20
votes
Accepted
What effects does alcohol have on underage children?
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that acts as a central nervous system depressant.
Drinking under-age increases alcohol risks in later life. Research shows the brain keeps developing well into the ...
- 4,695
17
votes
Accepted
Does sugar cause children to become hyperactive?
This is a hot topic, and I don’t think there is a firm consensus in the child psychiatry world about the answer. I think a good summary of the literature would leave you with:
X, Y, and Z studies ...
- 4,376
12
votes
Can a one year old safely follow a ketogenic diet?
In general, no.
A ketogenic diet is one where carbohydrates are eliminated and protein is restricted, to force the body to obtain its energy from the metabolism of fatty acids and ketone bodies, ...
- 2,003
11
votes
Accepted
Is prolonged use of melatonin supplements safe for a 3-year-old?
Since melatonin is secerned by many glands (pituitary, thyroid, pineal, adrenals, and gonads), it might be a malfunction of one of these. I am not yet a physician, but I suggest you to try to properly ...
- 176
9
votes
Accepted
Delayed vaccination: effect on the immune system
The human immune system
Basically, the human (and that includes all ages) immune system has two parts:
The innate immune system is a very old part (which doesn't mean it's bad or superfluous, on the ...
- 6,992
8
votes
Accepted
Can a one year old safely follow a ketogenic diet?
Your have three questions in one now:
Is a ketogenic diet appropriate for a one year old?
Is a carbohydrate reduced diet appropriate for a one year old?
Is milk really necessary for a one year old, ...
- 6,992
6
votes
Can a one year old safely follow a ketogenic diet?
I highly advise against such a restrictive and one-sided diet for a child! For children a balanced diet is important both for their physical and mental development. This means that malnutrition can ...
- 236
6
votes
Accepted
Does lifting weights inhibit growth for teens and kids?
TL; DR: No, they won't impact growth if practiced within reason, and there is no damage to growth plates from injury.
The medical community and the public in general seems to regard strength ...
- 6,570
6
votes
Accepted
How common is it for boys to masturbate in early childhood (before kindergarten)?
According to one 2010 paper, which actually tried to identify the correlates of the behavior, albeit in a small sample (n=13, 3 males, 10 females) that was referred to a clinic:
The median age at the ...
- 5,918
5
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to make a child drink alcohol when they have a cold?
The right amount is none. Not at all. Don't do it. Don't even consider it.
There have been multiple studies on alcohol and brain development, quite a few of them on teens, as they are one of the ...
- 6,570
5
votes
Effect of antibiotics on breastfed infant
Breast milk is known to provide many benefits to the newborn and developing infant.
According to 'Bioactive Proteins in Human Milk: Health, Nutrition, and Implications to Infant Formulas.’:
...
- 958
5
votes
Accepted
Effect of antibiotics on breastfed infant
It would appear that breast feeding allows the infant gut flora to rapidly normalize after the course of antibiotics whereas this can be a problem for artificially fed infants who can suffer with post ...
- 13.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Why do most of an average person's UV exposure from the sun occur before the age of 18?
The statistic is false, though there's something meaningful behind it. From Godar et al, 2003:
Since 1986, people have been informed that they get about 80% of their lifetime ultraviolet (UV) dose by ...
- 13.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Are ear infections more likely when visiting high altitudes?
It is true that high altitudes can cause an increased risk of ear infection. JohnP mentioned in his comment that on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website for acute ear infections, it says ...
- 7,729
4
votes
How much hard liquor is safe for very small children?
As I argue in my answer to this question, there seems to be a threshold in terms of the amount of alcohol likely to cause hepatocellular necrosis based on the production of acetaldehyde. However, ...
- 811
4
votes
Accepted
What would a nearly-universal list of medical specialties look like
The best way to answer this would depend on your reason for making the list, which I do not know. Also, I am not sure how to create an international list, as specialties within a country are defined ...
- 5,714
4
votes
Accepted
I'm 21. Is having a beer 3-4 times a week detrimental to my long-term health?
1) Is my brain still in 'development'?
It is. Your brain constantly grows until you are 25.
According to recent findings, the human brain does not reach full maturity until at least the mid-20s. (...
- 211
4
votes
Which chemicals or drugs cause retrograde amnesia?
First, let's define retrograde amnesia carefully. You'll find many sources listing drugs that cause retrograde amnesia but they're using the term incorrectly.
From http://www.human-memory.net/...
- 9,592
4
votes
Why is erythromycin eye ointment required for newborns even if the mother doesn't have any STDs?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continues to recommend prophylaxis for all infants:
If gonorrhea is prevalent in the region and prenatal treatment cannot be ensured, or where required by law,...
- 2,928
3
votes
Accepted
Are there vaccines which present a risk by being re-taken too early?
NB: I'm going to steer clear of addressing the specific scenario and stick to the general case, your friend should of course seek advice from their primary doctor regarding the best thing to do for ...
- 1,262
3
votes
Accepted
How to help my dyslexic daughter to not get frustrated while reading
Words like them and the are quite similar, which makes things more difficult for a child with dyslexia since they sometimes opt to just analyse part of the word and guess the entire word based on the ...
- 46
3
votes
Accepted
Do infected family members need to be treated with antibiotics at the same time?
In some cases, antibiotics are given to close contacts
Bacterial meningitis is an example of an infection which antibitics would be given to close contacts of someone suffering from a confirmed case, ...
- 701
3
votes
Accepted
How are drugs distinguished between approval for pediatric use and not?
For US FDA approval, for example, drugs approved for pediatric use are drugs that have been studied and to some degree shown safe and effective in children.
However, many trials and often use of ...
- 13.1k
3
votes
Accepted
What is aminorachia?
"Rachi-" is a prefix associated with the spine, as in Rachischisis.
"Amino" is a bit more familiar: it refers to the amino chemical group, or in biomedicine, amino acids.
"Aminorachia" seems to be a ...
- 13.1k
3
votes
Accepted
How do I determine a target time frame for breastfeeding?
The question implies that breastfeeding is an unpleasant and inconvenient thing that should be put up with as long as possible to give a baby "enough" benefit, at which time the box can be ticked and ...
- 3,770
3
votes
Coagulation problems in blue babies
I checked and found following coagulation problems may occur in patients with congenital cyanotic heart diseases (commonest example tetralogy of Fallot):
Thrombotic episodes may occur due to:
...
- 1,770
3
votes
How much brushing time is needed to get a toddler's teeth clean?
WebMD recommends brushing children's teeth for 2 minutes (with different amounts of toothpaste for different age groups).
Dental Health Foundation of Ireland doesn't give recommendations on the ...
- 2,823
3
votes
Accepted
Why a dental visit before age 1?
The American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures public health initiative has developed a comprehensive assessment of approaches to Promoting Oral Health in infants and children.
The "Promoting ...
- 2,928
3
votes
Accepted
What causes a gravelly voice in young children?
As you stipulated no trauma and it has been lifelong, the first link you provided says that it could be down to
Vocal cord paralysis
Patients can be born with a weak vocal cord or develop weakness ...
- 6,124
2
votes
How do I determine a target time frame for breastfeeding?
The evidence for a specific timeframe beyond six months is inconclusive. Therefore: When to wean is a personal choice that has to look at the health of both: mother and child. "Individual infants must ...
- 6,847
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible