You will experience both joys and overwhelming responsibilities when you become a parent of all these responsibilities, one of utmost importance in caring for your kid’s health. For that, you will need to choose a kids doctor to oversee your child's medical care.
Paediatricians or kids doctors are responsible for offering physical, mental, and behavioural care to children from birth to age 18. They will diagnose and treat childhood illnesses, from minor health issues to severe diseases.
Doctors Your Child Needs
You will ideally start taking your kid’s health care to primary care providers (healthcare providers who provide day-to-day health care and advice). It could be a paediatrician, family physician, nurse, or midwife acting as your primary healthcare provider. However, there are times when your child will require the skills of specialists, such as a kids doctor, a paediatrician.
Read on to know about pediatric subspecialties —
1. Pediatrician
A paediatrician specializes in caring for infants, children, and adolescents. A paediatrician is a physician who completes medical school and a residency program (focussed on pediatric medicine) lasting three years. A paediatrician can provide care for your child's well-being, treat basic childhood illnesses, and special treatment for severe diseases. They are your kids' doctors for managing their overall health.
- They monitor and maintain the well-being of healthy children.
- They provide care for children suffering from short- and long-term illnesses.
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2. Pediatric Dentist
A Pedodontist or pediatric dentist specializes in caring for children's teeth. Choosing the right dentist for your child’s oral health is just as important as taking them to a paediatrician for other health needs.
A pediatric dentist takes care of your children the same way as a general dentist. They provide services as your kid's doctor services as a child's oral health needs to be checked thoroughly and regularly.
- Many oral diseases are caused by asthma, diabetes, congenital heart defects, and even attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, so it is best to get timely checks.
- A pediatric dentist repairs teeth with decay or defects.
- Gum disease, pediatric periodontal disease, and ulcers are treated.
- They also take care of dietary and personality issues, such as giving up habits like thumb sucking and promoting healthy eating.
- They provide emergency dental treatment, including extractions, fractures, and dislocated teeth.
In addition to assessing your child's orthodontic needs and providing treatment as needed, a pediatric dentist may straighten their teeth and correct an overbite when necessary.
3. Pediatric Optometrist or Ophthalmologist
An excellent pediatric optometrist should be your child's eye doctor, whether they have any identified problems with their vision or not. Pediatric optometrists conduct vision development tests and medical eye examinations.
- Pediatric ophthalmologists are skilled at diagnosing severe eye conditions.
- They provide contact lenses or eyeglasses for children.
- Depending on the requirements for surgery, the pediatric optometrist will determine the ideal age and the type of surgery most appropriate for the young patient.
As well as providing vision care to children with special needs, these kids' doctors can help children who have Down Syndrome, premature infants, nonverbal children, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and children with low vision or cortical blindness.
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4. Gynecologist
Pediatric and adolescent gynaecologists provide comprehensive gynaecological care to children, adolescents, and young adults and undergo specialized training to become kids doctors.
For girls aged 13 to 15 with symptoms (such as vaginal bleeding, discharge, abnormal appearance of genitalia), it is best to visit a pediatric obstetrician-gynaecologist (OB/GYN).
- They can guide your child’s reproductive health (anatomical development and body image).
- A pediatric gynaecologist prepares kids for puberty by helping them understand the changes involved.
- They can discuss weight management, immunizations (especially the HPV vaccine), and self-confidence with children.
- They guide both young patients and their guardians on normal and abnormal pubertal development and dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding weight, developmental stages, and sexuality.
- They help adolescent girls feel comfortable with their changing bodies.
Other Specialists
Depending on your child's needs, your paediatrician may refer them to a pediatric specialist. Pediatric specialists receive more in-depth training in their area of practice. Here are a few common types of specialized professionals you can consult as kids’ doctors.
1. Child Neurologist
From birth to young adulthood, children are treated by pediatric neurologists, who study a specialized field of neurology dedicated to caring for children. This type of kids doctor treats children with brain disorders, spinal cord problems, nerve problems, muscle problems, seizures, headaches, and developmental delays.
Some common conditions that this kids doctor treats include:
- Issues with muscles causing weakness, including muscular dystrophy and neuropathy
- Delay in speech, delayed motor milestones, and coordination problems in children with developmental disorders
- Autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, which affects the brain and spinal cord
- Brain infections or inflammations, including meningitis and encephalitis
2. Neonatologist
Neonatologists specialize in high-risk and complex situations. A neonatologist may assist in delivering a premature child or a child facing a severe accident, illness, or any congenital disorder (birth deficit disorder). The care provided by them comes before subsequent care for your newborn.
This kid's doctor may be involved in the care of your baby during your pregnancy if a problem is diagnosed before the baby is born.
Some of their common areas of expertise are:
- Diagnosis and treatment of newborn diseases, including breathing disorders, infections, and congenital disabilities
- Assisting in the medical management of premature or critically ill newborns
- Providing critically ill newborns with proper nutrition for healing and growth
- Treating and stabilizing newborns with life-threatening diseases
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3. Pediatric Allergist/Immunologist
Pediatric allergists and immunologists are kids doctors with special skills to treat children with allergies and immune system problems. This doctor helps in protecting the immune system from frequent infections.
If your child's immune system isn't working properly, they may suffer frequent, severe, and/or uncommon infections and need the care of a pediatric allergist. Some immunological disorders lead to symptoms and conditions such as frequent sinusitis, pneumonia, diarrhoea, thrush and abscesses that keep coming back, and other severe and unusual infections.
The following conditions are usually treated by pediatric allergists/immunologists:
- Asthma
- Hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
- Sinusitis
- Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
- Hives (urticaria, welts)
- Severe reactions to foods, insect stings, and medications (anaphylaxis)
4. Pediatric Dermatologist
Pediatric dermatologists are qualified to treat children with skin problems, such as birthmarks, eczema, warts, and psoriasis. As kids' doctors, they provide the most advanced treatments for various dermatological conditions. A pediatric dermatologist treats children from birth through adolescence.
Generally, pediatric dermatologists provide care in the following areas:
- They diagnose and treat skin conditions such as hemangiomas, pigmented birthmarks, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo, hives, warts, eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo.
- They perform minor surgical procedures, including skin biopsies, surgical removal of lesions (e.g., warts and cysts), and laser treatment for vascular birthmarks.
5. Pediatric Cardiologist
If the paediatrician has concerns about your child's heart, they may refer you to a pediatric cardiologist. Children who might need heart surgery are closely monitored by a pediatric cardiologist, a kids doctor for the heart.
A pediatric cardiologist diagnoses and manages heart conditions such as the following in children:
- Congenital heart conditions, such as holes in the heart chambers, valve problems, or abnormal blood vessels
- Arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm caused by an impairment in the electrical system of the heart
6. Pediatric Nephrologist
An experienced pediatric nephrologist can help treat your child for kidney disease, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, or high blood pressure.
Pediatric nephrologists treat patients up to young adulthood in some centres, though usually from infancy to late adolescence. Some of the health care services this kid doctor typically provides are:
- Dialysis
- Kidney transplantation
- Kidney biopsies
- Interpreting x-rays of the kidney
- Diagnosing kidney disease through laboratory studies
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7. Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician
A developmental-behavioural paediatrician helps evaluate your child if they have a developmental, learning, or behavioural problem. Paediatricians specialising in development and behaviour disorders have training and experience to effectively assess and treat children and adolescents.
Children, adolescents, and their families facing developmental and behavioural difficulties may be evaluated, counselled, and treated by these kids' doctors to get the best results.
They provide timely intervention and treatment in the following conditions:
- Disorders related to learning include dyslexia, writing difficulties, math difficulties, etc.
- Behavioural disorders and attention disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct problems, depression, and anxiety disorders, as well as oppositional defiant behaviour
- Habit disorders such as tics and Tourette Syndrome
- Regulatory disorders, such as sleep disorders, feeding problems, discipline problems, complex toilet-training issues, and enuresis (bedwetting)
- Disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and visual and hearing impairment
- Affected speech, language, motor skills, and thinking and processing abilities
- Conditions such as genetic disorders, epilepsy, prematurity, diabetes, asthma, and cancer, and children with chronic illnesses and disabling conditions who may experience behavioural and developmental problems
Summing Up
Choosing a kids doctor for your child’s health care can be difficult and overwhelming, and for this, you need a paediatrician. Your paediatrician will coordinate your child's care with other health care providers if more specialised treatment is needed. Different specialised pediatric doctors can work harmoniously to treat and ensure kids live their childhood healthily.
