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Paediatric Practice
Dr. Pieter Fourie
In Case of EMERGENCY
Durbanville:
Contact your nearest emergency room (ER), hospital or phone 021 983 5600 (Cape Gate Mediclinic).
Stellenbosch:
Contact your nearest emergency room (ER), hospital or phone 021 861 2000 (Stellenbosch Mediclinic).
24-HOUR TOLL-FREE EMERGENCY HELPLINES
SADAG -The South African Depression and Anxiety Group
website: sadag.org
Suicide Crisis Helpline
0800 567 567
Substance abuse (WhatsApp Chat Platform)
087 163 2025
Dear Parents
The exams of children are to start soon. I know you are really anxious for your child to do well.
But, please do remember, amongst the students who will be sitting for the exams is an artist, who doesn’t understand Math… There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t care about History or English literature… There is a musician, whose Chemistry marks won’t matter… There is an athlete… whose physical fitness is more important than Physics…
If your child does get top marks, that’s great! But if he or she doesn’t, please don’t take away their self-confidence and dignity from them, Tell them it’s OK, it’s just an exam! They are cut out for much bigger things in life. Tell them, no matter what they score, you love them and will not judge them.
— Unknown
Dr. Fourie’s Specific Interests
Immune-Related Problems
Children sometimes present (as early a few months) with recurrent infection, usually the upper and lower airways, but could also present with recurrent urinary tract, skin or gut infections. The children also require frequent treatment with antibiotics which further compromises the immune system by destabilizing the gut flora. This deranges the normal immune response of the body to infections.
The general approach would be to avoid conditions of bacterial and viral overexposure. This is often unrealistic as children have to attend school or be managed in a care centre.
In addition it would be prudent to minimise exposure to allergies and support the patient with allergies with immune system ‘boosters’ e.g. natural products or more sophisticated pharmaceuticals.
In more complex cases, it is often required to perform blood tests in order to quantify the exact immune deficiency whereby a more directed immune support can be instituted.
Allergies
The Western Cape is notorious for the high pollen load, resulting in children suffering from allergy-related problems, e. g. asthma, recurrent bronchitis, eczema and allergic nasal symptoms.
The general approach would normally be to avoid the offending agents, which in this case is virtually impossible. Therefore it is important to manage the acute exacerbation as quickly as possible aiming to prevent secondary bacterial infections and stabilise the overactive and abnormal primed immune system.
A combination of antihistamines, mucolytics and in some cases steroids, in various combinations, should normally be successful to support the patient.
Neurological Problems
Children often suffer from an array of problems related to the nervous system, either the result of a genetic disorder or due to an insult to the brain (during pregnancy or birth, near-drowning, accidents or to infections (meningitis or encephalitis)).
These children usually present with damage to the neurological system due to lack of oxygen, abnormal development of the brain (as in Down syndrome) or with deranged neurotransmitters such as in attention deficit disorder, autism and Tourette syndrome.
The approach will be to ascertain the cause of neurological damage by performing a number of tests and evaluation by psychologist, occupational therapist, remedial teachers or doctors. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed certain support measures can be instituted.
In cases such as concentration, anxiety or behavioural problems, a number of medications have been tested and trialed and by optimising the medication for a specific child, it will often lead to a dramatic improvement.
Services & Rates
At Stix we offer different services to cater for the patients’ needs.
Making Children Better.
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Accounts, patient
and medication
information
For queries regarding accounts,
patient as well as medication information email: ✉ acc@stix.co.za
If you wish to contact Dr. Fourie directly: ✉ pieter@stix.co.za
Book an
appointment
Please give us a call on our landline (021 975 4645) to book an appointment.
Practice availability (telephonic and in-person):
Monday - Friday: 09h00 - 17h00
Request/renewal of
prescription
Please phone us on our landline to request a prescription.
Methylphenidate and other schedule 6 medication prescriptions
must be renewed monthly.
Contact
Durbanville:
☎ LANDLINE
(021) 975 46 45
◷ OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Thursdays: 09h00 - 18h00
Fridays: 10h00 - 13h00
➤ LOCATION
7 Buffalo Street, Vygeboom,
Durbanville, 7550
Stellenbosch:
☎ LANDLINE
(021) 975 46 45
◷ OFFICE HOURS
Wednesdays (Dr Fourie): 10h00 - 17h00
➤ LOCATION
Optima Rust en Vrede Hospital
Helshoogte (R310) Banhoek Valley, Kylemore
Stellenbosch 7599