Medical research boasts thousands upon thousands of studies which prove common sense. In this case, researchers wanted to confirm that improved air quality in Stockholm, Sweden, during a person’s childhood would lead to improved lung function into adulthood. While this seems hardly worth the time and effort to prove, such studies justify policy changes and…
If the commercial for kid’s lip gloss and face glitter included a warning that these products might cause cancer, few parents would feel compelled to give into their child’s begging. Obviously, life is never that easy or that simple. Since no producer of these products would ever willingly profess such abuse of trust, we must…
If you have seen one child with autism, you have seen one child with autism. This statement rises from the reality that we are still struggling to wrap our heads around the multiple causes of autism. This disease affecting now millions of children appears to vary not only in severity but in what appears to…
With over 500,000 tonsillectomies occurring per year in the United States (1), researchers regularly search for opportunities to save the tonsils. Two of the more common reasons that surgeons remove tonsils are recurrent throat infections and sleep-disordered breathing patterns. Like any surgery, multiple complications may occur and thus avoiding the surgery is a better option…
As we determine the best course of treatment for a patient’s condition, we must weigh the pros against the cons and make a balanced decision. While a surgeon may be forced to choose cutting off a leg to save a life, there are usually other options to avoid unwanted adverse effects. With the pandemic beginning…
We see it everywhere these days, eyes glued to smartphones and tablets. This includes children of parents who hand over these digital devices to their young children to get them to calm down so mom or dad can take care of some pressing interaction like a doctor visit or simple car ride without behavior issues. …
Adolescence challenges one’s parenting skills: your child moves from depending on you to possessing a much greater degree of autonomy as they develop their own identity. So many factors influence the path your child takes and the new self-identity they attain, especially hormones. Their own hormones offer enough turbulence and drive towards young adulthood, but…
COVID 19 has clearly left its marks on both individuals and society as a whole, and researchers have found another example of the profound immunological impact of this viral infection in reviewing the medical records of numerous children: COVID increases the rates of type I diabetes in infected children. This should not shock those who…
This common herbicide in your food and in your yard increases the risk of lower birthweight in high-risk pregnancies and appears to increase the risk of a neonatal intensive care unit admission. With 8% of U.S. births falling into a high-risk category due to some other health factor in the mom, many babies enter the…
So many parents face the challenge of raising small children with unexplained chronic illness and hear the encouragement that the child will grow out of it sooner or later. This may cheer parents in the first week or two, but when symptoms continue for weeks or progress in severity and variety, eventually parents want more…