The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect families across the nation. Flu season is upon us, and pediatricians are reminding families that there is still time to get kids a flu shot. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommends children receive their flu vaccinations by the end of October. This includes all eligible kids 6 months and…
An estimated one in three children suffers from constipation at some point. In fact, constipation in kids is the cause of thousands of pediatrician visits every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Constipation is even more common in children with neurogenic bowel dysfunction, a condition in which the nerves that control bowel function…
What’s red with oozing blisters and a honey-colored crust? Impetigo. Pronounced im-peh-tie-go, this common childhood skin infection often starts with a cut, scratch or bug bite. It sounds truly awful, but don’t despair. “The infection can be itchy and painful, but it is very treatable and can even disappear on its own,” said April R….
Kent L. Walker, D.O., pediatric orthopedic surgeon, has joined Norton Children’s Orthopedics of Louisville. Dr. Walker earned his undergraduate degree from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and medical degree from Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee. He completed his residency at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tennessee, and a…
For families with a history of certain cancers, storing a baby’s cord blood can be an attractive option. Is it right for you? And how do you go about it? Cord blood contains stem cells that can be used if someone needs a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Stem cell transplants treat leukemia, lymphoma,…
A toddler’s or baby’s concussion symptoms are generally the same as other ages, but since children can’t communicate like adults, here are signs to watch for: Baby concussion symptoms Any persistent behavior change, such as irritability or distractedness Any change in the baby’s sleeping habits — sleeping more or less Any behavior, such as vomiting,…
Two-year-old Gift Mbwali and her mother traveled more than 7,600 miles from their home in Uganda to Norton Children’s Heart Institute where surgeons repaired a heart defect she has lived with since birth. Her family was well aware of the high stakes. Her older brother, Patrick, made the same journey in 2017 to have a…
When a parent has a newborn, child or teen with a congenital heart condition that needs surgery, they want to know where the operation should happen and which hospital has a record of success. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) operates a database that rates congenital heart programs based on patients’ outcomes. Users can look…
Have you ever seen a baby in headgear and wondered, but didn’t want to ask mom “Why do babies wear helmets?” Also called a cranial orthotic, helmet therapy is a type of treatment prescribed for infants to help correct an abnormal skull shape. About 75 percent of brain growth happens by age 2. To accommodate…
Children with blurred vision and headache or double vision may be experiencing increased pressure inside the skull. Sometimes there’s no obvious cause. Often, the condition is pseudotumor cerebri. Pseudotumor cerebri in adults is associated with obesity and is much more frequent in women. In children who haven’t started puberty, pseudotumor cerebri happens equally among boys and girls…
Philmore Jackson III, is a courageous young man whose medical journey has taken many twists and turns. By age 3, Philmore, who goes by P.J., had been near death many times. By many accounts, there wasn’t much hope for him to live to his fourth birthday. Born in 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, P.J. was…
Bahaaldin Alsoufi, M.D., was a teenager growing up in Damascus, Syria, when his father collapsed from a heart attack. The 16-year-old watched with uncertainty and fear as his father was treated at a local hospital and later in the United States. Grateful and relieved to see him recover, he vowed to pursue a profession in…