Conditions And Diseases | Pediatric Surgery

Your Child’s Health is Important

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Many parents want to do everything they can for their children. Because of that, they have trouble saying no when a child wants to do something or wants something to eat. Because of that, children today are growing up unhealthy and overweight, which can be incredibly damaging to them in later years. Many diseases that were previously seen only in adults – like type 2 diabetes and heart disease – are showing up in overweight children. Some of this is reversible with diet and lifestyle changes, but the damage may have already been done for some children.

In order to avoid those kinds of mistakes, it’s important to understand that you have to set boundaries with your children. You don’t have to give them everything that they want, as long as you’re giving them everything that they need. Allowing them to play video games all day and eat whatever they want isn’t helping them to be healthy, and it will cause them problems in the long run. Children should be in their appropriate weight range for their height and age, and they should be active. If they don’t play a sport at school or after school, it’s time to get them involved in some other activity where they move around for at least 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week.

More is generally better when it comes to exercise, but there’s a limit. The key is not to overexercise or starve your children, but to show them how to make healthy lifestyle choices that they can use for the rest of their lives. If you set a good example, your children will generally follow that example. If you don’t, than you can expect your children to have trouble understanding good food and exercise choices. The sooner you start them on a healthy life path, the better.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Health Tagged With: Child, Health, Overweight

Simple methods that can help overcome colic pain in a Pediatric patient

The Pediatric age group is the time when the child is very vulnerable. They are completely dependent on the parents and other adult caretakers for all their needs. This has caused them a lot of problem at times. The children are not able to have a great time because the adults may not be able to take care of them according to their needs. One such problem is the colic pain. The child seems to suffer from pain in the stomach because the child cries soon after having food and so it cannot be because of hunger.

The common methods that are helpful in overcoming the colic pain include giving less feeds for the child. This will help prevent the problem to an extent. Other than the decreased feeds, the child should be given nutritious foods that do not cause gas formation in the belly as the gas could be a cause of pain.

Foods that contain a lot of sugars may cause colic pain in a Pediatric child. This is the reason for the children not being fed various kinds of juices. Milk and milk products could also cause the colic pain in the child. Breast feeding mothers should make it a point to avoid these products as this will help reduce the incidence of colic pain to a large extent.

If the child is being given additional feeds, then the child should be given some other kinds of baby formula and tried. This may not work, but since there is no harm in trying, the child should be given the new formula as a trial. If it works, then it is a great joy to the mother and all other caretakers that the child is able to feed without crying afterward! These are some of the simple methods that can be tried at home to overcome colic.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Pediatrics Tagged With: Baby colic, Child, Pediatric

Signs of Depression in Children

Depression in children is an increasing issue in Pediatrics and the Healthcare community. Depression in children can be caused for any number of reasons. The treatment plans vary depending on the severity of the issues. In some cases parents have turned to alternative Holistic Pediatrics for assistance in dealing with their child’s particular depression related issues. There are several signs to take note of, however, that may make the treatment plan easier for the parents, children, and Pediatrics professionals.

Many children have moments of irritability but if the irritability seems to come on suddenly in the form of a mood swing there could be a depression related issue present. If the child continues to have this mood swing over time and if the irritability does not seem to have a known cause then a trip to the doctor would be recommended. This particular symptom of depression can also branch off into other areas such as anxiety or even food allergies. Either way the issue should be dealt with by a Pediatrician.

All children have a rebellious streak in them, however, when a child becomes argumentative and aggressive there could be deeper issues. Argumentative generally takes just a verbal form and is a sign of anything from stubborness to not having enough sleep. However, when that argumentativeness begins to lash out physically in an aggressive manner then there is more than likely something deeper going on. Just as with irritiability and mood swings, aggressive behavior should be monitored and if the behavior continues the child should be seen by a Pediatrician.

A final sign of depression in children that parents should be aware of is a sleep disorder. Changes in sleeping pattern may be a sign of depression. These changes can mean sleeping longer hours to not sleeping at all. Lack of sleep and too much sleep can lead to the other symptoms of irritability and argumentative agreesive tendencies. If any of these signs are noticed by the parent then seeking a doctor’s assistance may be necessary for the health and treatment plan of the child’s issues.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Health Tagged With: Depression, Mental health

Learn What to do to Protect Your Toddlers From Unintentional Harm

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Are you one of the many Americans keeping cleaning products under the sink? While this storage area seems like a good place, you may want to find a better one. In August 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a warning to parents to lock up household cleaners. The warning primarily targeted families with toddlers, but the advice is sound for any family with young children. The AAP issued the announcement after reviewing the results of a study based on information from the Columbus, OH Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The hospital estimated that it treated 267,269 children under the age of five for household-cleaning-related conditions between 1990 and 2006.

In years past, the potential danger of young children getting into cleaners resulted in many companies changing their packaging in order to offer child-resistant products. As a result, parents may have put their faith in the packaging instead of taking precautions to lock up the chemicals. Even something as “harmless” as dishwasher detergent, laundry soap, or ammonia can send a toddler to the emergency room. The hospital reported the following statistics in its study:

~ Children under the age of three accounted for 72 percent of hospital visits related to cleaning products.

~ One-year-old children accounted for 45.9 percent of those injuries.

~ In the majority of cases, children ingested chemicals, with chlorine bleach being the number one product ingested.

~ Over 50 percent of the injuries involved little boys.

Overall, injuries related to household products decreased by 46 percent since 1990. The non-fatal nature of the injuries is also positive in light of the serious risk a child can encounter by playing with chemicals intended for cleaning. Mixing ammonia and bleach can cause a toxic gas, which could cause fatal harm. Drinking some chemicals could damage a child’s lungs. Some researchers attribute the improvement to a combination of child-resistant packaging and parent awareness regarding the potential harm household chemicals could cause. To prevent unintentional harm, lock household cleaners in an area out of a child’s reach, store chemicals in their original containers, buy child-resistant products, and properly dispose of cleaning agents.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Health Tagged With: American Academy of Pediatrics, Child-resistant packaging, Emergency department

Monitor Your Child with a Finger Pulse Oximeter and Other Devices

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If you have a child who has health problems, especially of the heart, lungs or circulatory system, you may have to monitor him more closely than you would other children. The same is true of a child who’s very overweight and must exercise to lose the extra pounds. One of the monitoring devices you can use to check your child’s health is a finger pulse oximeter. You can also use a blood pressure monitor, and be sure to take your child’s temperature regularly. These three devices together will help you know the overall health and well being of your child.

Having a sick child, or worrying over one that’s very obese and must lose weight for his health, can be stressful. There are few things that can really be done to take that stress away, but even being able to ease it is helpful. When you have a way to monitor your child, the stress that you’re facing won’t be as severe, because you’ll have up-to-the-second information that will help you stay more informed and in tune with what’s going on. Just knowing what’s taking place is often one of the best ways to feel better and more in control of a situation.

While there are plenty of things in your life – and your child’s life – that you can’t control, being able to monitor important conditions is very valuable. It gives some measure of comfort, and it can help you determine whether things are stable or whether your child needs to see a doctor or go to the emergency room. Even something as simple as monitoring blood pressure, oxygen and temperature gives security that you would otherwise miss out on. It can keep you in the loop and can also help your child to feel safer and more protected because his condition is being closely monitored.

Filed Under: Conditions and Diseases, General, Health Tagged With: Blood pressure, Health, Pulse oximeter

Find Out Why Head Lice Shouldn’t Keep Your Child Out of School

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If you have school-aged children, you probably know about the standard head lice checks many schools conduct as a part of their public safety efforts. Usually, the school nurse calls in students and checks each child for signs of the parasitic insects. In times past, the nurse would call a parent to come get the child if she found any symptoms of head lice. Once parents successfully treated the lice, the school would check for nits and either accept or decline to let the student back in school.

While this was once the standard, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages schools to abandon the “No-Nit Rule.” In its updated guide detailing how to treat head lice, the AAP reports that head lice shouldn’t cause medical alarm. According to the AAP, pediculus capitis don’t contribute to the spread of disease. Even though nits can be pesky, head lice shouldn’t cause a student to miss school. With no medical harm evident, it could be more detrimental for a student to miss seven to ten days of school.

The quick breeding cycle of head lice and the parasite’s ability to spread on contact can make it difficult for a school to keep head lice to a minimum. A female louse can lay up to ten eggs a day and has a life cycle of up to four weeks. The nits hatch within 10 to 14 days and can begin their own mating cycle soon after. Head lice live on human hair and feed by sucking blood from the scalp once a day. In order to get rid of head lice, the AAP recommends parents use a non-toxic formula containing at least one percent permethrin lotion. Applying the formula seven to ten days after the original application can help catch any nits just starting to hatch. Parents can find over-the-counter head lice products at reasonable prices at many grocery stores and pharmacies. In addition to applying a solution to kill lice, parents can use a head lice comb to remove any nits stuck to strands of hair.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Medical Research Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, Head-louse infestation, Health

Hospitals Report an Increase in Childhood Kidney Stones

When most people think of kidney stones, they think of older individuals. But kidney stones can form at any age, and some U.S. hospitals are treating more kids for the condition than in years past. Kidney stones are the result of crystal-forming substances occurring in high quantities in the urine. Typically, the substances are calcium, oxalate, or uric acid. At the higher quantities, the liquid of the urine fails to dissolve the substance, leading to the formation of a kidney stone.

A recent study of data from pediatric hospitals in the U.S. indicated an increase from 125 cases of children with kidney stones in 1999 to over 1,300 in 2008. Doctors who reviewed the data were reluctant to say the upswing is a trend. The information corresponds to children seen at hospitals; therefore, it may not be a true representation of the average U.S. population. The increase could be the result of pediatric clinics designated for kidney stones. Doctors may refer more patients to these clinics than they would have prior to them opening.

Some researchers believe there may be a connection between the increase in childhood obesity and the increase in children developing kidney stones. As research continues into the obesity epidemic that has gained national attention in part because of First Lady Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, the connection may become more apparent. As with obesity, children’s diet may be a contributing factor. Dr. Jonathan C. Routh, a practitioner at Boston’s Children’s Hospital explained that an increase in sodium intake, eating more animal fat, and not getting enough fluids can increase the risk of kidney stones. Children who have a family history of the condition may see an elevated risk, as well. To prevent kidney stones, parents can make sure their kids drink plenty of water, especially after exercising or during warmer weather. Keep in mind children who have had one kidney stone have an increased risk of developing additional ones later in life. Passing a kidney stone can be very painful. If you think your child might have one, call your doctor as soon as possible.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Medical Research Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, Health, Kidney stone

Get Ready! It’s Immunization Time

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As summer rolls to an end, parents should think about getting kids ready to go back to school. This may include getting immunizations and vaccines according to state regulations. Exactly what you need varies depending on the state where you live and the risks for certain diseases. If you don’t know what shots your child needs, talk with your school district or pediatrician. Most doctors stay abreast of the requirements in order to provide the best care. You’ll want to consider whether to get shots that schools recommend but don’t require. If you have a teenage daughter, you may want to look into the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which helps prevent cervical cancer. Like many vaccines, controversy surrounds this one. The HPV vaccine helps protect against conditions caused by sexually transmitted diseases. Some parents think it’s better to teach children abstinence than rely on a vaccine.

While most pediatricians recommend vaccinations, there are some medical professionals who believe children no longer need them. Officials in areas that have experienced recent outbreaks of illnesses, like whooping cough and chicken pox, disagree. The Health Department in Washington is keeping tabs on outbreaks occurring in Canada and warning parents to take preventive measures. If you can’t afford to pay out-of-pocket for shots, check with your practitioner. Many states have programs to cover the expense. You’ll have to pay a portion of the bill, but it’ll cost less than paying full price. Many insurance companies cover shots as part of the standard coverage for children under 19. Health Department officials also remind people that some illnesses have no cure but are preventable with vaccines and immunizations.

If you don’t want to get your children immunized or vaccinated, check with your childcare provider or your school district to determine what you need to do to satisfy the health requirements. In some cases, an alternative medical practitioner, like a chiropractor, can write you a note exempting your child. If you decide to opt out of immunization, your child may be more susceptible to illness, especially if she’s around kids who have just gotten shots.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Diagnosis, Health Tagged With: Health, Human papillomavirus, Immunization, Vaccine

Tobacco Advertising Increases the Risk of Teens Smoking

In 1998, tobacco companies reached a settlement with the U.S. government prohibiting the use of cigarette ads targeted toward children to market their products. The original debate called into question R.J. Reynolds use of Joe Camel, a carton character, to promote smoking, as well as other popular ads. In 2005, tobacco companies began selling candy-flavored cigarettes with fun names like “Kauai Kolada.” Supporters of the government’s restriction on tobacco advertisements were quick to jump on what they deemed a violation of the settlement. While the settlement prohibits using anything that targets kids, it may not be enough.

An article published in the August 2010 issue of Pediatrics shows a connection between exposure to general cigarette advertisements and an increase in smoking among teenagers. The article examined data from a study that followed 1,681 children between the ages of 11 and 14. Participants started the study as non-smokers. Through the duration of the study, researchers documented the frequency of visits participants made to stores with a higher quantity of cigarette displays and ads. Many of these stores were gas stations, liquor stores, or convenience stores. By the end of the study, 18 percent of participants had begun smoking. Participants who visited stores with more tobacco advertisements at least twice a week were more likely to start smoking than those who visited such stores less frequently.

The study raises questions as to whether the 1998 settlement has gone far enough to protect children from the health risks associated with smoking. Many of the stores visited during the study had locations close to schools. While the ads didn’t feature cartoon characters or anything aimed at teenagers, some believe exposure to multiple ads is enough of a risk. The initial study may spark additional research to determine whether the government needs to look at restricting how close to a school a tobacco advertisement might be.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Medical Research Tagged With: Advertising, Cigarette, Research, Tobacco smoking

Learn How to Survive Giving Birth at a New Hospital

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When a hospital announces it’s moving to a new location or opening a new facility, most people view the change as something positive. But if you have a due date around the scheduled transition, you could walk into trouble. When a hospital changes facilities, there are several things that can go wrong. Nurses may have to sign into the new operating system and receive clearance before they can administer medications. This can result in patients not receiving medication on time.

Employees may not know where the new storage areas are for supplies, leading to delays in care. One woman who delivered at a new hospital had to have her family bring towels from home because nurses couldn’t locate the linens. Doctors may not have basic equipment at the new location. A patient who happened to be the first person to have a c-section in a new facility helped the doctors make a list of everything missing from the room (during her c-section), including a clock to time the birth and and special lights.

If you’ll be giving birth at a new facility, here are some tips:

~ Talk with your doctor about your time frame. The first 48 hours are the toughest ones because that’s when the staff’s discovering issues.

~ Pack extra supplies, including toiletries and towels, in case the nurses can’t find supplies.

~ Ask your doctor to walk through the rooms she’ll be using during your delivery to determine whether items are missing before your scheduled due date. This is a good time to make sure she has anything she might need during an emergency and to learn the layout of the facility.

~ Prepare yourself to be flexible. Transitioning to a new facility can be stressful for patients and staff, and there may be something beyond your doctor’s or the nurses control. Do your best to stay calm. When possible, have a family member of friend with you who can go talk to nurses, find your doctor, or track down the food you ordered an hour ago while you’re stuck in bed.

Filed Under: Child Care, Conditions and Diseases, Pediatrics Tagged With: Caesarean section, Health, Hospital, Medicine