Everyone is born with two tonsils. These are lymph nodes located right in the back of the throat. They help out the immune system by housing important white blood cells. Even so, the tonsils themselves can become infected, which is known as tonsillitis. The tonsils swell up, causing pain and discomfort. Children between the ages of five and eleven experience it the most. You need to bring your child in to see a pediatrician right away. Tonsillitis is commonly caused by streptococcus pyogenes also known as strep throat. - Sore throat
- Noticeably bigger tonsils
- Fever
- Pain or problems with swallowing
- Yellow or white patches coating the throat and tonsils
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
- Foul breath
- Stiff neck
- Headaches
- A scratchy or rough voice
- Stomach pain
Parents want the best for their child, which is why check-ups and appointments with their pediatricians are so important. Yet your pediatrician isn’t just available for when your child is sick or has physical ailments. They can also help with mental and behavioral conditions, including the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. If your child struggles with focus, impulsivity, attention, or hyperactivity, schedule them for an evaluation. It’s also important to note that children must be at least four years old for a diagnosis.At the appointment with your child’s pediatrician, they’ll want you and others to fill out a questionnaire about your child’s behavior. Symptoms need to be present in multiple settings, like at home and school and cause issues at both.
To keep your child healthy and happy this involves making sure that they eat the right foods, exercise regularly and get quality sleep. Of course, visiting your pediatrician for routine checkups and care is also necessary for maintaining optimal health in your child or teen. Along with making sure that your little one is reaching those developmental milestones, our pediatricians can also protect your child from a variety of serious and potentially life threatening illnesses through regular immunizations.
What do immunizations do?
Immunizations or vaccines are used to boost the body’s natural defenses to help it properly fight infection. In order to do this, a vaccine needs to contain either a dead or weakened form of the infection. This is just enough to trigger the immune system to start producing the necessary antibodies to fight the infection without actually causing an infection. Even once the body fights off these germs it will still maintain these defenses to prevent being infected in the future.
Your child won’t build up an immediate immunity once they’ve been vaccinated. It can take up to three weeks for the body to build a complete immune response to the specific germs. Therefore, during this time it is possible that your child could still become infected with any of the viruses for which they haven’t fully been vaccinated. Each vaccine is different and your pediatrician can discuss with you the expected length of time that a vaccine will take to fully work.
Why are immunizations important?
Immunizations are one of the most effective preventive tools we have for protecting children and teens from potentially dangerous or fatal infections and diseases. Since many of these conditions can also cause serious complications including hospitalizations, getting your child vaccinated can prevent the need for extensive and expensive medical treatments.
Certain people, especially those with weakened immune systems, may not be able to get certain vaccinations. This means that they are particularly susceptible to infection. By getting more and more children vaccinated we can also protect other members of our community who can’t be vaccinated so they don’t deal with life-threatening illnesses, themselves.
We know that parents usually have a lot of questions when it comes to getting their child vaccinated and during your child’s next visit we would be happy to discuss these options with you. The CDC also has a handy immunization schedule that every family should follow to make sure that their child is getting the proper immunizations at the right time so they are always fully protected from certain illnesses and diseases.
If you have questions about the immunizations your child is supposed to be getting or if you need to schedule their next checkup call your pediatrician today.
Our virtual pediatricians are here to provide online health care to your children and teens.
We know that the coronavirus has certainly impacted our lives and normal routine; however, there are moments, even now, when your child may deal with a fever, widespread rash or other problem that warrants seeing our Greenwich, CT, pediatricians Dr. Karen Beckman and Dr. Alejandro Mones. Don’t worry; you can still turn to our pediatricians and you don’t even have to leave the house.
What are the Advantages of Telehealth?
Telemedicine from Riverside Pediatrics, LLC offers parents and families living in Greenwich and New Canaan with peace of mind, knowing that they can contact a pediatrician for care.
Telemedicine makes it easier and more convenient to follow-up with a pediatrician while your child is undergoing treatment or has just undergone surgery. This also allows parents to be able to get their questions and concerns about their child’s health addressed.
When is Telehealth Used?
These virtual visits with our pediatric team can be used to diagnose and treat a variety of symptoms and problems without having to come into the office. These minor problems include:
- Headaches and migraines
- Strains and sprains
- Colds, flus, and respiratory infections
- Stomachaches and abdominal pain
- Bowel changes (e.g. diarrhea; constipation)
- Rashes
- Bug bites and insect stings
- Conjunctivitis (e.g. pink eye)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Cuts and open wounds
We can also assess how certain medications are working and determine if your child could benefit from a different medication or needs a refill on a current prescription.
What about Wellness Checkups?
Newborns and infants require regular well-baby visits throughout the first few years of life. These appointments are crucial for monitoring their health and development, and also providing them with immunizations to protect them from serious and life-threatening diseases.
Our pediatricians understand that nothing is more important than keeping up with these visits, which is why our New Canaan, CT, office is temporarily serving as a well-baby visit office during the pandemic.
With two office locations, Riverside Pediatrics, LLC is the premier pediatric team serving Riverside, New Canaan, and Greenwich, CT. To schedule a telemedicine appointment, call our Greenwich office at (203) 629-5800 or our New Canaan, CT, office at (203) 920-1675.
Warts are common, benign bumps that develop on the skin as a result of a viral infection known as the human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts are pretty common in children and can develop just about anywhere on the body; however, they are most often found on the face, feet, and hands. Generally, warts usually don’t cause any problems and will go away on their own, but if you don’t want to wait a pediatrician can offer effective wart removal options.
Types of Warts
There are different kinds of warts that can develop. These warts include:
- Common warts: these rough bumps are often found on the elbows, fingers, and hands and are usually gray in appearance. If you look closely at the bump you may also notice small black dots.
- Flat warts: these smooth warts are often pink or light brown and most often develop on the face
- Plantar warts: these warts develop on the soles of the feet, which can be very uncomfortable for your child, especially when walking
- Palmar warts: just as plantar warts develop on feet, palmar warts develop on the hands
Treating Warts
While warts will go away without treatment it can take months or even years. If your child is embarrassed by the wart, if your child is dealing with multiple warts or if the wart is causing discomfort or pain then this warrants seeing a pediatrician. There are many ways in which a pediatrician can remove the wart.
Your child’s best treatment option will depend on the size, location, type, and number of warts. While there are certainly over-the-counter medications that you can try (these medications should not be used on certain areas of the body including the face), a pediatrician will be able to provide you with safe, effective treatment under proper medical supervision.
Common wart removal options include:
- Cryotherapy: freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen (a very common wart removal technique)
- Salicylic acid: a doctor can also provide a strong prescription solution that contains salicylic acid (this can be applied at home as per your pediatrician’s instructions)
- Laser: sometimes laser therapy is used to target and destroy the wart
Usually the wart will fall off within a few days after treatment, but sometimes more than one treatment session is necessary to successful remove the growth.
If your child has plantar warts or warts in embarrassing places then they will most likely need to turn to their pediatrician to treat the problem. Call your children’s doctor today and let them know that you want to discuss wart removal options for your child or teen.
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