Newswise — Parents anticipate that their new child will be afflicted with the most common of pediatric illnesses, tonsillitis, middle ear infections, and allergies, all treated by a family physician, and in more severe cases, by an otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeon. However, each year parents are surprised when their child is diagnosed with an ear, nose, and throat disorder normally associated with adults. They find that the child often presents different symptoms and outcomes than when the medical disorder is found in adult; at times, a different treatment regimen is required.
Pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders usually found in adults are the focus of the 2006 Kids "Kids E.N.T. Health," a national public information campaign to inform the public about pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders. This health observance, now in its fourth year, is sponsored by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), the national medical society for 12,000 ear, nose, and throat specialists. These specialists diagnose and treat a number of pediatric medical disorders, which include infected or enlarged tonsils, allergies and sinusitis, middle ear infections, head and neck cancer, and acid reflux. National health statistics reveal that pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders remain among the primary reasons children and adolescents visit a physician.
Additions to the campaign library this year include six new fact sheets. The six fact sheets, all formatted and downloadable, are:
1. Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Children: iPods are not the only threat to a child's hearing. Learn what other environmental factors may cause permanent damage to a young person's ability to communicate. http://www.entnet.org/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77148
2. When Your Child has Tinnitus: Medical specialists in pediatric hearing have found that children do not complain about ringing or rushing noises in their ears " they believe the noise is "normal" to the hearing function. http://www.entlink.net/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77131
3. Kids and Facial Paralysis: Mononucleosis, also called "the kissing disease," may lead to Bell's palsy, a paralysis of one side of the face. http://www.entlink.net/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77322
4. Are We Through with Chew Yet?: Teens continue to use smokeless tobacco, despite scientific evidence that debunks claims chew is safer than cigarettes. http://www.entnet.org/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77376
5. Pediatric Thyroid Cancer: Young teenage girls are highly susceptible to this form of cancer, which in most cases, can be successfully treated.http://www.entlink.net/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77323
6. Rhabdomyosarcoma: Head and neck cancers are mostly identified with senior citizens who have a history of alcohol and tobacco use. But more than 90 percent of rhabdomyosarcomas are diagnosed in people less than 25 years old and about 60 percent of these cases are diagnosed in children younger than age 10. http://www.entlink.net/press/outreach/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=77324
In addition to the fact sheets, the Academy is issuing an update of its popular "Through with Chew" patient leaflet, which accompanied the Academy's first national patient education initiative of the same name and one of the early efforts to stem the use of smokeless and chewing tobacco.
All this information is available online at http://www.entnet.org/kidsent/.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology " Head and Neck Surgery http://www.entnet.org, one of the oldest medical associations in the nation, serves its members by facilitating the advancement of the science and art of medicine related to otolaryngology and by representing the specialty in governmental and socioeconomic issues. The organization's mission is: "Working for the Best Ear, Nose, and Throat Care."
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