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Home › Articles › Toddler Health › She Has What?

She Has What?

Not-so-common Ailments

By Sue Poremba

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Most parents recognize the symptoms for illnesses like pink eye or chicken pox. But primary vesicoureteral reflux? Or plagiocephaly? These are all ailments that affect babies or toddlers that aren't particularly common but of whose warning signs parents should be aware.

Plagiocephaly
This is also referred to as "flattened head syndrome." According to Dulcey Lima, a certified orthotist and registered occupational therapist, it is a flat spot on a newborn's or infant's head.

Approximately 20 percent of babies will have plagiocephaly, but it is most often seen in premature babies and multiples who don't have room to move in the womb. It is commonly caused by a baby lying in one position for long periods of time. Lima says it is seen more often today because parents tend to put babies to sleep on their back and because modern baby carriers convert from car seat to stroller seat and the baby remains in the seat for long periods of time.

Plagiocephaly can cause the baby's ear or forehead to shift forward unnaturally, which can cause speech delays, visual or motor problems and poor core trunk control. Regularly moving the baby, holding her rather than keeping her in the car seat or supervised tummy time all help to prevent plagiocephaly.

Primary Vesicoureteral Reflux
Primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a pediatric condition that causes urine to flow backwards – from the bladder to the kidneys – through one or both of the connecting ducts (ureters). Children born with VUR lack the valve function that prevents urine from running back from the bladder up to the kidneys.

Signs of VUR include foul-smelling or cloudy urine, fever, stomach or back pains, frequent or painful urination and vomiting. Dr. Terry Hensle, director of Pediatric Urology at the Children's Hospital of New York Presbyterian, says that mild cases may resolve on their own, but more severe cases require antibiotics, surgery or endoscopic treatments.


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