Featured Condtion/Disease: Heart Disease

We are featuring a childhood/infant disease or condition informational post every other Friday.  Today's topic is Heart Disease.

Definition

Heart disease, also called cardiac disease, is a heart defect. The word cardiac refers to the heart. Cardiac or heart disease means the heart muscle can't properly deliver oxygen and other essentials to the organs and tissues. Heart disease includes many different conditions. The heart pumps blood all over the body to bring oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the body.

Evaluation/Screening
If you have a child from the age from birth to three years old, you can have your child screened for heart disease through the Florida Early Steps program.  Click here to see a list of Early Steps offices in your area.


More Information

To get more information, click here. 

*Most of the information provided here is from the Teach More/Love More site, click here to visit their site.

Featured Condtion/Disease: Sciolosis

We are featuring a childhood/infant disease or condition informational post every other Friday.  Today's topic is Sciolosis.

Definition

Scoliosis is not a disease, but rather a word describing a condition of the spine (also called a backbone) when very curved. Some curves are normal in the spine. Some places we all usually have curves are in the neck, in the upper back and in the lower back. We need these spinal curves to help the upper body maintain proper balance. Curves in the spine to the left or right are not normal, and are called scoliosis.

A child can be born with scoliosis. A child can develop the lateral curves gradually over childhood. We don't know what causes most cases of scoliosis. The curvature of the spine from scoliosis may develop as a single curve like the letter C or as two curves shaped like the letter S.

Signs

Most parents first notice that their child has a crooked back or the body looks asymmetrical (one side looks higher than the other or the child looks tilted). Things to watch for:

• Walks with the head tilted.
• Shoulder blade (a bone in the back) sticks out.
• A tilted hip bone or one hip or shoulder higher than the other.
• Leans to one side when standing or walking.

More Information

To get more information about Sciolosis, click here. 
 
*Most of the information provided here is from the Teach More/Love More site, click here to visit their site.