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Category "Pediatrics"

13Jan2023

Top 5 Steps for Dealing with Children’s Night Terrors

Children are more likely than adults to experience nightmares and night terrors, which frequently disturbs parents’ sleep as they attempt to comfort and ease their child back to sleep. Night terrors and nightmares share many similarities, yet they can differ greatly. While nearly everyone has nightmares throughout childhood, just 1-6% of children suffer night terrors, and the experience is significantly more distressing for both parents and children. In this blog post, we’ll examine what night terrors are, the causes of them, and some strategies for dealing with them if your child has them.

Understanding Nightmares and Night Terrors

A night terror is a sleep disorder in which the subject experiences intense panic, which frequently manifests as yelling, shouting, and thrashing. Similar to sleepwalking, a youngster may occasionally move out of bed, open their eyes, and then continue to sleep. Other side effects of night terror include perspiration, faster breathing, and an elevated heart rate. After an episode, it can frequently be challenging to get a child back to sleep because of the overwhelming sense of panic. Night terrors can happen more than once per night and typically persist for several minutes, occasionally even up to 15 minutes.

The Causes of Night Terrors

A night terror often develops as a result of an interruption to a child’s deep slumber, an over-arousal of the central nervous system during sleep. Children who have a family history of sleepwalking or night terrors are more likely to experience an episode. Night terrors may also be brought on by elements that interfere with deep sleep, according to certain theories. One trigger may be an increase in deep sleep, which may be brought on by factors including fatigue, fever, or medicine. Another possibility is when this phase of sleep is disturbed, frequently as a result of stress, excitement, loud noises, or the desire to use the restroom.

What Should I Do if My Kid Has Night Terrors?

When your child has a night terror, it can be a scary experience because you always want to see them sleeping peacefully. However, the best course of action when dealing with one that is already underway is to wait patiently for it to pass while watching out for your child or daughter’s safety. Though you might be tempted, it’s best to refrain from awakening your child while they are having an episode. After a few minutes, most kids will go back to their regular slumber, so if you wake them up abruptly, they could get disturbed and less likely to fall back asleep. Furthermore, it’s doubtful that they would recall the incident, thus waking them awake will simply make them feel uneasy. You can wake up your child once the episode has ended and they have calmed down.

To assist them reset their sleep and prevent them from relapsing into a night terror, make sure they are fully awake and, if required, take them to the bathroom. Although there is no proven cure for night terrors, there are several things you can do to help your kid go asleep and address the underlying causes: 

  • Assist them in managing stress: Like adults, kids might experience tension and worry before bed, which can exacerbate night terrors. Find out what’s causing the issue and try to assist the youngster in resolving it; you may also try some stress-reduction strategies. 
  • Create a calming bedtime routine: While we’ve written on relaxing bedtime routines for adults, much of the same guidance also applies to children. Making sure they consume healthy foods and liquids, limiting computer time before bed, encouraging them to take a hot bath, and reading a tale aloud are all helpful strategies for easing children into sleep.
  • Stop them from getting too tired: Night terrors are frequently preceded by being overtired, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your child’s routine to ensure that they aren’t overexerting themselves and are getting enough rest.
  • Provide creative outlets for imaginative children: Children with active, vivid imaginations are more likely to experience night terrors, so provide them with opportunities to express themselves during the day. This could be done through acting, singing, dancing, or another art form.
  • Talk to them about night terrors in the proper way: The last thing you want is for your child to develop a real fear of their night terrors, so you should be careful to talk to them about their episodes in a way that doesn’t make them anxious or scared.

Even while the majority of night terrors may be treated at home, you should consult a doctor if they recur frequently or more than once a night. A medical expert should be able to determine whether there are any underlying conditions that are the root of the issues. Contact Kid’s 1st Pediatrics if you have any inquiries.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
6Jan2023

5 Essential Food Groups for Every Child

You are not alone if you feel like giving up trying to persuade your picky toddler to eat a more nutritious diet. Every parent struggles every day to feed their children healthy meals that will fit into their small tummies. Snacking all the time and loading up on empty calories can easily spiral out of control.

Is It Unhealthy to be a Picky Eater?

It is normal for kids to start being picky about what they eat as they learn about new tastes. They frequently suffer from nutrient deficiencies as a result, which are frequently overlooked. However, if they aren’t getting enough nourishment, children may act irritable, have a low appetite, experience headaches or vertigo, show signs of muscle and bone weakness, experience repeated stomach infections, and exhibit many other symptoms.

All parents, though, desire what is best for their children. This leads to an ongoing search for effective strategies to nourish youngsters in a way they will also like. This is essential during the early years of a child’s life, when their immune systems, along with their physical, mental, and emotional capacities, are developing.

Why Nutrition is Vital in the Early Years

Future health of your child can be significantly impacted by what they consume during their early years, which includes the preschool years of 2 to 5 years. In this stage of their development, a healthy diet is critical for the development of vital structures including the brain, bones, teeth, and even their thinking. Micronutrients including iron, iodine, vitamin a, and others are especially required at this time. One of the most important strategies to assist children in their early years in meeting their quota of vital micronutrients is through consumption of a variety of nutrient-dense foods.

Your child will have all the tools necessary to prevent common deficiencies like a lack of vitamin A, iron, zinc, calcium, or vitamin d by developing healthy eating habits and implementing early intervention techniques. At this age, the goal is to establish a pattern that will enable them to maintain their health and fitness over the long term. Micronutrient deficiencies are a major cause of the cognitive delays, impaired immune systems, and stunted growth that millions of children experience.

The Essential Nutrients for Every Child

Preschoolers’ bodies require diets that are rich in nutrients and have a good balance of vitamins, minerals, carbs, proteins, and fats. Children who receive these five necessities when still young have superior cognitive health and a lower risk of developing chronic disorders later in life.

Take a moment to consider whether you can confidently state that your child is receiving enough of these five necessities.

  • Grains such as ragi, wheat, and rice
  • Fruits, preferably fresh
  • Vegetables, particularly those with green leaves
  • Foods high in protein, such as meat, poultry, seafood, beans, and eggs
  • Dairy items, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt

Packing all of this into a busy day might be challenging, as it is for many other parents who are frequently kept in the dark. If your youngster can’t sit still, would rather play than eat, or just won’t take a bite of their greens, increase the difficulty level by two.

What You Can Do To Ensure Your Child Eats Right

What should you do if your toddler won’t eat nutritious foods? You still need a foolproof method to ensure that kids get all the nutrients they need each day even if they won’t consume enough nutrient-rich meals.

Offering children healthy options will ensure that whatever they choose is healthy, so that is one simple approach to accomplish this.

  • Create a positive example for them by leading by example and maintaining a balanced diet. Children pick up a lot by watching.
  • Give entertaining titles to healthful foods like tutti fruity milkshake, mushy smushy aloo, or magical power pea soup. Kids adore a good tale and a creative name.
  • Allow them to participate by teaching them how to prepare a few quick, wholesome recipes. Kids enjoy acting as chefs.
  • Stock up on additional healthy snacks so that kids will choose them over unhealthy food.
  • When preparing breakfast, the most crucial meal of the day, think about include a cereal high in nutrients. This can successfully address any micronutrient gaps and improve the daily nutritional content of diets for young children.

 

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
13Dec2022

Having a Pediatrician as Primary Care Provider

Consider selecting a pediatrician to handle your child’s primary medical care. You will be able to take advantage of all of the medical care options offered by expert pediatricians to give your child the routine medical care they require to grow up healthy and strong.

Understanding Pediatric Medical Care

It’s important to recognize the value of receiving medical attention from a pediatrician, as these health care providers have completed additional schooling and training to treat their target age range. Since children’s bodies are still developing, it’s critical that their growth and development follow the prescribed timeline. Preventive care is also possible with annual well-child checkups.

Pediatrics is a comprehensive field that includes children’s physical, psychosocial, developmental, and mental health, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What ages do pediatricians often treat?

The three general age ranges that pediatricians can treat are listed below. Exceptions permit patients up to the age of 21 to continue seeing a pediatrician if both the doctor and the patient’s family concur that further treatment is required. This exception is frequently made for kids who require specific medical care.

Infancy

Infanthood is the period from birth to two years of age. A pediatrician will pay special attention to a child’s behavior, general development, and whether or not the youngster is receiving the recommended quantity of nourishment at this time. At two weeks, two months, four months, six months, nine months, twelve months, fifteen months, and eighteen months, children in this stage need to consult a pediatrician.

Childhood

Between the ages of 2 and 12 is this stage of childhood. A pediatrician will perform a complete evaluation of children in this age range to ensure that their behavior, growth, and development are on target for each age. The physician will also check to see if the youngster is receiving the proper nourishment. Children in this period should see a pediatrician at age two and then at least once a year until they are 12 years old.

Adolescence

Between the ages of 12 to 18, a person is in this period of adolescence. Pediatricians focus on physical changes, emotional swings, social concerns, skincare, and hygiene at this period. A compassionate pediatrician should see children at this stage at least once a year and more frequently if they believe they need to.

Does your youngster require a visit to the doctor?

Do you need to schedule an appointment for your child now that you are aware of the age ranges that pediatricians may treat? Because they can care for your child from birth till adulthood, this type of medical practitioner is a top choice for parents. This makes it possible for the doctor and patient to have a solid, long-lasting relationship.

To begin, get in touch with Kid’s 1st Pediatrics today!

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
6Dec2022

Common Respiratory Illnesses for Children in Winter

The winter is the season with the most colds, coughs, and runny noses. It is simpler to spread infectious agents in crowded interior environments, dry hot air, and poor air circulation.

Common Colds

Children often experience three to ten colds per year. Children who attend child care or school for the first couple of years get one or two more colds than children of the same age who exclusively receive care at home and who do not have siblings to spread illness.

Children who have been in child care for a year or more after turning three have fewer colds than those who have not developed an immunity from being in group care.

At least 100 distinct virus types are capable of causing cold symptoms. Runny nose, scratchy or sore throat, headache, cough, sneezing, fussiness, muscle aches, or fatigue are some of the symptoms. Some kids might be experiencing a low-grade fever. A slight increase in body temperature is a sign that the body is attempting to combat an issue. The body uses a fever to fight off illness. As long as the youngster does not feel uncomfortable, these fevers do not require medical attention.

The common cold cannot be cured by medicine. Numerous studies have shown that over-the-counter cold remedies may not work and may even have negative side effects.

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)

One of the many viruses that cause respiratory illnesses—ailments of the nose, throat, and lungs—is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The late fall to early spring seasons are when this virus strikes.

RSV typically results in a cold, which may progress to pneumonia or bronchiolitis (a lower respiratory tract infection). In addition to cold symptoms, bronchiolitis symptoms can include wheezing, quick breathing, nose flare-ups, head bobbing while breathing, rhythmic grunting while breathing, belly breathing, pulling between the ribs, and/or pulling around the lower neck.

The average duration of symptoms is 5-7 days. On days three through five of the illness, RSV symptoms are often at their worst. Thankfully, almost all kids who contract RSV recover on their own.

Infants who are more likely to get a severe RSV infection include:

  • Infants who are premature or have low birth weight at the beginning of the RSV season are young chronologically (less than 12 weeks) (especially those born before 29 weeks gestation)
  • Perinatal chronic lung disease
  • Babies with certain heart abnormalities
  • Those whose immune systems are compromised as a result of disease or medical interventions

Low birth weight, having siblings, maternal smoking during pregnancy, exposure to secondhand smoke in the home, a history of atopy (allergies/eczema), not breastfeeding, being around children in a child care setting, or living in crowded conditions are additional risk factors for severe RSV infections.

In the event that a youngster experiences any of the following:

  • Bronchitis signs and symptoms (listed above)
  • Dehydration signs and symptoms (fewer than one wet diaper every eight hours)
  • Pauses or breathing issues
  • Color of the tongue, lips, or skin is gray or blue.
  • Markedly reduced activity and alertness

Influenza (Flu)

The flu virus is frequent and unexpected. Even in youngsters who are healthy, it can result in catastrophic consequences.

Serious flu-related consequences are more likely to affect some persons. These consist of:

  • Children under the age of five, particularly those under the age of two
  • Premature babies
  • Children of any age who have certain long-term health issues, such as heart disease, lung disease, a neurologic or neurodevelopmental impairment like asthma,
  • Expecting mothers
  • Adults 65 years of age and older: Adults’ immune systems deteriorate with age.

The flu vaccine aids in lowering the number of serious illnesses and fatalities brought on by influenza each year. The national American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that any approved, suggested, and age-appropriate vaccine be given for the 2021–2022 flu season.

For the current flu season, children older than six months, parents, and other family members should all get the flu shot.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Please get in touch with Kid’s 1st Pediatrics for details on how to keep your child safe and well during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
14Nov2022

Reasons to Consider Pediatric Urgent Care Rather than the ER

People naturally consider rushing to the emergency room of a hospital when a child appears to be experiencing a medical emergency. When it comes to saving many lives, emergency room staff who provide medical and surgical care to patients in need of immediate attention have probably had the most influence.  However, nobody can dispute that going to the emergency room is an unpleasant experience, especially for kids, even if we have a lot to be grateful for from the staff there.

Do I Need to Take My Child to the ER?

Although it is something that no parent ever wants to witness in their child, illnesses are a very real potential for any family. When your child gets sick or hurt on a regular basis, you take them to the pediatrician’s office. However, what happens if they get sick or hurt after doctor’s hours and you don’t know if it is life-threatening? It would be impossible to schedule a pediatrics visit in this situation, wouldn’t it?

The emergency room might be an option if your pediatrician’s office is closed, but you might want to think hard before sending your child there. Emergency rooms aren’t the best places to make kids feel safe and comfortable because they are hectic, noisy, and chaotic in contrast to the welcoming environment of pediatricians’ offices.  You could subject your child to unpleasant situations that could leave them traumatized, because emergency rooms deal with a wide spectrum of disorders and illnesses. If it’s not absolutely necessary to go the ER, it might be a good idea to not 

What Other Options are Available?

Thankfully, you don’t have to go to the emergency room right away.  You can take your child to pediatric urgent care, where specialized professionals can treat children particularly, rather than going to a hospital’s emergency room.

Acute examination, management, and treatment of children with mild to moderate diseases or injuries are the emphasis of urgent care for children as opposed to emergency care, which concentrates on patients with significant illnesses or injuries.

For the treatment of the following disorders and more, pediatric urgent care is the ideal alternative to emergency rooms:

  • Gastrointestinal llergies
  • Red eye
  • Bites, rashes, and ear infections
  • Fever
  • Throat infection
  • Cuts

The Benefits Pediatric Urgent Care

Children’s urgent care is a useful resource when it comes to kids with mild illnesses. Facilities for pediatric urgent care offer advantages that emergency rooms do not.

Here are several reasons for taking your youngster to a kids urgent care facility:

Child-Friendly Environment

Pediatric urgent care facilities provide a more welcoming ambiance by including bright wall art, books, and toys, just like your child’s pediatrician’s office. Your youngster will feel more relaxed and less anxious thanks to the friendly atmosphere and the food, stickers, and awards the doctor will hand out.

Specialists for Children

Although emergency room doctors are trained and certified medical experts, there aren’t many of them who specialize in treating children with mild to moderate ailments. Pediatric urgent care centers, in contrast to emergency rooms, employ pediatric specialists, so you can rest easy knowing your child is in capable hands.

Faster Medical Care

You won’t have to wait too long for your child to be seen, unlike in regular emergency departments. Since many pediatric urgent care centers work on a first-come, first-served schedule, you’ll know when your child will be seen by a doctor.

Conclusion

For minor ailments, pediatric urgent care can be a useful substitute for emergency rooms. So, think about your options the next time your child is ill or hurt. To be sure that your child will receive the greatest medical care, visit a respected pediatric urgent care facility.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
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