The Role and Goal of Checkups in Pediatrics
Regularly scheduled well-baby/well child checkups make an important contribution to the health of your children. Dr. David Cotlar, a native Houstonian, has been providing these and all aspects of outpatient pediatric care with warmth and humor for over 40 years at his original office site, 7777 Southwest Freeway in Houston.
These visits are an opportunity to get your questions answered and provide you knowledge and confidence about your child’s health.
Appropriately scheduled well-child care visits benefit the health of your child in many ways. They provide an opportunity for a pediatrician to monitor not only your child’s growth, but his behavioral health and development, overall health, and immunization status. These visits can also include monitoring of a child’s nutrition, sleep patterns, laboratory screenings, and more. During a well-child care visit, our pediatrician will:
- Review many elements of health history, including diet and exercise, the status of developmental milestones, interval illness, allergies, school, and other activities
- Perform a comprehensive physical examination including careful growth measurements which are graphed to allow evaluation of the pattern over time
- Order any necessary lab testing to diagnose underlying illnesses
- Administer necessary immunizations and discussing them with you
- Discuss safety, development, preventive health measures, and recommended activities appropriate before the next checkup
When your child is starting organized sports or starting or advancing in school, Dr. Cotlar will see him/her for the required school or sports physical and complete the requested forms.
These regular visits with the doctor are important to assess your child’s overall health, and to identify common childhood conditions such as asthma and allergies. Timely routine checkups provide a baseline and alert the pediatrician to any changes in your child’s growth, development, or health while providing the opportunity for parents to address questions about any of these.
We try to assure that these health maintenance visits will not be stressful for your or your child, and actively attempt to make them actually fun and informative, giving personalized attention and care during your visit. They also enhance our ability to address questions over the phone or address future concerns you may have between regular visits. And we do try to accommodate your own busy schedule.
Well-child care visits are an important way to help your child stay healthy. Please remember to make your next appointment at the recommended intervals by calling Dr. David Cotlar in Houston, at (713) 776-3045.