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.

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.

How your pediatricians in Kansas City, MO, can help you care for your newborn

Newborn babies are a wonderful gift, but they do require a lot of care, which can cause you to feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, Michael H.Dershowitz, DPM, your pediatrician here at Pediatric Care North in Kansas City, MO, offers comprehensive pediatric care, including newborn care visits.

Your pediatrician will recommend a first newborn care visit within 2 to 5 days of birth. The pediatrician will take vital measurements including height and weight to provide a baseline for future appointments. These initial measurements are critical for the pediatrician to monitor growth and development at future appointments. This first visit is an excellent opportunity for you to ask questions about caring for your newborn.

The pediatrician performs an important role of guiding you through caring for your newborn. These are just a few of the topics your pediatrician may discuss with you:

• Feeding: if you are breastfeeding, your baby will want to feed every 2 to 3 hours. If you feed your baby formula, the baby will feed less, usually at 3 to 4-hour intervals.
• Sleeping: newborns typically sleep 16 to 17 hours every day. It’s important for you to place the baby on their back for sleeping, as this help prevents sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS.
• Bathing: don’t bathe your baby too often because it can cause dry skin. You should give your newborn sponge baths using mild soap and water. Carefully clean the folds of skin where bacteria can accumulate.
• Stool Color: stool is normally black in color initially, and then the color changes to dark green and then yellow. If you notice the stool is red or white, it could be a sign of a medical problem and you should contact your pediatrician.

One of the most important things to remember when you have a newborn is to also take good care of yourself. Try to sleep when your baby sleeps. Ask for help from family members or friends, and don’t try to do everything. Remember to get some exercise and get out of the house.

Having a newborn is a joyous time in your life, and your pediatrician can help you manage the stress of this time period. To learn more about newborn care and other pediatric medicine topics, call the pediatricians of Pediatric Care North in Kansas City, Missouri at (816) 587-3200 today.