Children Health Issues and Tips

sni“Children control parents by blocking two holes of body; mouth and anus”,sni

says Dr Sohail Thobani, a pediatrician at South City Hospital, Lahore

SN: What is the biggest challenge you face as a child specialist?sni

One of the biggest challenge is to convince adults that the correct way to reduce fever is to cool the baby. Removing the baby’s clothes except diaper, turning on air conditioner or fan or giving a bath can help bring the temperature down within a few minutes. Giving medicine or wrapping a child in quilt will not help because the fever is not because of the cold but due to germs that can cause illness. Fever is one manifestation of the disease which can also be caused by overheating the child. Some parents use cold sponges but they are less effective as they only cover a part of the body.sni

SN: What should parents do if a child is having seizures due to high-grade fever?sni

Febrile seizure is triggered by fever. It only affects two to three percent children and occurs between five months and five years of age. It usually stops within 30 seconds or one minute. All you have to do is remove the child’s clothes and turn him to the side if he is lying. Also remove any pillow from under his head.sni

SN: What is exclusive breastfeeding? For how long is it recommended?sni

It is when the mother only gives the child her own milk and not any other item like water or ghutti. Babies benefit from human milk as it gets digested easily. Exclusive feeding until about four months is crucial, six months is good and beyond that is parent’s call.sni

SN: How can working women ensure their child gets breast milk for the said period?sni

They can use breast pump to express milk and store it in a container. It will remain alright for four hours at room temperature, 24 hours in fridge and for two to three months in freezer. Many spoon feed expressed milk but babies can consume it from bottle too.sni

SN: Is formula milk safe for babies?sni

Formula milk is basically modified animal milk. It has three components: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Protein tends to cause allergies, asthma, eczema, diarrhea and blood in stool. This is because the lining of the intestinal wall is permeable which allows undigested protein to leak through it. This permeability is for first four months of baby’s life. To reduce the chance of these problems we strongly recommend to not give anything else during this period. Beyond four months you can add certain foods as supplements in their diet.sni

SN: Can a child have regular cow’s milk?sni

Cow’s milk contains high phosphate content which can cause seizures, allergies and many other health problems in children.sni

SN: Many mothers complain their children do not eat food. Your take on this?sni

How will children eat homemade food when parents buy them junk food several times a month? This is the commonest reason for children avoiding or disliking regular food. Also uncles, aunts and grandparents buy unhealthy stuff thinking they are being nice to them. This actually guarantees that the child will skip meals and even makes them prone to diseases like diabetes. So cut out junk food completely. Furthermore, some parents tend to take children to the grocery store which exposes them to various options for buying junk items.

Another reason for refusing food is insisting a child to eat. Parents can make a child do anything they want except two things; put food in upper hole (mouth) and get stool out of lower hole (anus). Children control parents by blocking these two holes of the body. Some parents assume that punishing children by depriving them of TV will help. But the child does not understand the timeout is because he did not eat. Rather he will blame the food and become more stubborn. So when he says ‘no’ just leave him. Another common reason is constipation which can be relieved by avoiding junk food and using stool softener.sni

SN: Why is constipation common in children these days?sni

One needs fiber and water to pass stool. Passing stool becomes difficult if one it not getting enough fiber. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole wheat and unprocessed grains. Nowadays majority of the food is processed which means it is fiber free. Moreover, children consume a lot of junk food like chips, juices, candies, ice-creams and biscuits etcetera. These are also fiber-free and sugary. Sugary foods can lead to loss of appetite.sni

SN: Are fruit juices as healthy as fruits?sni

Parents often give fruit juices to children who refuse whole fruits. They think both have same benefits but it is a misconception. Whole fruit contains fiber whereas fruit juice contains water and sugar.sni

SN: When can parents introduce cold drinks to children?sni

Never. A child should not have cold or any other sweet drink. The only beverage a child can have is water and milk without anything added in it.sni

SN: What is flu? Can it be treated with medicine?sni

Flu (نزلہ) is an illness caused due to a germ inhaled by the child. When this germ enters the body it leads to fever, cough, runny nose, irritability and loss of appetite. The good thing about flu is that it usually goes away within a week or 10 days. The bad thing is that there is no medicine in the world that can make it go away. Medicines given to counter flu in our part of the world are not allowed below four years in some states of America and six years of age in others. A humidifier, nasal aspirator and sometimes paracetamol can be used to relieve pain and discomfort associated with flu.sni

SN: Is it unhealthy for babies to spit up milk and other food content?sni

Almost all babies do this. It is normal and resolves with time.sni

SN: What causes crooked teeth?sni

Pacifier and bottle feeding are common causes of crooked teeth. Pacifier should not be used beyond a month and avoid bottle feeding.sni

SN: Some mothers use different ways to shape newborn’s head. Is it alright to do so?sni

This practice can be harmful for the child. When you put a pillow under the head, it bends the neck and the child’s air passage tends to narrow. This increases the risk of dying from a condition called sudden death syndrome. No child below one year of age should have a pillow under his head.sni

SN: How can children stop bed-wetting?sni

Most children grow out of it at some point. However, many parents behave unreasonably and victimize a child by verbal or physical abuse for wetting the bed even in much younger age. A child does not have control over bladder during sleep. The longer a parent blames the child, the lesser the chances that he will stop bedwetting.sni

SN: Any message you would like to give to the parents?sni

Enjoy your baby, spend time playing and talking to him. The more you interact the smarter he will be. Do not always assume the child is sick when he cries or is hungry when he smacks his lips. There are only four things a baby does: sleep, cry, poop and eat. Crying can be for many reasons but usually because they are too hot due to overwrapping. Also, it has become common nowadays to handover your mobile phone even to give a two-year old. This should be avoided. Screen time should be kept to a minimum. For a four-year child one hour of television, computer and other electronic devices is enough.sni

children health issues, bachon mai bed wetting ko kaisay rokein, kya bachon ka sar banana theek hai, bachon mai constipation aur bukhaar