How do doctors diagnose and treat chest pain in children?
The doctor will first do a physical exam (pressing and feeling all around your child’s chest), then listen to her chest with a stethoscope. This way he can determine if the pain is coming from the chest wall (ribs, muscles, or skin) or from the organs inside the chest — like the lungs or heart. If the physical exam doesn’t lead to a diagnosis, the doctor may do a chest X-ray to see if your child has swallowed a foreign body or has pneumonia. In rare cases he may order an EKG, which measures the electrical impulses in your child’s heart. (Though heart problems in children are quite uncommon, your doctor may want to do this test just to rule out the possibility.) Once your doctor has diagnosed the cause of chest pain, he can recommend the appropriate treatment. If she has pneumonia caused by bacteria, for example, he’ll prescribe an antibiotic.
