Jose Manaligod, MD, pediatric otolaryngologist with University of Iowa Children's Hospital, located in University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, tells about the importance of keeping kids healthy:
How common are illnesses of the ears, nose, or throat in children?
They're very common. Ear infections, strep throats, and sinusitis are common ailments that affect children and adults frequently, especially this time of year.
Would you typically see a pediatric patient with the run-of-the-mill ear infection or sore throat?
Typically not. Those problems are usually seen by a pediatrician or family practice physician. Most of the time, they're taken care of easily with an antibiotic or some other form of medical treatment. But when it becomes a recurrent nature or persistent problem, that's when those patients are referred to me.
When are children referred to an otolaryngologist?
It's an ear infection that is so severe that multiple antibiotics can't clear it up or when there are other things, such as hearing loss or some other unexplained symptoms that don't seem to match well with your run-of-the-mill ear infection. Those are the times that an ENT referral is appropriate.
Asthma is often diagnosed in children. Can childhood illnesses like asthma be misdiagnosed and actually be a condition of the nose or throat?
Sure. Sometimes kids with chronic sinusitis have chronic postnasal drip in the back of the throat that can sometimes cause a chronic cough. Sometimes this can be misdiagnosed as something else, like an upper respiratory tract problem or a pulmonary problem. Also, sometimes chronic reflux can manifest as a chronic cough which can also be misdiagnosed as asthma or other respiratory problem.
When should a parent request to see a pediatric otolaryngologist?
I think they should if there is a particular ENT problem, such as sinusitis or recurrent ear infections that just don't seem to be getting any better with repeated antibiotics or medical treatment. When the problem it's not getting better or there's some unexplained symptoms that don't seem to match up very well with what's going on are usually times for a pediatric ENT referral.
If a child lives in a home with parents who smoke, how does secondhand smoke affect their child's nose and throat?
I think secondhand smoke is a very important risk factor in the development of these problems. Anything from ear infection to chronic sinusitis to recurrent upper respiratory tract infections, are things that just increase in frequency whenever any child is around secondhand smoke.
As a child grows from infant to teen, there is the likelihood he will start to use headphones for a multitude of devices. Is hearing loss in teens a growing problem?
I'm don't see them in kids or teenagers right now, but that's the sort of behavior that can lead to progressive hearing loss as time goes by. They might not notice anything right now, but as they get older, they may be more susceptible to hearing loss at an earlier age.
Can parents prevent hearing loss in their teens who are headset users?
I think one thing is to make sure that they use an appropriate volume. Certainly, if you can hear your child's music coming from their earphones or headsets at the same time that they're listening to them, that's certainly much too loud for them. The other thing is to use common sense with the amount of time they use their earphones. They shouldn't have them in all the time, through the whole day. They should have frequent breaks when not using the headsets to musical devices. |
