Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
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A Blog About UVA and Your Healthcare. Here you will find healthy snacks, injury prevention tips, sleep advice, family wellness, heart-warming stories of brave pediatric patients facing down disease. Get expert advice from pediatric specialists.
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
1w ago
Adults aren’t the only ones who need organ transplants. Many children also need this life-saving surgery. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough organs available for all the kids who need them. To combat this problem, pediatric transplant surgeon Frank DiPaola, MD, performs living donor liver transplants in children. DiPaola serves as medical director of pediatric liver transplant at UVA Health Children’s.
Get To Know a Pediatric Liver Transplant Surgeon
We asked DiPaola our 7 quick questions.
1. What has most inspired and shaped your approach to patient care?
Frank DiPaola, MD
I love having an ex ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
1w ago
With very few exceptions, no one has ever had a child with the intention of abusing them. And yet 1 in 7 people experience child abuse. It’s a massive problem with tragic outcomes. Every day in the U.S., 4-5 children die from abuse and neglect. Despite the number of children affected, pediatricians who specialize in child abuse are rare. In Virginia, there are 3.
Jennifer Andrews, DO, is 1 of those 3. Child abuse pediatricians look for signs of abuse in forensic exams, consult with doctors who want a second opinion, and also help advocate for ways to prevent child abuse. In addition to wo ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
2M ago
Congenital heart defect awareness week is February 7-14. In that week (and every week), 705 babies will be born in the United States with a congenital heart defect (CHD). A CHD is a heart problem that’s present at birth. It happens to 1 out of every 100 newborns. That’s about 40,000 babies every year, just in the United States. CHD is the most common birth defect.
Almost all of us know someone affected by CHD. But not everyone knows the facts.
This awareness week, let’s start with information.
What Everyone Should Know About CHD
Here are the 5 facts that everyone should know about ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
4M ago
In the 1950s, between financial struggles and catastrophic car accidents, Enzo Ferrari lost his oldest child, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
In the new biopic on Enzo Ferrari’s life — Ferrari — it’s clear his son’s death changed everything for Enzo. Unfortunately, decades later, children with DMD continue to share Dino’s tragic outcome.
Despite our best research efforts, we haven’t cured DMD. There have been promising treatments. Nothing has been successful yet.
But recent key advancements in technology give us hope. New tools mean we’re better able to understand ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
5M ago
Lead contamination in applesauce pouches has led to a national recall and 22 poisoned toddlers. Only 3 brands are recalled. But the cases span 14 states, causing widespread concern.
What should you know about lead poisoning? And are your kids at risk?
Which Applesauce Pouches Are Part of the Recall?
The recall only affects 3 brands of applesauce pouches:
Wanabana
Schnucks
Weis
And within these 3, only the cinnamon flavored pouches are part of the recall. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advises that you throw out any of these apple cinnamon pouches you may have at home.
The amou ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
5M ago
Take a supplement the size of a horse pill? Sure. Give up alcohol and (almost all) caffeine? Let’s do it. Stop eating sandwich meats and sushi? Done.
When you’re pregnant, you make sacrifices to give your kid the best start. But sometimes, you take all the safeguards and still come up short. In my case, roughly 14 weeks short.
I didn’t give my baby, born at 26 weeks, the start I wanted. Instead of those first few blissful weeks of staying at home and getting to know each other, we navigated the UVA Health Children’s NICU. It was a week before I could hold her, and even then, only for a li ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
7M ago
There are parenting moments no one prepares you for. And administering your child’s chemotherapy? Isn’t something most people ever feel ready for. But that’s just one of the ways that Benny and his family rose to the challenges posed by his lymphoma treatment.
No family has a plan ready for dealing with childhood cancer. But when the stakes are high, you don’t exactly want to go with the flow. What’s incredible are the ways families adapt.
In January 2022, doctors at UVA Health Children’s diagnosed Benny, then 11, with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. As Covid restrictions eased and kids returne ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
11M ago
Everyone’s spine curves some. But with scoliosis, the curve is too great or in the wrong direction (forming either an S or C). For some kids with scoliosis, the best option is to wait and watch. But if the curve starts to get worse, bracing or surgery may become necessary.
Severe scoliosis can cause pain. The spine can also crowd the heart and lungs, causing more serious issues. For severe scoliosis, surgery is often the only option. Most surgical options work by connecting portions of the spine. While this is effective, it limits range of motion.
For moderate scoliosis, bracing is a great alt ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
1y ago
We all love the sun. But every parent needs to know about the sun’s dark side too. Sunburns aren’t just painful. Sunburns early in life can lead to skin cancer, including dangerous melanoma.
“Unfortunately, it’s sun exposure that we had as children that puts us at the highest risk for melanoma as an adult,” says surgical oncologist Lynn Dengel, MD. She’s part of the melanoma treatment program at UVA Health.
Sunburns Double the Risk of Melanoma
Here are 2 scary facts about skin cancer from sun:
5 or more sunburns more than doubles your risk of developing potentially deadly melanoma.
Even ..read more
Healthy Balance Blog » Kids
1y ago
Since it came out, the Snoo bassinet has been a conversation starter. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Snoo as a medical device. Needless to say, the Snoo is once again a topic of debate.
The Snoo Smart Sleeper claims that it can give parents more sleep while keeping babies safe. And even though the price tag is eye-watering, many parents swear by it.
The Snoo FDA classification as a medical device is the first of its kind. But is it really the safest sleep device on the market? Here’s what that classification means for you, and how to decide what’s right for y ..read more