Arbor Pediatrics provides high-quality, personalized medical care for infants, children, and adolescents in Southlake, TX.

Have you heard of testicular torsion?

Testicular torsion occurs when the cord supplying blood to a testicle twists and cuts off its blood flow. It is most common in teens, but it can happen at any age, during activity, after an injury, or even while sleeping.

Symptoms may include sudden severe pain on one side of the scrotum, swelling or redness, a testicle that appears higher than usual, lower abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting. Pain that suddenly improves or comes and goes still needs emergency evaluation.

Treatment is time-sensitive. When torsion is treated within six hours of the pain beginning, there is a greater than 90 percent chance of saving the testicle. The chance decreases significantly as treatment is delayed.

Go directly to the nearest emergency department for sudden or severe testicular pain.

Do not wait for an office appointment or wait to see if the pain improves. Teens should know that embarrassment should never delay emergency care.

Encouraging reading does not have to mean eliminating screens.

Start by creating predictable screen-free times, such as during meals, in the car, or before bed, and make books easy to find throughout the home.

The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend one universal screen-time limit for every grade-school child.

Instead, families should set consistent limits that prevent recreational screen use from replacing sleep, physical activity, schoolwork, reading, and family time. For many school-aged children, a goal of about one to two hours of entertainment screen time per day may be a reasonable starting point, but the type of content and how it affects the child also matter.

Let your child choose topics and formats that interest them.

Graphic novels, comic books, magazines, audiobooks, joke books, and nonfiction all count as reading. Keep the focus on enjoyment rather than page counts or reading levels.

What book has recently kept your child interested? Share the title in the comments.

Toddlers cannot always explain when they are having difficulty seeing or hearing, so their behavior may provide the first clues.

Possible hearing concerns include delayed or unclear speech, not consistently responding to their name or other sounds, turning the volume up, seeming to hear some sounds but not others, or having frequent ear infections.

Hearing concerns can develop even after a child passes the newborn hearing screening.

Possible vision concerns include frequent squinting, rubbing or closing one eye, holding books or screens very close, bumping into objects, struggling to recognize things at a distance, or an eye that regularly turns inward or outward.

These signs do not always mean a child has a vision or hearing problem, but they are worth discussing. If you notice a pattern or have concerns about your child’s development, contact their pediatric provider at Arbor.

Early screening and support can make an important difference.

Weaning from bottles and pacifiers can be a big transition for toddlers, especially when they are closely tied to comfort and sleep. Gradual changes are often easier than stopping everything at once.

For bottles, begin by replacing one daytime bottle with an open or straw cup, then slowly work toward removing morning and bedtime bottles. Offer milk with meals, water between meals, and create a new bedtime routine with books, songs, or cuddles.

For pacifiers, start by limiting use to naps and bedtime. When your family is ready to stop, choose a consistent plan and offer another source of comfort, such as a favorite stuffed animal, blanket, or extra snuggle time.

Prolonged bottle use can increase the risk of cavities, especially when used at bedtime, and continued pacifier use may affect how the teeth and mouth develop. If weaning feels difficult, ask your child’s pediatric provider at Arbor or their dental provider for guidance.

There is no single age when visitors suddenly become safe for every newborn. Healthy family members and friends can usually visit when the parents feel ready, but a few precautions can help protect a baby’s developing immune system.

Visitors should wash their hands before holding the baby, avoid kissing the baby’s face or hands, and stay away if they have a fever, cough, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea, a cold sore, or recent exposure to a contagious illness. Close caregivers should also stay current on recommended vaccines, including flu and Tdap.

RSV protection is another important consideration, especially during fall and winter.

Most babies are protected through either maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy or a long-acting RSV antibody immunization given directly to the baby. Most babies do not need both.

Ask your baby’s provider at Arbor about RSV eligibility and whether additional visitor precautions are recommended based on your baby’s age and health.

Petechiae are tiny, flat red, purple, or brown spots caused by bleeding beneath the skin.

Unlike many common rashes, they do not fade when pressed.

Petechiae can sometimes appear around the face or neck after forceful coughing, vomiting, or crying. They may also be associated with viral or bacterial infections, low platelets, clotting problems, medications, or other conditions. Because the spots can look similar even when the causes are very different, a photo alone may not provide the answer.

Contact your child’s pediatric provider promptly for new, unexplained, or widespread petechiae. Seek urgent medical care if the spots are rapidly spreading or occur with fever, unusual bruising or bleeding, difficulty breathing, severe headache, neck stiffness, confusion, extreme sleepiness, or a child who appears very ill.