I have had far too many parents tell me that their children do not get a good yearly physical examination by their doctor and no urinalysis. I find that appalling. The urinary track is the site of the most congenital anomalies. I have found numerous problems because I always check a urine if I have questions about what is going on in a child's body. My sister had a large kidney tumor removed when she was a teenager.
Many parents tell me that a child is often not undressed to his or her underpants and given a gown. How can a doctor find problems like a malignant skin lesion, scoliosis, or other things if a child is not undressed? You cannot hear a heart through a lot of clothes. I almost missed a beginning scoliosis on a beautiful little girl because she and long curly hair. If I had not lifted up her hair I would have missed it. The other thing that is seldom done is a TB skin test. I found two early cases of TB in children because I always did a yearly TB skin test. It is simple and easy to do. Both children had nannies from poor countries and they were found to have active tuberculosis.
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