Regular Pediatric care and Treatment

Throughout your life, medical care makes a difference. Following a specific screening schedule can detect problems early and prove to be life-saving in later years of life. However, regular visits to a doctor are important in one’s younger years, too.

How do regular pediatric visits help?

Following up with a pediatrician regularly can:

➡️ Help you monitor the healthy growth and development of your child
➡️ Help your child get timely vaccinations that help them fight diseases
➡️ Help detect problems early and possibly prevent them
➡️ Help detect any deviation from healthy growth in the child
➡️ Help you discuss your concerns for the child

Your pediatrician also helps treat minor and major childhood illnesses.

Also, regular visits help develop a strong and trustworthy relationship between the pediatrician, parent, and child.

Vaccinations in children

Babies are born with protection against some diseases because their mothers pass antibodies to them before birth, but this protection is temporary.

Immunization or vaccination is a way to develop immunity in children which protects them against all major diseases.

The chemical injected into your child’s body that helps them develop antibodies against an illness is called a vaccine. At times the vaccine can contain small amounts of a killed or weakened germ that causes the disease. Other times the vaccine is simply a small piece of the germ, such as a protein or a piece of its genetic material.

Once antibodies develop in a child, the body remembers it and helps them fight the disease anytime when the child gets infected by the disease.

Important vaccines for children

Most vaccines are mandatory in children and some are optional. Discuss with your pediatrician the list of vaccines that you should get in your children. Some recommended vaccines are:

➡️ Chickenpox vaccine
➡️ Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine
➡️ Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine
➡️ Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) vaccine
➡️ Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine
➡️ Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
➡️ Influenza (flu) vaccine
➡️ Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine
➡️ Meningococcal vaccines
➡️ Pneumococcal vaccines
➡️ Polio (IPV) vaccine
➡️ Rotavirus (RV) vaccine

There is a vaccination schedule as recommended by the Indian Academy of pediatrics which should be followed for timely vaccinating your growing child against major illnesses. Discuss and maintain a vaccination schedule for your children to help them stay healthy

What to expect after vaccination?

At times parents worry or hesitate to have their kids vaccinated. They doubt the child developing a serious reaction or illness after getting the vaccine administered to their child. But, it’s important to note that the components of vaccines are weakened or killed. In some cases, only parts of the germ are used. Thus, vaccines are unlikely to cause any serious illness.

The minor problems that may last for a day or two and can be expected after vaccination include, soreness at the point where the vaccine was given and fever.

In either case, any risks of vaccinations are much smaller when compared with the health risks of the diseases they’re intended to prevent.

Vaccination is the best way to protect your family from contagious diseases.

Tracking the growth and development of your child

➡️ Your pediatrician measures the child’s weight and height during every visit and charts them. This is important for comparison with the average rate of growth and helps pinpoint the problems in normal growth (if any) and the reasons for such problems. 
➡️ As children grow, they should reach certain health stages and developmental milestones around specific times. Attainment of milestones is tracked by your pediatrician during regular visits.
➡️ Apart from the measurement of height and weight, at times specific tests for hearing, motor skills, and vision are also conducted during your visit to the pediatrician to ensure that these basic systems and functions are developing properly.
➡️ Behavioral issues in children can be caused by several reasons – their inability to correctly express physical discomfort, bonding or attachment issues with the parents or caregivers, interactive problems with peers in school, etc. Such issues can be identified and treated early by a pediatrician.

Treatment of minor and major childhood illness

Children are more prone to illnesses due to their underdeveloped immune systems and their high exposure to germs at schools and childcare centers. Most children may have 6 to 8 colds a year. Other common childhood illnesses include allergies, skin problems, eye conditions, neurological issues, and gastrointestinal conditions.

To promote good health, parents should know the symptoms of common childhood illnesses and consult a pediatrician at the right time for them.

Children have growing bodies and their dosage of medicines and treatment approaches differs vastly from adults. A children’s specialist- a pediatrician, identifies and treats minor and major illnesses in kids. With intervention at the right time debility and suffering from diseases can be prevented greatly.

Dr. Vijay has vast experience in guiding parents through the growing years of their children, and in treating various minor and major diseases of childhood. Best Child Specialist in Vijayawada