Welcome to the About.com Health Channel blog carnival! The topic
for this month is: How does chronic illness affect children and
teens differently than it does adults?How Illnesses Affect
Children There are many chronic illnesses that affect children,
and children with chronic disease are not a small group. In
fact, the incidence of certain illnesses in children is rising.
Children with chronic illnesses are often underserved by a
health care system that doesn't know what to do with them.
Medications are not always tested on children, often because of
ethical concerns, but that leaves parents and children in a void
of information when it comes to choosing the right drugs.
Illnesses may affect children differently than they do adults,
but this is not always taken into account. Kids are still
growing, which means that illnesses can affect their brains,
bones, and even their final height as adults. Children have
challenges when it comes to discussing or even being aware of
their symptoms, or of how medications a