Uncombable hair is a real genetic diagnosis
Uncombable hair syndrome, also called spun-glass hair, gives children dry, frizzy, often fair hair that won't lie flat however much it is brushed. Under a microscope the shafts are triangular or grooved instead of round. In 2016 researchers traced it to mutations in three genes needed to build the hair shaft: PADI3, TGM3 and TCHH. Most cases are autosomal recessive, and the hair usually improves with age.
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Basmanav FBÜ et al. Am J Hum Genet 2016;99:1292–1304Parents of a 6-month-old who has just started solids ask when to introduce peanut and egg. What does ASCIA advise?
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ASCIA Infant Feeding for Food Allergy Prevention (2026): Recommendations 1, 3, 4, 8–11@scrollmed_asciaPaediatrics
ASCIA Infant Feeding for Food Allergy Prevention (2026): Recommendation 7Can doxycycline be used for a 6-year-old under eTG's 2025 update?
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eTG Antibiotic (March 2025 update): Guideline-wide changesAn infant has episodic pallor, vomiting and unexplained lethargy. Which diagnosis must be considered?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: IntussusceptionWhich comparison most accurately estimates a child's degree of dehydration?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: DehydrationNewborns can produce milk too
Milk secretion from newborn breasts is sometimes called 'witch's milk'. One nursery and follow-up study documented it in both sexes, including otherwise normal infants still producing milk at two months.
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Madlon-Kay DJ. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1986. PubMed PMID: 3946357Which statement about hypotension in paediatric septic shock is correct?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Sepsis—assessment and managementA jaundiced infant has pale stools. What is the most appropriate response?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Jaundice in early infancyPolio's laboratory breakthrough
In 1949, Enders, Robbins and Weller grew poliovirus in human muscle and other tissue in the laboratory. That culture breakthrough helped pave the way towards a polio vaccine.
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Nobel Prize: John F. Enders—FactsA rhyme remembered before birth
In a fetal-learning study, mothers stopped reciting a familiar rhyme at 34 weeks. A heart-rate response to that rhyme was still evident at 38 weeks—even when a stranger's recording delivered it.
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Krueger C, Garvan C. Infant Behav Dev 2014;37:162–173A child with gastroenteritis needs rehydration but is not shocked. Which route is preferred when feasible?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Gastroenteritis@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Foreign body ingestion@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
Red Nose Australia: Safe Sleeping GuideWhich biochemical pattern can follow prolonged vomiting from infantile pyloric stenosis?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Pyloric stenosis@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Febrile childWhich distribution is typical of uncomplicated irritant nappy dermatitis?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Nappy rash@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Kawasaki disease@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: CroupBabies worked to hear mum's voice
In a classic experiment, newborns could change their sucking pattern to trigger either their mother's recorded voice or another woman's. They learnt to trigger their mother's voice more often.
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DeCasper AJ, Fifer WP. Science 1980. PubMed PMID: 7375928Feeding can also soften procedural pain
Breastfeeding has been studied as pain relief during newborn procedures, not just as nutrition. A Cochrane review examined randomised trials using physiological responses and validated pain scores.
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Shah PS et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012. PubMed PMID: 23235618Timely IV immunoglobulin treatment in Kawasaki disease primarily aims to reduce which complication?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Kawasaki diseaseWhich finding confirms a childhood UTI according to the RCH guideline?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Urinary tract infectionWhat should parents know about antipyretics after a febrile seizure?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Febrile seizureTiny treadmill, immediate steps
Six seven-month-old infants who rarely stepped spontaneously all began alternating steps when supported over a moving treadmill. The experiment challenged the idea that the early stepping mechanism simply disappears.
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Thelen E. Child Development 1986. PubMed PMID: 3802974@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Intussusception@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Child abuseThe newborn's first feeding sequence
Video recordings of term newborns placed skin-to-skin revealed an organised progression towards feeding: alertness, limb movements and rooting, crawling, licking the areola, then suckling and sleep.
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PubMed: Newborn behaviour to locate the breast when skin-to-skin@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Dehydration@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Nappy rashA button battery is lodged in a child's oesophagus. What is the recommended removal timeframe?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Foreign body ingestion@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Jaundice in early infancyWhich child with a sore throat should receive antibiotics regardless of other clinical features?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Sore throatCarrot juice changes milk's flavour
Researchers detected a sensory change in breast milk about 2–3 hours after mothers drank carrot juice. In the same research, recent exposure through milk was followed by lower intake of carrot-flavoured cereal—not greater intake.
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PubMed: Experience with a flavor in mother's milk modifies acceptance of flavored cereal@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Pyloric stenosis@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Head injuryApgar began as a one-minute scorecard
Virginia Apgar's original published score assessed babies one minute after birth. Her 1953 paper assigned points for breathing, pulse, colour, muscle tone and response to stimulation.
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Apgar V. Current Researches in Anesthesia and Analgesia 1953;32:260–267@scrollmed_auPaediatrics
Australian Immunisation Handbook: Upper age limits for oral rotavirus vaccinesEven newborn cries have melody
A study comparing French and German newborns found different cry melodies: the French group more often used rising contours, while the German group favoured falling ones. The authors linked this to the speech heard before birth.
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PubMed: Newborns' cry melody is shaped by their native languageA febrile child has a red tympanic membrane. What else is needed to diagnose acute otitis media?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Acute otitis mediaA child is being assessed for speech delay. Which investigation is particularly important?
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RCH Primary Care Liaison: Developmental problemsA breast scent can guide movement
In an experiment on a warming bed, more newborns moved towards and reached a pad carrying their mother's breast scent than a clean pad. The scent was presented without other maternal cues.
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Varendi H, Porter RH. Acta Paediatr 2001;90:372–375A well-looking infant aged 14 days has a fever. What is the appropriate approach?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Febrile childYou're all caught up
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Explore topicsScrollMed summaries, written in our own words from eTG, ASCIA, the Australian Asthma Handbook and other trusted Australian guidelines, plus "Did you know?" facts from journals and official bodies. Tap the source on any post to read the original. Always check the current guideline and local protocols before clinical use.