Pediatrics — Town Hospital
Town Hospital's Pediatrics department looks after your child's health — routine growth follow-up, colds, allergies and common childhood illness — with pediatricians and pediatric consultants at our children's clinic in New Cairo, and a 24-hour emergency department for urgent cases, including head injuries.
What we treat
Pediatrics at Town Hospital: an overview
Town Hospital's Pediatrics department in the Fifth Settlement, New Cairo, looks after children's health: it diagnoses and treats common childhood illnesses and follows growth and nutrition. Its doctors include general pediatricians, consultants in pediatrics and newborn medicine, an assistant professor of pediatrics, a consultant pediatric cardiologist and a consultant pediatric surgeon, all listed below. The pediatric surgeon performs common children's operations, such as hernia repair and surgery for an undescended testicle, in the hospital's operating theatres.
Most tests a pediatrician needs are done in the hospital, in a laboratory and a radiology department that are both open 24 hours a day: blood, urine and stool tests, X-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI. The emergency department is also open 24 hours a day and receives children with urgent problems, including head injuries. Outpatient clinics run every day from 10 am to 10 pm, but each pediatrician's days and times differ and are in the up-to-date clinic schedule.
Conditions the department looks after
The diagnosis and treatment remain the pediatrician's decision after the consultation and tests. These are common reasons parents bring their children to the department.
Fever: when to worry
A fever, a temperature of 38°C or more, is the body's response to infection, in children usually a virus such as a cold or a stomach bug. How your child seems matters more than the thermometer: a child who plays and drinks once the temperature comes down is less worrying than one who is listless and refuses to drink. A fever-reducing medicine at the right dose for your child's age and weight, with plenty of fluids, eases the discomfort; antibiotics are given only when the doctor finds a bacterial infection. In some young children a fever triggers a fit (febrile convulsion), which usually leaves no lasting harm, but a first fit always needs urgent assessment. See a pediatrician if a fever lasts more than two or three days or keeps coming back; a baby under three months old with a fever needs to be seen in an emergency department straight away.
Colds, chest infections and pneumonia
Colds are viral and can come several times a year, especially once a child starts nursery or school; they clear up on their own within a week to ten days with fluids, rest and saline nose drops, and antibiotics do not help. Pneumonia, an infection of the lung tissue caused by a virus or bacteria, shows as a fever and a cough with faster breathing than usual, the skin pulling in below the ribs with each breath, and a listless child who eats or feeds poorly. The doctor diagnoses it by listening to the chest, counting the breaths and measuring the oxygen level, sometimes with a chest X-ray, and prescribes antibiotics when the cause is likely to be bacterial. Recurrent wheezing or a night-time cough can point to asthma (chest allergy), treated with inhalers suited to the child's age. Repeated tonsillitis or ear infections, and enlarged adenoids, are assessed by the ENT clinic, which sees children.
Diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration
Gastroenteritis, a stomach bug that is usually viral, causes vomiting and diarrhoea for a few days, and its main danger is dehydration, especially in babies. Signs include passing less urine or fewer wet nappies, a dry mouth, crying without tears, a sunken soft spot (fontanelle) on a baby's head, and drowsiness. Treatment rests on oral rehydration solution in small, frequent sips, while breastfeeding and normal meals carry on and juices and sugary drinks are avoided. Most children need no antibiotics, and medicines that stop diarrhoea should not be given to young children unless the doctor prescribes them. Severe dehydration, or vomiting that keeps no fluid down, needs fluids through a vein, so take your child to the nearest emergency department straight away, as you should for green vomit; blood in the stool needs urgent medical attention.
Anaemia and thalassaemia
Iron-deficiency anaemia, common in the early years, comes from a diet low in iron or from toddlers filling up on milk instead of food, and shows as paleness, tiredness and a poor appetite. It is diagnosed with a full blood count and a measure of the body's iron stores, and treated with iron supplements for a period the doctor sets and iron-rich foods such as meat, beans and green leafy vegetables. Thalassaemia (Mediterranean anaemia) is an inherited fault in the make-up of haemoglobin. A child who inherits the trait from both parents usually shows clear signs in the first two years, such as marked paleness, slow weight gain and a swollen tummy from an enlarged spleen, and needs regular transfusions, medicines that remove excess iron and specialist follow-up. A carrier has a mild anaemia that usually needs no treatment, but it looks like iron deficiency on a blood count and does not improve with iron, so the two are told apart with a test that separates the types of haemoglobin.
The thyroid in newborns and children
Thyroid hormone is essential for a child's growth and brain development. Some babies are born with an underactive thyroid without obvious signs, so newborns have a heel-prick blood test in the first week of life; a high result is checked with a blood test from a vein without delay, because early treatment protects growth and development. The thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is naturally high in the first days after birth and then falls gradually, so its normal range varies with age and between laboratories, and the doctor reads each result against the normal range for the child's age, because some laboratories print adult ranges beside the result. In older children an underactive thyroid can show as slow growth in height, tiredness, constipation and weight gain, and is confirmed with a blood test of TSH and the thyroid hormone itself. It is treated by replacing the missing hormone at a dose the doctor adjusts with regular blood tests, and the child is referred to a pediatric endocrinologist when needed.
H. pylori (the stomach germ) in children
H. pylori is a common bacterium, usually picked up in childhood, that many children carry without symptoms, and most recurrent tummy pain in children has nothing to do with it. So the doctor tests only when something points to it, such as pain that wakes the child at night, repeated vomiting, weight loss, or anaemia that does not improve with iron. It is detected with a stool or breath test, or with a small sample taken during an endoscopy when the doctor advises one, and treated with a plan that combines more than one medicine, including antibiotics and a medicine that reduces stomach acid, taken in full for the period the doctor sets. Feeling better is not proof that the germ has gone, so the test is repeated at least four weeks after treatment ends, with any acid-reducing medicine stopped about two weeks before it, as the doctor advises.
Mouth ulcers in children
Most mouth ulcers in children are viral: hand, foot and mouth disease brings small ulcers with spots on the hands and feet and a fever, and a first herpes infection causes a fever and swollen gums. Other causes include recurrent aphthous ulcers (simple mouth ulcers that keep coming back) and minor injuries, while white patches in a baby's mouth may be thrush, a fungal infection. Most viral ulcers heal within seven to ten days; what matters meanwhile is that your child drinks enough to avoid dehydration, with soft cool foods and a painkiller suited to their age, and the doctor decides whether a soothing gel, an antiviral or an antifungal is needed. Ulcers that last more than two weeks, or keep coming back, call for tests for causes such as a shortage of iron or certain vitamins.
Growth and nutrition
At every visit the pediatrician measures your child's weight and height, and head circumference in babies, and plots them on growth charts that compare the child with others of the same age and sex; the trend over several visits matters more than any single measurement. The department assesses poor weight gain, slowing growth in height, excess weight, feeding difficulties and delays in sitting, walking or talking, with tests when needed. Breast milk alone is recommended for the first six months whenever possible, and older children need a varied diet with less sugar and fewer fizzy drinks.
Tests in the hospital
- Blood tests: the full blood count, thyroid tests, liver and kidney function and blood sugar, in a laboratory open 24 hours a day that takes walk-ins at any hour.
- Urine and stool tests: for a urine infection, which can be a hidden cause of fever in babies, and for diarrhoea.
- Imaging: chest X-ray and ultrasound, with CT and MRI when needed, in a radiology department open 24 hours a day.
- Children's heart tests: an ECG and an echocardiogram (an ultrasound scan of the heart), done by the department's pediatric cardiologist when needed, for example when a murmur is heard or a baby is breathless during feeds.
When you need emergency care straight away
Call an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department straight away for:
- Difficulty breathing, the skin pulling in below or between the ribs with each breath, grunting, or blue lips.
- A fit (convulsion), loss of consciousness, or drowsiness so deep that the child is hard to wake.
- A fever in a baby under three months old, or a fever with a rash that does not fade when a glass is pressed against it.
- Signs of severe dehydration, repeated vomiting that keeps no fluid down, or green vomit.
- Severe tummy pain that keeps getting worse, vomiting blood, or black stools.
- A head injury followed by any loss of consciousness, however brief, repeated vomiting, unusual drowsiness or a fit.
- Swallowing medicines, a poisonous household product or a small button battery.
- Yellow skin on the first day of life, or a newborn who refuses feeds.
Town Hospital's emergency department receives children with head injuries 24 hours a day, but not burns or digestive (GI) bleeding: for a burn, call an ambulance to reach a burns unit, and for vomiting blood or black stools, call an ambulance directly.
Your child's care, step by step
- Consultation: the doctor asks about the symptoms and how long they have lasted, eating or feeding, past illnesses and medicines, then weighs, measures and examines your child; bring any previous test results.
- Tests: only the tests your child needs, done in the hospital, on the same day where the type of test allows.
- Decision: the doctor explains the diagnosis and treatment plan, you decide together, and your child is referred to another specialty when needed.
- Treatment: usually at home, with a clear plan covering the medicine and its dose for your child's weight, fluids, and the signs that should bring you back. When a child needs fluids or medicines through a vein, or a period of observation, this is given in the hospital.
- Follow-up: at the interval the doctor sets; never stop a medicine or change its dose on your own, and finish any antibiotic course the doctor prescribes.
The hospital is contracted with more than 40 payers, including insurance companies, professional syndicates and government bodies, and cover depends on the payer and the terms of the contract.
Doctors — Pediatrics
What our patients say on Google
Five-star reviews written by Town patients and their families on Google Maps
Many thanks to Professor Islam Abu Zeid and Dr. Dina HaidarTranslated by Google
This comment is perhaps the least I can do to express my gratitude and thanks to all the medical staff at the hospital, especially Dr. Ahmed Al-Qai'i and the entire neurology team. I've never seen such a dedicated team; they treat every …Translated by Google
A successful choice of Town Hospital from admission to discharge. A successful team, including reception, security, nursing, and doctors. Special thanks to Mr. Akrami, Dr. Mustafa Abdel Halim, the entire operating room team, and the ward …Translated by Google
A wonderful hospital! It was my first time there. The emergency service was outstanding. I want to thank Dr. Islam, Ms. Shaimaa, and Mr. Ahmed very much for their excellent treatment of my grandson and for convincing him to get checked …Translated by Google
I thank Dr. Mahmoud Shehata and the nursing staff, Saad Ayman Bassiouni and Professor Fawzi from the catheterization department, for their care before, during, and after the operation. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for …Translated by Google
A wonderful, quiet hospital where all the staff demonstrate a high level of professionalism; I highly recommend using their services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Pediatrics department at Town Hospital look after, and when are the clinics open?
Town Hospital's Pediatrics department in the Fifth Settlement, New Cairo, looks after children's health and diagnoses and treats common childhood illnesses, including fever, colds, chest infections and pneumonia, stomach bugs and dehydration, anaemia, thyroid problems, H. pylori and mouth ulcers, as well as following growth and nutrition. Its doctors include general pediatricians, consultants in pediatrics and newborn medicine, a consultant pediatric cardiologist and a consultant pediatric surgeon. Each pediatrician holds clinics on set days and times, listed in the up-to-date clinic schedule on the hospital website. Urgent cases, including head injuries, are seen in the emergency department, which is open 24 hours a day but does not receive burns or digestive (GI) bleeding; the laboratory and radiology are also open 24 hours a day.
What are the signs of pneumonia in a child, and how is it different from a cold?
Pneumonia often starts like a cold, then signs appear that the lungs are involved: a fever, a cough, breathing faster than usual, the skin pulling in below or between the ribs with each breath, and sometimes grunting or flaring nostrils, with a child who is listless and refuses food or feeds. Young babies may have no fever, and fast breathing and poor feeding are then the clearest signs. To check, count your child's breaths for a full minute while they are calm: doctors regard breathing as fast at 60 breaths a minute or more under two months of age, 50 or more from two to twelve months, and 40 or more from one to five years. An ordinary cold causes a runny nose, a cough and a mild fever without fast breathing, and improves within days. The doctor confirms pneumonia by examining the child, listening to the chest and measuring the oxygen level, and may request a chest X-ray. Difficulty breathing, the skin pulling in below or between the ribs, grunting, blue lips, marked drowsiness, or fast breathing with poor feeding in a baby under two months need an ambulance or the nearest emergency department straight away.
What is a normal TSH (thyroid) level in newborns and children?
There is no single number for every age. TSH, the thyroid-stimulating hormone, is naturally high in a newborn in the first days after birth, then falls gradually over the following weeks towards the levels seen in older children. Normal ranges also differ between laboratories, depending on the testing method, so the result must be read against the normal range for the child's age, and a newborn's result should never be compared with the adult figures some laboratories print beside it. Newborns have a heel-prick blood test in the first week of life to screen for an underactive thyroid present from birth; if it comes back high, a blood test from a vein, including the thyroid hormone itself, is done without delay, because starting treatment early protects the child's growth and brain development. Treatment is daily replacement of the missing hormone at a dose the doctor adjusts with regular blood tests. A result should always be read with the doctor, in the light of the child's age and symptoms.
How long does it take to get rid of H. pylori in a child, and how do we know it has gone?
H. pylori does not usually go away on its own. It is cleared with a treatment plan set by the doctor that combines more than one medicine, including antibiotics and a medicine that reduces stomach acid, taken in full for the period the doctor sets and never stopped early. Feeling better does not mean the germ has gone, so a stool test or breath test is repeated at least four weeks after the treatment ends, at a time the doctor sets, to confirm it; any acid-reducing medicine is stopped about two weeks before the test, as the doctor advises, because it can hide the germ. It also helps to know that recurrent tummy ache in a child is not necessarily caused by H. pylori: many children carry it without symptoms, and much recurrent tummy pain has nothing to do with it, so the doctor decides after examining your child whether testing and treatment are needed. Repeated vomiting, pain that wakes the child at night, weight loss, or anaemia that does not improve with iron call for a doctor without delay, and vomiting blood or black stools need an ambulance straight away.
What are the symptoms of thalassaemia in children, and how is it told apart from iron-deficiency anaemia?
Thalassaemia (Mediterranean anaemia) is an inherited disorder of haemoglobin. When a child inherits the trait from both parents, the severe form usually shows in the first or second year of life: marked paleness, poor feeding, slow weight gain, irritability, a swollen tummy from an enlarged spleen and liver, and sometimes a yellowish tinge. A child who inherits it from one parent only is a carrier, usually without symptoms, with a mild anaemia and small red blood cells that look like iron deficiency on a blood count but do not improve with iron. That is why the two are told apart with iron studies and a test that separates the types of haemoglobin, before iron is given for long periods. The severe form needs regular blood transfusions, medicines that remove excess iron from the body and specialist follow-up, while a carrier usually needs no treatment. When both parents are carriers, each child has a one-in-four chance of the severe form, so brothers and sisters, and couples planning to marry, are advised to be tested when there is a family history.
What causes mouth ulcers in children, and what should I do if my child will not eat or drink?
The most common causes are viral infections, such as hand, foot and mouth disease, which brings small mouth ulcers with spots on the hands and feet and a fever, and a first infection with the herpes virus, which causes a fever, swollen gums and many ulcers. Other causes include recurrent aphthous ulcers (simple mouth ulcers that keep coming back) and small injuries from biting, a toothbrush or hot food; white patches in a baby's mouth may be oral thrush, a fungal infection. Most viral ulcers heal within seven to ten days, and the main risk meanwhile is dehydration, because the pain makes children refuse to drink. Offer cold drinks in small, frequent amounts and soft, cool food, avoid sour, salty and spicy food, and give a painkiller suitable for your child's age and weight; the doctor decides whether a soothing gel, an antiviral or an antifungal is needed. See a doctor the same day if your child is passing less urine or refusing drinks, has a high fever, or has ulcers that last more than two weeks or keep coming back, as recurrent ulcers can sometimes be linked to a shortage of iron or certain vitamins. Marked drowsiness, or no urine for many hours, needs the nearest emergency department straight away.