker 2 29:40

you see even how babies relax . You know it's like and , and learning , learning the complexity of the tongue as well , right , all the cranial nerves and all the muscles that connect to it , and then uh again , uh , the floor of the mouth right and all the connections with uh , with uh , like the muscle chains that you see , all the way to the shoulder grid and to the back of your , yeah , to the top of your back , so , and it goes all down to your spine . So , and then you learn to see those things and as a pediatrician , again just being able to identify , you know what I think I see something , let's go ahead and find out . And then you ask the question , question did you see that your baby is like a colicky ? It's like a little bit like already like clenching itself , like bending its knees , and it's not not breathing appropriately

Team-Based Approach to Complex Cases

Speaker 2 30:32

, you know .

Speaker 2 30:33

So all those things that I , that I find , and and to me the most humbling thing is like , uh , even you cannot imagine how I don't do as many tongue tie releases in babies as I thought I was going to do According to the teachings of Dr Baxter . I thought I was going to be like , yeah , dr , tongue Tie here in Mexico , and no , because there's so many prep work , right , I mean so many things that have to go beforehand . And I'm not saying we don't need to do tongue tie releases and it's so . I guess sometimes it gets so political right , so divisive .

Speaker 2 31:12

but if you find like there's work to be done beforehand and that gives reassurance to parents , right and uh and then , and then they don't feel the pressure and the stress that it's all about a surgery , it's more than that A hundred percent .

Speaker 1 31:32

You mentioned a little bit colic . What do pediatricians learn about colic and how do you see it different now ?

Speaker 2 31:42

I thought before that colic was something that was like the rule of threes , right , it was three hours a day , first three weeks of life , up until three months , and it was like no explanation . We don't know what's going on there . It's mostly gastrointestinal and it just it will go away . It's mostly gastrointestinal and it just it will go away . And it was this . I mean this conformity of saying it's normal , and I always like criticize myself that for pediatricians or physicians . If you see a pediatrician saying to a parent it's normal , maybe it's the meaning , I don't know , I don't know , to all of us .

Speaker 2 32:26

I don't know , but I'm too ashamed to say , and let's see , maybe it will fade away and let's just wait on it . And then you have sleepless nights and nothing solves it and nothing solves it . And then you feel that you are doing good because you're prescribing dry water instead of a Milicon , and it's like , oh no , now I'm a naturopathic physician and all good , and I mean I cannot be criticized anymore . And then you see , well , but what's beyond that ? I mean what's going on ? And then you find out about what's what's beyond that , I mean what's going on . And then you find out about the vagal nerve right and you find about the and then all about the vagus .

Speaker 2 33:09

I'm so , I mean I am so it blows my mind everything that's behind that cranial nerve . So , and then you find the connection with breathing and the digestive system and the parasympathetic nervous system and you see , oh , now I see there's that connection . I was not willing to study , I didn't , I was not willing to go to my physiology 101 when I was in med school and now it becomes so handy and the connection with the body , right . So what licked to me renata was like again , I mean , I've said it three times , but I mean body work . You take a colicky baby to a cst and they work . They work on the dura , they release all the tension , how the fascia is connected to the digestive system . You help babies regulate their nervous system , their respiratory rate , all those things , and you have the heart rate variability and all those things get regulated and then all of a sudden the baby's not colicky anymore , oh my goodness , if .

Speaker 2 34:22

I had known .

Speaker 1 34:27

Yeah , if I had known my 10 year old yes , zoe when she was first born , oh my lord , she had lip tie , tongue tie , two ibclcs , uh , checked her , they both said there was no ties . Um , and zoe would start crying every night at 9 pm and go sometimes until 1 am for six months . I thought I was going crazy and my mom just kept going . My mom lived here for six months to help me and she just kept going . Renata , she's hungry , just give her formula . And I was looking , I'm like no , but I have milk . Like I don't understand , this can't be it . And two or three times Zoe as a little tiny , tiny newborn , she choked on milk where it would come out of her nose , but she would turn purple and just stop breathing and I had to suck stuff out of her nose for her to be able to breathe again , turn her upside down . I mean we've done a few things and those are all signs that I had no idea . I had no idea that they were all related . I had recently found a photo of her sleeping right on top of me but with her mouth wide open and her tongue low . I had no idea , and even though I learned all these things before I had my second one , benny

Tonsils, Adenoids, and Airway Health

Speaker 1 35:41

. I still miss his lip tie . Isn't it crazy ? Knowing what I know ? I still miss his lip tie .

Speaker 1 35:47

So that's where the whole team is so crucial for you to be able to better treat these kids , these patients , because it's so complex and I do believe that moms are blind to their own children's issues . You have to have a set of you know , a different set of eyes to look at them , to be able to help you . And going from colic , let's talk a little bit about tonsils and adenoids . Yeah , we all know how much of a huge talk this is . You know most of our patients . You know , of course , I'm a mom before I'm a therapist . We do not want to go through surgery first . You know , of course , I'm a mom before I'm a therapist . We do not want to go through surgery first . I know that there's a couple of different ways that they can either just shave them down or they can remove them completely . As a pediatrician , what has been your experience in evaluating tonsils and adenoids ? When do you feel the need to send to an ENT ? What are your usual recommendations to a parent of a child with enlarged ?

Speaker 2 36:44

tonsils or adenoids . You know , back in 2002 , right from studies , and again shout out to the giants like Dr Guillemin-Alt and Audrey Yoon and all those specialists , right so , and shout out to all the dentists . I mean , as a pediatrician in 2002 , I think it was like you know , you have sleep issues , you have a large adenoids and tonsils , go to an ENT , remove them and you're done with it . And then Dr Giminal and people like from his , from his specialty , and all those amazing people and researchers , they started to find out that was not enough . And then we're trying to find , we're trying to discover all this craniofacial anomalies , right Malformations and like the reduction of space .

Speaker 2 37:34

So , as a pediatrician , that's also another thing , renata , that has changed to me and I remember , like my dad is a pediatrician or not . Other has changed to me and I remember , like my dad is a pediatrician I've been a pediatrician for almost 20 years and I just have it so freshly in my mind 10 , 15 years ago like , let's just wait it out . When your child turns six he'll be fine , you know . Now he has like a lot of ear infections , you know , sinus , sinusitis . Let's give him 21 days of antibiotics , you know , and and the symptoms will resolve themselves , and just wait it out and eventually , I mean , as a pediatrician , I'm trying to save you from surgery . I'm so good at this , I'm wait . I'm telling you to wait until six years old and forget about asking about , uh , forget about asking sleep questions .

Speaker 2 38:23

It was like all the meds , all the antibiotics , all the steroids like prednisone , and let's see what happens . And then , all of a sudden , it was like , yeah , what about maxillary narrowing ? What about the top of the mouth ? Is the base of the nose ? What about that structure ? What about your basic anatomy , Dr Eric ? It was , like you know , like oh no Now . So to me as a pediatrician , I mean honestly , to me , a lot of kids come as math breathers . So now you have me measuring the intermolar diameter , doing trmr , uh asking , and ordering cbct scans of the airways a different a different approach , and then it's like yeah , act early .

Speaker 2 39:15

I like airway circle . I think it's a another podcast and uh , they have uh another podcast is or airway foundation , foundation . I'm sorry they say I like the model that says fix before six . Yeah six and so the earlier the better . So , as a pediatrician , I tell parents I mean , yes , I know some uh , some uh large adenoids are all the way an indication for surgery . But you really need , I mean , their neighbors , you know the orthodontist and the ENT . Their neighbors , I mean they live close by .

Speaker 1 39:53

And they don't talk .

Speaker 2 39:55

The roof of my , the ceiling of my office is just like the floor of my office on top , and they're like this is a mouth office on top and they're like , just be like this is a mouth and on top that's the nose . I mean , I think you need to talk to each other , you know . So I mean there's a collaboration as well . I tell them , yeah , you need to go to cnent , but your child is already three , so he could be uh , scanned with a cbct and let's see what the orthodontist has to say . You know , because I see there's some narrowing of the maxilla and , and you know , like we have to do that early expansion to make a better breathing and sometimes it could be , uh , no need for surgery . You know , that's what I could tell you about enlarged tonsils and adenoids .

Speaker 1 40:39

Do you make any other ? Different lengths do you make any other recommendations as far as diet or allergens ?

Speaker 2 40:46

uh , and now it's that nasal hygiene , right , a nasal space , uh , high pressure , low volume space . And then , and when you have sinusitis , I tell patients you have to do high volume , low pressure , like sinus means and and like , that's like to me , that's very clear , right . And so you have like , just nasal , usually like . And now people say , dentists , right , nasal hygiene has to be like mouth , like your teeth hygiene , because and I posted a story and it was funny and I think I got a pretty good traction it was like if your kid doesn't want to brush his teeth but rinse his nose , so the mouth is , so the mouth is going to stay closed .

Speaker 2 41:27

And if you don't give ultra processed foods , yes , you have lip seal and the saliva is acting as it should . I mean , I mean , uh , if we were like before the agricultural revolution , we didn't have toothpaste , it was all our saliva and our chewing . You know , and I like to think in evolutionary terms , you know , so I tell nasal rinses , it's so important nasal rinses and because of pollution and pollen and pollen and and mold , so nasal rinses every night and also diet .

Speaker 2 41:59

We know dairy . It's kind of inflammatory , you know , and overall you see people that have chronic inflammation and so you have to . I usually do a high dosage of vitamin d . Yeah , amazing dha , uh . So my package of like immune , my immune package , as at Renata , is probiotics , vitamin D , omega-3 , and then nasal rinses . And then , with families , I go through environment here at my office I have a HEPA filter , so I do . And then , like Dr Zaghi mentioned , it's like your dehumidifier right , your dehumidifier right , 55% humidity . Go on Amazon , buy a measure of humidity . So you go environmental , you go diet , you go basic nasal rinses and sometimes you do a little bit of steroids . But you see , overall , and then , yeah , I mean kudos to you all Like let's see , see about your chewing .

Speaker 2 43:06

Let's see about your swallowing . Let's see about your breathing . Let's see about your horror habits . Let's see posture right and and and , and . I think that's my contribution to families to tell them how to uh , how to walk , uh that path amazing all we're getting to the end of our meeting today , but I have two last questions .

Speaker 1 43:26

One of them is what would you recommend for everyone listening out there patients and myofunctional therapists alike ? Uh , what would you recommend a better way for us to approach our pediatricians ?

Speaker 2 43:44

Wow , I don't know why I listen to you guys and they tell me in the States . You cannot imagine how hard it is for us to talk to pediatricians . I think , advocacy , find one pediatrician that can spread the word , that could be one . And I think , uh , you , uh , the culture there , there in the states , a lot of meet and greet , a lot of social , you know , like , let's connect , let's uh have a , so , uh , like that's the way of spreading the word , that I would say , uh , we need to broaden our learning . So if I go three years back in time , I would love to have something like the 101 of Mayo , something basic .

Speaker 2 44:37

I think you've already done it . But it's like I would say two things to make my question . To be on point , I think find one pediatrician that's on your side and that could be a good advocate to keep spreading the word . And the other one is keep working on the importance of the team-based approach

Advice for Parents and Professionals

Speaker 2 44:58

and also , I think , through parents , parents , I mean help . I mean , if parents tell their stories , pediatricians listen to their parents you know , and uh .

Speaker 2 45:12

So if parents tell , tell you . As a pediatrician , you know what . I went to bernarda and my kid is breathing , sleeping better . You know those antibiotics for the otitis media , the one that's over current , I mean because of the function of the tongue and the position of the of the muscles .

Speaker 1 45:30

Everything's getting better , so that's what I would answer um , and if there's any parents listening to this who has had improvement , you know , on their child breathing , sleep , with myofunctional therapy , with orthodontics , with any airway specialist I think it's called airway revolution my friends over there they're collecting stories . Yes , they're collecting stories . So if you'd like to share your story , I know a lot of our parents do not want to share photos and I want to share anything , but if you know how many other lives you would be saving by sharing yours , I really would ask you to think kindly to be able to let us share your stories . And then the last question that I have is and I'm going to share first and then you can share what is one thing that you would tell young parents ? One thing you tell young parents that you wish you knew whenever you had your little ones .

Speaker 1 46:33

For me , actually , there's two .

Speaker 1 46:36

One I usually tell girls that are pregnant that I used to meet whenever I was cleaning their teeth go ahead and have an appointment with an IBCLC , an international board certified lactation consultant , before you have a baby , if you're wanting to breastfeed , because breastfeeding is so difficult , it is a learned skill and for you to have all the information before you , even you know the challenges arise if you already know what to do if they come .

Speaker 1 47:06

It'd be a lot better because after you have your baby , you know hormones are high and you're stressed and you're exhausted . And it's a lot easier if you already have , you know a phone number that you can call and somebody to help you , and you already know what to do . And then the second thing that I'm going to share is I wish I knew how important movement and massage is for little ones Like I totally just want to have another baby just so I can massage the heck out of them all the time . So to help them move and to help them , you know , with the growth and development . If I had any idea how important it was , I would have done it all over , but your turn my turn .

Speaker 2 47:50

You beat me to it . You beat me to it , but I was gonna say movement . I I am impressed how uh much lack of awareness is to the import , to the importance of the body connections through movement . So my recommendation to a young parent is do body work on yourself . You know , and we are so interconnected as human beings and nervous systems . So my recommendation is I would treat you with a gift card for both of you , as a couple .

Speaker 2 48:23

Go to an osteopath or a chiropractor or a body worker and

Final Thoughts and Finding Help

Speaker 2 48:27

do some body work yourselves . And as a pregnant , as a pregnant , uh , uh , future mom to be I will do a lot of body work during and here's another gift card to you as soon as your baby's born , even if it was a vaginal delivery , go and have a cst session and or have it along with your baby . I've seen so many cases like laurie laurie hendrickson that does work with moms and children , with their infants at the same time . And you see just like you melt like butter and it's so . You breathe better , your mood changes , you even poop better , you know .

Speaker 1 49:10

Yeah , all of your systems are affected , number one by your breathing , and then everything is just a cascade .

Speaker 2 49:18

Yeah , so breathing , breathing and body work . That's what I would say , that's what I would tell parents yeah , Breathing is so important .

Speaker 1 49:26

I love it .

Speaker 2 49:28

Again we end up saying breathing . I love that from Dr Zaghi , because breathing is the beginning . You know , I love that .

Speaker 1 49:35

I always say the first thing you do when you're born is the last thing you do before you die . If breathing is affected , it's going to affect every single system in your body . So breathing is always number one . If you're a mom and you have a child who has enlarged tonsils and adenoids and you're trying to do myofunctional therapy , you're trying to do any of these habit correctors . It is not going to work . You have to address breathing first .

Speaker 1 49:58

We know that we don't want to do surgery first . However , are you willing to stop all sugar , all dairy , all processed foods , you know , maybe gluten ? We have to try and see what are the things that could be affecting our child , but there are answers out there . We don't know yet exactly 100% of what causes enlarged tonsils and adenoids , but we know that these things can make them worse . So , of course , mouth breathing does not enlarge them , but it does make them worse . Anyways , this has been such a wonderful talk . How can people find you Share with everyone your Instagram , your incredible Instagram account , and your practice . What else do you have ? Do you have courses or a book , or go ahead ?

Speaker 2 50:40

I was thinking about you guys like you people like you do a lot of things to spread the word and you're like such a big entrepreneur and like I don't know how you do it . But yeah , I need to work on my courses . I don't have any courses yet , let's do it . I mean , yeah , I mean I need a course . There's a lot we need to like two seconds . We need to like homogenize knowledge . I mean , here in Mexico we have so many disparities so we have a lot of general physicians that don't even know . I mean like , forget about pediatricians .

Speaker 1 51:18

Physicians overall .

Speaker 2 51:20

So we need to do our social like , social service . You know , like so , thinking about a course for general physicians . So I need to do my course , I need to work on my podcast , but for now , to answer your question , just find me on Instagram , drericpediatra . That's where I post the most . I also have a TikTok account . That's not that very active , but Instagram is where I connect with the right people , such as yourself , and , yeah , I think that's my go-to place Instagram .

Speaker 1 51:51

It's been a blessing .

Speaker 2 51:52

Yes , look where I am .

Speaker 1 51:54

Yes , and since you mentioned that , on Aerie Circle , we do have a course that I made for anybody who wants to get their feet wet . It's called Intro to Airway and we have 14 different speakers . Some of the best speakers in the world are a part of that course and I just I have it tucked in and I didn't really promote it at all . So if anybody is interested in taking Intro to Airway , you can email me at renataairwaycirclecom and I'll give you a link for it . But it's a wonderful , wonderful course . We talk about breastfeeding , about muscle movement , about physical therapy and airway myofunctional therapy , sleep . We talk about everything . It's an incredible course .

Speaker 2 52:38

I need to take that course . That sounds amazing . Yeah , so I need to get my feet wet . Yeah , a little bit more . Yeah , thank you for for this . It was an amazing time , a great conversation , and yeah , here's for keep connecting in the in the in the future , right , thank ?

Speaker 1 52:56

you guys so much . And this uh thursday , don't forget this thursday on airway circle we have dr stanley lu , who is an incredible surgeon , sleep surgeon . So hope to see everybody there . Thank you so much , dr Eric . You have a wonderful day .

Speaker 2 53:11

Yeah , likewise . Thank you everybody . Have a good one , Bye .

Speaker 1 53:15

Bye-bye .