Necrotizing enterocolitis is a disease that causes inflammation of the tissues present in the intestines and results in damaged tissues. It initially affects the inner lining which ultimately results in thickening of the intestine. It may also lead to a hole in the abdomen resulting in bacteria entering the intestine, thus resulting in infection.

Symptoms-
The symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis are:

You may experience symptoms of bloating in the abdomen
The abdomen may be discolored
You may experience diarrhea and vomiting
You may not feel hungry
There may be presence of blood in your stool
You may have a fever and constantly feel lethargic
Causes-
Lack of blood and oxygen in the intestine causes it to become weak and increases the chances of necrotizing enterocolitis. It may result if oxygen levels drop during a difficult delivery. If the intestines are weak, then they are at a higher risk of getting infected by bacteria. If you have an excessive supply of blood cells in your body or other stomach condition, then it may lead to this disease.

Diagnosis-
Usually the doctor conducts a physical exam to detect the symptoms of this disease. If babies are born with this condition, then they may suffer from weak immune system and problems in blood circulation. The doctor may also recommend x-rays to get detailed images of the intestine in order to probe for symptoms of inflammation and damage.

Treatment-
The treatment of the disease depends on few factors such as:

The child's age
How far has the disease progressed?
Health of your child
It is recommended to stop breastfeeding. Feed the baby through intravenous methods. The doctor may also recommend antibiotics and oxygen support if the child has breathing problems. In severe cases, the child may require surgery to treat this disease.

If the treatment occurs early, then the child may recover. However, complications such as a narrow and damaged bowel may persist. This may cause problems in nutrient absorption in the intestine leading to other disorders.


All About Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Infantile spasm is a seizure-related disorder that is witnessed among infants and young children. The average age for getting affected with infantile spasm is four months, but some kids might experience this disorder within a month of the birth. This disease can have a subtle appearance, and as such it is difficult to recognize as a serious condition. While a full seizure in an adult is scary, the one observed among infants can be as little as a minor head drop, along with minor body shakes. This might appear to be that serious, but infantile spasm is more serious as compared to a full body convulsion in adults. Unfortunately, an infant suffering from infantile spasm is at great risk of developmental disability, if the condition is not detected and treated early.

Anticonvulsant Medication:
There are very few medicines that are approved by the FDA for treating infantile spasms. The two medicines that are widely used by doctors include Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and Vigabatrin.

ACTH: This is the oldest approved medicine by the FDA that was first discovered in the year 1958. This injection needs to be pushed twice in a day. Children tend to gain weight and feel hungry when this injection is injected.
Vigabatrin: Vigabatrin is very well tolerated by young kids and has a successful track record of treating infantile spasms. Studies have proven that Vigabatrin can tackle tuberous sclerosis and plays an important role in improving developmental outcome.
Second line therapies:

Pyridoxine: Dependency on Pyridoxine as a cause of infantile spasm is very rare. High dosage of oral administration of pyridoxine has fetched good results for patients, who do not suffer from pyridoxine related seizures.
Valproic acid: Valproic acid has the best anecdotal rate of success. However, doctors do not recommend this medicine for kids less than 2 years of age because of possible complications.
Clonazepam: This is one of the earliest non-steroid medicine for the treatment of infantile spasm. Some of the popular medicines used are nitrazepam, benzodiazepines, and clonazepam.
Ketogenic Diet: This is a decade old practice that has come back to popularity again. Studies have shown that ketogenic diet can help 20-35 % patients of infantile spasm to keep the condition under control.
IVIG: High dosage of IVIG has been reported to be very helpful in tackling infantile spasms. The dosage ranges from 100-200 mg/kg/dose ranging for about 2-3 weeks at stretch.
Surgery: The final part of the therapy includes a surgery that removes the abnormal part of the brain. It should only be considered for patients who have not responded to therapies including Vigabatrin and ACTH. It should also be investigated whether the patient has any structural abnormalities of the brain.


Infantile Spasms - How They Can Be Treated?

Toothache is a painful dental condition that affects many people worldwide. At times the excruciating pain can drive a normal person insane. Cavity and tooth decay contribute to toothache in a big way. However, toothache can also be an indication of some serious dental ailments that needs immediate attention. The following factors/reasons can equally contribute to toothache (mild or severe).

Tooth decay: Tooth decay and cavities are synonymous to unhealthy teeth and toothache. Cavities can also give rise to awkward complications like bad breath. Thus, proper dental care and hygiene is of topmost priority. It is highly recommended to brush the teeth three times daily.
Accidental falls: Accidents incurred during sports or games often go unnoticed and untreated. This can invite unwanted complications like broken teeth, infections or inflammations resulting in toothache.
Unhealthy gums: Bleeding, painful and swollen gums and many other gum ailments can severely affect the teeth. At an advanced stage, this can lead to unbearable toothache.
Bruxism: Many people knowingly or unknowingly indulge in Bruxism or tooth grinding. Bruxism can have serious dental implications. It exerts tremendous pressure on the teeth and the supporting tissues. Eventually the jaw muscles also get affected, with toothache being the inevitable consequence.
Decaying enamel: Healthy enamel implies healthy teeth. Factors like excessive intake of sweets, drinks and chocolates play a significant role in enamel decay.  This can have a detrimental effect on the teeth resulting in toothache.
Abscess, a serious dental ailment:  Abscess is the manifestation of dental infections, whereby pus formation takes place between the gum and a tooth. Pus formation can also take place at the base of a tooth resulting in toothache.
Cracked tooth syndrome: A fractured tooth often acts as a catalyst, leading to toothache. The crack on the tooth is so small that even an x-ray fails to reveal it. Factors like bruxism, tooth decay, to name a few; contribute to the Cracked Tooth Syndrome.
The wisdom mystery: Lucky are those whose wisdom teeth erupt completely, at a single go. Impacted wisdom teeth can give a person sleepless nights. Misaligned teeth are no better.
Toothache and periodontal complications: It is a serious condition leading to shooting pain and inflammation. The inflammation and pain affects the root of the tooth immensely. It usually results from infections in plaque formations.
Sinus infections: In many cases, it has been found that sinus infection can lead to toothache. Positioned close to the upper back teeth, the sinuses give rise to what is known as a dull ache.
Toothache can be an amalgamation of many factors. Thus, it is very important to go for periodical dental & full body check ups.

10 Reasons for Toothache

This is a very common condition seen in toddlers. When the legs are brought together then there is a gap at the level of the knee. It happens because of inward bowing of thigh bone or tibia. The deformity may appear to increase on standing.

Daily requirement of calcium

The optimal primary nutritional source during the first year of life is human milk. Premature infants have higher calcium requirements than full-term infants while in the nursery. These may be met by using human milk fortified with additional minerals or with specially designed formulas for premature infants. Around 6 months of age when weaning foods are started, food items rich in calcium should be added. Readymade formulas are fortified with calcium but one must remember that the bioavailability of calcium from human milk is greater than that from infant formulas or cow's milk. Hence breastfeeding should be encouraged. In children age 2-8 years the daily requirement is around 800 mg/d. In children 9- to 18-year-olds the daily requirement is 1,200-1,500 mg/day.

Some of the common items that are rich in calcium are.

Food Item	Quantity	Amount of Calcium in each serving
Milk	1 cup (240 ml)	300 mg
Cheddar cheese
1.5 oz (42 g)	300 mg
Spinach cooked	1/2 cup (90 g)	120 mg
Sardines or salmon with bones	20 Sardines (240 g)	50 mg
Sweet potatoes	1/2 cup (160 g)	44 mg
Vitamin D:

Babies younger than 1-year-old need 400 IU of vitamin D a day. Kids older than 1 year need 600 IU or more of vitamin D a day. Our bodies make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to the sun. The recommended exposure to sunlight is at least 30 min every day. There are various fortified food items that have vitamin D. Also medicines are available which can provide the daily requirement of Vitamin D

Physiological genu varus. In most of the toddlers, the legs are curved inwards. They should improve over a period of time. The legs should straighten by 2 yrs. The child should be investigated if the deformity is severe; the deformity is only in one leg, if the child complains of pain and if the child appears unusually short.

Bow Legs - Why Do Children Suffer From Them?

Tooth eruption is not only a sign that your child is acquiring the ability to tear, bite, and chew food but it also effects the baby's weight gain, immunity strengthening and development of the brain indirectly.
It is observed that most babies get their first tooth at around 6 months after birth, but they may start gnawing as early as 3 months or as late as 14, and may vary from child to child.  This depends on many factors, one of them being as when the parents started sprouting teeth and whether or not your baby was a preemie. In case of premature and low birth weight babies there may be a delay in their first tooth eruption. Children should have a full set of primary teeth by the time they are almost three.
Babies generally undergo the following Teething Timeline:
6 months: lower central incisors
8 months: upper central incisors
10 months: lower and upper lateral incisors
14 months: first molars
18 months: canines
24 months: second molars
 Symptoms of Teething:
Babies start gnawing to relieve the pain of an emerging tooth.
Puffy and red gums
Excessive drooling
Irritation, especially at night
Tugging Ear
A change in eating habits
Methods to Soothe the Pain:
Teething is a physiological process, no major intervention is needed.
Distraction: You can often soothe your child simply by diverting their minds off the pain by any new toy.
You shouldn't use teethers and topical teething gels to soothe the pain as they might be toxic to babies.
Symptoms of teething usually disappear when the tooth breaks through the gum. In case your baby is teething and the pain prevails , the following signs and symptoms are seen - high fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, highly inflamed gums or blue gum (Cysts) or any kind of lesion or bumps on the gums. In such case you should consult the pediatrician for further guidance

When Will My Newborn Start Teething?

High fever is common in kids and a common worry for parents as well. If you are a parent, you need to know when the fever is serious, and when you should worry about it. Fever is a defence mechanism of the body. Body temperature rises if any foreign body (or antigen) attacks your body. As a defence, body temperature rises making it an unfavourable condition for the antigen. Fever means 100.4 degree Fahrenheit. Normally for kids, thermometer is placed under the armpit to record the temperature. You need to add an extra degree for accuracy. Paediatricians recommend treatment for fever if it's more than 101 degree F.

When to Call a Doctor

If the kid is less than 4 months old and has a fever of 100.4 degree F with other mentioned symptoms as highlighted, one must see the doctor as an emergency situation.
If a kid has 104 degree F fever, rush to the doctor. Such a high fever in children could lead to seizers.

You must call a doctor if the kid has a fever along with the following symptoms:

    Looks very dizzy
    Has a deteriorated immune system or even any other medical condition
    Has a seizure
    Has symptoms such as rashes, painful throat, annoyance, rigid neck or ear pain

Medication Side Effects:

At times, if you treat your children with some medication that does not suit them, it may lead to high fever. In case fever in a kid aged less than 2 years lasts for more than one day, it's time to see a doctor. And lastly, remember that normal body temperature is 98.6 degree F.

High Fever: When It Should Raise Alarm for Parents

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