Tests & Treatments

This video shows the steps for taking your child's temperature in the ear.

This video shows the steps for taking your child's temperature under the arm.

This sheet describes common tests done to diagnose urinary problems. Your child's healthcare provider will tell you which tests your child needs.

Learn what to expect before during, and after your child has a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). This test uses X-rays to show the flow of urine through the urinary tract. It lets the healthcare provider see how your child's bladder functions.

An ultrasound is a type of imaging test. It uses high-frequency sound waves to make images of organs and other structures inside the body.

An abdominal ultrasound uses sound waves to take pictures of abdominal organs. It's painless and noninvasive. It's often used to assess abdominal pain or to find problems like enlarged organs.

An upper GI series is an X-ray exam of the upper digestive tract. Here's what you should know when your child needs this exam.

A colonoscopy is a test that lets a healthcare provider look inside the colon and rectum. A sigmoidoscopy is a shorter form of this test. It looks at only the lower part of the colon (the sigmoid colon) and the rectum.

Read on for details about common lab tests used to diagnose problems with the digestive system in children.

To treat celiac disease, remove all sources of gluten from your child's diet. It's important to do this even if your child is not feeling sick. Removing gluten will prevent symptoms and health problems caused by celiac disease.

This bowel operation may involve the small intestine, large intestine (colon), or rectum. This sheet tells you how to prepare for the surgery and what to expect during it. It also tells you how to help your child recover afterward.

If your child is having trouble swallowing food or liquids safely, the healthcare provider may suggest tube feeding. Tube feeding is often done with a nasogastric (NG) tube.

If your child is having trouble swallowing food or liquid safely, a feeding tube may be needed. This is a special tube used to put liquid food or medicine straight into your child's stomach or intestine. It may be used if your child can't take enough food or liquid by mouth for proper growth.

Read on to learn about giving your child liquid food through total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

Your child has a colostomy. This procedure involved cutting (and sometimes removing) part of the colon (large intestine). The end of the colon was attached to a small hole made in the abdominal wall. This creates an opening in the skin called a stoma. Stool and mucus pass out of the body through this opening into a holding bag. Here are guidelines for home care after a colostomy. The healthcare provider and nursing staff may give you additional instructions for your child.

Your child has had a procedure called an ileostomy. This surgery affects part of the colon (large intestine) and part of the last section of the ileum (small intestine). Parts of your child's colon and ileum were cut. Parts may have been removed. A small hole called a stoma is made in the abdominal wall and skin. During surgery, the intestine is attached to the skin to allow stool and mucus to pass out of the body. The stool and mucus drain into a holding bag. Below are guidelines for home care after an ileostomy. The doctor and nursing staff may give you other instructions for your child.

A liver biopsy is a quick test that helps see how healthy your child's liver is. During a percutaneous liver biopsy, a needle is inserted through the skin and into the liver. A small sample of liver tissue is then taken. The tissue is sent to the lab to be studied.

A blood test can be stressful for both you and your child. You can take steps to make the process easier. Tell your child that you will do what you can to make it go smoothly. Read on for tips that may help.

Lung (pulmonary) function tests are breathing tests done to see how well your child's lungs are working. They're also used to see how well the lungs are growing and working in premature babies.

Pulmonary function tests can help tell how well your child's lungs are working or how well the lungs are responding to medicine. These noninvasive, painless tests are done starting at around age 5 or 6. Read on for details.

Use this sheet to help you remember how to place your child's NG tube when you get home.

Detailed information on how to feed your child using a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube.

You'll need to flush your child's tube regularly to keep it from getting clogged. Read on for helpful details on how to do it.

Your child is going home with either a gastrostomy tube (G tube) or a gastro-jejunum tube (G-J tube) in place. You'll need to feed your child through this tube. You were shown how to do this before your child was discharged from the hospital. This sheet will help you remember those steps at home.

If your child has a problem affecting the intestines, they may need a stoma (opening). A stoma provides a new way for stool and mucus to leave the body. During surgery to create a stoma, the colon or sometimes part of the small intestine is removed or disconnected. The end of the intestine is then rerouted through the abdominal wall. Waste leaves the body through the stoma and empties into a bag. It's important to help care for your child's stoma at home. You can help your child adjust to having a stoma.

Your child is going home with a gastrostomy tube (G-tube) or gastro-jejunum tube (G-J tube) in place. This sheet can help you remember how to flush your child's tube when you and your child are at home.

Your child is going home with a gastrostomy tube (G-tube) in place. The tube is placed through the abdominal wall into your child's stomach. It has a balloon filled with water on the end inside the stomach. The balloon keeps the tube in place. You must check the balloon regularly. This is to make sure it holds the amount of water prescribed by your child's healthcare provider. Here are instructions to help you remember the steps at home.

You were given home care instructions for your child's G-tube or G-J tube before he or she was discharged from the hospital. This sheet can help you remember those steps when you and your child are at home.

Your child's healthcare provider or home health nurse will tell you how much liquid food to use for each feeding.

A sleep study is a way to measure what's going on during a child's sleep. It's also known as a polysomnogram. It is a painless test done overnight in a hospital or clinic.

Here are images that show the steps for taking your child's temperature under the arm.

Here are images that show the steps for taking your child's temperature in the ear.

Here are images that show the steps for taking your child's temperature by mouth.

Here are images that show the steps for taking your child's rectal temperature.

This video shows the steps for doing percussive postural drainage for your child.

This video shows the steps for placing an NG tube for your baby.

This video shows the steps for suctioning your child's tracheostomy.

Children with urinary tract problems may require clean intermittent catheterization (CIC). This is the temporary placement of a tube (catheter) to help drain the bladder. A parent or another adult does CIC until the child learns how to do it. Children as young as 5 years old can do their own CICs.

An uncircumcised penis still has the foreskin attached. Caring for your newborn's penis is fairly easy. Here are things to keep in mind.

If your child's ear is missing or not developed, he or she may need to have auricular reconstruction. This is when a framework for the outer ear is made from cartilage.

This surgery can help reconstruct your chid's outer ear that is missing or underdeveloped. This condition is called microtia.

This surgery can help reconstruct your child's missing or underdeveloped outer ear.

Your child has had surgery to remove tonsils or adenoids. Your child will need time to get better. Below are guidelines for your child's recovery.

Your child's hearing should improve once the tubes are in place. For best results, follow up as instructed by your child's surgeon. In some cases, ear problems may continue. But you can help prevent ear infections by using good ear care.

Tympanostomy is a type of ear surgery. It puts a tiny tube into the eardrum. The tube drains fluid buildup and balances air pressure on both sides of the eardrum.

Your child may be having surgery to take out the tonsils or adenoids. If needed, the tonsils and adenoids can be taken out during the same surgery. The 2 procedures are described here.

Most kids outgrow bedwetting over time. But your child's healthcare provider may suggest ways to speed up the process. This includes the ideas outlined on this sheet.

Your child is diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP). This blood disorder causes your child's immune system to destroy their body's own platelets (cells that help stop bleeding). Here's what you need to know about home care.

Sickle cell anemia runs in families, and often affects African-Americans. Here are tips for treatment and home care for your child.

A groin hernia is when a small sac of intestine or fat pokes through a weak area of muscle into the lower abdomen. The weak area of muscle is formed that way before birth. The sac is formed by tissue that lines the abdomen. This kind of hernia usually happens on one side of the groin. It is felt as a bulge under the skin.

Hernias in children are common. They're caused by a defect in the belly (abdominal) wall. They are present at birth. Most often, the hernia forms in the groin or umbilical area. It can often be felt as a bulge under the skin. Childhood hernias can be safely fixed using outpatient (same-day) surgery. Best of all, most children get better quickly with only minor discomfort.

During a liver transplant, your child's sick liver is removed. It's replaced with a healthy donor liver. This sheet will help you understand the process leading up to your child's transplant.

Blood loss can happen if your child has an injury, surgery, or an illness that affects blood cells. Your child may receive a transfusion. Strict measures are taken to make sure that donated blood is safe before it's given to your child. This sheet helps you understand how a blood transfusion is done.

A Foley catheter is a soft, thin, flexible tube placed into the bladder to drain urine. Learn the details of the procedure, and how to help your child get ready.

A Foley catheter is a soft, thin, flexible tube placed in the bladder to drain urine. Learn what your child can expect before, during, and after the procedure.

Your child's PICC line is an important part of his or her healthcare. To care for your child's PICC line, you'll need to flush it. Here are instructions on what to do.

Speech-language therapy is the main treatment. Since there is no single method that treats apraxia, SLPs often use a variety of methods.

Selective mutism is when a child can't speak in certain settings, but can speak fine in others. For example, a child may not be able to speak at school, but can speak with no problem at home. It is called selective mutism because the child is only mute in certain situations.

Here are images that show the steps for changing your child's tracheostomy.

Here are images that show the steps for doing percussive postural drainage for your child.

Here are images that show the steps for suctioning your child's tracheostomy.

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a small hole between the 2 upper chambers of the heart, the right and the left atrium. A robotic-assisted patent foramen repair is a type of surgery to fix this hole in the heart.

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a small hole between the 2 upper chambers of the heart, the right and the left atrium. Patent foramen transcatheter repair is a procedure to fix this hole in the heart.

A ketogenic diet is a special type of diet that causes the body to make ketones. The diet is very high in fat, and very low in carbohydrates. It includes enough protein to help your child grow.

The Pavlik harness is a soft splint. It is most often used for treating infants with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). It helps keep the infant's hips and knees bent and the thighs spread apart. It can also help promote healing in babies with broken thighbones (femurs).

This type of brain surgery helps fix a problem with a VP shunt.

You've recently had a blood transfusion. A blood transfusion may be done when you have lost blood because of an injury or during surgery. It can also be done because of diseases or conditions that affect the blood.

During an X-ray exam, a small amount of radiation is used to make pictures of bones and some internal organs. Read on to learn what to expect when your child needs an X-ray.

A barium enema is an X-ray exam of the lower digestive tract (colon and rectum). This exam is used to find problems such as narrowing), blockages, or tissue growths. Here's what you and your child can expect.

A modified barium swallow is used to test your child's ability to swallow. It uses barium, a substance that makes organs show more clearly on X-rays. This test may be suggested if your child has problems swallowing food. Read on to learn more.

An upper endoscopy is a test that shows the inside of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This includes the esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). The healthcare provider can do a biopsy, check for problems, or remove objects. The test normally takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

A Meckel's scan is an imaging test used to detect a Meckel's diverticulum. This is a small, abnormal pocket in the wall of a child's large intestine.

A nuclear medicine scan is a type of imaging test. It's done to help diagnose and treat a number of diseases. This type of test uses small amounts of radioactive matter.

X-rays are a type of imaging test. They are done to help diagnose and treat a number of diseases. This type of test uses small amounts of radioactive material.

A Meckel's scan is an imaging test used to detect a Meckel's diverticulum. This is a small, abnormal pocket in the wall of a child's small intestine.