Doctor and hospital visits, tests, surgery, insurance paperwork, and medicines: let us help you take some confusion out of the process.
Click on any category below to view the articles:
Doctor & Hospital Visits
- Balancing Academics and Serious Illness
- Birthing Centers and Hospital Maternity Services
- Chemotherapy
- Finding Your Way in the Health Care System
- Finding a Doctor for Your Child
- Going to the Emergency Room
- How to Talk to Your Child's Doctor
- Is it a Medical Emergency?
- Making Sense of Medical News
- Medical Care and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old
- Medical Care and Your 2- to 3-Year-Old
- Medical Care and Your 4- to 5-Year-Old
- Medical Care and Your 6- to 12-Year-Old
- Preparing Your Child for Visits to the Doctor
- Radiation Therapy
- What's a Nurse Practitioner?
- What's an Osteopath?
- When Your Child's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
- Who's Who in the Hospital
Checkups
- Your Child's Checkup: 12 Months (1 Year)
- Your Child's Checkup: 15 Months
- Your Child's Checkup: 18 Months ( 1-1/2 Years)
- Your Child's Checkup: 2 Months
- Your Child's Checkup: 2 Years
- Your Child's Checkup: 2 to 4 Weeks
- Your Child's Checkup: 3 Years
- Your Child's Checkup: 4 Months
- Your Child's Checkup: 4 Years
- Your Child's Checkup: 5 Years
- Your Child's Checkup: 6 Months
- Your Child's Checkup: 9 Months
- Your Child's Checkups
- Your Child's First Checkup: The Hospital
Caring for a Seriously or Chronically Ill Child
- Balancing Academics and Serious Illness
- Birth Defects
- Caring for a Seriously Ill Child
- Chemotherapy
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Common Diagnoses in the NICU
- Cystic Fibrosis and Nutrition
- Financial Management During Crisis
- Finding a Camp for Your Child With Special Needs
- Giving Teens a Voice in Health Care Decisions
- If Your Child Has a Heart Defect
- Managing Home Health Care
- Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome
- Neurocutaneous Syndromes
- Neurofibromatosis
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Radiation Therapy
- Sending Your Child With Special Needs to Camp
- Speech-Language Therapy
- Spina Bifida
- When Your Baby Has a Birth Defect
- When Your Baby's in the NICU
- When Your Child's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Medical Tests & Exams
- A Directory of Medical Tests
- All About Genetics
- Aspiration and Biopsy: Bone Marrow
- Basic Blood Chemistry Tests
- Biopsy
- Blood Culture
- Blood Test: 17-Hydroxyprogesterone
- Blood Test: Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT, or SGPT)
- Blood Test: Allergen-Specific Immunoglobulin E (IgE)
- Blood Test: Amylase
- Blood Test: Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST, or SGOT)
- Blood Test: Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP)
- Blood Test: Bilirubin
- Blood Test: C-Peptide
- Blood Test: C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
- Blood Test: Complete Blood Count
- Blood Test: Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)
- Blood Test: Dehydroepiandrosterone-Sulfate (DHEA-S)
- Blood Test: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
- Blood Test: Estradiol
- Blood Test: Factor VIII Activity
- Blood Test: Ferritin (Iron)
- Blood Test: Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
- Blood Test: Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT)
- Blood Test: Gliadin Antibodies
- Blood Test: Glucose
- Blood Test: Hemoglobin
- Blood Test: Hemoglobin A1c
- Blood Test: Hemoglobin Electrophoresis
- Blood Test: Hepatic (Liver) Function Panel
- Blood Test: IGF Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP-3)
- Blood Test: Immunoglobulin A (IgA)
- Blood Test: Immunoglobulin E (IgE)
- Blood Test: Immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM)
- Blood Test: Insulin
- Blood Test: Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH)
- Blood Test: Lead
- Blood Test: Lipase
- Blood Test: Lipid Panel
- Blood Test: Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
- Blood Test: Magnesium
- Blood Test: Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT)
- Blood Test: Phosphorus
- Blood Test: Prolactin
- Blood Test: Prothrombin Time (PT)
- Blood Test: Reticulocyte Count
- Blood Test: Somatomedin C (IGF-1)
- Blood Test: T3 Resin Uptake (T3RU)
- Blood Test: T3 Total (Triiodothyronine)
- Blood Test: T4 (Thyroxine)
- Blood Test: Testosterone
- Blood Test: Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)
- Blood Test: Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies
- Blood Test: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
- Blood Test: Tissue Transglutaminase IgA, IgG
- Blood Test: Uric Acid
- Blood Test: Valproic Acid
- Blood Test: von Willebrand Factor (vWF) Activity – Ristocetin Cofactor
- Blood Test: von Willebrand Factor (vWF) Antigen
- CAT Scan: Abdomen
- CAT Scan: Chest
- CAT Scan: Head
- CAT Scan: Neck
- Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Chloride Sweat Test
- Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Respiratory Screen: Sputum
- EEG (Electroencephalogram)
- EKG (Electrocardiography)
- EMG (Electromyography)
- Gene Therapy and Children
- Genetic Counseling
- Genetic Testing
- Hearing Evaluation in Children
- Joint Aspiration (Arthrocentesis)
- Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Brain
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Cervical Spine
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Lumbar Spine
- Newborn Screening Tests
- Prenatal Tests
- Spirometry
- Spirometry: Pre and Post Beta-Agonist
- Stool Test: Bacteria Culture
- Stool Test: C. Difficile Toxin
- Stool Test: Fecal Blood
- Stool Test: Giardia Antigen
- Stool Test: H. Pylori Antigen
- Stool Test: Ova and Parasites (O&P)
- Stool Tests
- Strep Test: Rapid
- Strep Test: Throat Culture
- Ultrasound: Abdomen
- Ultrasound: Bladder
- Ultrasound: Head
- Ultrasound: Infant Hip
- Ultrasound: Pelvis
- Ultrasound: Renal (Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder)
- Ultrasound: Scrotum
- Urine Test: 24-Hour Analysis for Kidney Stones
- Urine Test: Automated Dipstick Urinalysis
- Urine Test: Calcium
- Urine Test: Creatinine
- Urine Test: Dipstick
- Urine Test: Microalbumin-to-Creatinine Ratio
- Urine Test: Microscopic Urinalysis
- Urine Test: Protein
- Urine Test: Routine Culture
- Urine Tests
- What Is Informed Consent?
- What Is the Multiple Marker Test?
- Wound Drainage Culture
- X-Ray Exam: Abdomen
- X-Ray Exam: Ankle
- X-Ray Exam: Bone Age Study
- X-Ray Exam: Cervical Spine
- X-Ray Exam: Chest
- X-Ray Exam: Elbow
- X-Ray Exam: Femur (Upper Leg)
- X-Ray Exam: Finger
- X-Ray Exam: Foot
- X-Ray Exam: Forearm
- X-Ray Exam: Hand
- X-Ray Exam: Hip
- X-Ray Exam: Humerus (Upper Arm)
- X-Ray Exam: Knee
- X-Ray Exam: Leg Length
- X-Ray Exam: Lower Leg (Tibia and Fibula)
- X-Ray Exam: Neck
- X-Ray Exam: Pelvis
- X-Ray Exam: Scoliosis
- X-Ray Exam: Upper Gastrointestinal Tract (Upper GI)
- X-Ray Exam: Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG)
- X-Ray Exam: Wrist
- Your Child's Vision
- Your Daughter's First Gynecological Exam
Medicine
- Alternative Medicine and Your Child
- Chemotherapy
- Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse
- Frequently Asked Questions About Immunizations
- Medications: Using Them Safely
- Reye Syndrome
- Talking to the Pharmacist
- The Danger of Antibiotic Overuse
Resources for Parents
- Anesthesia - What to Expect
- Anesthesia Basics
- Preparing Your Child for Anesthesia
- Types of Anesthesia
- U.S. Poison Control Centers
- When Your Child's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Surgical Conditions
- Circumcision
- Cleft Lip and Palate
- Cochlear Implants
- Could That Lump Be a Hernia?
- Enlarged Adenoids
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Intussusception
- Middle Ear Infections and Ear Tube Surgery
- Stem Cell Transplants
- Tear-Duct Obstruction and Surgery
- Tonsils and Tonsillectomies
- What Is "Minimally Invasive" Surgery?
- What Is Informed Consent?
- When Your Child Needs a Heart Transplant
When Your Child Has Surgery
- Anesthesia - What to Expect
- Anesthesia Basics
- Preparing Your Child for Anesthesia
- Preparing Your Child for Surgery
- Types of Anesthesia
- What Is "Minimally Invasive" Surgery?
- What Is Elective Surgery?
- What Is Informed Consent?
- When Your Child Needs a Heart Transplant
- When Your Child's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit