Dr. Joseph Phillip Peter MD

What is encephalitis?Encephalitis means inflammation of the brain. Fever, headache, and joint pain are often experienced in the early stages of encephalitis. Other severe symptoms may develop over some days or hours. They include personality changes, seizures, disorientation, confusion, or...

Puberty typically occurs between the ages of 7-14 years for girls and 12-17 years for boys and is never a smooth sail for any child. While it may not be easy to begin discussing body changes, it is vital to find a way of doing it as early as possible. It's difficult to know for sure if sex...

Appendicitis is a condition that causes the inflammation of the appendix. The appendix is a tube around 3½ inch long and extends from the large intestine. It is said that the appendix has a role in gut immunity, but nothing as yet is definite with regard to its function. An individual can live...

It has been known for a while now, but not fully understood why, that the age of parents can have an effect on the child's chance of being on the autism spectrum. The full reasons why are not known, but there are some ideas. To examine the potential reasons, recently a study looked at behavioral...

Male circumcision has been a highly debated topic with arguments both for and against it. Various religious and traditional practices across the globe favor circumcision. However, there are also large sections of the population in other parts of the world where circumcision is not recommended by...

Babies born at 40 weeks have a lower risk of developing cerebral palsy, when compared to babies born at 37 or 38 weeks, or at 42 weeks and later, according to a new study published in, The Journal of the American Medical Association. But the absolute risk of developing this condition in babies is...