Articles

"Ask an Expert" Clarification

"My Child Needs a Spinal Tap"

Information for Parents:
My Child Has a Fever

A serious side effect of antibiotics: Infection with Clostridium difficile

Abdominal Pain: When to Call the Doctor

Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen: Which is a better fever-reducing medication?

Adopting a Child from a foreign country?
Learn about the child's hepatitis B status!

After the shots - what to do if your child has discomfort

Allergy Tests

Antibiotic Side Effects

Battery of Tests Measures the Health of Newborns

Body Mass Index

Bone Marrow Aspiration And Biopsy

Brain, Liver under attack in Reye's Syndrome

Child have a fever? Stay C.A.L.M.!

Children Need Body Mass Checkups!

Cold Medicine Risky for Babies, Toddlers

Communication Tips for Parents

Cuando necesitan sus vacunas los ninos y adolescentes?

Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis Vaccines
What Parents Need to Know

Do (over the counter) medications really expire?

Dosages of Fever-Reducing Medication

Doseage Chart: Benadryl

Down Syndrome - Girls Height Birth - 36 months

Drug information for Parents: Zithromax

Fainting (Syncopal) attacks in children

FDA Urges Parents to avoid certain cold medications

Fever is a Friend, not a foe!

Getting the Lead Out

High cholsterol affects children too

How is Anthrax diagnosed?

How to Tell the Different Kinds of Coughs in Children

Illnesses Caused by the bite of a Tick

Immunizations and Lumps

Infant and Child Immunizations: What Parents Want to Know

Iron: Helping Your Child Get Enough

Keeping the Kids Clean and Germ-Free

Making Sense Of Medical Warnings

Marijuana Teen Questions

Monitor Children's Blood Pressure

Monthly Breast Exam Important for Teen Girls

Newborn Screening Tests: How does your state measure up?

News Parents can Use!

Normal Vital Signs in Children

On the Teen Scene: When Mono Takes you out of Action

One Test You Don't Want To Fail…Thinking About Drug Testing

Open Statement on Vaccines from the American Academy of Pediatrics

Our Resources for Avoiding a Parent's Worst Nightmare - Substance Abuse

Parents Should Dispose of Ipecac Syrup

Parents urged to check furnaces to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

Penicillin: The First Wonder Drug

Premature Boys - Length

Protect your kids in the pool this summer!

Proteinuria in Children

Questions and Answers on the Safety of Phenylpropanolamine

Rapid Flu Tests

Recognizing Asthma Signs and Symptoms

Researchers Discover Possible Cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Should I worry about the West Nile Virus?

Simple Blood Test Yields a Mass of Information

Steroids Don't Work Out

Tables of Normal Growth

Taking Your Child's Temperature

Testing for Anthrax is Difficult

The Facts about Measles

The Myths and Truths about Down Syndrome

Thimerosal in Vaccines - Is the Preservative Safe?

Three Myths about Childhood Head Injuries

Trips to the Bathroom

Urinary Tract Infections in Children

Urine reveals much in Children

What is a "sed rate?"

What is a Peak Flow Meter

What is an EEG?

What is Down Syndrome?

What is Glomerulonephritis?

What is the difference between CT and MRI scans?

What is Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn?

What to do when an Infant Is Choking

When kids need special x-rays

When should lumps be removed?

Which Children Should have their Cholesterol Checked?

Health Information from our Experts

How safe are dental x-rays?...

When I was a child, my doctor always gave me an antibiotic shot when I was sick. My child's pediatrician has never treated my child's infections with an injection. Why are things so different now? ...

When our baby was born, the nurses and doctors were talking about the "APGAR" score. What does it mean?...

My toddler suddenly stopped using her arm and I took her to the pediatrician. He said she had "nursemaids' elbow. What is this condition? Should he have gotten x-rays?...

Is Acetaminophen the same medication as aspirin? ...

I would like to know what my child's prescription says. What are the meanings of all those little letters? ...

What are those red boxes I see on the wall of our pediatrician's office?...

My doctor said that my son's repeated ear infections can cause hearing loss. How is this possible? ...

How can parents tell if their child has fluid in his middle ear?...

What is an epidural?...

When should I worry if my child is not talking? ...

My child had a bad reaction to decongestants. When he was four weeks old he stopped breathing during a viral infection that stuffed up his nose. Six weeks later he had an episode of rapid heart rate (his heart rate reached 300!). I was nursing at the time ...

My 6 1/2 month-old daughter may have renal tubular acidosis. She is little for her age. Her doctor wants her to see a kidney specialist because her CO2 is low and the PH level in her urine is about a 7. Can you tell me more about this or where I can fin...

My 14-month old son has no teeth. Our dentist recommended that we have dental x-rays taken at 15 months. When I posed the question to my children's pediatrician she stated that she did not want to expose him to x-rays at that age. She said that two years o...

Concerning chickenpox, is it possible to do a blood test to tell if I had it as a child?...

My 7-month-old daughter is just getting over her first urinary tract infection (UTI). Her doctor recommended an ultrasound of her kidneys which was normal. Now he has scheduled her for a voiding cystourethrogram (VCU). I know this test must be pain...

My 9 yr. son and I were recently in a car accident. Fortunately, we only suffered minor injuries. However, we both had x-rays and I was wondering how harmful x-rays are to young children? ...

How much tylenol should I give my 15 month old child for fever?...

I am African-American, 15 years old and weigh too much. My mother and grandfather have diabetes. Should I worry about having being tested for diabetes? ...

What is Turner’s Syndrome? My 9 month old son is in the 50th percentile for height, but has always been in the 5th percentile for weight. My pediatrician says that we may test him for Turner’s syndrome if his weight does not increase. ...

Will a urine drug test be positive for marijuana if my teenage son claims he was just in the same room with other teens who were smoking it? How long is a test positive after a child has smoked marijuana? ...

I am 21 weeks pregnant with twins. During a recent ultrasound, the tech saw fluid in the chest cavity compressing on the lungs and since it is on the left side, has moved the heart and both lungs over. Now is the critical time I'm told that the lungs and...

I'm a single adoptive father and my eight year old son Kevin seems to have come down with somthing. He seems to eat constantly and is always thirsty. He also sleeps for hours on end. He was abused before I adopted him, could it be an emotional problem? ...

My 9 yr. son and I were recenlty in a car accident. Fortunately, neither of us suffered any major illnesses. However, we both were at the hospital and he had X-ray's taken of his neck and chest. I'm now worried about the effects of the x-rays on my son. H...

My daughter is three months shy of her sixth birthday and is 39" tall. I am 5'4 and my husband is 5'5". She is by far the shortest child in her kindergarten class. A friend of mine said something about getting a bone age test. What do you think?...

I have a 2 yr. old son who is 32" tall. He comes from a short family on both sides. The geneticist recommended having an MRI performed to find out if there was a cyst on his pituitary gland. She also found out that he is low in two of his growth hormo...

Should I have my child's cholesterol tested?...

My doctor wants to do a bone age test on my daughter. Can you explain what this test will show?...

My son was recently tested and found to have a blood triglyceride level of 331. He is 9 years of age and gets plenty of exercise. What foods would cause this level to be so high and what should we do? ...

We are expecting our first child in five months. Since both of us are Jewish, should we be tested for Tay-Sachs disease? ...

How can I tell if my infant has food allergies?...

I am expecting my first baby in three months and am deathly afraid of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). I have a friend who lost who three month old to it. Is there anything I can do to reduce the risk of SIDS?...

My 9 year old has been diagnosed with precocious puberty. An endocrinologist has determined that at her current growth rate, she will fall below 5', so he prescribed monthly injections of Lupron to reverse her puberty and hopefully get more growth. I am co...

My 5 year old daughter was recently diagnosed as possibly suffering from osteochondritis. Can you explain what this is and what treatments are necessary?...

My 14 year old grows an average of three inches per year. What constitutes a "growth spurt?." She still has not menstruated. She is 5'3" and weighs 90 pounds. I know girls usually have a growth spurt just prior to menstruating and I am now wondering...

The nurse just called and told me my PAP test was abnormal. She said not to worry but I need to have another one in 3 months. I thought that an abnormal PAP test meant cancer. Why shouldn’t I worry? Should I go to different doctor to get another PAP?...

My son is 5 years and 3 months. He had a bone age test done last week. The result is within the normal range, his bone age is 4 years. He is 40 inches tall, 35 pounds. His birth height is 19 inches. His height and weight have always been around the 5t...

Fifth disease is going around my toddler's child care center, and I'm worried because I've heard it can cause problems in pregnant women. I am eight weeks pregnant. Should I be concerned?...

An abandoned infant, now 3 months old, reared in an adoption home, is clinically normal but has a Hb of 8.7g%.No birth history is available but other milestones are normal. Child is exclusively bottlefed. Is this explainable by lack of individual care an...

My 12 year old son recently had xrays done for an orthodontist. One of the xrays that he requested was an xray of my son's left hand and wrist. I understand that this was assess the "growth plate" however he gave us no information about the xray. I have...

My daughter just turned 3yrs old and the oldest is 4. the 3yr old had a pacifier till she was almost 2 1/2 and the 4yr old had one till the age of 3 1/2. My husband and I can understand their speech (sometimes)but everyone else has a hard time. Could the p...

I have recently found two small (pea-sized) lumps on the back of my 15-month-old daughter's neck, near where the neck meets the head. Could gland or lymph nodes be located this far back? Or could it be something else?...

My 6-year-old, kindergarten daughter has been having a problem with daytime wetting. Infection and diabetes have been ruled out. She does very well staying dry at night time. Having daily wet pants was very traumatic for her since starting school. I am...

Because of a foot abnormality and an odd head shape, my baby had an x-ray at two months old and one at five months old (today). He will probably need at least one or two more on his feet, and the next one is scheduled a month away. I asked the techn...

How can I tell if I have mononuclosis?...

My 2 month old is spitting-up a lot of his formula. I'm constantly burping him, but this doesn't seem to help. Is this normal? He'll drink 5-6 ounces per feeding, am I giving him too much? What is the average feeding amount and schedule for a two month old...

My six-month old son is very alert and appears to be developing very well, doing all the things an infant of this age should be doing. However, due to the circumference of his head, a pediatric neurologist has ordered an MRI before he will see him. T...

Hi there. I have a 9 year old daughter who was born 5 weeks premature. She has always been very tiny for her age. To keep this short, she is currently diagnosed with PDD-NOS, Mild Mental Retardation, PICA, and is not fully potty trained yet. She just had a...

My 5 1/2 y.o. daugher has been having silent seizures lasting for 15-30 seconds. Afterwards, a bit confused for a second or two, she resumes to what she was doing before the "spacing off". During these episodes she also loses bladder control. We notice t...

Can a child take Acetaminophen and Motrin in the same day?...

I am thinking about giving my 4 year old son Echinacea with gold seal to help boost his immune system when he gets a cold.(It seems to take him a long time to get over a cold). Is there any risk doing this and how much would I give him....

I've read your section on lead and still have a few questions. Our 12 month old just had her well baby check and we were told that she was looking just great, healthy and developing normally. (She's speaking 4-6 words and is "cruising" like crazy.) Havi...

My 5.5 yr old son was recently tested w/the Wechsler Test for a K-admission exam. He scored an overall rating of 130 (verbal @ 118; performance @133). How accurate is IQ test at this age? He seems to be a happy, "Normal" child to us w/a keen inte...

We just received the results of my 11 1\2 yr old sons and they say his bones are that of a 120 month old what exactly does this mean and what should we expect?...

I have a five year old with his seconds set of ear tubes in. We have had two bad earaches in the last two months. This set has been in for two years. He is starting to act funny around noises and riding in cars. Should this be something to worry about?...

My 3 1/2yr old son, has had frequent urination problem for 2 wks. I have had blood abd urine tests done. They have come back neg. What else could be the problem? Any ideas or concerns? ...

My 5 month old son's pediatrician has commented twice, once at his 2 month wcc and once at his 4 month wcc that his hips were very tight. He is scheduled for a hip ultrasound on Tuesday. What are they looking for? What is tight hips an indication of? ...

My 3 year old daughter was potty trained at 2- 1/2. She had it down perfectly. She would not even wet at night. She would get up in the middle of the night to use the toilet if she needed to. Now in the last few weeks it seems she has stopped even trying t...

My daughter had her 15 month check up today. The doctor said that her head circumference is 19 1/4". He said that this is off the charts. For background, she started the chart at the 75th percentile. The doctor wrote this down as a "note of concern". He sa...

My son just turned 5 and has been delayed since birth. We have done all to rule everything out including Genetics Testing. They could not find anything that "stood out" but found just a few minor imperfections that they could only suggest was possible NOON...

My 2 1/2 year old son is still not talking much. He can say some words that we can clearly understand but most we cannot. He constantly talks we just dont know what he is saying. He gets really frustrated that we cant understand him. I was wondering if we ...

How far along in a pregnancy do you have to be to tell the sex of the baby. I am 16 weeks and they said I was having twins girls, but I thought that you have to be between 18-20 weeks to find out the sex. ...

My 17 mos son's diapers dont appear to be as wet as they used to be. I know that he does know usually when he is going to the bathroom for he will usually stop & say "pee-pee", or just stop look down, then go. I have called my pediatrican about the decreas...

I have a 4 year old boy, and I am worried about his speech/language develoment. How do I go about getting him tested? What is "normal speech" for a 4 year old? ...

My grandson is not talking and everyone is telling his mother that "all boys talk late." While this may be true, could you tell me what are some of the medical reasons that children are slow in talking? ...

Our daughter had a fever for two days and cried after she urinated. I took her to the emergency room and they diagnosed a UTI. No urine sample was taken. She is now on an antibiotic. I have several questions. First, how common are UTI's? Second, should we ...

I have a recently turned 1 yr old girl and have read about Prevnar. I would like my pediatrician to give her this vaccine. I have called my insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maine and they will not pay for it until the American Academy of Pediat...

How old must a child be for a bone-age study to be done? We are concerned because our 25-month old son is well below the lowest line on the growth charts: he is 32 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds. At birth he was 20 inches and weighed 7.2 pounds. He progr...

Should children beyond the age of kindergarten have a yearly physical?If so, what should that physical consist of? i.e., finger pricks, urinanalysis; weight and height charting, etc.? Thank you for your help...

My daughter is 6 months old. She has had a fever for 2 weeks now with no change. The fevers have maintained at around 104.6, 104.8, and 104.2. I have been to hospitals and doctors and no one can find a reason. She has had spinal taps, x-rays, blood work, u...

We are expecting a new addition to our family in a few days and would like to know your position(s) on the storage of the umbilical blood...

What is the earliest age a child should be tested for allergies? ...

Our seemingly healthy very physically active and outgoing 13 year old daughter's hands shake. There is continual steady mild shaking in both of her hands. What could be the reason? Thanks ...

My 5 year old son has been hospitalized 7 times with pneumonia. He just got out of the hospital last week after a 10 day stay. They tried rocefin, ceftin, and biaxin but he kept getting worse. They finally gave him levaquin and he got better. I know that l...

My four year old daughter is below the 5% on the growth chart for height. I recently went to a pediatric endocrinologist who took an x-ray of her wrist and said her bone age is between 2 and 2.5 years of age. The endocrinologist said that this is good news...

My daughter is 11 1/6 years old, and her height is 129 cm.We had taken her to the doctor 5 years ago , she takes vitamins such as B1 6 12, Zebac etc.all the time,but her height seems not to improve .So the doctor would like to do the test about her growth ...

Once a teen has smoked pot how long does it stay in their system? ...

Our son will be 13 in September and is 4" 8" and weighs 82#. From age 2 on , he has been at or slightly above the 25th percentile for height until after his 12th birthday. He is now below the 10th percentile. In October he had an xray of his left wrist, wh...

What are the long term effects of the chronic use of antibiotics. My daughter has reflux and is on long term sulfa antibiotics to prevent a urinary tract infection....

What are the side effects of Zyrtec?...

My daughter will be 4 in September. She has been daytime toilet trained since 2 1/2 and about 2.5 months ago felt strongly that she could give up diapers at night. She originally had no problem at night, but over the past 3 weeks has wet her bed (profusely...

My son is 26 months old and has frequent ear infections. There were months where he was on anti-biotics more then off them. When he doesn't have an infection and seems to be perfect he still has fluid in his ears. I bring him to his pediatrician monthly no...

I've heard that living near high voltage power -lines can cause cancer in children. Is this true? If so,how would you know to have your children screened for this? What symptoms would you watch for? We live next to these power-lines and I'm very concerned....

My son is 4 yrs. old, and I am trying to determine his tolerance to lactose (milk, 2%). He does not know when he has to have a bowel movement. When he does, the stool is without form or texture, without being watery or runny as with diarrhea. He does not c...

The doctor says that my 14 months old son's head does not seem to be growing. He weighs 18 lbs, 27 1/2 inches long and his head circumference is 17. My doctor seems worried and referred me to see a neurologist. I am very concerned for my son. ...

My son is 3.5yrs old and is 6-12 months behind in most areas of development (gross motor, speech, memory, self-help) For a younger child he would seem normal/healthy but he is not younger. It seems that the gap is widening although he continues to progr...

My 20 month old fell down stairs today and was x-rayed from right hip bone to tip of her toes. The x-ray came back negative for any fractures , but the doctor said he thought he noted as a "growth arrest" on her right femur. What exactly is growth arrest a...

What are the symtoms of reflux in an infant? ...

Why do they test for thyroid disease in the newborn period?...

My son is scheduled to receive 3 shots at his 5-yr. old checkup next week. How do I best prepare him for this without unduly upsetting him? (He has already heard about the painful shots from his classmates who have already had their 5-yr checkup.) Do I jus...

What would cause an 11 year old child to have short term memory loss? ...

My son just turned 6 years old. He weighs 69 pounds and is 4 ft tall. My husbands family, (Mom, Dad, Brother and sister) are all extremely over weight. My husband is a big man but not overly fat like the rest of his family. Do you think my son is on the ro...

My brother has a baby with achondroplasia (dwarfism). I just got married and we want to start a family. What are the chances that I might have a child with the same condition? ...

My 16-month-old granddaughter has just been diagnosed (after an MRI) with Chiari Malformation Type I.Can you give me any information about this? I know it is a situation where the cerebellum has grown into the spinal chord, but I want to know what can be d...

My daughter is 9 years old and has always been in the 95+ percentile for her height and weight. In the last two - three years, she has grown excessively, both in heitght & weight. She now weighs 120 and is 62 1/2 inches tall, well over a head taller than m...

My son who is 4 months old is allergic to milk. soy and hydrolysate protiens. Is there any other formulas besides the Neocate for him? Is he getting everything he needs with an amino acid based formula? ...

My 11-year old son has a SED rate of 65, which is high. He is really not sick, but has knee pain. He had the following blood tests done: ANA, B-12, RA factor and they all came back normal. What willl cause the sedimentation rate to be so high? What is wron...

My son grew from 5'1" to 5'9" during his 12th year. He has not grown much since and seems to have gone through puberty. Both of his parents are relatively short, but there are taller people in the family. Can we expect him to grow more or is it possible he...

POTTY TRAINING REGRESSION My 30-month old daughter has been potty trained for about 5 months, but now is having one accident after the other. I took her to the doctor thinking she might have a bladder infection but everything checked out okay. She refuses ...

My 3 1/4 year old son is small for his age, typically falling around the 5th percentile on the growth charts. He has been this way most of his life (no drastic changes). We have monitored him every three months, because our doctor is concerned about his sm...

My 7-month old baby was diagnosed with premature closure of the anterior fontanelle. Our doctor advised us to get x-rays and a CT scan. A second opinion told us to wait 2-3 months since x-rays at this age might harm the baby. What would you recommend we do...

I have a two year old child and we are giving her homeopathic medicine, Is homeopathic medicine harmful for children this young? ...

My 12 month old is sick for the first time. When I took her to the doctor they did a strep test which came back positive. The doctor kept saying how unusual it was to get strep so young. Her daycare provider had strep a few days before my daughter. Should ...

My son is 16 yrs old and 5'3" tall -- he would like to be taller - I am his mom and I am 4'11" and his father is 5'7" - it doesn’t seem to me like he will get any taller -- a friend of his started taking a growth hormone and has grown 3" taller n...

My 5 1/2 year old son has been complaining about lower leg hurting. It has been hurting him for the last 4 to 5 months. At first I thought that it was growing pains until his bottom of his feet started hurted? He will be a sleep and wake up crying because ...

My friend just took her son to his 6 month check up. She is very concern because the doctor is sending her to the local children’s hospital for a CT scan. Her son is developing at a normal rate but his head size has gone from the 95th (The baby's...

My 8 year old daughter has been itching for 3 weeks all over her body.There are no visible signs on her skin. Blood tests for parasites and allergy came back negative. Is it possible that the itching is just caused by emotional problems? She seem...

My 19 month old boy was recently diagnosised with microcephaly. His head hasn't shown any measurable growth in 2 months. Early Intervention assessed him and he scored above his age on all 5 areas of assessment. But what about his head? We have an MRI sched...

Our new grandson is a few weeks old. We were surprised to find out that one of his testicles has not come down. The doctor said that he may need to have surgery when he is older. What exactly is this? Is it serious? Does he really need surgery? ...

My daughter is on her third ear infection. She was diagnosed with the first one at 5 1/2 months and now at 6/12 months, she's taking a third set of antibiotics. Is this normal to have this many infections? What can I do to reduce the number of ear infectio...

What are the side effects of CAT Scans on infants? We know pregnant women aren't allowed x-rays because they cause brain damage. Are statistics kept are the number of children who have cat scans and then become learning disabled?...

Are children under the age of 5 years of age ever allergic to general aneasthesia? My daugter is going for a hernia operation in a couple of days time and my wife is worried about a reaction to the aneasthesia used?...

My daughter weighed 8lbs 2oz when she was born. She remained in the 75th percentile right up until her first birthday. At 15 months she weighed 24.2lbs, 18 months 24 lbs and now at 19 months she weighs 23.2lbs and she is 33 inches tall. She has n...

I am nursing and will be having a colonoscopy I want to know if the chemicals in the solution that I have to drink will enter my breastmilk. The chemicals are golytely, nulytely, and likely a fleet enema. If I need to stop nursing how long do I need to sto...

My daughter is 12ms and 3 weeks old. She is 15lbs 10oz and 28inches long. At her 6ms checkup she was 14lbs14oz. She hasn't gained any weight since then except for the few ounces. She is breastfed, and still nursed 4-6 times a day and eats solids on a regul...

My 2 yr. old daughter had pnemonia in the beginning of Oct. which came and went quickly (She was only sick for a couple days). At her 2wk. follow up with her dr. she was fine on physcial exam, however her xray still showed her lungs weren't cleared up. 2 w...

My 2 year old daughter has been diagnosed with Hypochondroplasia. I was wanting to know if you had a growth chart for her. If not, do you know of where I could find one for her. Thank you....

My son is five months old and I have been told he has low muscle tone- that of a newborn. Otherwise he is developing fine. They will be taking a blood test, urine test and checking the nerves in his eye (something like that). Please give me what are com...

My 14year old daughter has been suffering from headaches for the past month. These headaches are around the clock. They are not migraines. This past week she has also begun have stomach problems. She has been xrayed and had an MRI. Both came back negative....

My daughter was born 3 weeks premature and was jaundice. She is now a 10 weeks old, breast fed baby and her pediatrician suggested we take a blood test to check liver function (because she still seemed a bit yellow at her 2 month visit). When the tests cam...

Can drinking too much water and milk be harming my 15 month old son? Our son drinks 12 to 18 ounces of water at night (when he is falling asleep or returning to sleep after waking) and drinks another 32 ounces or so of water and milk combined during the da...

Both of my children have had 4 strep infections this year. I am concerned I may be a carrier of strep ( I constantly have white cold sores on the inside of my mouth I am told are in the strep family). Should I be tested? Also I have had two occasions that ...

My just turned 4 year old son has a lump in his lymph nodes in his right inner thigh. The pediatrician administered oral anti-biotics to treat a possible infection. The problem is that it didn't go away and is still there although it did decrease in size s...

My toddler (turns 2 next week) had surgery for inguinal hernias when he was almost three months old. The surgeon "fixed" both of them (not sure the correct term). Everything went smoothly and I haven't thought about it in a long time. Tonight wh...