The habit of thumb sucking is very common in many toddlers and babies, but often disturbs the parents to a great extent. Before dealing with this habit, it is very imperative for parents to understand the cause of this behavior. The tendency of thumb sucking is quite normal for the babies as it makes them feel comforting.

Problems that occur with thumb sucking
There are certain problems that occur if the baby develops the habit of prolonged thumb sucking. The problem that occurs mainly on sucking the thumb for longer time is with the teeth of the toddlers which may result in speech problems. Some babies get over this habit of thumb sucking on their own without any adverse after affects. However, sometimes prolonged thumb sucking may result in irritation on the skin or lead to peeling off of the skin, causing discomfort and pain to the child. There are chances that even the nails on the fingers grow in a crooked manner because of infection caused by thumb sucking.

How to get your child to leave thumb sucking habit?

Parents must in any case not force their toddlers to stop this habit or get upset with them, as it can cause the toddler to develop this habit all the more.
A child mainly sucks his thumb for comfort, and the habit can be stopped by diverting their mind and offering the child a soft toy or giving them a special blanket.
It is better to give the toddler something to hold which makes him feel secure and comfortable.
It is very important to assess whether it is a problem before stopping the habit of thumb sucking. But if the habit continues, it may affect the alignment of the teeth.
It is always better to make use of ways like positive reinforcement and encouraging behavior change in your child. Parents must set up a reward system and take a note of the days the child does not suck his thumb. It is important that parents praise their child verbally and give them some reward at the end of the month.
The best and simple way to quit the habit of thumb sucking is to cover the thumb with a thumb guard or mittens.
The best way to help your child quit the habit would be to distract him or her and involve them in activities that would require the use of both the hands. Parents can keep their child busy by giving them puzzles or blocks to play.

Thumb-sucking Habit - 7 Things to Keep in Mind!

Infants often suffer from certain diseases which need proper care and timely treatment for quick recovery. At times, it can be difficult to communicate with an infant and understand his/her needs and problems but with a close observation you will surely be able to detect any alteration in the baby's behavior and sense it when he/she is ill. Here are some of the most common diseases infants are susceptible to and what you can do about them.

1. Abdominal distension
It is normal for a baby's belly to stick out after he/she has been fed, but if between feedings there is swelling in the abdomen or it feels hard, it can be an indication of a problem. If this symptom is accompanied by vomiting and absence of bowel movements for more than two days, your baby may be suffering from abdominal distention. This condition may have been caused by swallowing of extra air by the baby while crying or feeding. In such a situation, a pediatrician should be consulted for proper diagnosis and treatment.

2. Jaundice
It is common among newborns to develop mild forms of jaundice as the undeveloped liver is often not able to eliminate the chemical bilirubin from the blood. Mostly, this situation proves to be harmless till the level of bilirubin reaches a certain limit. After that, the disease must be properly treated to avoid damage to the baby's brain or nervous system.

3. Rsv infection
Rsv or respiratory syncytial virus is responsible for causing respiratory problems among infants. Rsv infection usually affects the bronchial passage and shows symptoms like cough, runny nose and mild fever which may even lead to bronchitis. Moreover, this infection may also develop into viral pneumonia, which makes it more important to consult a pediatrician if your baby shows any of the above symptoms.

4. Diarrhea
Infants are susceptible to watery bowel movements due to the action of virus, allergens, specific medications or bacteria. If you observe that your baby is passing stools more often than usual and it is watery, then it may be a case of diarrhea. Sometimes, these symptoms are accompanied by high fever, abdominal pain, lethargy, vomiting, dry eyes and mouth etc. In this situation you should consult your pediatrician and focus on replacing the fluids your baby has lost, to prevent dehydration.

4 Common Diseases that Babies are Susceptible To

How to diagnose asthma in children

Asthma in children under the age of 5 is a matter of concern. It is not a rare disease and early diagnosis is important. Common signs of asthma in children are:

1. Recurring bronchitis
2. Wheezing
3. Discomfort in the chest
4. Coughing
5. Trouble breathing

While some children have persistent yet mild symptoms, some children have severe attacks at times. Seasonal allergies and smoke make the symptoms worse.

What to notice?
While feeding an infant, if you notice that your child is facing shortness of breath, it might be a symptom of asthma. In a toddler, if your notice a decreased desire to run and play, or easy fatigue, then this could be a symptom of asthma. Asthma attacks for many children under the age of 5 are worsened when they catch cold or have any other respiratory infections. All these, if noticed should not be ignored and your child's pediatrician should be consulted.

The above mentioned symptoms were mild. Some children have it worse and the attacks can be life-threatening, needing immediate treatment. If your child is under the age of 5 and you see them doing one of the following, contact emergency services immediately:

1. Trouble in speaking because they have restricted breathing
2. When they are breathing in, the effort is so much that the abdomen is getting sucked in
3. Gasping for air.

Diagnosing asthma in a child can be tricky as symptoms like coughing, wheezing, etc can be for other conditions also. Once a child is a little older and if the symptoms persist, breathing and lung function tests are taken to gauge the situation. 

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How To Diagnose Asthma In Children, Before It Attacks?

Does your baby s skin taste too salty when you kiss him or her? Did he or she not poop after being born? These symptoms indicate cystic fibrosis in your baby, which is a condition that changes the way your body makes sweat and mucus. It also affects the functioning of the lungs and digestive system. The condition occurs from a flawed gene. If you have cystic fibroids, your mucus may be too thick or your sweat can be too salty. Heavy mucus clogging in your lungs may affect your ease of breathing. This is a serious and life-threatening disease, but it affects different people in different ways.

Causes
The gene known as CFTR is present in everybody. It makes a protein which controls the amount of salt and water that are moved in and out of the cells of the body. In case of cystic fibroids, the CTFR gene is broken, which occurs if you inherit two bad copies of the gene. A bad CFTR gene may lead your cells to make the wrong amount of water or salt. This makes the body incapable of getting sufficient oxygen and nutrients, as the body loses them via sweating.

Symptoms
Apart from the primary symptoms, several other symptoms are also likely due to cystic fibroids. The common symptoms which your child may experience are as follows:

Coughing up thick mucus, wheezing and shortness of breath
Sinus infections, pneumonia, or very frequent bronchitis
Development of polyps in the nose
Bulky, oily and foul-smelling stool
Low bone density, widening and rounding of the fingertips and weight loss
In later life, cystic fibroids may cause liver disease, gallstones or pancreatitis.
Treatment
There is no specific treatment for cystic fibroids. Several treatments are followed for relieving the symptoms and help patients feel better, breathe easier and have lesser infections or stomach problems.

Airway clearance technique can help you with breathing as the mucus from the lungs is cleared in the process. There are several ways to undertake airway clearance and special devices can be used for assistance.
Several inhaled drugs such as salt solutions, steroids and antibiotics are used in thinning the mucus, clearing the lungs and fighting infections.
Several medicines are used for fighting the inflammation and reducing swelling in the lungs.
In case your pancreas are not working properly, you can take enzyme pills for digesting proteins and fats for absorbing more nutrients from the food you take.
Vitamin A, E and D supplements provide the nutrients, which your intestine cannot absorb.
In case you experience the symptoms of cystic fibroids, you should visit a doctor immediately. This will allow you to go for an early diagnosis and effective treatment.

Cystic Fibrosis - Can it be Life Threatening?

Insulin is the most common treatment prescribed for people affected with diabetes. Diabetes is condition where high amounts of glucose prevail in the blood for an extended period of time. However, there are some drugs that offer an alternative to insulin in treating diabetes, which are:

1. Liraglutide: Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug that causes the body to release greater amounts of insulin so as to facilitate the movement of glucose from the blood to the cells. People with type 2 diabetes generally use this treatment. It slows the digestion process and can cause symptoms of headache and nausea. 

2. Pramlintide: It's an artificially produced version of amylin. It is taken by both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, facilitates slower digestion of food and therefore, controls release of sugar in the blood. It can cause tiredness and nausea.

3. Dulaglutide:This treatment is for people affected with type 2 diabetes and it is administered once a week. It causes more insulin to be released and pass the glucose to the cells. It can cause loss of appetite, nausea and abdominal cramps as side effects.

4. Albiglutide: This treatment facilitates pancreas to release insulin and limits the glucagon hormone production. It is used by type 2 diabetes patients who have not taken well to other treatments. The side effects are skin reaction, respiratory tract infection and nausea.

5. Exenatide: It is a drug that causes pancreas to release insulin that facilitates movement of glucose to cells. It is a treatment for type 2 diabetes and it restricts release of glucagon in the body. The possible side effects are acidity, constipation and vomiting.

Common Insulin Alternatives

Parents sometimes tend to neglect their children due to various reasons. However, this negligence influences the children severely. It can affect the development, personality, relationship traits of the children. Every child needs care and love. Parents are naturally the closest people in a child s world. Negligence from the closest people can lead to destructive character traits in their personality.

1. Attachment problems: One of the primary and direct effects of parental negligence towards children can lead children to be less attached with family. If a child does not get the warmth and care from parents, he automatically detaches from the family bonding and even does not develop the love and compassionate feelings for the family. This pattern hardly changes over time, and it can even lead to problematic relationship of the child in the future. The child may not be able to be close to his own children later.

2. Brain development: Children are tender and sensitive, just like floral buds. Every stimulus has an action. For instance, a child who is affected by malnutrition suffers from weak neural cells. This can be a reason behind weak brain functions. The basic pillars of brain processes, that is, thinking and logical thinking, everything is affected due to parental negligence. It may lead to low level of self-confidence, depression, frustration, anxiety, troubled thoughts and emotional distortions.

Signs of parental negligence in children

1. Eating Disorders

2. Disrupted Sleep

3. Withdrawal from family bonding

4. Aggressive attitude

5. Bed wetting

6. Missing out school

7. Obsessive traits in behavioural patterns

8. Nightmares

9. Sudden change in attitude and behaviours

10. Depression

11. Violence

Every child seeks complete attention and love of his or her parents. However, parents may neglect them due to work stress, social obligations, personal problems and other such reasons. But parents should be considerate about the developmental barriers that could be posed due to this type of negligence. Some children also show eating habit changes, abusive attitude, violence or sometimes even plunge into complete isolation. While children require free scope to let their emotional and mental development boost with social activities, neglected children can withdraw themselves from social activities.

This means no friends, no social activity in life. This is a major reason for depression, suicidal attempts, deformed thought processes and misled lifestyle. As a parent, you can offer your optimum care and affection to your child to avoid such mental distortions, which can be avoided with love and warmth.

How Neglect from Parents Affects Your Child?

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