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Monday, October 31, 2011

What Is Pneumonia

What Is Pneumonia

Typically, children may suffer from either bronchopneumonia, with its characteristic symptoms of a cough, cold , high temperature and fever, or pneumonia, with similar symptoms but some pain in the lungs.

Pneumonia suggests to parents a much more serious disease at all, but a term of which have the common factor of inflammation in the lungs. The severity of the condition varies depending on the age of the child, and the cause and extent of the inflammation. It can range from a harmless chance finding on an X-ray to a complication in children severely ill with almost any dangerous disease.

Pneumonia Causes

Pneumonia has many causes. Most commonly it is the result of a bacterial infection, but it may also be caused by a virus or a tiny organism belonging to the Mycoplasma family, or certain fungi (moulds). Even the inhalation of foreign materials, such as vomit, paraffin, furniture polish, white spirit- and in the case of a young child, a peanut - can inflame the lungs. Infection higher up the respiratory tree (breathing system), such as colds, croup, bronchitis and hooping cough, can all, with varying degrees or rarity, develop into pneumonia. Pneumonia, too, can be a complication of more general infection such as measles and chickenpox. The site infection is determined by the type of  pneumonia. For example, in  bronchopneumonia areas of infection will be scattered throughout the lungs, or lungs; whereas lobar pneumonia, as the name suggest, affect just the three lobes into which the lungs is divided. In all types of pneumonia there is damage to the air sacs in the lungs. Under normal condition these sacs are like tiny balloons full of air, In pneumonia, however, the sacs are full of  bacterial or viruses, body defense cells, fluid, dead and dying tissue and hair like strands of protein called fibrin. This makes the air sacs useless for their job of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air breathed in and the bloodstream.

*** Pneumonia Symptoms And Complication
*** Pneumonia Treatment And recovery

Pneumonia Symptoms And Complication

Pneumonia Symptoms

How ill the patient with pneumonia is depends largely on how much of the lungs is affected. In some case of pneumonia, the infection is so slight that there may be no symptoms at all. In fact, if chest X-ray were done on every child with a cough or cold, a surprising high number would show a minor degree of pneumonia. School age children may suffer typical lobar pneumonia. A day or two of a cold leads on to increase cough - initially dry but later producing phlegm which is frequently green or blood-stained. The during the day so that a temperature chart can look like an outline of a mountain range. At its height the child may shake all over (rigor).

The child's face become flushed, and his breathing rapid and shallow. With each breath there is pain over the side of the affected lungs, making him groan or cry out. Abdominal pain may be present rather than chest pain so that occasionally lobar pneumonia is initially mistaken for appendicitis. The neck may be stiff causing confusion with meningitis. Without treatment, the illness continues for several days antibiotics bring about recovery, although the child cough up phlegm for several days after feels better. Younger children and babies rarely have such a clear-cut illness, suffering instead from bronchopneumonia. The infant may appear to have a cough or a cold, or may just have a high temperature and fever, or have rapid, shallow breathing. In some cases there may be combination of all these symptoms, pneumonia can sometimes be difficult to diagnose without a chest X-ray. 

Pneumonia Complication

Virtually all children with pneumonia recover completely. Complication are rare, but when they do occur they can be very serious: the bags (pleura); which surround the lungs may begin to fill the space between the lungs and pleura  (empyema);  and infection in certain bacterial pneumonia may spread into the blood stream (septicaemia). There is a sight danger with pneumonia that sputum or phlegm may block an air tube causing part of the lung to collapse since no air can reach it. In small babies, pneumonia may be very difficult to diagnose and signs of the disease are sometimes found in babies who unexpectedly (cot-death) with no previous evidence of any lung problem having been visible.

Pneumonia Treatment

Pneumonia Treatment

The treatment of  pneumonia varies according to the case. In mild case, generally caused by a virus, no treatment at all may be necessary. However, where the child's breathing is laboured and if his tongue looks bluer than normal, then oxygen will be needed. If  part of the lungs has collapsed or if it sounds as thought the child has a great ideal of phlegm in his lungs, physiotherapy may be needed. 

Lobar pneumonia can be cured within two days with penicillin given by injection. The less clear-cut pneumonia's of infants and babies may or may not respond to against bacteria but not viruses.
Many cases of pneumonia can be treated at home, especially it breathing is not inadequate. Whether or not a child is sent to hospital, however, depends on his age, the severity of the illness, the anxiety of the doctor, the reaction of the parents and the adequacy of their home for housing a sick child-particularly in terms of warmth, damp and overcrowding.


Pneumonia Recovery

Complete recovery is the rule. And if the course of the illness is uncomplicated there is usually no need for convalescence. Most children return to school in a fortnight. With the exception of the newborn, for whom pneumonia in the first week or two of life is a dangerous even requiring intensive care and possibly mechanical ventilation, an attack of pneumonia neither weakens the child of pneumonia neither weakens the child, nor, as a general rule, the lungs.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

What is colic ?

Already a mother of twins, Delphine imagined that the arrival of her third child would happen in serenity. But Jean has colic just changed the game !

Bebevallee: At what age your son he started to suffer from colic ?


Delphine: About three or four weeks. He began to cry during the day.He was squirming all over the place, and that's a sign that I recognized that he had colic. It really seemed to suffer from stomach.

What did you do for relief ?

Actually, I tried everything! I started by giving an herbal remedy sold in pharmacies. I also administered because it Gaviscon regurgitation. I made him take Doliprane to relieve pain. I rub her belly. I even went to an osteopath who has done a few sessions of manipulation.

What were the most effective remedies ?


It's hard to say because I just did everything together, I just could not let him suffer like this because it was obvious he was suffering. What I noticed is that he calmed down when I took against me, her belly against my skin. So, I wore constantly baby carrier, which allowed me to have a free hand to look after my twins were just two years. It was not very pleasant for adults, not very convenient for me, but at least it allowed John to calm down! Against me, he recovered his composure .... I had also known as "graft" !


When colic were they arrested ?


When John was 3 months and a half or so. It was quite miraculous in the space of a week or two, colic is gone and he stopped to suffer.Jean became a baby calm and quiet, it has remained ever since! He's always a calm and serene, what would never have suspected, seeing between 1 and 3 months !

How have you lived through that period of colic ?

I was not worried about his health, which was already an important point. However, these two / three months have been very physically demanding. I was really exhausted. I had imagined that the arrival of the third would be so easy after twins, I really fell in height! I was distraught to see my son suffer, when I had not encountered such difficulties with my first two.

What would you say to mothers whose babies suffer from colic ?

Simply, is that this is a purely mechanical and that one should draw any conclusions about the character of the child and its future development! The repeated cry of my son during those two months did not prevent him from becoming a father when his intestines still gave him the break! I also remember that some people around me were shocked that I keep Jean pressed against me for days. "It is capricious," I was told. What I noticed is that it has become very independent when he was old enough to explore the world, and that these two months of my proximity to him in any way have given the wrong habits! Colic is a bad time to pass, that does not last. You just bite the bullet and wait it out without panic.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Daily Care

How To Care Your Baby ?

Food

If you are breastfeeding, be sure to feed your child, if requested. Thus, while claiming the breast, after one hour, you will answer his call.
If you bottle-feed, space the taken at least 2:30. Do well to burp after every meal, upright, gently pat baby's back. Do not change brands of milk, without consulting your doctor.

The exchange

It is often advised to change her baby to avoid irritation. The first few months, you will change diapers, about 8 times per day. Do not use too much cream chemical cleaning. In most cases, a glove moist and a little soap will do. Otherwise, doctors recommend the use of liniment, bought in pharmacies, or done by your own care.The most common ailments of babies

Red buttocks

Red buttocks, or diaper rash is very common. Prevention, it is often advisable to change her child, and do not use harsh products.
However, if your baby is suffering from irritation, apply Bepanthen ointment type, sold in drugstores.

Fever

On the medical side, a baby has a fever if their body temperature exceeds 38.5 °. In this case, you may, at first, give a dose of  Doliprane, an eyedropper, or by suppository. If the fever persists, call your doctor.

Cold

Your baby has a stuffy nose, he has trouble breathing, coughing and perhaps he? It is likely that he caught a nasty cold. Unfortunately, there is not much to do. You will need the nose several times during the day, especially before each meal. For this, use a fly-baby, or the traditional method, by ejecting a half pipette saline in each nostril.

Colds can be transformed in bronchiolitis. If your child has lost his appetite, does not play much, wheezing, and phlegm, see your doctor. He will probably need chest physiotherapy sessions.The doctor
It is essential to keep your baby, your doctor or a pediatrician.
The first six months, it is recommended that a medical visit, a month and then less often.

The weight and size of the child will be checked. In addition, mandatory vaccinations will be administered to him.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

How To Feed Your Baby

Find out how to feed your baby ?

Baby is there and you wonder how to feed your child. Indeed, the infant nutritional needs differ from those of an adult. We must therefore adapt feeding your baby to their specific needs to ensure balanced growth. 

Sometimes your baby meets little annoyances, it should always be treated with caution. Often they are easy to solve, however, if the problem were to persist, consult your doctor.

Baby sleeps a lot, should we wake him up to feed him ? 

As the weight curve is satisfactory, there is no need to worry, let it sleep so long as he wants. How do I know if my child is getting enough milk? How to ensure that baby has drunk enough for a meal? To see if your child receives the quantities of milk it needs, just observe it. If he gains weight and do not cry after feeding, it is getting enough milk. Weighing a week or a month is enough to reassure you. 

What if my baby is bloated, a colic, a stomach ache ? 

The term "colic" means abdominal pain caused by gas in the intestine. They are frequent (more than half of babies suffer from colic) and often benign. They disappear naturally to 3-4 months. The cause is not well defined but are related to the digestive immaturity of a baby, or an excessive intake of air during feeding. To relieve baby, be sure to let stand the bottle after preparation to remove air bubbles. Check the throughput of the nipple, give the bottle slowly and make sure to make many baby burping to remove swallowed air. You can rock it, positioning it flat on one hand. You can rub her belly. This is often soothing but feel free to talk to your doctor who will check if colic do not reflect a digestive disease. 

My baby has hiccups, how to help him calm down ? 

Having the hiccups for a baby has nothing to worry about. If it lasts, you can put your baby to nurse and cuddle until the hiccups stop. 

My baby spits up, what to do ?

Regurgitation often accompany the rot. It is a natural way to get rid of the overflow of milk for the baby who drank too fast or too much. When baby effortlessly returns some fresh milk, and if growth is normal and his hunger sated, there is no cause for concern: the regurgitation disappeared late in the first year.However, if regurgitation is abnormal is to say, heavy or frequent or occurring at any time of day or night or as soon as baby changes position, the cause must be sought and you should consult your doctor . inconvenience.
 
My baby threw up all his food, what should I do ? 

Unlike regurgitation, a baby vomits, through the mouth expelling large amounts even his entire meal is unusual. We must see a doctor because these symptoms are often caused by disease. 

What if my baby has diarrhea ?

Your child has diarrhea if his stools are more frequent (3-8 times a day) and more liquid. Diarrhea can be caused by a virus, bacteria and may also coincide with teething or other type of ear infections … Whatever the cause, we must compensate for water loss at the first sign to avoid dehydration. Give water or water associated with rehydration solution is the first step of an emergency. We must see a doctor as soon as possible and as soon as baby is young. If baby is listless, drowsy, his skin is wrinkled, his mouth is dry is that it is dehydrated and needs to be rushed to the hospital. My baby is constipated ...Constipation is a slow transit:-For babies under 6 months: less than one bowel movement per day-For babies over 6 months: less than 3 stools per week correlated with the more or less dry stools. It is possible that fluid intake is insufficient. It should of course seek the advice of your doctor for any case of constipation. The first step is to provide drinking water to your baby. Also, your doctor may recommend that you give water rich in magnesium. It is important not to over tighten baby in layers and leave a cycling time without layers and massaging her abdomen.

Monday, August 8, 2011

How To Care For A Baby

Dress your baby with raw cotton 

Dress a baby in cotton clothing is really the ideal. We forget synthetic materials, they trap heat and are very comfortable for baby. If your toddler is too hot, the contact of this material could bite, scratch it. Choose lightweight fabrics and avoid the rays of sun are in direct contact with the delicate skin of your child. Choose a sunscreen with advice from your pharmacist. Choose a strong protection against UV rays to prevent sunburn. If you make him wear a hat, choose an edge wide enough and its size. Models with elastic straps should be avoided, they can compress the upper neck, chin baby.
Stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day (between 11 and 16 hours)The best protection when extremely hot, is to stay inside the house. If you must leave, take all necessary precautions to protect your little one. Prefer morning walks or evening. Be sure to remove unnecessary padding of the stroller or pram, they trap heat and prevents air circulation.
 
It reduces everything, even down! 

When possible, choose a different layer, lighter. Sweat band at the home may cause redness or rash around the waist. Instead, choose models of special layers for the beach or pool. Threaded like a pant, they are cooler and avoid a rash of rash or heat rash.
 
Make him drink more! 
Give him more often in the form of beverage feedings of water or fruit juice.
 
If your baby has not yet six months, only that you feed in, you do not need to give additional water. Studies in warm climates have shown that infants who had access at will within does not dehydrated. Breast milk contains mostly water, during periods of heat babies tend to go more often and in less time. With this practice, they can make the most of colostrum milk. Let your child take as many feedings he wants, he will have enough water. The bottle-fed babies may, in turn, have a supply of extra water when it is hot.
 
Avoid, if possible, to buy ice creams and sorbets from vendors 

Avoid food that you do not know the source (especially street vendors on the beaches). Always carry a small supply of water when you go out with your child. Invest in sealed plastic boxes to carry the baby food. Always be vigilant in case of rupture of the cold chain or in case of doubt about the quality of a product. Do not enjoy baby!
 
Creams, oils specifically designed for baby care 

During the summer, opt for moisturizers or massage oils specifically designed for baby's skin. Her skin is very fragile, take it in the utmost care. Ask your pharmacist or dermatologist, he will guide you to find the right product for his delicate skin.
 
Talc is not a barrier to heat and sweat baby 

If you are a fan of talc, be sure to wipe the skin before each scattering. Too many people are convinced that after the bath, the powder will have a cooling effect on the toddler. It is a misconception, talc, wet to the skin, can have a plaster and cause irritation. Limit its use to sensitive areas such as the area of ​​the layer. Do not overdo it and penetrate well done.
 
Solutions anti red buttocks 

When baby has red buttocks, it is always handy to have on hand in his toilet bag a cream of zinc oxide. Its action on the redness is fast and effective relief. We find these creams in pharmacies, please ask your pharmacist for advice.
 
Let your baby "experiment" water games 

Summer is the best time to let your baby play with water. You can put it in a small inflatable pool with a shallow water and her favorite toys. Let him splash the "patouille" they love it! He will love to spray all that surrounds it. Warning! Never leave your child alone unattended even seconds. In France, drowning is the leading cause of death by accident in children under 5. Always stay with him!
 
Attention to the air just after a bath 

After bathing baby, beware conditioned spaces. Turn on the air once it is dressed, her hair dried. If you stay with your child in an air conditioned room all day, it would be wise to dress in clothes made of cotton a little thicker. Newborns quickly catch cold when they are not sufficiently covered.
 
Do not let the blasts of cold air falling directly on your baby 

We always appreciate the freshness brought by the air conditioning in the house. It should however be careful that the cold air flow can not directly where baby sleeps or plays. Do not go from an air conditioned room to a room without turning off more moderate cooling in the first room before to let your baby get used to, gently, to temperature changes.

Avoid fancy sunglasses baby 

It's always fun to wear glasses fancy small. Before you buy a model, consult an ophthalmologist or optician. If you want to make him wear sunglasses, make sure they are with European standards. Avoid plastic glasses especially those sold by street vendors or in toy stores. They do not protect against UV rays and can damage your child's eyes when high exposures.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Bronchitis-Causes, Symptoms And Bronchiolitis

What Is Bronchitis ?

Bronchitis is the name given to inflammation of the bronchitis the large air tubes to the lungs: in response to infection, the lining of the tubes becomes swollen, fluid-filled and engorged with blood. There are two distinct types of bronchitis: acute bronchitis, which is an infection; and wheezy bronchitis, which may be partly, or totally, caused by an allergy. Treatment of the two condition is quite different, so diagnosis is very important.

Causes

Any germ breathed in and carried down towards the lungs may settle in the bronchitis and cause infection. These air tubes may respond to this infection by becoming swollen, thus narrowing the diameter of the airway. Dead and dying infected tissue lining the bronchi will then be shed as sputum, more commonly knows as phlegm. The situation, however, is sometimes more complicated: the child may have inherited, possibly unknown to all, a tendency to asthma. And, if this becomes obvious only when the child has a cough or cold, his or her condition-may be temped by some doctors as wheezy bronchitis. Children do not suffer from the disease which in this, there is permanent bronchitis; in this, there is permanent bronchial damage due mainly to cigarette smoking. Nevertheless, bronchitis is commoner in children whose parent smoke. It is also more common in boys than in girls, in children who are overweight, or who live in crowded urban areas and in poor housing condition. A child may also be more prone to bronchitis if a member of his or her family suffer from asthma, eczema or hay fever.

Symptoms

Often, the first sings of bronchitis are those of a cold. But after a few days, the child develops a moderately raised temperature of 37.2° C to 37.8° C (99° F to 100° F), coughs, sounds chesty and may wheeze. In severe cases, the child may have difficulty breathing, and complain of tightness across the chest. Sucking in of the chest on breathing in, is a prolonged compared with breathing in, is a sign that the airway is obstructed. There may also be more obvious signs, such as coughing up a grayish white, yellow or green phlegm; however this is unlikely in a child under seven years old as younger children tend to swallow sputum. Fortunately, acute bronchitis is rarely severe and usually lasts about ten days, although there may be residual cough for some time. Wheezy bronchitis may last longer, occur repeatedly and eventually merge into typical asthma. If there is no wheeze, but after a week the cough gets much worse, then the child may have whooping cough.

Bronchiolitis

Between the ages of three and eighteen months, babies are prone to a related condition called bronchitis. The bronchioles are a smaller set of air tubes. This condition occur in epidemics every winter and is invariably caused by a virus (RSV). Symptoms are similar to bronchitis but the cough features less than the breathlessness and general difficulty in breathing; fine wheezes may be heard when the baby breathes out. Bronchiolitis is often very severe, with the baby becoming blue exhausted and unable to feed. Sometimes there is associated pneumonia and the heart is put under great strain. But with careful nursing in hospital, using oxygen, intravenous or stimulants, virtually all babies makes a complete recovery. READ MORE 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Bronchitis-Complication, Treatment And Recovery

Complication

Apart from bronchitis, neither acute nor wheezy bronchitis is usually dangerous. Acute bronchitis may, however, be parents at the same time as acute larun-gotracheitis (inflammation of the voice box and windpipe) or may progress and develop into pneumonia.

Treatment

Sometimes an antihistamine or mild sedative is prescribed to be used particularly at night. Antibiotics are widely used, but often ineffective as acute bronchitis is often a viral infection or allergy. If wheezy is the main symptoms then the doctor may suspect that asthma is playing a part in the illness. If so, he may prescribe one of the many extremely effective drugs used to relax the muscles surrounding the bronchi and bronchi-oles, thus widening them and making breathing easier. The bronchi most widely used of these drugs are salbutamol and theophylline, given in the from of tablets, capsules or medicine. In other children, drug such as salbutamol are frequently given via a pocket aerosol spray. Children under the age of four find these sprays difficult to manage, so some family doctors and most hospitals use electrically driven nebulizers. In severe cases of wheezy bronchitis, steroid hormones may be usually prescribed in tabled from, but if the child is in hospital the first 48 hours of treatment, may be given intravenously. If there is evidence of a collapsed area of lungs, or of pneumonia, physiotherapy may be advised. This involves positioning the child so that main air tube from each area of lungs slopes downwards in turn. The chest is then vibrate and tapped to loosen phlegm and held clear it from the lungs.

Recovery

Acute bronchitis is not likely to be a repeated problem unless parents smoke a good deal in the house. Wheezy bronchitis may well be recurrent, and many of these children will eventually turn out to have asthma. Making the correct diagnosis is very important as in this condition anti-asthmatic drugs are extremely effective, whereas antibiotics and cough medicines are not. Asthma should be considered especially if either parent, grandparents, brothers or sisters have asthma, eczema or hay fever. Some doctors prefer not to use the world asthma: they fear it will distress parents because it implies a long-term problem. In fact, parents should not dread this diagnosis as the method of treatment currently available are remarkably effective.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Cough-Causes

What Is Cough ?

Cough are the very common problem in childhood and are usually a symptom of infections such as a cold, measles or whooping cough. The cough itself is a reflex action, designed to prevent anything other than air from entering the lungs. A cough clears the upper part of the breathing tube of phlegm, mucus or any inhaled foreign body. It is worth remembering that, if a child suddenly starts to cough with no other obvious signs of infection, a breathed-in foreign body, such a piece of food, may be the cause. But normally, cough clear up on their own and should not be dosed with strong medicines, unless prescribed by a doctor.

Causes

Most childhood cough starts as part of an obvious respiratory infection the commonest being a cold. A cold can be caught at any age from birth onwards and coughing is nearly always one of the symptoms. The infection of the cold can spread through the tubes which make up the lower respiratory tract. In the larynx, or voice-box, this can cause laryngitis. Infection of the trachea, or windpipe, will cause tracheitis, and infection in the lungs will cause bronchitis or pneumonia. Small children who are prone to bronchitis whenever they get a cold, may also develop wheezing. This can be diagnosed as wheezy bronchitis or, sometimes, as asthma. A cough may last for several weeks after a cold. In this case usually a noisy bark without any rattling noise and no sputum will be present. It will be worse at night when the child is lying down. This happen because, after a cold, the nose and sometimes which, during the day, can be cleared by blowing the nose, sniffing or swallowing (where the stomach can neutralized it harmlessly). At night time, however the discharge trickles down the back of the throat, irritates the entrance to the lungs, and sets off a reflex cough. The reflex prevents the discharge from entering the lungs and so prevents more serious problem arising. Sometimes, other factors, such as enlarged adenoids, a chronic infection of the sinuses or an allergy, can cause a similarly persistent discharge down the throat and so result in a long-lasting cough which is worse at night than in the day. Another cause is whooping cough which has once again become widespread as fewer children are being immunized against it. When it starts, the infection is often very like an ordinary cold but, gradually, the cough gets worse especially at night. Bouts of coughing, during which the child’s face goes red, followed by being sick or a characteristic whooping, make the diagnosis more obvious. Measles is another common cause of coughing. When a child first gets measles, he will suffer from a runny nose and a cough, and the eyes become pink. Small white spots inside the mouth appear followed by a rash on the body. A cough which starts suddenly, without any other signs of infection may be caused by a foreign body which has been breathed in and become lodged in one of the tubes leading to the lungs. Young children often put small toys in their mouths and can quite easily swallow sometimes or breathe it in through the nostrils. A child of any age can breathe in a small piece of food or a titbit such as a peanut. If such an accident happens, it is important to see a doctor any foreign body that remains in the lungs can cause serious infection. Another cough that has no signs of infection is the habit tic. A child who, for example, may have some emotional problem can develop a persistent, nervous cough. Whether or not the child has a habit tic will become apparent if the child stops coughing whenever happily occupied or asleep.READ MORE

Cough-Symptoms,Complication & Treatment

Symptoms

Noisy, dry, barking cough are common and not usually serious. They often stat during a cold and are more persistent at night when children lie down. Sometimes, often start during a cold and are at night, a spell of dry coughing may be the  start of an attack of asthma. Later, the child may get wheezy, although in many children coughing rather than wheezing is the symptom of asthma. A less noisy, rattling cough which leads to sputum being coughed up or swallowed, occur with bronchitis or pneumonia if part of the lung has collapsed. Such a cough also occurs when a foreign body gets into the lung and is also a symptom of cystic fibrosis.

Complications

Where the coughing is caused by an inhaled foreign body, this can lead to severe bouts of coughing and, if the problem is acute, the child may go blue and start choking. Even if this does not happen, however, the incident may be followed by a high temperature a few days later. If this happen it means that part of the lung has become infected. A young baby who catches whooping cough can become very ill indeed. Nearly all deaths from whooping cough occur during the first year of life. The baby may develop lung complication, inhale vomit after a bout of coughing or suffer from insufficient food if frequent bouts of coughing are followed by vomiting. Any child who develops a croupy cough should get medical treatment at once.

Treatment

As far as possible, the cause of the cough should be treated, not the cough itself. Antibiotics are used for treating infections such as sinusitis, bronchitis, tonsillitis and pneumonia. Nose drops, decongestants and antihistamines can be used to treat allergies that cause runny noses. Special drugs are necessary for asthma. A foreign body in the lungs needs urgent medical attention and a habit cough needs understanding of the child’s problem, not medicine to stop the cough. The majority of cough will clear up as soon as the cause disappears or is successfully treated. Coughs caused by colds are quite normal and will keep on happening all through childhood.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Diphtheria

What Is Diphtheria ?

Diphtheria is now uncommon that is has unfortunately become all too easy to forget that the germ is still around. But small outbreaks of diphtheria do still occur and children who have been immunization are at risk. Diphtheria is caused by a virulent germ called the Corynebacterium diphtheria or Klebs-Loeffler bacillus. It can be spread in various was: by direct contact with an infected person; by using their clothing or towels’ by contact with a carrier of the disease’ or by drinking contaminated milk.

Symptoms

Children between the ages of two and five years old are usually affected. At first the illness resembles severe tonsillitis with a high temperature and swollen red throat. Small white spots appears on the tonsils, spreading and joining together to from a grayish-white membrane. This spreads up towards the nose and down towards the throat become enlarged. Breathing becomes difficult and eventually the airway can get completely blocked, causing suffocation. The toxin produced by the bacteria may spread throughout the body to affect the heart muscles – possibly causing heart failure – and the kidneys. Paralysis of the muscles of the palate, eyes, eyes, back, abdomen, arms or legs also occur.

Treatment

Early diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. Any delay makes the disease more likely to be fatal. Swabs from the nose and throat are taken and analyzed, and once the diagnosis has been made the child must be kept in bed and will usually be given antibiotics. In addition, the child must have diphtheria anti-toxin’ the sooner this is given, the greater the chance that the child will survive.

Recovery

Skilled nursing is essential as recovery and convalescence are slow. There is also the danger that the patient, already weakened by diphtheria, may contact other infections, such as severe broncho-pneumonia, which could be fatal. Although diphtheria is extremely serious, with prompt treatment the chance of survival are fairly good.

Prevention

Parents should be aware that the rarity of diphtheria is due to the widespread immunization of children and that all children must continue to be immunized in the first year of lfe to protect them and to ensure that the disease does not regain the foothold it once had.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Whooping Cough-Causes,Symptoms

 What Is Whooping Cough ?

Whooping cough or pertussis to give it its medical name, is an infectious illness that an be caught by children of any age. It is most common between the first and fifth year but after the age of nine it is rare. It is usually among childhood infections because of the length of time it lasts; it can take anything up to three or four months for a child to recover completely. During its course, children suffer numerous bouts of coughing that can be so severe that they are left gasping for breath. This gasping, combined with the narrowing of the air passage in the throat, causes the whoop as air inhaled-hence the name of the disease. Although largely preventable by immunization, public anxiety about the safety of the vaccine has led to fewer children receiving it in recent years and this has resulted in epidemics of the disease. 

Causes

The illness is produced by infection with a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. When a person with the disease coughs, large numbers of the bacterium are expelled in tiny airborne droplets. If these are breathed in by people who have neither been immunized nor had the disease before, they may become infected. This infectious stage occurs during the first two or three weeks of the illness and children in the same house or classroom are likely to catch it.

Symptoms

At first, during the seven to ten day incubation period, there is no way of knowing that a child has caught whooping cough because there are no symptoms. The disease itself begins in exactly the same way as a common cold but, after about a week, it becomes obvious that it is no ordinary cold. Although the temperature is only slightly raised, the cough steadily worsens and the child has difficulty in clearing the nose, throat and air tubes of thick, sticky mucus.After about 10 to 40 days, true coughing spasms being to occur. The child can cough up to 20 or 30 times rapid succession. Because the child is unable to take a breath between each cough, the face can become red, then blue, often with the eyes bulging and mouth drooling. For a few moments the child may seem to have stopped breathing but then will take an enormous gulp of air, sometimes making a whooping noise as the air rushes past the vocal cords into the lungs. At the end of the spasms vary severity and frequency from one child to another and may occur as little as four times daily or as much as 40. This coughing-spasms stage lasts from one to two weeks, and the slightest upset, movement, change of room temperature or drought may provoke a spasm. Smaller children, particularly, are easily frightened during these spasms, and babies rapidly become exhausted. Babies under a year are the most seriously affected - probably because during the bouts of coughing their vocal cords close completely, temporarily preventing air from getting into the lungs. As the illness declines, the coughing bouts become less severe and the whoop disappears. An unpleasant cough may continue for two or three months, however, during which time the child feels generally under the weather. A few lucky children, including those who develop the illness despite being immunized, may shake off the illness in a much shorter time. In a typical case diagnosis is simple. However, some children neither whoop nor have prolonged coughing spasms so the disease should be suspected when any child has a bad cough that continues for more than two weeks. There are other illness which have similar symptoms to cough, such as infections causing enlargement of glands adjacent to the bronchi (large air tubes leading into the lung), and mild case may be difficult to distinguish from bronchitis. Also, an infant who inhales something - such as food going down the wrong way a small toy, bead, or peanut may cough is spasms, but this will not have been preceded by a period of mild coughing, a cold and a temperature the typical whooping cough symptoms. Where there is doubt, a doctor can confirm the diagnosis by sending a sample of mucus, taken from the back of the nose, to a laboratory for testing. Alternatively, a blood test will give a good indication of the presence of whooping cough.Learn More

Whooping Cough-Complication And Immunization

Complication

The most severe, although rare, complication is a convulsion. This may occur when the baby or child goes blue at the end of a spasm. In general, these first are harmless but sometimes they are a sign of encephalitis (brain inflammation) which can be fatal or leave behind permanent brain damage. Hospital treatment is essential in this case. It is possible that pneumonia may occur when the whoop disappears. This can be detected if the child develops rapid, shallow breathing and a rise in temperature. In other patients, thick mucus may block one or more of the bronchi (air tubes) causing parts of the lung to lose their air and collapse. Most of these children recover with the use of antibiotics and physiotherapy but some may be left with permanent lung weakness. Other complications are related to the force of coughing: the eyes may become very bloodshot, a hernia (rupture) may appear as a swelling at the groin or or navel, or there may be rectal prolapse (the lining of the lower bowel is forced out through the back passage). Drugs have virtually no effect on the illness. An antibiotics is often advised during the first two weeks but this is to prevent the bacteria from spreading to other children rather than to cure the sick child. Numerous remedies have been tried, including cough mixture, antispasmodics and drops which are supposed to paralyze the nerves involved in coughing. There is no firm evidence that any are effective but your doctor may think one or two of them are worth trying. Children who are fearful and anxious may be calmed by small doses of a sedative. Many parents find the illness too alarming to cope with in small infants so hospital admission may have to arranged through the family doctor. In hospital, oxygen and an electrically-driven suction device that removes mucus during a spasm are the mainstays of treatment. Those few children who have convulsions or collapsed lung can be treated with physiotherapy. Quarantine of contacts is not always possible but babies should be kept away from brothers or sisters with the illness. Nearly all children recover completely without any complications, and lifelong immunity is achieved from a single attack. Patients are no longer infectious after three weeks and can then return to school as soon as they feel up to it.

Immunization

There is a vaccine for whooping cough which can be given in three doses, usually combined with diphtheria and tetanus, at six-weekly intervals from the age of three months. The vaccine is highly, but not totally, protective. However, those who develop whooping cough despite being immunized tend to have it very mildly, often without the distressing whoop. In recent years, controversy has arisen over the use of whooping cough vaccine. It has been linked with brain damage and even death in your children. At present, there is no way of proving conclusively that the vaccine is responsible for these effects since idetical conditions can occur without the child ever having been vaccinated. Studies and medical statistics have shown that the risk of brain damage and death from complications of whooping cough is much greater than the apparent risks of vaccination. Children who are known to have a pre-existing brain disease, who have had fits or who have a parent, brother or sister who has epilepsy, not due to head injury, should not be immunized. So far as other children are concerned, parents must make a decision based on their feelings and the advice they receive from the family doctor.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Childhood Illness

What Is Childhood Illness ?

Childhood illness can range from relatively mild complaints to more serious diseases. The following guide describes how they affect a child and how to provide adequate protection and treatment. Of the diseases covered, diphtheria is by far the most serious. The fact that isolated cases have been reported recently means that parent must be sure their children have been immunized. Whooping cough, too, can be serious and again, immunization should be carefully considered. Being informed is the first step towards protecting your child from illness. For some illness, prevention through immunization is one way of ensuring that a child will not suffer from them. For other, learning to recognize the illness when the first signs appear may help to prevent serious complications arising. A child who is ill needs care and attention and, at the same time, parents need to know that they are doing the right thing. Knowing when to take a child to hospital is vital, but for some of the milder illness home treatment, backed up by medical advice, will be adequate. Parents should also remember that an infected child may have to be isolated briefly from other children.      

Scarlet Fever: Causes And Symptoms

Scarlet fever is steel considered by many to be a severe illness, which necessitates isolation of the children in a fever hospital and carries the risk of unpleasant complications. But, fortunately, with modern medical treatment there are no longer great viewed as being more akin to  a nasty attack of tonsillitis. In fact the only difference between some sorts of acute tonsillitis and scarlet fever is the latter’s skin rash.

Both scarlet fever and certain types of tonsillitis are cause by the same bacterium streptococcus. However, the particular strain of this germ which causes scarlet fever also produces a toxin which in turn acts on the child’s blood and causes a red rash. One attack of  scarlet fever gives the child permanent immunity against another attack, but this does not offer any protection against the many other strains of streptococci which cause tonsillitis.

At one time any child who caught scarlet fever was extremely ill. Nowadays however, the strain of bacteria that causes scarlet fever has discovery of an effective treatment in the from of antibiotics has meant that symptoms are fairly short lived. The child first become ill about two to five after he has been in contact with the germ. There is a sudden start to the illness and the initial signs are usually of a high fever up to 40°C (140°dF) and a loss of appetite, often accompanied by vomiting. The younger child seldom seems to notice that his throat is sore, but frequently complains of a bad stomachache. This also happens in acute tonsillitis and is probably due to the lymph glands in the abdomen becoming enlarged in an attempt to fight off invading bacteria. The older child may complain of a sore throat and also notice enlarged and tender lymph glands in the neck. The rash usually starts between 48 and 72 hours after the child has become ill. The rash consists of very small red spots which appear on a flushed pink skin. They usually first appear around the neck, in the armpits and in the groin. They then spread to the chest and the rest of the body. The patient’s face is usually flushed, except for a characteristic paleness around the mouth medically known as circumpolar pallor. The flushed of the skin disappears for a  few seconds if the skin is pressed with a finger. If scarlet is not treated promptly, the skin starts to peel after about one week, coming off in tiny flakes from around the small bright red areas of the rash. The peeling is most marked over the finger’s and toes, but may affect other parts of the body including the chest, abdomen, arms and legs. Usually the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are the last areas to peel. At the start of the illness, the throat, including the tonsils, is bright red and there are usually white spots on the tonsils. The tongue is covered in white fur with little red protuberances or papillae white strawberry  tongue. The white fur on the tongue disappears, leaving red papillae on a red tongue  strawberry  tongue. The symptoms of scarlet fever may often resemble other conditions. For instance, the appearance of the throat and tongue can also occur in acute tonsillitis. And, initially scarlet fever symptoms can be confused with measles and German measles or glandular fever. A definite diagnosis can be made, however, when a throat swab is taken and infecting germ tested.


Complications And Treatment

In the past, scarlet fever had serious complications, but fortunately these are now very rare. Before antibiotics were used the germ could cause serious septicemia and other parts of the body besides the throat could become infected with the streptococcus. Infection of the bone caused osteomyelitis. The glands in the neck could also become so seriously infected that they might cause abscesses which could burst. Later complications, starting two or three weeks after the onset of untreated scarlet fever could include infection of the kidneys (acute nephritis), which might cause permanent  renal damage. This complication would start with fever and ‘Smokey’ urine. A specimen of urine from a child with scarlet fever may still be examined two or three weeks after the illness to make sure that there is no blood or protein in it; the likelihood of this happening, however, is very small. Rheumatic fever, which can cause permanent damage to the heart, also used to develop about a fortnight after the start of untreated scarlet fever. The child’s larger joints, such as the knees, elbows, shoulders and hips, would become acutely inflamed and the pain characteristically flitted from one joint to another. Inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media), however, is still a common complication of scarlet as it is of course of acute tonsillitis.
Scarlet fever, however mild, is treated with an antibiotic: the effectiveness of this treatment means that after 24 hours the organism is no longer infectious. The perhaps take a throat swab and send it to the laboratory; but he will not wait for a report on the germs before prescribing an antibiotic for the child. Penicillin is normally the antibiotic chosen; but erythromycin may be used for a child’s urine will probably be examined two or three weeks after the start of the illness to make sire that the kidneys have not been affected. Scarlet fever today is rarely very serious and there is little risk of a child suffering further complications.

  1. Give prescribed drugs at the correct time, don’t miss doses and always finish the course if your child appears to have recovered.
  2. 2. At first, your child will not feel like eating. Don’t worry, simply ensure that he drinks plenty of fluids. A straw or an infant’s mug will make drinking easier and more fun.
  3. 3. Until the doctor says that your child can return to school, ensure that he rests quietly but there is no need for him to be in bed.
  4. 4. If your child’s urine looks ‘Smokey’ after he has apparently recovered, consult your doctor.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Children Health

Why My Child Always Sick ?

The average pre-school child suffer six respiratory infection (cough, colds, tonsillitis and ear infection) each year. If any large group of children is carefully examined, a small number will be found to have no illness, an equally small number will have them extremely often and the majority will lie somewhere in between. Although it would it seem to largely a matter of luck as to whether a child is prone to coughs and colds or not, there are one or two influencing factor. Age is an important factor : the worst ages is an between six months and two years, and seven. For the first six months children are protected from infection by antibodies from their mother’s blood and possibly breast milk. In addition they are not in close contact with lost of other children with whom germs might be exchanged. In the next 18 months they are likely to catch whatever is affecting other children with whom they mix. This is because they have not yet build up any immunity to the hundreds of micro-organisms that surround them. By the age of  two their resistance is improving as the body steadily memorizes all the germs which have attacked it and prepares defenses against them. The next run of infections tends to occur when the child enters a play group or nursery at the age of three by a further assault at school entry. The reason is simply that the child comes into close contact with larger numbers of children form whom infection can be caught. The child’s immunity gradually builds up and coughs and colds lessen. Other factors are known to put children at a disadvantage: boys suffer more infections than girls; those born prematurely have slightly more. And those children whose parents smoke unquestionably experience more chest troubles in their infancy than the children of non-smokers, possibly because tobacco smoke in the air damages the tiny hairs lining the breathing tubes which move dust and mucus out of the lungs. Breast-fed, possibly because of anti-infection material in human milk. Then there are environmental and social considerations. Town dwellers and the child of a professional couple will be likely to have far fewer coughs and colds than that of an unemployed or unskilled working class couple. The reasons for this relationship between social class and a child’s illnesses are many and may include the most important influence is probably overcrowding: the more children in contact with one another the greater the chances of infection. After all these factor are taken into account there remain some children who have more than their fair share of trouble. Some may have allergies which mimic infection: asthma can be mistaken simply for a persistent cough, allergic rhinitis for a continual cold. A few may have unexplained overgrowth of their tonsils and  adenoids contributing to ear and throat infections. And some older children may have developed chronic sinusitis an infection within hollow spaces between certain bones which acts as a reservoir for chest infection. A tiny number of children may even have an abnormality of the body’s complex immunity system. In many cases, however, it remains a mystery why some children are virtually infection-free while others rarely seem to be fit for very long.  

Environments Health For Children

What Is Environments Health ?

No one doubts that some environments are unhealthy and other the opposite. Traditionally, sanatoria for patients with serious lung diseases have been built at high altitude, will away from industrial pollution, and there seem to be some logic in this. What is more dubious is the persistent belief that one part of the country is better than another for people with a respiratory disorder, or that one seaside town is healthier than another. For example, a child specialist in Devon examined a number of asthmatics who had moved there from other parts of the country because they had been told that milder winter temperatures would help. When he himself moved to the south of England, he encountered several patients who had moved there from Devon. This was because they were convinced that the frequent rain I Devon contributed to their asthma! In reality the disease is equally common in both areas. Experiments have been carried out on adults in jobs that expose them to very different environments. These have shown, for example, that policemen on traffic duty suffer more from respiratory disorders than their deskbound colleagues. Bus conductors, exposed to cigarette smoke, have a slightly higher sickness rate than drivers. Keeping bedroom windows open in town cause more chronic bronchitis than if they are kept closed. There seems little doubt that atmospheric from motor-car exhausts, industry, domestic fires and cigarettes can all contribute to acute and chronic bronchitis and many lungs diseases in both children and adults. Much lassies know about the effects of recent changes in our lifestyles; for example, some parents are convinced that central heating, because it dries out the air, has a detrimental effect on children with croup or asthma. Whether this is true or not has yet to be established conclusively. In recent years there has been growing interest in ionizers, which alter the electrical charge on particles suspended in the air, make the air that we breathe fresher cleaner or easier to breathe thus benefiting asthmatics and people suffering from other respiratory disorders. these claims have yet to be proven scientifically. For all practical purpose, in terms of environment and health, children who live in the country have an advantage over their town- dwelling brethren. However, it does not necessarily follow moving a child with a respiratory illness to a new home in the country will make other factors play a part: his parents smoking, for example. it has been shown that even passive smoking inhaling the fumes from cigarettes other people are smoking has a detrimental effect on the lungs. Over the counter remedies for five main categories, each of which has a particular purpose.
Group A Drugs: deal mainly with pain relief. The active ingredients are aspirin and paracetamol. If all that is required is to relieve the headache, muscle pain or fever associated with a cold, then drugs of group  A are certainly effective. Include in this group are Beecham’s powders (aspirin with caffeine and vitamin C), Boots’ Cold Reliief (paracetamol and vitamin C) and Paynocil (aspirin). For relieving the symptoms of coughs and colds ingredients such as caffine and vitamin C have no proven beneficial effect.
Group B Drugs: used for relief of nasal stuffiness. The active ingredients are antihistamines and sympathomimetics. They will offer temporary relief from a blocked and runny nose, but a major problem with these drugs is the likelihood of side-effects. Antihistamines, for example, commonly cause drowsiness which may be acceptable or even and advantage if the patient is in bed, but  can be irritating at work or school, dangerous if  driving and potentially lethal if combined with alcohol. Antihistamines are present in Actifed, Benylin, Dimotane, Flavelix, Linctifed, Phenergan, Phensydel, Rinurel, Tixylix, Triominic and Night Nurse. The other major group of nasal decongestants sympathomimetics do not cause drowsiness. Included in this group are Lemsip, Oristan, Actified, Benylin Decongestant, Dimotapp, Eslcornade, Boots’ Cold Tablets with Vitami C. Medical opinion is that sympathommetics are of doubtful value. What is certain though is that they should not be taken by patients with high blood pressure (they can cause a dramatic rise), overactive thyroid gland, diabetes and those taking certain anti-depressants. Also, people taking certain anti-asthma drugs may experience unpleasant palpitations.