Pediatric Trauma Diagnosis and Treatment Specialist Q&A

Pediatric trauma is when a life-threatening injury to a child occurs, it is also one of the top reasons that kill children in the United States. It can also be put under the category of mental trauma of a situation that may have occurred to them or something the child saw that could change their life forever. Any injury or illness that is life-threatening will require hospitalization and with injury, most likely emergency surgery.

Any child anywhere may have a pediatric trauma occur at some point in their life, some of which can potentially change the physical and mental ability of the child for the rest of their life. Pediatric trauma is a very serious health issue that is addressed through prevention; however, if something does occur, there are many various ways pediatric trauma medical staff are able to save the lives of the injured child(ren) from when they become hurt, to when they come to our center.

Olivero Pediatrics is passionate about helping children when they are injured or if they have been through mental emotional or physical emotional trauma, and we hope to constantly help the number of children that get injured each year, and bring more awareness to issues that everyone needs to be aware of.

If the child has been through trauma whether it be physical trauma like an injury or illness or from abuse, abandonment, or other trauma, you may not understand where to start when helping your child.

When it comes to trauma-based abuse whether it be emotional or physical, abandonment, or other related trauma, the best thing you can do for your children is be there for them, make them feel safe and loved, and make sure they are able to speak to a therapist about their trauma. Therapy allows them to speak freely, tell their side of the story, and get the support needed to work through a traumatic event. They are also able to learn great coping skills and calming mechanisms to help them adjust and slowly learn to face the things they used to avoid. Through therapy, kids are able to find their own voice, and courage and gain much-needed confidence.

When trauma is in relation to a physical injury or an illness, that would be dealt with by a different doctor, some of the most common child injuries that occur each year in the United States are falls, road accidents, burns, scalds, drownings, and poisonings.

When these traumatic injuries occur, it is best to seek out medical help depending on if the event is life-threatening, dialing 9-1-1 is the best way to get emergency help as soon as possible, if you are unsure, you can visit our pediatric clinic for an assessment and treatment, and if it is more severe than indicated, we will recommend visiting an emergency room for treatment.

Signs of childhood trauma can be very different in each child, depending on the incident, their age, and other things. These traumatic responses can include intense and ongoing emotional sadness, behavioral changes, depressive symptoms or anxiety, regression or loss of skills they previously acquired, issues with self-regulation, attachment issues, problems with relating to others, academic difficulties, attention issues, nightmares, struggling to sleep and eat, physical symptoms like pain, aches, or soreness.

If the child goes through an injury, they may show different symptoms like pain, bleeding, bruising, or cries of agony or screaming. Illness may show different signs depending on the illness that are dealing with from vomiting to crying, diarrhea, and other illness symptoms.

If your child is showcasing any of these signs or symptoms, it is best to bring them in to see one of our medical providers to encourage them to get help.

One of the most common causes of chock in patients is hypovolemia, which is due to blood loss in a patient. The early recognition and treatment of hypovolemia are critical and crucial to saving their life. You can schedule an appointment by calling in or through our online scheduling app. Olivero Pediatrics is open Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and is located at 1243 Skytop Mountain Rd. Suite 4, Port Matilda, PA 16870. We serve patients from Port Matilda PA, Waddle, PA, Julian PA, State College PA, Bellefonte PA, Pennsylvania Furnace PA, and Pine Grove Mills PA.