Your child is in the pediatrician’s office with a fever, and you find yourself asking why the doctor didn’t prescribe an antibiotic. Or, you wonder what’s the harm in trying an antibiotic? Antibiotics are just one of the many treatments available for kids’ illnesses, but their appropriate use is at the discretion of the provider….
Stephanie Deitchman, R.N., BSN, is a caregiver in both senses of the word. She has been the registered nurse caring for patients in the “Just For Kids” Critical Care Center at Norton Children’s Hospital. She also has been the concerned loved one of patients. She was a caregiver for her mother, who had lengthy hospital…
The newly opened Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Norton Children’s Hospital was made possible by gifts to the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation and is specifically for cardiac patients. It provides an opportunity to reflect on how far heart care at Norton Children’s Hospital has come. Kentucky’s first pediatric open heart surgery was…
Qué hacer con un niño pequeño que tose por la noche A toddler coughs when lying down? Maybe didn’t cough at all during the day, or not cough much, but started coughing at night? The reason is that mucus from the sinuses drains into the throat while your toddler is horizontal, triggering the cough. Asthma…
Kawasaki disease — a rare condition that most often affects children under 5 — comes with symptoms such as rash, peeling skin, swelling, redness, drying and cracking of the lips and tongue. Another symptom is inflamed blood vessels, which can give rise to a variety of heart issues and makes Kawasaki disease the leading cause…
When you think of traumatic brain injury (TBI), also called acquired brain injury (ABI), you may think of car crashes or sports injuries. However, a recent study shows that common home furnishings and fixtures are also frequently associated with TBI in children. TBI is an acquired brain injury that happens when a sudden trauma causes…
I have lived with Type 1 diabetes for 21 years. Carbohydrate counting is as integral to a meal to me as chewing. And that’s because there’s a lot of math to think about when you sit down to eat when you have diabetes: You have to count carbohydrates (carbs) and calculate your insulin-to-carb ratio. It…
An innovative surgery using 3D printing technology is alleviating pain for some of the most critical and complicated cases. A 13-year-old girl from Clarksville, Indiana is one of those cases. Haley Kessinger was born with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism, as well as a deformity in her spine. As Haley got older, the curve…
Children, especially younger ones, process grief in different ways. Grief is not a feeling that we reserve solely for our loved ones; we also experience grief at the passing of people with whom we feel a strong connection, such as sports stars, actors, musicians and authors. Think about recent celebrity deaths, such as that of…
It’s unlikely Jim James was thinking of childhood cancer when he wrote the song “Victory Dance,” for My Morning Jacket’s 2011 record “Circuital.” The song, however, has become a rallying cry for the children and young adults undergoing treatment at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute. With the musician’s permission, the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute’s Cancer Beats…
Your child was referred to a pediatric neurologist for a neurological exam, also called a neuro exam, part of a complete neurological evaluation. You know your pediatrician and generally what to expect during those visits. What happens in a neurological exam, and what can you expect? Why would my child need a neurological exam? Your…
Everyone of us, young and old, is at risk for taking a stumble and breaking a bone, an injury also called a fracture. Children, however, are at risk for an additional type of injury: the growth plate fracture, also called growth plate injury. What is it, and how does it happen? What is the growth…