Summary
Despite the fact that the risk of childhood disease is lower now than it has been in the past, childhood health care needs remain complex. This is mainly because as society and technology change rapidly, children are routinely exposed to new potential threats. For instance, in the last few years the National Institutes of Health and the Surgeon General have been warning of an epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, resulting from lack of exercise and poor nutrition. Children are not small adults, and their bodies react differently to toxins, invading viruses, and medications. Their swiftly changing metabolisms and immature immune systems require specialized attention and conscientious preventive measures such as vaccination.
The Encyclopedia of Children's Health and Wellness offers more than 600 entries covering all the key aspects of childhood health—from infancy to age 18. Explaining diseases, conditions, general health, safety issues, learning, growth and development, medications, treatments, and much more, this encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference to the health issues facing children today. Completing this invaluable reference is a series of appendixes providing resources, organizations specializing in major childhood diseases, hotlines, useful books, a glossary, a guide to choosing a pediatrician, and much more.
About the Author(s)
Carol Turkington is a medical writer with a degree in journalism and 25 years of professional experience, including three years as medical writer/editor at Duke University Medical Center/Comprehensive Cancer Center. She brings a vast preexisting knowledge of cancer to the field, having conducted significant research and written extensively about the subject. She is very knowledgeable regarding breast and ovarian cancer, and has covered all aspects of women’s reproductive cancer in her book The Unofficial Guide to Women’s Health. She has covered many different types of cancers in The Encyclopedia of Skin and Skin Disorders, Second Edition; The Encyclopedia of the Brain and Brain Disorders, Second Edition; and The Encyclopedia of Deafness and Hearing Disorders, Second Edition, updated, all from Facts On File. Her other books for Facts On File include The Poisons and Antidotes Sourcebook; The Encyclopedia of Memory and Memory Disorders, Second Edition; and The Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases, Second Edition.