What to Expect During This Visit Your doctor and/or nurse will probably: 1. Check your baby’s weight, length, and head circumference and plot the measurements on the growth charts. 2. Administer a screening (test) that helps with the early identification of developmental delays. 3. Ask questions, address concerns, and offer …
admin 
Your Child’s Checkup: Newborn
What to Expect In the hospital, your baby’s doctor and/or nurse will probably: 1. Check your baby’s weight, length, and head circumference and plot the measurements on the growth charts. 2. Ask questions, address any concerns, and offer advice on taking care of your baby: Feeding. Breast milk is the …
Your Child’s Immunizations
Babies are born with protection against certain diseases because antibodies from their mothers were passed to them through the placenta. After birth, breastfed babies get the continued benefits of additional antibodies in breast milk. But in both cases, the protection is temporary. Immunization (vaccination) is a way of creating immunity …
First Aid: Sore Throat
Sore throats are common at any age and can be one of the first signs of another illness, like a cold, the flu, or mononucleosis. They also can be caused by a strep throat infection, although this is rare in children younger than 2 years old. Signs and Symptoms painful …
First Aid: Spider Bites
Because most spider bites don’t fully penetrate human skin, they usually cause only mild reactions. However, black widow and brown recluse spider bites can cause serious reactions and need immediate care. Allergic reactions can happen but are rare. Signs and Symptoms Of a brown recluse spider bite: red blister in …
First Aid: Splinters
Splinters are objects that become embedded under the skin. Most often these are tiny pieces of wood, although glass, metal, and plastic can be splinters too. Taking a splinter out as soon as you spot it helps prevent infection and makes removal easier (since the skin won’t have time to heal …
First Aid: Stiff Neck
A stiff neck without other symptoms might be caused by minor muscle strain from sleeping in an odd position or sitting in front of a computer too long. But other signs may accompany neck stiffness, making it a more serious complaint. For instance, meningitis is a rare infectious illness that …
First Aid: Stomachaches
Stomachaches can be caused by many things, from gas or constipation to stress, overeating, or a contagious stomach bug. Sometimes, complaints about stomach pain may have nothing to do with the stomach itself — pain can come from another part of the body. Signs and Symptoms vomiting nausea diarrhea constipation …
First Aid: Strains and Sprains
Strains are injuries to muscle due to overstretching, while sprains involve a stretch or a partial tear of ligaments (which connect two bones) or tendons (which connect muscle to bone). Sprains and strains happen more often in teens than in younger children. Signs and Symptoms pain in the joint or …
First Aid: Sunburn
Sunburn can happen within 15 minutes of being in the sun, but the redness and discomfort may not be noticed for a few hours. Repeated sunburns can lead to skin cancer. Unprotected sun exposure is even more dangerous for kids who have many moles or freckles, very fair skin and …