All My Children

The words menstrual and menses are derived from the Latin word for “month,” which refers to the approximate frequency of this event. A typical cycle lasts from twenty-seven to thirty-five days, although for some women normal menses occur as frequently as every twenty-one days or as infrequently as every forty-five days. Most of the variability arises during the first (follicular) phase leading up to ovulation. Assuming that a pregnancy does not begin, the luteal phase (from ovulation to menses) is nearly always fourteen days, with little variation. Continue Reading »

Not all of your child’s medical visits will be for routine checkups. Certain common problems, both acute and chronic, are worth mentioning briefly.

•  Headaches. A little effort may be needed to separate the annoying but harmless ones from those that need medical attention.

Tension-type (often called muscle-contraction) headaches, the most frequent in children and adults, have a typical pattern of pain across the forehead, often accompanied by a feeling of tightness around the head and/or neck like a rubber band. These may be a physical response to hunger, stress, or worry and usually respond to simple treatment: acetaminophen, a snack if he’s hungry, a brief rest in a quiet environment, and a cool washcloth across the forehead. Continue Reading »