Ask the Expert - Pediatrics

At Banner Health, we deliver more than 30,000 babies a year. We want to make sure those babies grow up to be as healthy and as strong as possible.

Here is a list of pediatric-related Ask-the-Expert topics written by Banner Health professionals.

Topics include:

• Asthma
• Babies
• Behavior
• Cancer
• Colds and Flu
• Fitness/Sports
• General Pediatric
• Infectious diseases 
• Nutrition
• RSV (respiratory syncytial virus)
• Safety
• Sports Physicials
• Surgery

Asthma

• Children and Asthma  Featuring: Lourdes Laraya-Cuasay, MD
• Children With Asthma and Sports  Featuring: Kelvin Panesar, MD
• Asthma, kids and sports Featuring Traci D. Arney

• Causes of Childhood Asthma Featuring: Lourdes Laraya-Cuasay, MD

• How to protect against allergies and asthma in your home Featuring Michael Arbel, MD

• Controlling my child's asthma attack Featuring Kim Wells

• Will my other children develop asthma too? Featuring Leno Thomas, MD

Babies

• Safe sleep positions for babies Featuring: Michael McQueen, MD
• Babies and acid reflux Featuring: Matthew Bennett, MD
• Babies and airplanes Featuring Sharon Novy, MD
• What is the blue card for? Featuring Kathy Krieg, MD
  Which is safer: breastmilk or formula Featuring Sherry Hottenstein, RN
• Congenital heart defects Featuring Christopher Derby, MD
• Hospital tests for newborns Featuring Louis Iorio, MD
• What does my baby's spit up mean? Featuing Gayle Horvitz, MD
• Inguinal hernia Featuring Jonathan Greenfeld, MD
• Jaundice Featuring: Michael McQueen, MD
• What should be in the medicine cabinet for baby? Featuring Mary Jo F. Kutler, D.O.
• Premature babies Featuring: Margo Roberts, RN
• Shaken baby syndrome Featuring Kathie Chittenden, RN
• Sudden infant death syndrome Featuring Michael McQueen, MD
• How dangerous is whooping cough to babies? Featuring Varsha Dandavate, MD

Behavior

• Transitioning an adoptive child into your home Featuring Dr. Manisha Thakkar, MD
• Talking to your kids about tragedy Featuring Michael Weinberg, PhD, LPC
• Cutting and self-harm Featuring Michael Weinberg, PhD, LPC
• ADHD Featuring Tamara Zach, MD
• Is it autism? Featuring David Curran, MD
• Bedwetting at age six Featuring: Wendi Morfitt, MD
• Bullying Featuring Tracey Fejt
• My child is a bully Featuring: Dennis Friedman, D.O.
• Teens and dating violence Featuring: Sue Jantzen
• Does my daughter have an eating disorder? Featuring: Tracey Oppenheim. MD
• Inspiring your child during the holidays Featuring Kathy Thomas, PhD
• Dealing with peer pressure Featuring: Norm Saba, MD
• When should I talk to my child about sex Featuring: Michele Morgan, MD
• Reduce homework stress Featuring Kathy Thomas, MD
• Kids and screen time Featuring Janeen Bjork, MD
• Test-taking anxiety Featuring: Tracy Oppenheim, MD 
• Toilet training Featuring: Phillip Gleason, MD

Cancer

• Cancer radiation and children Featuring: Irene Taw, MD
• Pediatric Melanoma  Featuring: Jeffrey Goldstein, MD
• Children and skin cancer Featuring: Jeffrey Goldstein, MD
• HPV Vaccine for boys? Featuring Jennifer Norman, MD

Colds and Flu

• My kids are always picking up viruses from their schoolmates and our whole family gets sick. Are there steps we can take to keep our family healthy? Featuring Mark Pyle D.O.
• Colds and flu Featuring: Andrea DeMets, MD
•  Is it a cold or allergy?  Featuring Anna Kujawska, MD 
•  My toddler has a cold  Featuring Steve Naranj, MD
• Congested breathing in children  Featuring: Alan Adler, MD
• Breathing problems Featuring: Alan Adler, MD
• The difference between tonsillitis and a sore throat? Featuring Nathan Page, MD
• How to care for your child's sore throat Featuring Ralph McClure, MD
• Strep throat Featuring: Barbara Zimmerman, MD

 Fitness/Sports

• Sprains versus breaks Featuring Edward Fink, MD
• How much exercise should my child get each day? Featuring John Sarmiento, MD
• Baseball; Keeping young pitchers safe Featuring Grant Padley, D.O.
• Is wearing a bike helmet that important? Featuring Kurt Dickson, MD
• How dangerous are concussions for young athletes Featuring Grant Padley, D.O.
• Keeping fit during the holidays Featuring Cathy Agostino, RN
• Fitness for kids under 6 Featuring Meredith Jenkins
• Pee-Wee football and safety Featuring Greg Hrasky, MD
• Girls and ACL tears Featuring John Hunt Udall, MD
• Target heart rates for kids Featuring John Stock, MD
• What to feed a child athlete Featuring Mandi Turner
• How to keep your child hydrated this summer Featuring John Seward, MD
• Swimmer's ear in children Featuring: Michael Fucci, MD
• How to prevent swimmer's ear Featuring Bo Borch-Christensen
• Teenagers and steroids Featuring: Norm Saba, MD
• Weight training and children Featuring: Douglas Mangan, MD
• Weight lifting for student athletes Featuring Hunt Udall, MD
• Is it OK for my kids to do yoga? Featuring Kelsi Compton-Griffith

General Pediatric

• Chest deformities Featuring Ravindra Vegunta, MD 
• Growth disorders Featuring Dr. Alvin H. Perelman, MD
• Gynecomastia in boys Featuring Meredith Workman, MD
• Deciding on urgent care or emergency department Featuring Bill Schneider, MD
• How can I help my family avoid the infamous “crash” after a heavy Thanksgiving meal? Featuring Bailey Noble
• My child wants to put everything in his mouth Featuring Bill Schneider, MD
• Cross-eyed children Featuring: Elyssa Peters, MD
• Ear infections Featuring: Cecil Michael, MD
• Ear infections  Featuring: Cecil Michael, MD
• Emergency care for children Featuring: Jennifer Godwin
• When do I take my child to the Emergency department? Featuring James Reingold
• What should I do if my child has a small fever Featuring Frank Benes, MD
• Febrile seizures Featuring Tamara Zach, MD
• Headaches in children Featuring Tamara Zach, MD
• Head Injuries  Featuring: Scott Elton, MD
• High blood pressure in children Featuring: Celida Rangel, MD
• Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Curvature of the Spine  Featuring: Mark Flood, D.O.
• Scoliosis Featuring: Michael Chang, MD
• Fractures Featuring: Greg Hrasky, MD
• Online pediatric information Featuring: Suzan Miller-Hoover
• RSV Featuring:
• Why does my child snore? Featuring: Alan Adler, MD
• Sleep apnea in children Featuring Nate Tritle, MD
• Children getting enough sleep Featuring Troy Sebastian
• Swallowing problems in children Featuring: Kelly VanDahm
• Childhood urinary tract infections Featuring Barry Chang, MD
• Von Willebrand disease in childen Featuring: Sanjay Shah, MD

 Infectious Diseases

• HPV vaccinations for boys Featuring Jackie Agenbroad
• Immunizations Featuring: Andrea DeMets, MD
• Measles immunizations Featuring: John Monroe, MD
• Pertussis Featuring Michael McQueen, MD

Nutrition

• What steps can I take to make sure my child maintains a healthy weight? Featuring Janae Richey
• When choosing fruits and vegetables for my family, are there health benefits to selecting in-season produce? Featuring Bailey Noble
• Causes of childhood obesity Featuring Jason Brown, MD
• Childhood obesity and sleep Featuring: Christopher Spiekerman, MD
• Is my child obese? Featuring: Alicia Acevedo, MD
• Type 2 Diabetes and children Featuring Alvin Perelman, MD
• Pre-diabetes Featuring Joel Hahnke, MD
• How can I pack a healthy lunch for my child? Featuring: Martin Hernandez, MD
• How can I get my kid to eat fruits and vegetables Featuring Robin Harrison
• What is the best thing for my child to drink? Featuring: Michele Grim
• Should my child drink juice? Featuring: Akemi Glass
• A healthy Halloween Featuring: Mandi Turner
• Healthy eating during the holidays Featuring Marie Everett
• Underweight child Featuring: Mandi Turner
• Pediatric Nutrition Featuring: Norman Saba, MD
• How much should I be feeding my baby? Featuring Goldie Laporte
• Should my kids go organic? Featuring Mary Jo F. Kutler, D.O.

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus)

• RSV  Featuring: Kris Korte, RN
• RSV  Featuring: Alan Adler, MD
• What is RSV?  Featuring: Steven Oscherwitz, MD

Safety

• Firework safety Featuring Manisha Thakkar, MD
• How can I keep my kids safe while trick-or-treating on Halloween? Featuring Tracey Fejt
• Heavy backpacks Featuring Colin Goggins, MD
• Bike safety Featuring: Tracey Brown
• Booster seats Featuring: Tracey Brown
• What is BPA and can it hurt my child? John Sarmiento, MD
• Concussions Featuring Paul Dabrowski , MD
• Symptoms of concussions Featuring Tamara Zach
• When does a bump on the head become serious? Featuring Marc Wasserman, MD
• Managing an accidental overdose, Featuring Eunice Yoon, MD
• Drowning prevention Featuring: Tracey Brown
• Keeping your child safe around water Featuring Michael Arbel, MD
• Child safety during Halloween Featuring: Anne Bordal
• Does my child need a tetanus shot? Featuring Jeff Wolfrey, MD

Sports Physicials

• School sports physicals Featuring Thomas Anderson, D.O.
• Sports Physicials Featuring: Tom Anderson, MD

Surgery

• Choosing a surgeon Featuring Ravindra Vegunta, MD 
• Pedriatric orthopedic surgery Featuring Edward Fink, MD
• Preparing a child for surgery Featuring: Michael Attard
• How your doctor can prepare your child for surgery Featuring Ravindra Vegunta, MD
• Benefits of minimally invasive surgery for children Featuring: Barry Chang, MD
• Pediatric Minimally Invasive Surgery Featuring: Barry Chang, MD
• Pain and healing Featuring: Teri Reyburn-Orne