Measles or rubeola as it is also known is one of the leading causes of children s death around the world. This viral infection is communicable through the air and spreads through contact with infected saliva and mucus. Thus sharing cutlery or glassware with an infected person can increase a person s risk of suffering from this disease. Thankfully measles can be prevented through vaccination known as MMR. This vaccination is given to infants and also protects them against mumps, rubella and chickenpox. The first dose of MMR vaccination is given when the child is about 1 year old and a booster dose is repeated when the child is 4-6 years old.

One of the most characteristic symptoms of measles is a reddish rash that begins inside the mouth and later erupts all over the body. This is usually preceded by a high fever, cold, cough, sore throat and swelling of the lymph nodes. Fatigue, diarrhoea and redness of the eyes are other symptoms of this disease. Measles symptoms are not apparent the moment a person is exposed to the virus. It can take 7 to 18 days for symptoms to become visible after catching the infection, this is known as the incubation period. Measles affects adults is a more severe way than children.

Children and adults with a weak immune system are highly susceptible to complications associated with measles. In some cases, it can lead to life threatening conditions, such as pneumonia and encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. Other complications associated with measles include ear infections, bronchitis, blindness and a sharp fall in platelet count. A pregnant woman suffering from measles also has a high risk of miscarrying the baby or preterm labour.

There is no definitive form of treating measles and doctors typically address the symptoms while prescribing medication. In most cases, the symptoms and the virus should disappear in two to three weeks. Some of the common forms of medicine prescribed to deal with measles are:

Medication to relieve fever
Antibiotics to prevent or treat accompanying bacterial infections
Vitamin A supplements to reduce the severity of measles symptoms
Pain relievers to deal with muscle pains
In addition, the patient needs plenty of rest and fluids to strengthen the immune system. The use of a humidifier can also help treat a sore throat and cough. Bright lights can aggravate headaches and irritation and hence should be avoided. Hence, avoid watching television and activities like reading.

Measles - How They Affect You? + Treatment

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

4 Simple ways to lose your baby weight naturally

Having a baby brings about a number of changes in your life, including a change in the way you look. The nine months see you putting on additional weight, which you try to shed off once you deliver. To help you get back into shape, here are some very effective and simple ways that you can follow:

Losing weight doesn't mean you need to get started on a vigorous exercise regimen; even a simple walk around your apartment block can help you to lose your baby weight. Whether it's going up and down the stairs for 15 minutes or pushing the stroller for about 30 minutes, such activities can bring your body's calorie-burning capacity back on track.

Breastfeed to burn about 600-800 calories everyday

Breastfeeding is not only good for your newborn but also for you. Breastfeeding your child can help you to lose weight considerably as it's a great way of burning off all the baby fat.

Lift weights to speed up your body's metabolism

Lifting weights can aid in improving your body's metabolism, thereby helping you to lose your baby weight effectively. By adding weight training to your fitness regimen, you're in fact helping yourself to build muscle mass and losing weight in the process. To do this, you don't need any gym equipment, for instance, you can do lunges while taking your baby around in a stroller. Or do them while holding your child close to your chest.

Always snack healthily

Having healthy snacks in place of high-calorie sugary foods can help you to get back your post-pregnancy shape. Studies show that yogurt and low-fat milk can help in weight loss as the calcium content present in these two foods block a hormone that assists the body in storing fat. Moreover, consuming foods high in fiber like raisins and figs can help in improving your digestion.

Get adequate sleep

Sleeping is another way in which you can shed off those extra kilos. Try to sleep whenever you get the time as it'll help to keep you from binging on junk foods as well as keep your energy levels in check.



4 Simple ways to lose your baby weight naturally

Cradle cap is a slick, yellow scaling or crusting on a child's scalp. It is regular in children and can be effortlessly treated. Cradle cap is not a part of any ailment and does not indicate poor care of the child. It is the usual development of sticky skin oils, scales, and sloughed skin cells. It is not harmful to your child and generally leaves by an infant's first birthday. Some of the recommended ways to treat cradle cap are listed below:


Baby shampoo: Shampoo might be the absolute best approach to treat cradle caps in babies. Regular shampooing can get rid of a flakey scalp and make it a smooth one. Abstain from getting the shampoo in your child's eyes. In case you are uncertain about using it, ask a doctor or specialist for guidance. Do not utilize shampoos that contain groundnut oil or shelled nut oil on children under five years of age.
Olive oil: Olive or almond oil is regularly used to heal cradle cap. Try rubbing it on the infant s hair and give it a chance to sit for some time, then delicately rub with a soft toothbrush. 
Coconut oil: Every mother uses coconut oil for many reasons. It is the most effective treatment. It smells astounding as well. Put a little on your child's head every evening and wash it over the next morning with an infant brush. 
Vaseline: A considerable number of mothers use Vaseline. Apply it on the hair around evening time and by morning, the cradle cap will be a little improved.
Fine-toothed comb: This is a lice brush and is very useful. However, with a little oil, this is most likely one of the least demanding and quickest approaches to evacuate those flakes. 
Shea butter: Applying Shea butter on the scalp is a great approach. Rub it on the hair, then brush it off gradually. It brings about the ideal result, as indicated by a few mothers. 
Home treatment is normally all that is required for support. Here is how one needs to do it:
An hour prior to shampooing, rub your child's scalp with infant oil petroleum gel to lift the coverings and flakey scales. 
Before applying the shampoo, first get the scalp wet, then tenderly rub the scalp with a delicate swarm brush (a delicate toothbrush would work too) for a couple of minutes to remove the scales. You can attempt to tenderly remove the flakes with extreme attention to detail. 
At that point, wash the scalp with baby shampoo, flush well, and tenderly towel dry. 
In case that your child's cradle cap gets to be swollen or infected, a course of anti-infection agents or an antifungal cream or cleanser such as ketoconazole might be recommended by a specialist. A gentle steroid cream such as  hydrocortisone may likewise be suggested for an irritant rash.

Infant Cradle Cap - How You Can Get Rid of Them?

All parents expect their child to start going to school, learn writing and learning and do well in academics. However, children with dyslexia may not be able to progress at school at the same pace as others. The good news is that there are early pointers that can help a parent to identify dyslexia in the early stages. This can be helpful in training and support the child socially to learn and socialise normally.  Dyslexia is a disability that affects both spoken and written language. They have a different learning style and when supported and encouraged, instead of mocked and insulted, they can become avid readers. The following are common 10 indicators of developing dyslexia in children, in general, and at school.

10 Behavioural signs to watch for in general:

The child usually has difficulty concentrating and following instructions
The child is easily distracted, seems to daydream, and tends to forget words.
Poor personal organisation skills and is not very good at time keeping.
May get confused between today, tomorrow, yesterday; east and west; right and left; up and down.
Has difficulty remembering seasons, months and days.
Tends to be doing something to avoid work.
Seems distracted, and  daydream,  does not seem to listen
Requires a lot of effort focusing on things at hand and is constantly tired.
Slow pace of processing in terms of spoken or written language
Often appears withdrawn or lost in his own world.
10 Behaviours to watch for at school:

Poor standard of writing and written work in comparison with oratory skills.
Poor handwriting with badly formed letters.
Confused easily between similar looking letters like m/w, n/u, b/d.
Usually, messes up work by using close but wrong spellings and rewriting the same
Mixes up words by using similar-looking words   quiet and quite, tired and tried.
Same word is spelt differently at different times
Poor motor skills and pencil grip leading to slow, inaccurate writing
Produces a lot of phonetic spelling which does not change with repeated corrections
There is difficulty in blending words together, and struggles a lot when asked to read out loud, can miss out or add words that are familiar in between
Has difficulty connecting the story that is being written or read
As noted, these children have very inconsistent behaviour with very limited understanding of nonverbal communication. If these symptoms go on increasing as they grow, it is advisable to seek professional help so that support can be provided and the condition can be arrested at the early stages.

Dyslexia - 10 Signs Your Child Maybe Suffering From It!

Children generally tend to be fairly over active and have lesser attention spans. However, when this tends to get into their performance at school and in general with getting along with other children it may be a sign of ADD or attention deficit disorder. Let's look at some of the common symptoms of this disorder.

Symptoms of ADD

1. Problems in staying focused: One of the very basic symptom is that children will often be very inattentive even during classes and will be easily distracted by small things.

2. Problems in trying to remember things or difficulty in following instructions: Children with attention deficit disorder tend to have issues with remembering things and if given tasks, being unable to complete as they can't remember instructions properly.

3. Issues with organizing, planning and trying to finish tasks: Due to the lack of attention, kids have problems retaining information and cannot plan or finish tasks given to them on a daily basis.

4. Easily bored or loses interest: Even if a child with ADD starts with something they like, interest may wane off quickly. Thus it is difficult to make them stick to a specific work schedule which may require regular practice.

5. Lack of attention to details and making careless mistakes: This is another trait of children with attention deficit disorder. They may be able to complete a task, but it will be fraught with mistakes as they wouldn't have much attention to detail.

6. Has a tendency to not listen when someone is speaking to them: This is also very common and is usually tied to being easily distracted and thus will drift off or not listen to when someone is speaking to them.

Some Myths about ADD

a. All kids with ADD are hyperactive
b. They will eventually grow out of it
c. Medication is the only option to treat ADD
d. ADD is not really a disorder and kids need to be trained better

Most of these are half truths and the extent of the problems varies from child to child. Only proper counseling will be able to diagnose the extent of the problem and what needs to be done.

How to spot ADD in Children

ADD can be spotted in children aged below 7 years via certain symptoms. Apart from the ones mentioned above, children generally tend be abrasive towards others and can make embarrassing comments quite often. They also change tasks very quickly without completing any of them. Any distraction would force them to change their track. It is best to go to a child specialist to get your child checked out for possible symptoms.

Symptoms and Myths About Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and How to Spot Them in Children

Don't wait any longer, manage your Pediatric Neurologist online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Pediatric Neurologist - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES