Children’s Health Topics

Common Cold in Children

As per most of the High Desert Pediatrics observation, children get up to 8 colds per year. Moreover, it gets more frequent in the winter or rainy season. This is because they get it mostly from other infected children.

The common cold symptoms usually involves a runny nose, nasal congestion, sore throat, sneezing, cough and a headache. Infected children should get plenty of rest and drink a lot of fluids. Over the counter cough and cold medicines are not advisable for children under the age of six.

Even though the symptoms should disappear within a week. But if not please consult your child doctor. You can also find more information in this website:

Vaccination of Children

The vaccination of children has proven to be highly effective and has finally led to the near elimination of common childhood diseases such as polio, measles and tetanus. Therefore High Desert Pediatrics strongly recommend child vaccination in a timely and scheduled manner.

Children get the various vaccines at particular ages and the schedule is published by the US Center for Disease Control at this website:

Additional information about vaccines and immunization maybe obtained at:

Ear Infection in Children

An ear infection is usually a bacterial or viral infection of the space behind the eardrum. And they can be painful because of inflammation and fluid buildup. It is estimated that three out of four children will have an ear infection by their third birthday.

Treatment consists of pain management and antibiotics. Please consult your pediatrician for any further concerns. More information can be found at:

​Car Seats for Children

In the US, auto accidents are one of the major causes of injury and death in children. Therefore, in the state of California, the law states that: Children MUST be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint IN THE REAR SEAT OF A VEHICLE until they are at least 8 years old.

Please check for updates and general information on the recommended use of car seat for children in the below website:

Helmets for Children

You can prevent many serious head injuries in children by using a helmet. Hence, as per California law, children under the age of 18 need properly fastened helmets for riding bicycles, skateboards and non motorized scooters. Additionally, many High Desert Pediatrics highly recommend helmet use for skiing and snowboarding also (this might become law soon). More information on helmets for children can be found at:

​General Information

American Academy of Pediatrics Website is a great resource to get general information about a child’s health.

You can select the information on this site based on your child’s age, health issues and more. In addition to this, you can also get answers to the most commonly asked health questions by famous pediatricians.

Get more information at:

Fall Season Health Advice

Before school starts, make sure that your precious children have all their immunizations. Ask your pediatrician about the flu vaccine as well. As per CDC about 90 percent of infants receive vaccinations, this number should be in totality to eliminate common childhood diseases.

There is a valuable discussion on vaccination on NPR Morning Edition. You can access the complete information at:

Summer Season Health Advice

Pediatricians recommend the use of sunscreen, hats, and full clothing to protect your child from sun damage which can lead to some serious health issues.

Although, consult your baby’s doctor before applying sunscreen on babies younger than 6 months. Beyond that, sunscreens are safe for toddlers and children.

More information can be found here: