Pediatric conditions and treatment

Basic healthcare for children can range from preventing obesity to ensuring that all childhood immunizations occur on time. Children need to receive regular physical examinations so pediatricians have all the tools they need (such as complete family medical history) for proper care. If a problem is suspected, children may undergo lab tests, such as blood work or urine tests.

Many symptoms occur regularly in children and are not cause for concern. Others, however, should be immediately reported to a physician. Constipation, diarrhea and stomach aches may be related to the child's diet or caused by an infection. A sore throat, coughing, swollen glands or fatigue are symptoms of many illnesses common in childhood.

Newborn care often revolves around feedings, changing diapers and proper hygiene. However, new parents may fear relatively rare problems, such as SIDS or shaken baby syndrome. Additional issues include fetal alcohol syndrome, phenylketonuria or pyloric stenosis. More common but less serious issues include thrush, colic, cradle cap, erythema toxicum and umbilical hernias.

Child safety issues range from prevention of hazards such as choking, drowning or poisoning to knowing the proper first aid techniques. Parents should learn CPR in case of an emergency. Safety equipment includes bike helmets, knee pads and correctly installed car seats. Children must also be are especially prone to sunburn, heat-related illness and frostbite.

Reaching puberty or sexual maturity involves many physical and emotional changes. The female reproductive system usually signals maturity by beginning menstruation, while the male reproductive system signals maturity with increased sexual organ size and pubic hair. Voice changes may also occur. Abnormally early onset of puberty is called precocious puberty.

Some conditions involve physical abnormalities alone, such as dwarfism or a cleft lip and palate. Others may involve mental or developmental problems (e.g., mental retardation). Still others will involve a combination of physical and mental abnormalities. Scoliosis may be present from birth or occur in conjunction with other defects or conditions. This abnormal curvature of the spine is most often discovered in older children and has no known cause.

All children follow basic patterns of growth and development, from infancy and early childhood through middle childhood and adolescence. Issues of teething, bedwetting, toilet training, thumb sucking and temper tantrums are faced by most parents. While there are guidelines for developmental stages, a delay in these areas does not always indicate a medical problem.

In recent years, the number of children with allergies to food, pollens, latex and other allergens has grown dramatically. There has also been a surge in the number of children with asthma, and other allergic conditions, such as the skin disorders contact dermatitis and eczema. Childhood asthma is among the most serious and widespread health risks afflicting children today.

The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS). Nerves branch off the CNS to the rest of the body (peripheral nervous system), controlling all motor and sensory functions. Conditions affecting infants and children related to the brain and nerves include seizures, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.

Pediatric heart disease includes many congenital conditions (present at birth). Some involve holes or defects in the heart muscle or holes that should close (patent foramen ovale or patent truncus arteriosis). Others involve problems with the heart valves (pulmonary atresia, tricuspid atresia or Ebstein's anomaly). Many procedures are used to correct pediatric heart problems.

Diabetes can affect people of all ages. It was once believed that children were at risk only for type 1 diabetes (formerly called juvenile diabetes), in which the immune system damages the body's ability to make insulin. But with obesity rates climbing, the U.S. government predicts that type 2 diabetes will develop in more than one-third of children born in 2000.