Children are highly at risk of developing a common cold. It has been said that 22 million school days are lost each year because of the common cold. This can easily be prevented by a number of simple measures. Here are the most common methods which people take to make sure that they do not catch the flu:

1. Make your child wash their hands
This is the most common reason for children getting the common cold. It is possible that whatever you touch may get infected with your germs and pass on to your children. This can happen even hours later. Therefore, it is crucial that you wash your hands as often as possible and if this is not possible, you should at least make your child use a hand sanitizer.

2. Do not sneeze into your hands
When you sneeze into your hands, the virus clings to your hands. Therefore, when you sneeze, try to sneeze into a tissue or at least into the inside of your elbow so that your child does not get a cold.

3. Make your child not touch your face
Colds can only enter your body through the eyes, nose and mouth. Tell your kids not to touch their faces so that they do not catch a virus.

4. Make your child do aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise increases your heart rate and this means, that it also increases the ability of the body to kill viruses.

5. Give your child foods with phytochemicals
Green, red and yellow vegetable and fruits are very good at fighting off viruses. Eat them so that the natural virus fighting ability of the body is increased.

6. Do not allow your child to come near smoke
Smoking reduces the body's ability to fight off cold. This is why smokers get more severe and more frequent colds. It has been said that one cigarette can stop cilia from working for 30 to 40 minutes.

7. Relax 
There is also a lot of evidence that your immune system is stronger when you are not stressed out. Try to see that your child is not stressed from school or any other place which may cause them stress.

How to Prevent Common Cold in Children?

Are you observing red, crusty patches on the surface of your infant s skin during his/her first month after birth? This is an indication of infant eczema. It is a dry, itchy skin condition which may occur on any part of your child s body and is commonly found on the cheeks, legs and arms. This condition is sometimes confused with cradle cap, which is another skin condition.

Causes-

Eczema usually runs in families and is hereditary. If you have eczema, it is likely that your child may have it too. Several problems in the skin barrier allow germs inside and moisture to go out. This is a common cause of eczema in infants. The condition occurs when the body makes insufficient fatty cells or ceramides. When there is not enough of these, the skin loses water and becomes extremely dry.

Does Eczema In Infants Go Away By Itself?

In many cases, infant eczema goes away on its own and most infants outgrow the condition by the time they are ready for school. However, some children do get eczema during their adulthood. This may continue for years without specific symptoms. Such children also tend to have dry skin.

Treatment-

Here are some home treatment options for infant eczema:

You should use moisturisers on your child. Moisturisers containing ceramides are a good option, which are available at all over-the-counter (OTC) stores by prescription. You can also opt for good moisturisers, fragrance-free creams and ointments like petroleum jelly. This helps in keeping your baby s skin in retaining natural moisture. Apply these after a bath.

A lukewarm bath is beneficial for your child. It helps in hydrating and cooling the skin. The water should not be very hot and the bath should not exceed 10 minutes. You can also add oatmeal soaking products to your baby s scrub for soothing itchiness.

You must use mild and unscented body soaps for your baby. This is because perfumed, antibacterial and deodorant soaps are rough for your baby s skin. Scrub some soap on areas of your child s body where there is dirt, such as the genitals, feet and hand. Do not rub or pat his/her skin.

Several medicines are also used for the treatment of infant eczema. These include hydrocortisone creams and ointments, which help in easing inflammation and itching. You should not apply these medicines in excess as they can thin the skin on the affected areas.

You should consult a doctor on observing any signs or symptoms of eczema on your child s skin. This will help in proper diagnosis of the problem and an early treatment plan will prevent further deterioration of the symptoms.

Eczema in Infants: What You Should Know?

Stomach aches and pains are common in babies, infants and parents are always in search of quick fixer to help their little ones get a relief instantly. Though instant reliefs do not come always, and there are colicky infants and babies with common stomach problems, yet some remedies and treatments always help.

Stomach pain in older kids
The common home remedies in not so serious pains are as follows:
- let the child rest and lie down. This may help to ease the pain in 20-30 minutes.
- give the child some liquid to drink, which is soothing, like light tea, soup, water or diluted fruit juice.
- let the child go to the toilet and encourage him or her to pass stool. This may help ease off the pain sooner.
- avoid any bulk food intake in one meal and divide it into smaller meals through the day until symptoms go away.
- don't give oily and fried food. Give easy to digest food, mostly boiled or light fried.
- avoid giving a medicine without medical advice.

These steps generally help and the pain goes away without going to a doctor immediately. If the pain is severe and is persistent in any one part of the abdomen, then it may require immediate medical attention. Common causes may be appendicitis or gall stone problem or may be a case of acute jaundice, diarrhoea, food poison, etc. Pain on pressing one part of the belly, or high body temperature with pain, and serious vomiting are serious symptoms which you must not ignore and take the kid immediately to a medical centre or doctor.

Stomach pain in infants
Stomach pains in infants are caused due to extra air entering the stomach while feeding. This can be avoided by burping the baby manually. There are a few burping techniques which your paediatrician and baby care giver will show you.

If you are with a colicky baby, then you would try administering the baby's nursing bottle first. There are new age nursing bottle designs, which keep off extra air from entering the stomach. The extra air mainly causes the stomach pain, and therefore, the bottle which prevents mixing of air with milk or water keeps the baby safe from colicky pains. Keep baby colic pain syrups at home ready, and give the baby a dose as and when required. It will eventually give the pain a relief.

Treating Stomach Aches and Pains in Kids

Sometimes children suffer from conditions where their feet may not be in proper shape or size, something that can affect their posture. Most of the times the disorders get corrected themselves as children grow up, but there can be situations where medical attention is required. These conditions can be normal variations in the anatomy as well which don't essentially require treatment. Some of the common orthopedic disorders found in children include:

1. Flatfeet

While most babies are born with flat feet which develop arches as they grow, in some case the arches remain underdeveloped even after they grow older. Their feet may turn inwards while they walk due to their flat nature. There is no inherent problem in this condition unless it becomes painful. Doctors may recommend special footwear with arches inserted for support to reduce the pain.

2. Toe Walking

Toe walking is not a disorder while your child is just learning to walk. Toddlers who continue to walk on their toes after the age of 3 may require medical attention. Toe walking on one leg or persistent toe walking can be due to other medical conditions like muscle weakness, cerebral palsy or autism. It is advisable to take your child to a therapist for casting the foot and ankle which can help stretch the muscles.

3. Pigeon Toes

In toeing or pigeon toeing is common among babies when they are first learning to walk. Sometimes children above 3 years walk with their toes inwards which can be due to femoral anteversion. This happens when upper part of the leg bends more than it naturally should, causing inward rotation of the feet. Specially designed shoes and braces can help to correct this condition. Usually, the condition corrects on its own with age and does not interfere with sport activities which involve running.

4. Knock-Knees

It is a common tendency among children aged between 3 and 6 to develop knock-knees (genu valgum), since their bodies go through natural shift in alignment. Usually, treatment is not required as the legs straighten out eventually. Knock knees on one side or persistent knock knees may require medical attention. Children with this disorder may suffer from pain hence in some cases surgery is recommended after the age of 10.


Common Orthopedic Disorders In Children

SSHL is not like any other normal hear-loss trouble. Rather it is quite a severe condition. Sudden deafness can occur at any time due to several reasons. This trouble does not affect both the ears rather only one specific ear is usually affected, and thus this is one of the prominent signs that can help the doctors to understand that SSHL has occurred. 


What are the leading causes of this hearing loss?

    Head injury: If you have faced any severe kind of head injury ever, then it might bring SSHL. This is why you are suggested to get necessary treatment on time so that this kind of hearing loss can be avoided.
    Loud-noise exposure: If your ears are exposed to louder noises or sounds in a consistent manner, then there is a greater possibility of the occurrence of this hearing loss. Thus, you should stay away from unwanted noises. 
    Ageing: With the increase in age, hearing power slowly decreases. However, if you take proper precautions from the very beginning, then SSHL can be definitely avoided. 
    Blood-circulation troubles: Interrupted blood-circulation creates different physical troubles out of which hearing loos is one of the most prominent one. And if timely treatment is not provided, then it might get converted into SSHL. 
    Ototoxic medication: This kind of medication should not be continued for long without doctor's prescription otherwise SSHL might occur. 
    Lyme disease: This is a kind of disease, which occurs due to tick bites and this is pretty infectious in nature. Apart from that, this disease is now considered as one of the main sources of SSHL. 

How to evaluate this hearing loss? 

    History analysis: The history of the patient needs to be known first otherwise SSHL cannot be perfectly treated. If the history shows that the patient already has an existing trouble of ear loss for which SSHL has been proven, then in accordance with the same the treatment can be prescribed. 
    Laboratory and imaging: Laboratory analysis is one of the main methods for evaluating SSHL and necessary images of the ears boost the potentiality and importance of this kind of analysis to a great extent. 
    Quick evaluation: This kind of medical evaluation is mainly made on the basis of the symptoms. The doctors often follow the signs thoroughly in order to determine as to whether the patients have SSHL or not. This evaluation is highly supported by different medical tests that are prescribed by the doctor.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Causes and Evaluation

Sexual abuse of children may sound very scary and degrading, but the truth is it is a very prevalent problem. As much we may not want to believe, the number of boys and girls who are sexually abused, and that too by close family and friends is very high. This may be difficult to digest, but is the truth. The sexual abuse in male and female children is 50% in each group which is again unbelievable but true.

What is considered child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse includes touching and non-touching activity. Some examples of touching activity include:

touching a child's genitals or private parts for sexual pleasure.
making a child touch someone else's genitals, play sexual games or have sex putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual pleasure.
The thing to ponder, however, is that people who abuse children have a deeper problem. This could be due to a combination of social and psychological issues that the person is facing. Often helping identify the underlying problem could be a solution to the problem too, but this is rarely done. If you think a child could be subjected to abuse, look out for the following symptoms.

A feeling of guilt or shame.
Irritability and anger with minimal reasons.
Mood swings, often uncommon in children.
Feeling very isolated and sad.
Very anxious and angry.
Symptoms of withdrawal, not wanting to be left alone.
Sleeplessness.
Fatigue and pain in the back, legs.
Loss of energy, appetite.
Bruises (look out for these, which may not be in visible areas).
How to handle?

Given the fact that the offender is in close family and/or friends circle, the suspicion levels are quite low.

The first step, therefore, is to open up and talk with either your parents or someone close.
Look for support groups which can be very helpful.
Do not be isolated though the urge is very strong.
Build a daily schedule to ensure your routine continues (studies, work, etc.).
Focus on exercise or other passions as they help you deviate your mind.
Be sure to not be alone with the offender, stay in a group.
Give out a strong message saying it is not acceptable, and do not keep quiet.
Homoeopathic remedies:

Homoeopathy can come rescue of the offender all well as the victim. If we see according to the point of view of who committed the crime, many reasons may come to the light and we can be treated accordingly. Usually, these criminals have a very painful and sad childhood. This could lead them to commit a crime like child abuse. 

The following are the medicines to treat such people with anti-social behaviour-

Aur.
Bar-C.
Hyoscyamus.
Stramonium.
Merc.
Tarentula.
Med.
Nux V.
Syphilinear.
There are certain homoeopathic medicines which are helpful in the treatment of children who are victimized. The most common symptom is nightmares.

Calc.carb. 
Aloes. 
Phosphorous. 
Cechris. 
Sepia. 
Staphysagria. 
For treatment for actual physical and mental symptoms of the victim child, following homoeopathic medicines may help:

Aconite. 
Ignatia. 
Arnica. 
Staphysagria. 
Calendula. 
Nat. mur. 
Homeopathy is a safe and effective way to treat the victims as well as the culprits of sexual abuse. It focuses on the way patients have reacted to events and the personality of the patient. It helps to bring complete harmony of physical, mental and social well being.

Sexual Abuse In Children

Don't wait any longer, manage your Child care online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Child care - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES