Kids and Health Care: Common Childhood Medical Issues Conclusion

Illnesses and injuries are constant facts of childhood. Your child may not need invasive treatment just because he or she is sick. In most cases, old-fashioned common sense goes a long way. Treat their pain or discomfort, keep a close eye on their temperatures, push clear fluids so they don't get dehydrated. These basic tips can get your kid through many childhood illnesses.

And, bear in mind that some childhood illnesses prepare their young immune systems for a robust adulthood.

In 2003, medical researchers from Henry Ford Health System in Detroit reviewed the medical records of 835 children enrolled at birth in the Childhood Allergy Study and noted any illnesses with documented fevers -- defined as a temperature of at least 101 degrees Fahrenheit -- in their first year of life. When the children were 6 or 7, researchers tested about half of them for reactions to dust mites, cats, dogs, bluegrass and ragweed. (The results were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.)

Among children who had no fevers in their first year, 50 percent showed allergies or skin sensitivity to at least one of the allergens. Having at least one fever dropped the percentage to 46.7, while having two or more fevers in infancy dropped it to 31.3 percent.

The findings added some weight to the controversial "hygiene hypothesis." This theory -- which many pediatricians dispute -- holds that children who are exposed to dirt, bacteria and animals early in life are less prone to allergies and asthma later on.

The key to ensuring your children's health is by being vigilant to their pains and ailments...but knowing when it's necessary to visit the doctor and not. This is a challenge -- one that's perhaps best mastered the longer you're a parent and the more children you have.