Dr. Randall G. Fisher M.D.

Infectious Disease Specialist (Pediatric) | Pediatric Infectious Diseases

601 Childrens Lane Norfolk Virginia, 23507 Show map

About
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About

Dr. Randall Fisher is a pediatric infectious disease specialist practicing in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Fisher specializes in recurring or persistent diseases caused by bacteria, parasites or fungus in infants, children and adolescents. Pediatric infectious disease specialists also provide consultation to other health care professionals dealing with complex cases.

Education and Training

Tulane University School of Medicine

Tulane Univ Sch of Med, New Orleans La 1988

Tulane University School of Medicine 1988

Board Certification

American Board of Pediatrics - Pediatrics

Pediatric Infectious Disease

PediatricsAmerican Board of PediatricsABP

Provider Details

Male Japanese 36 years of experience

Dr. Randall G. Fisher M.D.

Dr. Randall G. Fisher M.D.'s Expert Contributions

My Answers

Can strep throat become serious?
If treated, it generally is benign, and even when untreated it usually just runs its course. The concern about strep throat is not the actual throat symptoms, but syndromes that can occur AFTER the strep has gone away, including rheumatic fever, among other things. Rheumatic fever does not occur if the disease is treated properly, though. I would say, generally speaking, that strep throat does NOT become serious. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Is honey good for a baby with a cough?
No. Babies should NEVER be given honey in any form until at least the age of one year. Honey can cause botulism in babies. Please don’t give honey to your baby. There is no medicine on earth that will actually help a baby with a cough, anyway, so while you are avoiding honey, please don’t give cough medicine, either. Side effects can be deadly, and they don’t work anyway. The cough will go away when the baby gets well. If it doesn’t, take the baby to the doctor for an examination and possibly chest X-rays. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Can a virus cause blisters in your mouth?
Yes, a virus can cause blisters in the mouth, and blistering viral diseases are not uncommon in children. Most commonly, there is a virus called coxsackievirus that causes a disease called “hand, foot, and mouth disease.” Children with this disease have small blisters, mostly in the back of the throat, and often have little bumps on their palms and/or their soles. But sometimes it occurs without the hand and foot bumps. Fever is sometimes present, but usually not too high. Another important blistering mouth virus is herpes virus. The same virus that causes cold sores. Sometimes on the first outbreak, instead of just getting a cold sore, a child can get many blisters and be pretty miserable. Usually they are both outside and inside the mouth. The pain can be severe enough that it is hard for them to eat properly. If your child has a high fever and is having a hard time eating and has many blisters, he or she should probably go see a doctor. If, on the other hand, it is smaller blisters mostly in the back of the throat and there are also bumps on the hands or feet, and the fever is only a little bit up, he or she could be watched at home. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
How do I know if my child has covid?
The only way to know for sure is to take him in for testing. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
What is the common sign of covid in children?
Many children with covid don’t really get very sick. Illness can look a lot like a common cold, perhaps with a bit more cough. So, runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, body aches, and fever would be the most common symptoms. If your child develops symptoms that look like common cold, it could be a common cold, or it could be covid. As long as the child is not really sick, just keep them away from people so they can’t pass it on. You should consider even isolating them within the home, if possible (their own bathroom, own towels, own bed, etc.). If you need to know the diagnosis, they can be taken to be tested. Make sure they wear a mask at all times if they leave the home. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Are there long terms affects after recovering from covid-19?
For most people, there are not, but a small percentage of people does seem to suffer from lingering illness, usually ongoing fatigue, headaches, weakness, mental fogginess, etc. The vast majority of people, when they get better, are better completely. We do not yet understand why, although most people get better, some have lingering adverse effects, so we cannot predict who will have these longer-term problems. Best to avoid the virus as best as possible; masks, social distancing, no large gatherings, good hand washing, and sanitizing. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Is coronavirus dangerous to toddlers?
Generally, it is not. Most toddlers do very well and only have minor symptoms like those of a common cold and then they get better. It poses a much bigger risk to older people and those who are immunosuppressed. There is an post-infectious inflammatory condition known as MIS-C that can occur in children; it follows the viral infection by a few weeks and it looks a lot like Kawasaki Disease (fever, rash, conjunctivitis, dry lips, etc.), but this has been seen mostly in school-aged children and not so much in toddlers. You should obviously try to protect your toddler from getting infected, and yourself, as well, but generally speaking, toddlers have done very well. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
How do you know if your child is breathing too fast?
You can count the number of times he breathes per minute; this is best accomplished when he does not know it is being done, and should be done when he is at rest, or sleeping. Set a timer for one minute or look at your watch, then count his breaths for an entire minute. Normal rate for a child his age is between 18 and 30 breaths per minute. Simply put, this means that, when at rest, your child should not breathe more often than every two seconds. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Can you catch a disease from anesthesia?
It would be extremely unlikely to catch a disease from getting anesthesia. There have not been any cases worldwide of COVID-19 related to anesthesia. Believe me, many of the anesthesiologists are more worried about the virus than you are, so they take many precautions. I would not worry about it at all. You should go ahead with the procedure. Randall G. Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Can hyperbaric oxygen therapy treat covid-19?
There is absolutely no evidence that hyperbaric oxygen can treat Covid-19. I am not even aware of any studies or even of experimental use of it. Randall G. Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Can you be allergic to antibody testing?
No, it is impossible to be allergic to antibody testing. Antibody testing is just drawing blood, just like they would for any other blood test. The blood is then sent to the lab to be tested for antibodies. Don’t worry about it at all. Your son will be fine. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Why is the COVID-19 infection rate so low in children?
This is an excellent question that nobody really knows the answer to just yet. It could be that the receptors for the virus are expressed differently in children. Certainly, children have far fewer comorbidities, especially hypertension, which has been identified as a major risk factor for severe disease. Maybe over time, the answer will be discovered, but for now, I am just thankful that they haven’t been hit as hard. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
When should you go to the hospital for throat pain?
Throat pain is common and is usually viral, although Group A strep causes throat infection especially in children between the ages of 5 and 15. With strep throat, the throat pain is usually accompanied by fever and sometimes by swollen glands in the front of the neck. If you look into the throat with a flashlight, there is often pus on the tonsils or dark red spots on the palate. If he has fever and throat pain and there is pus on the tonsils and/or dark red spots on the palate, he probably has strep throat. This is generally treated with penicillin or amoxicillin to prevent rheumatic fever. If he has a runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, or hoarseness, these are signs that he does NOT have strep throat and that the problem is likely viral. Viral sore throats almost never need attention at a hospital. During the pandemic, I would try to keep my child away from doctor’s offices and hospitals as much as possible. Therefore, for sore throat without fever and without pus, I would just use throat lozenges or sprays and allow the illness to run its course. If he develops difficulty breathing, he needs to go to medical care. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Should children be homeschooled during the coronavirus?
A lot of schools will likely be closing soon, anyway, which will make the decision really easy. As far as children are concerned, however, there is very good news. So far, it seems that children tend to do much better than adults, and especially older adults, if they are infected with the new coronavirus. No deaths worldwide in anybody under the age of 10. Too soon to say that it won’t happen (and it probably will), but it seems like it might be less dangerous for young children than influenza. The situation is evolving, so things could change, but for now I think we are all doing the best we can. If your school decides not to close, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to home school them for a while until we see where this is going. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
How serious is the coronavirus for children?
So far, there have been no fatalities in children whatsoever. It’s too soon to say exactly what the disease will look like in kids, but I suspect it will be similar to influenza or perhaps a bit milder for most healthy children who are not on immune suppressive therapy and don’t have significant underlying chronic diseases. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Are children at a high-risk for getting the coronavirus?
I don’t think we really know what the relative risks of contracting the virus are at this time. We do know that the elderly and those who have underlying chronic disabling conditions are at the highest risk for severe disease. At this point, there hasn’t really been much spread within the United States, so in that respect your children are certainly not at high risk. That could change over the next several weeks, but only time will tell. For now, other respiratory viruses are much more common in California: influenza, RSV, parainfluenza viruses, adenovirus, etc. The only things I would do at this time to protect my children would be to keep them away from crowds and to have them wash or Purell their hands frequently. It also helps if they keep their hands away from their eyes and face, but that is a difficult thing for anybody to do, more so for a young child. Please don’t spend a lot of time and energy worrying about the coronavirus just yet. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Could we have been exposed to coronavirus?
It is extremely unlikely that you were exposed to the coronavirus in Japan two months ago; as far as anyone can tell, it did not exist there at the time. Furthermore, the incubation period is probably no longer than about 14 days, so you would have been sick within two weeks of returning. You don’t need to worry about it. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
Do bacterial infections clear up on their own?
Some bacterial infections do, in fact, clear up on their own. Ear infections in children older than 12 are an example of one such condition. These tend to spontaneously clear in most patients. I would consider antibiotic therapy if the child is very sick, has a high fever (>103 Fahrenheit), or has a bulging eardrum that looks like it might burst. Otherwise, watchful waiting is the correct approach. Randall Fisher, M.D. Norfolk, VA READ MORE
How dangerous is the new virus in China?
It is a little too soon to say for sure how dangerous the virus is going to be, but it has already caused a number of deaths. Right now, the health agencies are trying to keep it contained by quarantine, etc. There has only been one case in the United States so far, and the gentleman is apparently doing pretty well. Unless you are in the Wuhan region of China, at this particular point in time, I would not worry about the virus. Let the health agencies do their job, and in all likelihood it will not become a big problem in the U.S. Back in 2007 or so, SARS was a similar, but perhaps slightly worse virus outbreak that started in China. It made its way to Canada and actually infected a good number of people there. Despite that, it never really made much of an impact in the United States. Randall Fisher, M.D. READ MORE
How likely is a child or adult to contract salmonella?
It depends on how much risk one assumes for oneself. Salmonella infections are usually contracted in one of three ways: 1) by consuming undercooked or improperly cooked poultry, 2) by owning or playing with a reptile, 3) by being around someone with Salmonella infection and not using careful handwashing. In short, the risk of Salmonella infection can be made very small by doing the following: 1) making sure that all poultry is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and that other foods are not prepared with the same cutting boards and/or same knives as what is used for preparing the poultry, and washing one’s hands for 20 seconds with soap and water after handling raw poultry, 2) neither owning nor playing with reptiles (this includes frogs, toads, lizards of all kinds, snakes of all kinds), and 3) staying away from someone who is sick with salmonella infection. I hope this is helpful. Randall Fisher, M.D. Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, VA READ MORE