Pediatrics

According to the Subcommittee of Clinical Ethics of the Argentinean Pediatric Society (SAP), children can understand moral feelings at all ages and can make reasonable decisions based on those feelings. Therefore, children and teens are deemed capable of making their own health decisions when they reach the age of 13. Recently, studies made on the decision-making of children have challenged that age to be 12.

Which sub-specialties are included under pediatrics?

Child mental health (assessing and managing mental health difficulties)
Community child health (caring for vulnerable children eg those with developmental problems, or those who are at risk of facing abuse)
Neonatal medicine (caring for newborns or premature babies)
Paediatric allergy, immunology and infectious diseases (infectious and allergic disorders, or problems with the immune system)
Paediatric clinical pharmacology (the development of medicine for children and the use of medicine)
Paediatric diabetes and endocrinology (hormonal conditions and disorders)
Paediatric emergency medicine (acute healthcare)
Paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition (conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract and liver)
Paediatric inherited metabolic medicine (inherited disorders affecting the body’s reactions)
Paediatric intensive care medicine (treating critically ill children)
Paediatric nephrology (disorders affecting the kidney)
Paediatric neuro-disability (acquired long-term conditions, or congenital disabilities)
Paediatric neurology (conditions affecting the nervous system)
Paediatric oncology (cancer)
Paediatric palliative care (life-threatening conditions or life-limiting conditions)
Paediatric respiratory medicine (conditions affecting the respiratory system)
Paediatric rheumatology (inflammatory disorders)

What conditions does a pediatrician treat?

A child’s body and an adult’s body are of course different, as children are not simply ‘smaller adults’. Different conditions can affect children, which mean they require a doctor specialising in those particular medical conditions and the anatomy of the child. Paediatricians first qualify as doctors and then go on to specialize in paediatrics.

Treating Influenza

Most cases of mild flu can be managed at home, and most people recover within 7 to 10 days without treatment. To relieve flu symptoms:

Get plenty of rest.
Drink plenty of water and other non-alcoholic fluids to prevent dehydration.
Keep warm.
Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Avoid exposure to cigarette smoke if possible.
Inhale steam from a hot bath or shower in a closed room to help relieve a blocked nose (supervise children around hot water).

For a sore throat:

Gargle with warm salty water.
Suck on an ice cube, ice block, or throat lozenge.
Drink hot water with honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Several medicines can ease cold and flu symptoms, such as those for pain and fever. If you have the flu, stay home and avoid close contact with others until you feel better. Since the flu is caused by a virus, antibiotics will not help and can cause side effects such as upset stomach, diarrhea, and thrush. Using antibiotics unnecessarily also increases the risk of antibiotic resistance.⁴