General pediatrics

When to consult a pediatrician

All children without exception should be under the supervision of a pediatrician. Visits to the doctor are divided into scheduled and emergency.

Planned examinations of the pediatrician:

• During the first year of a child's life, a pediatrician is your best friend and you should see him regularly at least once a month. During monthly visits, the specialist measures height and weight, monitors the baby's development, carries out vaccinations and refers to specialized specialists, gives advice on hardening, introduction of complementary foods, formation of a healthy balanced diet, etc.
• After one to three years , scheduled visits become less frequent and should take place once every 3 months, as well as during scheduled vaccinations.
• You have to attend the pediatrician's appointment before the child's first visit to the kindergarten and get a certificate about the possibility of visiting an organized children's group.
• The next planned visit is before the start of schooling, and then before each new school year. At these visits the doctor also issues a certificate about the possibility of attending school and the readiness of the child to study.

As can be seen from the schedule of visits, the pediatrician is the most important doctor in the life of every healthy child. In the case of severe chronic childhood diseases, for example, bronchial asthma or congenital heart disease, the child is regularly monitored by a specific specialist – a pediatric allergist-pulmonologist, a pediatric cardiologist, etc., along with a pediatrician.

Emergency visits to the pediatrician are necessary when various pathological symptoms appears the child. You should definitely consult a doctor as soon as possible if you have the following symptoms:

• increased body temperature, chills,
• nausea, vomiting,
• abdominal pain,
• headache,
• diarrhea or constipation,
• skin rash,
• sore throat,
• cough,
• dizziness,
• loss of consciousness, underweight or obesity,
• sleep disturbances,
• convulsions.

This is only a small part of the possible manifestations of various childhood diseases. You have to visit a pediatrician any symptoms that concern you or the child. The doctor will examine the baby, choose a plan for further examination, form a preliminary diagnosis, and if necessary, refer to a specific specialist.

Vaccination

A newborn baby needs not only mother's care, but also reliable protection from disease-causing bacteria and viruses that surround him. Therefore, vaccination of children is the most important and effective protection method against a possible disease. It is implemented in the most effective way – through the formation of active immunity, when the body itself produces antibodies, which reduces the risk of infection to almost zero.

Preventive vaccinations are given to children according to the national vaccination calendar or an individual schedule, when there are violations in the timing of vaccination or certain contraindications to certain types of vaccines.

Currently, children vaccination against 10 dangerous diseases is obligatory in Ukraine.

All vaccination schedules are forming by a pediatrician. Also this specialist examines the child before vaccination and conducts the vaccination procedure itself. Our doctors will help all parents whom want to understand the schedule of vaccinations, give the information on the protection that children will receive. Also they warn about possible reactions after vaccination, form your algorithm of actions in the event of such reactions, so that vaccination become stress-free not only for children, but also parents. Maimonides Medical Center from well-known pharmaceutical manufacturers. All vaccine storage conditions and all cold chain links are observed here. So parents can be sure of the vaccines quality and their correct storage.

Vaccination at Maimonides Medical Center is provided by:

• by appointment;
• after examination by a pediatrician;
• without queues;
• in a separate office.

After vaccination, the patient stays in our Medical Centre for up to 30 minutes to monitor the early post-vaccination reaction.

Health certificate

In our medical center, parents and their child can get all the information they need:

• certificate for swimming pool visiting for children,
• exemption from physical education due to health conditions,
• child's medical card form 026/o,
• discharge epicrisis (medical discharge) form 027/o,
• sanatorium-resort card form 076/о-04 (for children),
• certificate for visiting camps and recreation centers,
• medical certificate on temporary incapacity for work form 095/o,
• certificate of sanitary and epidemiological environment (certificate of infectious contacts),
• certificate to the gym or sport section,
• certificate for visiting a kindergarten or school.

An obligatory condition for a pediatrician to issue a certificate is the child's presence at the examination and the provided examination.

A pediatrician's call to the house

If you need to call a pediatrician to your home, we recommend you to contact us. Maimonides Medical Centerbecause they have extensive practical experience working in various medical facilities – hospitals and clinics. In addition, all of them are friendly to children and always calmly and kindly explain to parents the essence of the diagnosis and the plan for further treatment.

It is worth remembering that some symptoms of acute conditions are indications for calling an ambulance, not a pediatrician. These include convulsions, acute pain in the abdomen, body temperature above 39°C, which cannot be reduced at home, bleeding of any localization, loss of consciousness, etc. In these situations, hospitalization or medical assistance at home may be required. So it is more appropriate to immediately call an ambulance.

Diagnostic methods and modern treatment in General Pediatrics

To establish an accurate diagnosis in the case of a child's illness, only a doctor's examination is not always enough. In such situations, the pediatrician develops a comprehensive diagnostic program, that includes:

• various blood tests;
• certain urine tests;
• ultrasound diagnostics;
• endoscopic examination of ENT organs;
• electrocardiography;
• electroencephalography and other methods.

The diagnostic program is developed depending on the existing parents complaints or the child himself, examination data and medical history. In addition, in order to speed up the diagnostic process as much as possible and begin immediate treatment, the pediatrician closely cooperates with other children's specialists, namely:

• children's otolaryngologist,
• child neurologist,
• pediatric cardiologist,
• children's dermatologist;
• pediatric gynecologist;
• children's dentist and others.

Such a complex approach to diagnosis allows the specialist to obtain a positive result of treatment in the shortest possible time. All listed diagnostic procedures and consultations of related specialists can be obtained in our center, which will significantly save time for parents.

All treatment methods used by our doctors are completely safe for children. As a rule, in general pediatrics, conservative drug and non-drug treatment methods are used. All drugs prescribed by pediatricians are safe and have proven clinical effectiveness, are used in accordance with modern protocols for the management of certain conditions. Our doctors do not prescribe drugs without proven effectiveness and alternative methods of treatment, because children's health is not a place for experiments.

The first thing that parents should pay attention to is the high qualification of our center's specialists and rich experience of working with children. Another important factor for the calm of small patients is the atmosphereWe have created the most comfortable conditions for children and their parents. Spacious offices, equipped with everything necessary for a patient’s examination, a large number of interesting educational toys to interest the child during the appointment and to carry out all the necessary procedures without tantrums and tears. Making an appointment in advance will save you from long queues and help you plan your day correctly, without disrupting the schedule of meals and naps for the baby.