Children s Health Issues - Merck Manuals Consumer Version

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Care of Newborns and Infants

Healthy newborns (age birth to 1 month) and infants (age 1 month to 1 year) need many different types of care to ensure their normal development and good health.
Health Supervision of Well Children

Parents and caregivers can help children achieve their best possible health. The early years of life are crucial for health and physical, intellectual, and social/emotional development. If babies' physical needs are met regularly and consistently, they quickly learn that their caregiver is a source of satisfaction, creating a firm bond of trust and attachment. Healthy babies grow into healthy children and adolescents.
Symptoms in Infants and Children

Colic refers to a specific pattern of excessive, intense crying and fussing that occurs without any apparent reason (for example, hunger, illness, or injury) in otherwise healthy infants. Colic typically begins within the first month of life, is worst when the infant is about 6 weeks of age, and ends, often rather suddenly, by 3 to 4 months of age.
Bacterial Infections in Infants and Children

Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms. Only some bacteria cause disease in people. Other bacteria live inside the intestinal tract, genitourinary tract, or on the skin without causing harm. Some bacteria are even thought to help keep people healthy.
Behavioral Problems in Children

Children acquire many skills as they grow. Some skills, such as controlling urine and stool, depend mainly on the level of maturity of the child's nerves and brain. Others, such as behaving appropriately at home and in school, are the result of a complicated interaction between the child's physical and intellectual (cognitive) development, health, temperament, and relationships with parents, caregivers, and teachers (see also Childhood Development). Other behaviors, such as thumb sucking, develop when children look for ways to help themselves cope with stress. Still other behaviors develop in response to parenting style.
Overview of Birth Defects

Birth defects, also called congenital anomalies, are physical abnormalities that occur before a baby is born. They are usually obvious within the first year of life.
- Overview of Birth Defects
Birth Defects of the Brain and Spinal Cord

Birth defects of the brain or spinal cord cause a spectrum of neurologic problems; some may be barely noticeable, others may be fatal.
Birth Defects of the Face, Bones, Joints, and Muscles

Birth defects, also called congenital anomalies, are physical abnormalities that occur before a baby is born. "Congenital" means "present at birth."
Birth Defects of the Digestive Tract

A birth defect can occur anywhere along the digestive tract—in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, or anus.
Birth Defects of the Heart

About one in 100 babies is born with a heart defect. Some are severe, but many are not. Defects may involve abnormal formation of the heart's walls or valves or of the blood vessels that enter or leave the heart.
Birth Defects of the Urinary Tract and Genitals

Birth defects are more common in the kidney and urinary system (urinary tract) than in any other system of the body. Defects can develop in the
Blood Problems in Newborns

Anemia is a disorder in which there are too few red blood cells in the blood.
Bone Disorders in Children

Children’s bones grow continually and reshape (remodel) themselves extensively. Growth proceeds from a vulnerable part of the bone called the growth plate. In remodeling, old bone tissue is gradually replaced by new bone tissue. Many bone disorders come from the changes that occur in a growing child’s musculoskeletal system. These disorders may get better or worsen as the child grows. Other bone disorders may be inherited or occur in childhood for no known reason.
Childhood Cancers

In the United States, the overall incidence of cancer in children and adolescents has increased over time. From 1975 to 2022, rates increased by approximately 0.8 per 100,000 each year. However, death rates decreased from 1970 through 2019 by 71% in children (from 6.3 to 1.8 per 100,000) and by 61% in adolescents (from 7.2 to 2.8 per 100,000).
Child Neglect and Abuse

Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (for example, clergy, coach, or teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Child neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs. Child abuse is doing harmful things to a child.
- Overview of Child Neglect and Abuse
- Female Genital Mutilation
Chromosome and Gene Abnormalities

Chromosomes are structures within cells that contain a person's genes.
Common Viral Infections in Infants and Children

Viruses are small infectious organisms. that are much smaller than a fungus or bacterium. Viruses must invade a living cell to reproduce (see Overview of Viral Infections).
Congenital Kidney Tubular Disorders

The kidneys filter and cleanse the blood. They also maintain the body’s balance of water, dissolved salts ( electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium), and nutrients in the blood.
Connective Tissue Disorders in Children

Connective tissue is the tough, often fibrous tissue that binds the body's structures together and provides support and elasticity. Muscles, bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons are built mostly of connective tissue. Connective tissue is also present in other parts of the body, such as the skin and internal organs. The characteristics of connective tissue and the types of cells it contains vary, depending on where it is found in the body. Connective tissue is strong and thus able to support weight and tension.
Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes certain glands to produce abnormally thick secretions, resulting in tissue and organ damage, especially in the lungs and the digestive tract.
- Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children

Appendicitis is inflammation and infection of the appendix (a thin tube of tissue that is connected to the intestines).
Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders in Children

Ear, nose, and throat disorders, particularly infections, are extremely common among children.
Eye Disorders in Children

Amblyopia, a common cause of vision loss in children, is a decrease in vision that occurs because the brain ignores the image received from an eye. Vision loss may be permanent if the disorder is not diagnosed and treated early in childhood.
Gastrointestinal (GI) and Liver Problems in Newborns

Cholestasis is a reduction of bile formation or bile flow. As a result, bilirubin backs up into the bloodstream ( hyperbilirubinemia), leading to a yellow to yellow-green discoloration of the whites of the eyes and skin called jaundice.
General Problems in Newborns

Problems in newborns may develop
Growth and Development

Physical growth refers to an increase in body size (length or height and weight) and in the size of organs. From birth to about age 1 or 2 years, children grow rapidly. After this rapid infant and early toddler growth, growth slows until the adolescent growth spurt. As growth slows, children need fewer calories and parents may notice a decrease in appetite. Two-year-old children can have very erratic eating habits that sometimes make parents anxious. Some children may seem to eat virtually nothing yet continue to grow and thrive. Actually, they usually eat little one day and then make up for it by eating more the next day.
Hereditary Metabolic Disorders

Hereditary metabolic disorders are inherited genetic conditions that cause metabolism problems.
Hereditary Periodic Fever Syndromes

Hereditary periodic fever syndromes are hereditary disorders that periodically cause episodes of fever and other symptoms that are not due to usual childhood infections or any other obvious disorder.
High Blood Pressure in Children

High blood pressure (hypertension) is persistently high pressure in the arteries.
Hormonal Disorders in Children

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are abnormally high because the body does not produce enough insulin or fails to respond normally to the insulin produced.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection in Children

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a viral infection that progressively destroys certain white blood cells and makes people more vulnerable to other infections and some cancers and causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection in Children and Adolescents
Infections in Newborns

Infections occur at all ages but are a great cause for concern in newborns because newborns, especially preterm ones, have an underdeveloped immune system and are more susceptible to infection. Although certain protective antibodies pass from the mother to the fetus through the placenta (the organ that provides nourishment to the fetus), the levels of antibodies in the fetus's blood may not be high enough to fight an infection.
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a group of related childhood diseases that begin by age 16 and involve persistent or recurring inflammation of the joints.
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
Learning and Developmental Disorders

Developmental disorders are better called neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurodevelopmental disorders are neurologically based conditions that can interfere with the acquisition, retention, or application of specific skills or sets of information. They may involve dysfunction in attention, memory, perception, language, problem-solving, or social interaction. These disorders may be mild and easily manageable with behavioral and educational interventions, or they may be more severe and affected children may require more support.
Lung and Breathing Problems in Newborns

Apnea (not breathing) of prematurity is a pause in breathing that lasts for 20 seconds or more in an infant born before 37 weeks of gestation who is not known to have any underlying disorder that causes apnea.
Mental Health Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Several important mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders, often start during childhood and adolescence. Some disorders, such as autism, start only during childhood.
Miscellaneous Disorders in Infants and Young Children

Few children make it through their first years without minor concerns. Crying, problems with feeding, rashes, and an occasional fever are common. These become health concerns only when they are extreme—for example, when children cry too much, when they are not growing well (see Failure to Thrive), or when they have high fevers that do not go away. Most childhood problems are not severe.
Muscular Dystrophies and Related Disorders

Muscular dystrophies are a group of inherited muscle disorders in which one or more genes needed for normal muscle structure and function are defective, leading to muscle weakness of varying severity. Muscle fibers appear deteriorated (dystrophic) when viewed under a microscope. Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy are the second most common forms. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a more severe form. Becker muscular dystrophy is closely related to Duchenne dystrophy but starts later in a child's life and causes milder symptoms.
Neurocutaneous Syndromes in Children

Neurofibromatosis is a group of genetic disorders in which many soft, fleshy growths of nerve tissue (neurofibromas) form under the skin and in other parts of the body, and flat spots that are the color of coffee with milk (café-au-lait spots) often develop on the skin.
Neurologic Disorders in Children

Cerebral palsy refers to a group of conditions that involve difficulty moving and muscle stiffness (spasticity). It results from brain malformations that occur before birth as the brain is developing or from brain damage that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth.