Summer is a great time for kids and teens to learn in ways that often fit their skills, interests and learning styles better than classroom learning. If you are raising a child with special needs, finding a summer camp that fits his or her interests, skills and needs can be challenging. Special Needs Roadmaps was started by two parents in Ottawa, to help parents raising children with special needs. This year, Special Needs Roadmaps has put together a list of 53 summer camps, called the Ontario Special Needs Summer Camp Listing. For more information on these camp programs, click here.[Read more...]
Chilblains, also known as pernio, are a condition that is most common in the cold winter months. They are a painful reaction to warming the skin too quickly after being exposed to cold temperatures. What causes chilblains? The exact reason why chilblains occur is not known. The common thought is that they occur in response to warming the skin after being exposed to extreme cold. When you are exposed to cold, the tiny blood vessels in your skin narrow. Warming the skin after cold exposure can cause these tiny vessels to expand back to their normal size more quickly than[Read more...]
Pinkeye, also called conjunctivitis, is the inflammation of a membrane of the eye. This membrane, or conjunctiva, covers the white part of your eyeball. In your eye you have tiny blood vessels that usually are not easily seen, but when these blood vessels become inflamed or irritated, they are more easily visible. When they are more visible, the whites of your eye (the sclera) become pink or red, giving pinkeye its characteristic name. What causes pinkeye? Pinkeye can be caused by a number of different things, like viruses, bacteria, allergens, getting something in your eye, or a blocked tear duct.[Read more...]
What is the chickenpox? Chickenpox is a very contagious infection that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The infection causes a very itchy, blistery rash all over a person’s body. Routine vaccination against the varicella virus has significantly decreased the number of cases of the chickenpox we see each year. Prior to the vaccine, it wasn’t abnormal for everyone to have been infected with the virus sometime before adulthood. How is the chickenpox spread? Being that the chickenpox is so contagious, the virus is easily spread from one person to another through the air or through direct contact with a[Read more...]
What is a bruise? A bruise, also known as a contusion in the medical world, is damage of the soft tissues (i.e. skin, muscles, tendons, etc.) of the body caused by trauma. Trauma can be minor or major depending on how the injury occurs. When soft tissues are damaged the blood vessels under the skin can break and cause leaking of red blood cells under the skin. This leakage causes a blue, purple, red or black discolouration of the skin; this is a bruise. Why do bruises change colour? The changes in the colour of the bruising is related to[Read more...]
There are a lot of muscles in the neck that help to move your head back and forth, and from side to side. Sometimes, one of the muscles in the neck, called the sternocleidomastoid, can be tighter and shorter on one side compared to the other, causing a condition known as congenital muscular torticollis, or better known simply as torticollis. Torticollis is relatively common among newborns. What causes torticollis? The sternocleidomastoid muscle runs on both sides of the neck, from behind the ears down the neck to the collarbone. Torticollis may be a result of your baby being packed tightly[Read more...]
Chest pain is something that not only adults experience, but children too! The good news is most often, the source of chest pain in children is not related to any type of heart problems. An article in the Pediatrics Journal reported that in 3,700 children and young adults ages 7 to 22 who presented to the ER with chest pain at Children’s Hospital Boston from 2000 to 2009, only 37 cases, or 1%, showed a cardiac cause of chest pain. Any structure in the chest can cause pain in this area including the lungs, ribs, muscles, diaphragm, and even joints.[Read more...]
We see people cough all the time: on the bus, in the mall, at school and at doctors’ offices. Coughs are annoying, and sometimes embarrassing, and everyone has had someone say to them “That cough sounds real bad”. And the sound of the cough is often what helps doctors diagnose it. Here’s a list of the different types of coughs we hear: Dry Cough: This cough is often one of those nagging coughs that do not produce any mucus or phlegm. This type of cough irritates the lungs and throat. Some common causes are environmental irritants, smoke or viral infections. Wet[Read more...]
Quinte Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is proud to be one of the founding sponsors of the inaugural Saints Fall Classic charity football game at Quinte Secondary School. As specialists in child and youth medicine it is our aim to ensure that kids of all ages are able to enjoy the activities that they enjoy in a way that is safe and informed. Our main message for student athletes is simple: know your symptoms and respect your injury. When it comes to health and safety in high school sports, concussions tend to be a hot topic of discussion. In reality,[Read more...]
