Bedwetting or nocturnal enuresis, refers to the unintentional passage of urine during sleep. Enuresis is the medical term for wetting, whether in the clothing during the day or in bed at night. Another name for enuresis is urinary incontinence. For infants and young children, urination is involuntary. Wetting is normal for them. Most children achieve some degree of bladder control by 4 years of age. Daytime control is usually achieved first, while nighttime control comes later.

The age at which bladder control is expected varies considerably. Some parents expect dryness at a very early age, while others not until much later. Such a time line may reflect the culture and attitudes of the parents and caregivers.

Factors that affect the age at which wetting is considered a problem include the following:

The child's gender: Bedwetting is more common in boys.
The child's development and maturity
The child's overall physical and emotional health. Chronic illness and/or emotional and physical abuse may predispose to bedwetting.
Causes

No one knows for sure what causes bed-wetting, but various factors may play a role:

A small bladder: Your child's bladder may not be developed enough to hold urine produced during the night.
Inability to recognize a full bladder: If the nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature, a full bladder may not wake your child, especially if your child is a deep sleeper.
A hormone imbalance: During childhood, some kids don't produce enough anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) to slow nighttime urine production.
Stress: Stressful events, such as becoming a big brother or sister, starting a new school, or sleeping away from home, may trigger bed-wetting.
Urinary tract infection: This infection can make it difficult for your child to control urination.
Sleep apnea: Sometimes bed-wetting is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the child's breathing is interrupted during sleep.
Diabetes: For a child who's usually dry at night, bed-wetting may be the first sign of diabetes.
A structural problem in the urinary tract or nervous system. Rarely, bed-wetting is related to a defect in the child's neurological system or urinary system.

Symptoms

Wetting during the day
Frequency, urgency, or burning on urination
Straining, dribbling, or other unusual symptoms with urination
Cloudy or pinkish urine, or blood stains on underpants or pajamas
Soiling, being unable to control bowel movements
Constipation
Most kids are fully toilet trained by age 5, but there's really no target date for developing complete bladder control. Between the ages of 5 and 7, bed-wetting remains a problem for some children. After 7 years of age, a small number of children still wet the bed.

When to see a doctor: Most children outgrow bed-wetting on their own, but some need a little help. In other cases, bed-wetting may be a sign of an underlying condition that needs medical attention.

Consult your child's doctor if: 

Your child still wets the bed after age 7
Your child starts to wet the bed after a few months or more of being dry at night
Bed-wetting is accompanied by painful urination, unusual thirst, pink or red urine, hard stools, or snoring
Self-Care at Home-
Here are some tips for helping your child stop wetting the bed. These are techniques that are most often successful

Reduce evening fluid intake.
The child should urinate in the toilet before bedtime.
A system of sticker charts and rewards works for some children.
Make sure the child has safe and easy access to the toilet.
Some believe that you should avoid using diapers or pull-ups at home because they can interfere with the motivation to wake up and use the toilet.

Bedwetting - 7 Possible Reasons Behind It

Bronchial asthma is a medical condition. It happens when the airways of your lungs swell up and become narrow. This limits the amount of air that can pass through the passages and this leads to respiratory distress. Asthma can affect anyone and usually, it starts from childhood.

What are the Symptoms of Bronchial Asthma?
Some common symptoms of bronchial asthma are-

  Wheezing and breathlessness
  Tightness of the chest
  Frequent bouts of coughing which are more common at night or in the early morning, making sleep difficult. 

Bronchial asthma does not go away on its own. It requires treatment.

What is Siddha?
Siddha is a very ancient system of medication and treatment that originated in Tamil Nadu. According to Siddha, the individual is a microcosm of the entire universe. And it is made up of some fundamental elements- earth, air, fire, water and ether as well as three humours- Vata, Pitta and Kapha. An imbalance of these components causes an ailment. So, the chief goal of Siddha is to restore the right balance to root out any illness.

Types of Asthma according to Siddha -
We find mention of asthma in Siddha literature. It is called Eraippu Noi. There are five types of asthma -

  Vazhi Eraippu Noi - Digestive troubles may lead to accumulation of Vata. This is not a grave form of asthma and can easily be cured.

  Iya Eraippu Noi - Exposure to cold climes or freezing winds or being drenched in rain can cause Kapha to build up in the system, which triggers this form of asthma. It is accompanied by symptoms such as the runny nose, nasal congestion, breathing trouble when lying down.

  Iyavazhi Eraippu Noi - Both Vata and Kapha accumulate to trigger this kind of asthma. Its symptoms include breathlessness, bloating, indigestion, disorientation, etc.

  Mukkuttra Eraippu Noi - An imbalance of all three humours- Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the culprits behind mukkuttra Eraippu Noi. A person who has contracted it might experience severe chest pain, constipation and even loss of consciousness.

  Mel nokku Eraippu Noi - This is the gravest form of bronchial asthma and requires extensive treatment.

Treatment of Asthma according to Siddha -

Siddha will first try to understand what kind of imbalance has caused your asthma. The medication depends on the type of asthma. Siddha medicines are made from particular parts of herbs that will induce you to either vomit or defecate to get rid of the excess humour that has accumulated in your body. Thus, the balance of Kapha, Pitta and Vata is restored.

You might also be suggested a few breathing exercises to strengthen your lungs and diaphragm.
Siddha follows a holistic way to curing bronchial asthma and targets it at its source. Unlike allopathic medication, medicines prescribed by Siddha are herbal and have no side effects.

Siddha Approach In Treating Bronchial Asthma!

Behavior of a child should always be closely monitored during his/her early development. Sometimes signs of several personality disorders tend to show up early in life. Proper monitoring of the child's behavior helps to identify the signs and properly diagnose the condition if the child is suffering from any potential personality disorder. 

Here are a few facts you should keep in mind:

1. You might often find it difficult to differentiate between the normal and abnormal behavior of your child. You might consult the pediatrician in this case to compare the child's general behavioral patterns with that of other children in the same age group.

2. It is very important to understand your child's development process. It helps you to interpret his/her behavior and to identify signs of personality disorder.

3. There are a few common behavior patterns, which tend to act as a guide to understanding the behavior of your child. Some of these patterns should be encouraged as they lead to proper behavioral development of your child while patterns of negative behavior should be discouraged. 

4.  You should also consult a doctor if your child shows negative behavior persistently even after disciplining measures.

5. Being polite, doing chores on a regular basis, following instructions should be encouraged and rewarded as it helps in the proper personality development of your child.

6. Behavioral patterns like an inclination towards defensive, regressive and aggressive behavior should not be encouraged but can be tolerated in certain situations like illness or in times of stress.

7.  Behavioral patterns like an increased inclination to violence or an excessive competitive attitude towards their siblings should never be allowed. 

8.  Prejudice or racism, stealing or inclination towards substance abuse, angry outbursts point towards problems in the child's mental, physical or social well-being. You are also advised to take your child to a psychological expert to find out whether he/she is suffering from any sort of behavioral disorder. 

9.  Your behavior also plays a major role in development of your child and his/her behavioral patterns. It is often seen that if a child is subjected to excessive physical, mental or emotional abuse or is engaged in too many curricular and extracurricular activities, he/she is likely to develop several behavioral disorders over time.

Child Development and Behavior

Breastfeeding is best for the baby and its benefits extend well beyond the paradigm of basic nutrition. Breast milk contains all the vital vitamins and nutrients, which a baby needs in the first six months of life. It is fully loaded with disease fighting substances, which protect baby from illness. Many international paediatric organisation recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and recent research reports have proven that breastfeeding is good for both mother and the baby.

Breastfeeding protects the baby from a long list of illnesses, such as ear infections, lower respiratory illnesses, stomach disorder and meningitis and are less severe when they do happen. Breast milk adapts as the baby grows to meet the changing needs. Breastfeeding builds a strong emotional bond between the mother and the baby and it has long term benefits lasting right into adulthood.

The first milk of the mother contains high concentrations of secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), which guards against invading germs by forming a protective layer on the mucous membranes in baby's intestines, nose, and throat. Mother's body responds to pathogens (virus and bacteria) that are in her body and makes secretory IgA, which is specific to those pathogens, creating protection for the baby based on to whatever mother is exposed. 

The antibodies in breast milk gives a baby's immune system a boost and also helps children avoid type 1 and type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and inflammatory bowel disease that strike later in life. Babies who were not breastfed run the risk of developing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Breastfeeding boosts child's intelligence. Surveys have shown that premature infants with extremely low birth weight who receive breast milk shortly after birth improved their scores of mental development at eighteen months when compared with premature infants who weren't given breast milk. The emotional bonding happening during breastfeeding contributes to some of the brainpower benefits. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It reduces a child's risk of becoming obese as a teen or adult as the breast milk contains less insulin, which stimulates creation of fat. The high content of leptin in the milk regulates appetite and fat.

Breastfeeding triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin that promotes relaxation and nurturing. Oxytocin released while nursing also helps your uterus contract after birth, resulting in less postpartum bleeding. It reduces stress level and the risk of postpartum depression. Research studies show that breastfeeding results in changes in breast tissue and lactation reduces the production of oestrogen, which reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. It also reduces the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby & Mother

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?

For a child, the first visit to the dentist can be panicky. This is because they don't realize what's in store. Children get a better idea about dentists after getting some information about the visit. We, as grown ups, must be set up to answer the inquiries and instruct our children in the most ideal way. The following are some valuable tips on the best way to set up a child for the first dentist appointment.

1. Guardians regularly ask when they ought to take their child for the first ever dental visit. The best time to begin taking children for a dental checkup is either when their first tooth pops out, or right around their first birthday. Expert dentists are capable of instantly recognizing any potential issues with the development and advancement of the jaw and delicate palate. Children's teeth are more porous and defenseless to decay than grown-up's teeth; so early mediation is a basic to guarantee those small teeth staying sound. It is also recommended that guardians begin brushing their child's teeth when they start coming out, utilizing a delicate toothbrush and plain water. Brushing should be started as early as possible.

2. It's never too early to begin acquainting your kids with tooth brushing and knowledge of oral health. The best time to begin is before your kid's first dental visit. Youngsters love to find out about their bodies, and love to grin, touch, and investigate new things. There are many fun ways to impart oral health education to children. The more agreeable they are with their mouth and teeth, the less demanding your youngster's first dental visit will be.

3. Tooth brushing is an essential piece of our everyday self-care, and it is our habit. A child, after being introduced to a brush and a toothbrush will take a certain time period to make daily brushing a habit. Guardians and the kids can brush their teeth" together. It is essential to note that toothbrushes are apparatuses, not toys, and that infants and babies ought to be firmly directed.

4. Little children, are extremely insightful and touchy to the states of mind of people around them. Children regularly reflect our conduct. When we are casual and upbeat, children will probably be loose, as well. Children are additionally more casual when they are prepared for or taught something. Invest energy conversing with children about going to the dentist. You can also discuss what the dentist will do, emphatically.

5. Always choose the most trustworthy dentist who is friendly and knows how to handle a child on his first dentist visit.

A child's first dentist appointment is a special one, and you should prepare him accordingly.

Tips to Prepare Your Child For First Dental Visit

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