Pediatrics Articles

Vaccine Schedules for Infants, Children and Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccination as a way to control and prevent disease outbreaks in the United States. Vaccine schedules include immunizations against contagious diseases such as measles, mumps, and pertussis, to name a few. You may have wondered how these recommendations are developed. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a group of medical and public health experts that develop recommendations on the routine administration and...

Preventing Accidental Poisonings at Home

It’s always important to be aware of unintentional poisonings and to learn about poison prevention. Though many adults may not think a poisoning could happen to them or their children, many parents may not even be aware of what the dangers could be! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 13 seconds, a poison control center in the United States answers a call about a possible poisoning with more than 90% of these exposures occurring in the home. Additionally...

Pediatric Dosing—Giving Your Child a Safe Dose of Medicine

When your child gets a cough or runny nose, do you pick up a bottle of medicine at the pharmacy and give them a dose with a kitchen spoon? Don’t. Giving medicine with that old kitchen spoon may mean that your child may be receiving a larger or smaller dose than directed. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services asks that you ditch the kitchen spoon and use the dosing device that comes with the over-the-counter (OTC) medication because the dosing spoon or cup that comes with the...

Dry and Itchy Skin, or Is It Eczema?

No one likes having dry, scaly, or itchy skin. And though it may seem like a problem that comes with cold or dry weather, or simply a need to moisturize, it may also be a sign of a medical condition called atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis, a type of eczema, is a non-contagious, inflammatory skin disease characterized by unrelenting itch that can affect a person’s quality of life.More than 30 million Americans have some form of eczema, which can cause skin to become dry, red, and itchy...

ADHD in Girls

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been recognized more frequently in boys than girls, and is diagnosed 2 to 9 times more frequently in boys than girls. The CDC reports that boys between the ages of 4 and 17 were more than two times as likely to have been diagnosed with ADHD as girls (13.3% compared with 5.6%). However, in adulthood, the number of men and women with ADHD is much more similar (5.4% for males compared with 3.2% for females). Studies suggest that females may be...

The Do’s of Good Sleep Hygiene

Did you know that getting a good night’s sleep is linked to achieving better overall health? Maybe you’ve only experienced the occasional restless night of endless tossing and turning, but some people sleep poorly on a regular basis and it may be due to insomnia. Unfortunately, insomnia can get in the way of a healthy amount of sleep and can affect you mentally and physically. Keep in mind that insomnia may be a symptom of another health problem. Some health conditions that can cause insomnia...

My Story: Lupus and Pregnancy, What If?

Having lupus and wanting to have a child I always knew I wanted to be a mother—and to be one at a relatively young age too. It was something I started thinking seriously about after I graduated from college. The issue for me was that I was diagnosed with lupus when I was 17. For many women with lupus, it is possible to have a successful pregnancy. However, all lupus pregnancies are considered high risk, for both mother and baby. That made the decision to get pregnant the biggest health-related...

Real People

Esther’s Breast Cancer Journey: From How I Told My Kids to How I Give Back

Life is really good right now. I just had a birthday, and I’m happy to have had it, too! Getting here was challenging, but I was raised to persevere. Here’s my breast cancer story. My hope is that it will help other women who are going through a similar experience and inspire them to lend a helping hand to others.My breast cancer journeyTwelve years ago, I found a lump in my breast. My doctor checked it out and didn’t think it was anything to worry about. The plan was to keep an eye on it. Three...

What Is Bacterial Meningitis?

Even though they’re rare, outbreaks of bacterial meningitis often make the news, which can lead to people having questions about the disease, including what it is, how it is treated and spread, and how it can be prevented. Here are some basic facts about bacterial meningitis. What is bacterial meningitis? Bacterial meningitis is an uncommon but very serious infection of the membranes that surround the brain or spinal cord. These membranes are called the meninges. Bacterial meningitis can be...

Vaccines During Pregnancy

Women who get the vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during pregnancy can help protect themselves from some diseases—and they can give their babies some early protection as well. This happens because pregnant women who are vaccinated can pass along some of the antibodies (proteins that fight disease) they get from the vaccines to their babies. These antibodies can give the baby some protection against certain diseases during the first months of life—when...

Living & Wellbeing

Listen, Learn, and Act: Talking Race With Children

As the nation erupted in widespread protests following the deaths of George Floyd and other people of color, the need to talk to kids about racial inequities has never been more critical. After all, children are remarkably observant—not just about current events, but about racism itself: The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that babies as young as six months can tell one ethnicity from another. And somewhere between two- and four-years-old, kids start to understand the building blocks of...