Infectious Diseases

Your doctor has just told you that you have an infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). Most teens have a lot of questions about warts and HPV. This guide will help answer some of those questions.

Adolescents are at high risk for HPV infection because they tend to become involved with multiple simultaneous sexual partners rather than forming monogamous relationships.

Seven-year-old boy with red, nonpruritic rash that appeared first on the cheeks and then spread to the trunk, extremities, and buttocks. No history of respiratory, GI, or other symptoms in the several weeks before the onset of the rash. Patient is otherwise healthy.

A 10-year-old boy with no medical history was brought to his pediatrician's office with a 2-day history of intermittent fever (temperature of 38.8°C to 39.4°C [102°F to 103°F]). Physical examination results were unremarkable. There was no history of recent trauma. The child was sent home with analgesic therapy.

A 9-year-old girl was hospitalized because of a painful, vesicular rash on her genitals, groin, and buttocks. There was also concern about possible genital herpes infection in a minor.

This 13-year-old boy plays basketball for his school team. His mother brings him to your office and asks you about her son's toenail that has changed appearance and now looks like his father's great toenail. The father has psoriasis.

Most cases of HSV-2 infection are spread through sexual transmission. An infected person can have virus in his or her saliva, semen, or vaginal secretions. When a seronegative partner comes in sexual contact with these secretions, the virus can enter the body through mucosal surfaces (such as the vagina, anus, or mouth) or micro-abrasions on the skin (eg, the penile shaft, scrotum, thighs, or perineum).

This 7-year-old boy was recently brought to my office having received a diagnosis of pemphigus foliaceus. His parents were seeking a second opinion.

How did I get herpes? Is there a cure? What causes an outbreak-- and what can I do to prevent another one? My friend got herpes and had to stay in the hospital; will that happen to me? Can I still have children?

Until very recently, when it came to chronic cough, children were to be treated like little adults. In its 1998 guidelines on cough, the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) stated that "the approach to managing chronic cough in children is similar to the approach in adults."

Poisons have been a threat to the health and well-being of humankind for millennia. Given the ubiquitous nature of potential poisons, exposure to a toxin should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with unexplained illnesses or unusual presentations.

Gonorrhea (aka "the clap," or "the drip") is caused by sexually transmitted Neisseria gonorrhoeae--a Gram-negative diplococcus. One of the most common reportable diseases in the United States, gonorrhea frequently affects sexually active adolescents. Approximately 30% of the 350,000 annual cases involve 15- to 19-year-olds. (That percentage is thought to be an underestimate!) Those most often infected are young women 15 to 24 years old. Recent data suggest that infection rates are higher among teens who are homeless or pregnant, and in those from a minority group or an economically disadvantaged background.

Seven-year-old girl with generalized rash that started as a single isolated oval lesion on the lower abdomen. Six days later, diffuse papulosquamous lesions appeared mainly on the trunk, sparing the scalp, face, and extremities. Intense itching despite 3 days of diphenhydramine therapy.

According to a study by investigators at the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, fluoride varnish reduces the incidence of early childhood tooth decay in combination with dental health counseling for parents.

An 8-year-old boy is assessed on the same day that he passed red-colored urine. The boy first noted the abnormal-colored urine when he voided on awakening.

Photo Finish: Acute Dx: What Cause of Sudden Illness?

Every day, children are served up a barrage of television commercials telling them what to eat. According to J. Michael McGinnis, senior scholar at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), that's a problem: "Current food and beverage marketing practices put kids' long-term health at risk." McGinnis's findings appear in a report, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, issued recently by the IOM's committee on food marketing and the diets of children and youth.

The US Food and Drug Administration in December approved the use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) for preventing seasonal influenza in children 1 to 12 years old. Tamiflu's labeled use had previously been for prevention and treatment of flu in children 13 years and older, as well as in adults.

Initial clinical studies of a tool that measures impedance in the esophagus provide new insight into acid reflux disease.

Among children, rotavirus remains a leading cause of gastroenteritis and, globally, of death. Here's the latest on treatment and prevention, including vaccines in the offing.

Among children, rotavirus remains a leading cause of gastroenteritis and, globally, of death. Here's the latest on treatment and prevention, including vaccines in the offing.

"There is some drama associated with influenza every year," said George Kent, MD, associate director of the Center for Education in Family and Community Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. "In 2004, it was the surprise vaccine shortage and the surge in demand, followed by a very ordinary year in terms of disease. This year, we appear to have plenty of vaccine, except for avian influenza, for which we have no vaccine at all."