Children’s Health: The Type of Doctors for Your Child’s Needs

It’s completely normal for your kids to meet a doctor once in a while; it’s actually a good thing if you regularly take them in for general check-ups. This helps not only you and your child be aware but helps your doctor keep track of your child’s health status, which can greatly aid them in case your youngster might need more medical attention.

There are a lot of physicians and doctors who specialize in many fields. Some of them work with a certain age group, and some work with certain health concerns. There are many types of doctors that cater to the medical needs of children. It is a good thing because parents want to have a bigger understanding of who these doctors are, what they do, and which is the best professional to consult depending on the child’s medical issue.

As most families already have a family doctor, they constantly consult for their health concerns. It’s still important for parents to know the difference between children’s doctors. These family physicians help families with general medical concerns and refer them to other doctors when necessary.

To give you more insight on which doctors work primarily with kids, here’s a list that provides an overview of who they are and what they do:

Family Physicians and Pediatricians

A family can choose to consult a family physician or a pediatrician for their child’s general medical needs such as annual physical exams, treatment of common illnesses, and disease care. In numbers, more parents choose pediatricians as the ones they consult for their child’s health needs.

But the problem is, pediatricians only cater to patients at a certain age. Once your child goes over that age, you’d have to get them under the care of your family physician, who caters to patients of all ages.

Pediatric Dentists

The excitement of seeing your child get their first tooth is the exact opposite of what your child feels when they first go to the dentist for tooth extraction. Ideally, however, even if your child isn’t up for tooth extraction, you should still regularly bring them to a children’s dentist for a regular check-up. Doing so will help dentists see problems ahead of time and treat them before they get worse.

Regular pediatric dentist visits will also teach you and your kid when it comes to how to best care for your oral health. If your child requires special oral care because of braces, you’d need to consult an orthodontist. They also help if your child’s teeth are coming out crooked or gapped.

Optometrists and Ophthalmologists

The first encounter your child has with an eye examination is inside the delivery room. It’s the part where doctors test a newborn child’s eyesight by inspecting how their eyes respond to light.

As your child grows older, they’ll be going through routine eye examinations with their pediatrician or your family physician to ensure that they’re not having problems with their eyesight. But once a problem is found, your child will be referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist for further examination.

Optometrists also specialize in treating eye problems and are referred to as eye doctors, along with ophthalmologists. Make sure to pay close attention to how your child reads. If you see them having difficulties—squinting or moving closer—when reading, they might be having issues with their vision. Most vision problems can be treated efficiently during the early stages, making it advisable to bring them in for examination during the initial stages.

Gynecologists

It’s recommended by the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists that a young woman should visit a gynecologist for the first time between the age of 13 and 15 years old. It doesn’t automatically mean that they’d be getting a Pap smear or a pelvic exam; it only means that they’d be getting more insight into facts about sex, birth control, periods, and cramps.

Helping them become aware of these subjects at an early age will make it easier for them to deal with things independently as adults.

Allergists

A child with asthma and frequent allergic reactions that make daily life hard for them should immediately be brought to allergists. Some allergies can be dangerous if left untreated or if treated too late.

Allergists perform tests to determine the allergies a child has within their environment. After that, they can recommend medication and treatment that will help mitigate an allergy attack. It’s best to bring your child even without allergic reactions to make sure that you know what to do when it happens.

With this knowledge in mind, you can ensure that you know which medical professional you should reach out to when needed. That way, you don’t have to worry about your child’s health.