Welcome to the pediatric health blog from Julio A. Ramirez, MD, PC in Chestertown, MD. Here you'll find practical, parent-friendly articles on newborn care, common childhood illnesses, vaccines, safety, nutrition, behavior and development. Looking for something specific? Try our patient education library or frequently asked questions.
Articles are for general information and are not a substitute for medical advice. If you are worried about your child, contact your pediatrician; in an emergency, call 911.
Teething: Symptoms, Timeline and Safe Ways to Soothe Your Baby
Drool-soaked shirts, fingers in the mouth and a baby who wants to chew on everything: welcome to teething! Teething is a normal part of development, but it can be uncomfortable for babies and tiring...
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Stomach Bugs in Kids: How to Prevent Dehydration From Vomiting and Diarrhea
It often starts suddenly: a child who was fine at dinner wakes up vomiting, and by morning there is diarrhea too. Stomach bugs spread quickly through families, schools and child care centers...
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Screen Time for Kids: How to Build a Healthy Family Media Plan
Phones, tablets, TVs, video games and computers are part of everyday life for most families. Screens can help children learn, create and stay connected with loved ones. But too much screen time, or...
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Safe Sleep for Babies: How to Lower the Risk of SIDS
New parents get plenty of advice, but few topics are as important as how your baby sleeps. In the United States, about 3,500 babies die each year from sleep-related causes, including sudden infant...
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RSV in Babies and Young Children: Symptoms, Prevention and When to Call
Every fall and winter, pediatric offices fill with children who have runny noses and coughs. Many of those children have respiratory syncytial virus , better known as RSV. For most older children and...
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Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Kids: What Parents Should Know
If your toddler suddenly refuses to eat, runs a fever and then breaks out in little spots on the hands and feet, there is a good chance the culprit is hand, foot and mouth disease . This viral...
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Eczema in Children: Causes, Triggers and Everyday Skin Care
If your child has patches of dry, rough, itchy skin that seem to come and go, they may have eczema . Eczema is one of the most common skin conditions in childhood, affecting roughly 1 in 10 children...
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Developmental Milestones From Birth to Age 5: What to Watch For
From the first social smile to the first wobbly steps and the first full sentence, watching your child grow is one of the great joys of parenting. These skills are called developmental milestones ...
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Croup in Children: Barking Cough, Home Care and Warning Signs
Few sounds are as alarming to a parent as a child who wakes up in the middle of the night with a cough that sounds like a barking seal. That distinctive cough is the hallmark of croup , a common...
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Constipation in Children: Causes, Remedies and When to Worry
Constipation is one of the most common reasons children visit the pediatrician. It can cause belly pain, crankiness, poor appetite and even accidents in children who are already toilet trained. The...
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When To Get A Vision Test For Your Child
Parents want nothing more than their children to be healthy and happy. This applies to every element of their well-being, including their eyes! Your pediatrician recommends that all children receive...
Signs That Your Child May Have Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition that affects how a person views and interacts with the world around them, including other people. In most cases, differences become...
Signs of Tonsillitis
Everyone is born with two tonsils. These are lymph nodes located right in the back of the throat. They help out the immune system by housing important white blood cells. Even so, the tonsils...
Signs Your Child Has ADHD
Parents want the best for their child, which is why check-ups and appointments with their pediatricians are so important. Yet your pediatrician isn’t just available for when your child is sick or has...
Why Immunizations Are Important
To keep your child healthy and happy this involves making sure that they eat the right foods, exercise regularly and get quality sleep. Of course, visiting your pediatrician for routine checkups and...
Treating Warts
Warts are common, benign bumps that develop on the skin as a result of a viral infection known as the human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts are pretty common in children and can develop just about...
Getting a Hearing Screening for Your Child
As soon as your baby is born but before they leave the hospital, they will need to undergo a hearing screening (most hospitals perform a hearing screening but it’s also a good idea to ask)....
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Treating Your Child's Allergies
Sneezing. Watery eyes. Stuffy nose. These could just be symptoms of a cold or these could be signs that your child has allergies. If you notice that your child’s symptoms flare-up during certain...
Signs of Strep Throat
It's important to be able to spot the differences between a regular sore throat or viral infection and strep throat. Anyone can get strep throat, but it is most common in children and teenagers. If...
Diabetes and Your Child
With the rise of newly diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children in the US, it’s now more important than ever for both parents and children to understand ways to prevent diabetes, as...
Managing Your Child's Asthma
While there is no cure for asthma, there are ways to manage your child’s asthma symptoms and to reduce the risk for a flare-up. Of course, to be able to properly control your child’s asthma it’s...
Treating Your Child's Ear Infection
An ear infection is one of the most common infections that children have to deal with. In fact, most children will experience at least one ear infection by the time they are five years old. Of...
Dietary and Nutrition Guidance
Having healthy, happy children begins with a healthy diet. We know that in this day and age life gets pretty hectic and it isn’t always easy to eat right; however, for the health of your family it is...
Dealing With Sports Injuries
Millions of children across the US regularly participate in some kind of sport. No matter whether your child is a dancer, gymnast, soccer player, or football player, the goals of parents are always...
How to Care for Your Newborn
Once you find out you’re pregnant it seems like everything shifts focus to how you are going to take care of yourself and your unborn child. Furthermore, you start making decisions about how to care...
The Importance Of Regular Wellness Visits
One moment your child is born and the next moment they are sitting up, saying their first word and taking their first steps. It’s amazing just how many milestones your child will reach in just the...
Kids and Bedwetting
Bedwetting is a common childhood problem. Many children who master toilet training during the day, usually between the ages of two and four, continue to experience episodes of bedwetting through the...
Signs of Appendicitis
Truth is, anyone with an appendix can get appendicitis—even our children. Appendicitis is a painful inflammation of the hollow, finger-shaped organ attached to the end of the large intestine. If left...
Kids and Sore Throats
In infants, toddlers and preschoolers, the most frequent cause of sore throats is a viral infection. No specific medicine is required when a virus is responsible, and the child should get better over...
Keep Your Kids Safe from Concussions
A hit to the head during a soccer game or a hard fall from skateboarding may result in a serious head injury and even a concussion. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes a concussion as any...
Dealing With Your Child's Fever
Generally, a fever is brought on by an infection from a virus or bacterial infection. While many times a parent’s first instinct is to worry when their child has a fever, it’s not necessarily a sign...
FAQs About Car Seats and Recommendations
Kids may complain about being restrained in the car, but car seats and booster seats save lives. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that using a car or booster seat...
Treating Mono in Your Child
Has your child been uncharacteristically fatigued as of late? Whereas before they were running and jumping around, now they seem more sluggish and uninterested. Perhaps this weary state has also been...
What Happens During a Child Physical Exam?
Once your child is born it’s amazing just how quickly they grow and develop. It seems like you blink and suddenly they are talking and walking. During these important milestones it’s also important...
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Treating Diabetes in Your Child
If your child has just been diagnosed with diabetes, it’s important that you have a pediatrician you can turn to in order to create a customized and effective treatment plan. While diabetes cannot be...
Treating Sports Injuries
Your child's sports injury can be treated just as your injury was. Or, can it? Your pediatrician knows that a child's body is still developing, responding differently to acute and overuse injuries...
Mental Health Wellness and Your Child
It’s easy for parents to be able to pinpoint when there is something physically wrong with their child. They may have a fever, body aches, or abdominal pain. When these symptoms arise parents often...
What is Autism?
What is Autism? Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or autism, is a developmental disability that can cause significant communication, communication, and behavioral challenges. The thinking, learning...
Signs Your Child May Have the Flu
Your child just woke up with a runny nose, an elevated temperature and body aches. Could this just be a passing cold or could it be the flu? It’s important to be able to tell the difference between...
Proper Nutrition Habits
As a parent, it goes without saying that you want what is best for your child. Making sure that your little ones grow up healthy, happy, and prepared for the future is often one of the most...
Dealing With a Broken Bone
The harder your children play, the harder they might fall. During childhood, fractures and broken bones are common for children playing or participating in sports. While falls are a common part of...
Dealing With Chickenpox
At some point in our childhood, we might have experienced chicken pox. While chicken pox most often occurs in children under the age of 12, it can also occur in adults who never had it as children....
Why Hearing Screenings Are Important For Your Child
A hearing screening is the easiest way to determine if your child is suffering from hearing loss. Thanks to a hearing screening, your pediatrician can determine the degree of hearing loss and how...
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What is Whooping Cough?
Named after the characteristic sound of its notorious coughing fits, whooping cough is an extraordinarily uncomfortable condition that typically manifests itself in babies and in children ages 11 to...
Caring For Your Newborn
There is a lot of care and work that goes into raising a newborn, and your pediatrician is here to help right from the beginning. Your pediatrician typically sees your newborn for their very first...
Does Your Child Have Vision Problems?
Does Your Child Have Vision Problems? Does your child have vision problems? Children learn through their eyes. Healthy vision is critical for children to see the computer and chalkboard, read, write...
Helping Your Child Manage a Healthy Weight
Maintaining an optimum weight is important for the health of your little one. It’s never too early to make sure that your child is adopting the best habits for maintaining a healthy weight. After...
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When To Take Your Child To Urgent Care
As a parent, you want to always do everything you can when your child is sick, but sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly how sick your child is, especially when they’re very young and can’t communicate...
The Importance of Immunizations
Childhood immunizations are one of the most important safeguards against communicable diseases and their serious, long-term complications. Your pediatrician closely adheres to the vaccination...
Cold Vs. Flu
Is it a cold or the flu? When it comes to your child's health, your pediatrician provides great information and guidance on the most common illnesses plaguing families. If you are wondering about the...
Common Sports Injuries and How Your Pediatrician Help
Even though you try as hard as possible to keep your child safe while they are playing sports, accidents still happen. At these moments, it’s important that you know whether these are injuries that...
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What to Expect at a Sports Physical
Your child is eager to start the school year so they can participate in sports. That’s great news! Keeping your child active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and sports can be a great...
Should My Child Have a Behavioral Consultation?
No two children are ever the same and while you certainly want to let your child discover their unique personality it is important to know when these differences in your little one might mean that...
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When to Visit a Pediatrician
Finding out you’re pregnant is a wonderfully exciting and whirlwind time. There are so many decisions to make as you watch your bump grow: What color should I paint the nursery? Do I want my little...
Types of Learning and Developmental Disabilities
Find out the best ways to handle some of the most common childhood learning and development disabilities. Even though there is more information than ever before regarding childhood developmental and...
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What is Conjunctivitis?
Could your child’s itchy, red eye be pink eye? “Pink eye” are two words that no parent loves hearing but it’s one of the most common eye problems to affect both children and adults. In fact...
Signs Your Child May Have Asthma
Childhood asthma is more common than you might think. In fact, it is the most common chronic disorder in children, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Asthma is a long-term...
The Importance of Well Child Visits
The number one goal of parents is to make sure their little ones are healthy and have the best quality of life possible. Of course, this means having a pediatrician in which you can always turn...
The Importance of Nutrition in Your Child's Health
Your child is growing by leaps and bounds, so it should go without saying that the foods they consume can provide ample energy and fuel their mind and body, or they can cause deficiencies, mood...
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What to Do When Your Child Has a Fever
Your child awoke in the middle of the night complaining that they didn’t feel well. Your first reaction is to put your hand up to their forehead to see if they have a fever. Of course, if their head...
Signs Your Child May Have Diabetes
You disinfect their toys. You make sure they wash their hands. You keep them from putting odd things they find in their mouths. You do everything you can to keep your child healthy and happy, but...
Common Pediatric Eye Problems
When your little one is first born they will go through a series of tests and screenings to make sure they are healthy. This includes checking their vital signs, hearing, and vision. Your child’s...
Hear This: Turning Down the Volume Now May Save Your Teen's Hearing in Adult Years
It may seem like your teenager is ignoring you, but in reality, they may be having trouble hearing you. More and more we see kids listening to their MP3 players while doing homework, walking to...
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Diaper Rash: How to Soothe and Protect Your Baby's Bottom
A baby’s soft, smooth skin is delicate, making it susceptible to diaper rash, a common and mild irritation of the skin that causes redness in the area where the diaper is worn. Most cases of diaper...
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Fit Kids, Healthy Kids - How to Make Exercise a Way of Life
Children need physical activity on a regular basis to keep them healthy and strong. It’s unfortunate that many kids today are considered overweight. In fact, according to Centers for Disease Control...
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Battling Teenage Acne
Acne is by far the most common skin complaint among teenagers, affecting nearly all of those between the ages of 12 and 17 at least occasionally, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. In...
How to Keep Injuries at Bay when Kids are at Play
Whether it’s at the park, school or in your own backyard, kids of all ages enjoy climbing on the monkey bars, going down the slide and swinging. Playgrounds are a great place for kids to exercise...
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How to Avoid and Manage Dreaded Head Lice
Two words parents dread hearing--head lice. Head lice are parasites that can be found on the heads of people, most common among preschool and elementary children. Each year millions of school-aged...
Use Your Head: How to Keep Your Kids Safe from Concussions
A hit to the head during a soccer game or a hard fall from skateboarding may result in a serious head injury and even a concussion. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes a concussion as any...
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Fighting Flu Season: How to Protect Your Family from the Influenza Virus
With the arrival of flu season, many parents will be watching their children closely for symptoms of this dreaded virus. The flu, also known as influenza, is a highly contagious viral infection of...
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Welcome
Whether your child is an existing patient or you’re searching for a pediatrician in the Centerville and Chestertown areas, we’re excited you are here. With the pediatric industry advancing, we...