Category: Children’s health
Check Up to Check Out
Children aren’t miniature adults who only need to see a doctor when they’re sick. Regular check-ups are a must in order to stay on top of your child’s health. Children’s bodies go through many changes, so a pediatrician monitors growth and development. If development lags, the cause must be determined and treatment started. And it’s not just physical development, but cognitive development, too.
If a child isn’t talking or lags behind in speech, further testing on hearing should be done. Additionally, developmental lags benefit from early children education programs.
A way to Children’s Health
Children and parents sometimes cringe because it seems like every doctor’s visit includes immunizations. No one likes getting a shot, least of all a two year old. However, a child’s’ immune systems is weaker than an adult’s. Vaccines protect children from catching things like measles, mumps, chicken pox, polio and hepatitis. Sometimes children experience serious reactions to vaccines.
However, your child has a better chance of catching a difficult disease than reacting to an immunization. Do your research into vaccines, and talk to your healthcare provider about it. Pediatricians often suggest flu shots for children with especially weak immune systems.
Detecting Childhood Illness
Parents must play detective to pick up clues from sick children. Perhaps the idea of a hard math test or problems with a friend make illness tempting, but countless parents have made the error of judging a lack of appetite to be just that, only to later get a call from school that their child is throwing up.
Clear symptoms like fever, vomiting or diarrhea definitely mean no school. Judging when to take your child to the doctor can be just as confusing. For intense symptoms or milder symptoms that linger for longer than three days, give the doctor a call.
Treat Symptoms Safely
When kids need medicine, they need a child’s dosage. Over-the-counter medications give the correct amount based on a child’s weight on the package label. Use something like Tylenol or Advil for fever and pain. Never offer children aspirin, which increases their risk for Rhys syndrome. Many children’s health experts say that cold medicines are ineffective.
Try saline drops and sterile humidifiers for stuffy noses. With vomiting and diarrhea, the most important thing is to keep your child hydrated since dehydration can strike at children quickly. Little bodies best tolerate sips of water, juice and clear sodas. Although it’s tempting to start antibiotics with any illness, don’t.
Only use antibiotics with bacterial infections like strep or ear infections. Too many antibiotics can lead the body to develop bacteria that can hold their own against antibiotics.
Prevent your child from getting sick by encouraging healthy habits
Proper hand washing goes a long way in fighting illnesses, but look at nutrition and sleep patterns, too. Feed children fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. Fruit juice isn’t the same and often contains added sugar.
Make calcium sources like milk, yogurt or cheese available for growing bones. In addition to serving healthy food, make certain she gets enough sleep. By the time a child is a year old, she spends about as much time in a day awake as asleep.
By the time she starts first grade, it may drop to 10 or 11 hours of sleep. Teens rarely get enough sleep. They stay up too late, but have to get up for school. They should aim for eight to nine hours a night.