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I remember when my son was 12 years old, he would wake up in the middle of the night crying and complaining of knee pain. He had started to run track in middle school, and he started to get a little bump just below his knee cap at the top of his shin bone. Our pediatrician called it “growing pains” and said it would go away. He recommended that he do some stretches and ice after track practice. Eventually it did resolve once track season was over, and he didn’t have any problems after that. What I found out later is that this wasn’t growing pains at all – it was a common sports injury known as “Osgood-Schlatter disease.” What is Osgood-Schlatter disease? Although it sounds scary because of the word “disease,” Osgood-Schlatter is one of the most common causes of knee pain in adolescents. It’s an overuse injury that […]

People who live with diabetes need a lot of “extras” to live healthy, balanced lives. Most of those extras – testing supplies, insulin, and medical attention – can be costly. But there’s one thing that friends and family members of people with diabetes can help provide for free: understanding and emotional support. Here are some Dos and Don’ts for helping people with diabetes thrive with the condition. DO: Get informed. Diabetes can be a confusing condition, even for those who live with it every day. Take the time to learn the myths and facts about type 1 and type 2 diabetes by talking to your friend or relative with diabetes, your doctor, or relatives you know who have diabetes and by finding credible sources of information online. React calmly. For people with diabetes, high and low blood sugars can be common, even on a daily basis. Unless it’s an emergency, […]

Diabetes can be a confusing condition, even for the children, teenagers and families who live with it every day. Here, we separate some of the myths from the truths about type 1 diabetes and those who have it. Myth: Diabetes comes from eating too much sugar. Fact: The exact causes of diabetes – both type 1 and type 2 – aren’t known. What is clear is that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, which means it results when the body’s immune system destroys its own tissues. In this case, the immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells located in the pancreas. What prompts the immune system to target these cells is unknown, but age, genetics, environment, and other factors all play a part. Overall, to reduce your chances of getting diabetes, you should reduce your sugar intake, eat smarter and perhaps consider looking into unify health reviews and others similar to ensure […]

For over 100 years, allergists have used a method called “immunotherapy” to safely and successfully treat environmental allergies. Unlike medications, which only treat the symptoms of allergic reactions, immunotherapy actually teaches the immune system to become more tolerant of allergens. For allergic nasal and eye symptoms, asthma, and atopic dermatitis (eczema), immunotherapy is very helpful in the form of allergy shots. An oral form of immunotherapy (“oral immunotherapy,” or “OIT”) is available for certain types of allergies, and has been shown to be effective as well. How Does Oral Immunotherapy Work? The goal of oral immunotherapy is to make the immune system less reactive to a food allergen by eating small, gradually increasing amounts of the food over time. Researchers have been working for decades on a way to apply immunotherapy to the treatment of food allergies, with mixed results. However, a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical […]

For most parents and kids, spring means sunny warm weather, outdoor sports and more outside playtime. For many others, spring also means more asthma flare-ups – more time outside means more exposure to asthma triggers, and more sports means more exercise-induced asthma. Although childhood asthma is common, many people really don’t know much about it. So we thought we’d answer some common questions about what asthma is and how it’s treated. 1. What is asthma, exactly? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways in the lungs, called “breathing tubes” (or “bronchial tubes”). It’s actually the most common long-term childhood disease – the No. 1 reason kids chronically miss school. And flare-ups are the most common cause of pediatric emergency department visits due to a chronic illness. Those affected by asthma typically have swollen airways (which means that they swell and produce lots of thick mucus) most of the […]

At Nemours and elsewhere around the globe, April is the month to shine a light on the autism community. As parents, learning the signs of autism spectrum disorder, observing your child’s development, getting a timely and accurate diagnosis, and beginning treatment as early as possible can make a critical difference in your child’s future. Here are the basics: What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? ASD is a lifelong, neurologically-based developmental disorder that’s described as a ”spectrum” because symptoms can vary in type and severity. No two cases are exactly alike. The core features of ASD are a) social and communication deficits and b) repetitive or restricted behavior, interests or activities. What causes ASD and how common is it? While a precise cause is unknown, a variety of factors, including environmental, biologic and genetic factors, are thought to increase the likelihood that a child will have ASD. The prevalence of autism […]