December 30, 2011
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 4:53 pm
When a young child is ill it can be hard to tell if they are suffering from a sinus infection or from an upper respiratory infection, but it is important to know the signs of both so that you can make sure that they get the appropriate aid. Signs of a sinus infection in a young child usually include a stuffy nose, coughing, a runny nose, crying in infants for no apparent reason, and a fever.
What is tricky is that upper respiratory infections often have the same symptoms although the mucus in the nose will slowly turn green or yellow and the rest of the symptoms will be accompanies by fatigue and headache. Most of the time an upper respiratory infection will run much longer and affect the child much worse, lasting anywhere from five to seven days and getting much worse before it starts to show signs of getting better.
It is important, however, for parents to know that green or yellow mucus does not always mean that the infection is bacteria based which is a common misconception because not every condition should be treated with antibiotics, otherwise a child can develop a resistance to this type of medication..
If a child is found to have a bacterial sinus infection than most of the time he or she will be given antibiotics that have been found useful for treating sinus infections, with the treatment course dependent on the age, size, and period of the sinus congestion.
It is important to realise that not all sinus infections need treatment with antibiotics and sometimes it is up to the parent to question if a child really needs a course of treatment, or if it would be better simply to let their own immune system battle the infection.
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 4:51 pm
Most parents are aware of the fact that their children are bound to get sick from time to time, and that this is necessary for building up a strong immune system, and therefore not quite as bad as it may seem at the time. In fact, it is healthy for a child to be ill as it helps them become immune to diseases during their later years and is a perfectly normal part of a child’s development. However, the question for parents is how often is too often for a child to be ill?
It is becoming evermore common for children to be what is deemed ‘chronically sick’ ; suffering from runny noses almost every day of the year and others taking medication every night before they go to bed. Other common issues include sinus problems and digestive problems. A lot of parents think nothing of this, stating that it’s normal for a child to be frequently ill often, but normal is being ill every couple of months, not every week or day.
In fact, if a child is poorly this much then there has to be something wrong with the way their system is working, which most of the time can be attributed to their diet. For instance, many children have a problem with cow’s milk and gluten that causes problems and can make a child feel sick on a frequent basis.
Gluten often causes digestive upset, pain, and skin problems whereas cow’s milk can cause post nasal drip or a chronic runny nose in children. Avoiding these foods for three weeks can help you determine if they may be causing the problems for your child.
Sugar is another problem food for children as many times it does not allow the immune system to work properly, causing a child to be ill a great deal of time. Sports drinks and juices loaded with sugar are often to blame for this and an avoidance of sugar can help keep a child healthier long term than they previously may have been.
December 24, 2011
Filed under: Baby public health — Alan @ 3:11 am
Dealing with a divorce is relatively easy to cope with when it occurs, but during the Christmas holidays it can be much harder given the fact that there are so many festivities going on in the face of the dismal time in family life. Ironically, even though everyone thinks of the holidays as family time the website Metro.co.uk reports that it is actually one of the busiest times of the year for divorce lawyers who find more people filing then ever as the forced time together is more than a couple that is stressed can stand.
For children, facing the separation of their parents can be very hard as they will no doubt already know that their parents are tense and sense that their parents are at war. Parents at this point should try to protect them and keep them outside of the relationship being careful not to discuss how they feel about each other in front of the children and to keep their fights a minimum when the children are present.
However, parents still need to tell their children what is going on because avoiding the subject altogether could also cause problems. It can be hard as a parent to know exactly how to explain a divorce to a child. Young kids can be told that sometimes people have fights and need some time apart just like friends do which are terms that they can understand. They also need to be told that even if their parents break up both Mom and Dad will still love them as they may not understand this fact right away.
Older children most likely already have an indication of what is going on and given their advanced maturity will benefit most from being told straightforward what is going on. While they will need reassurance that both parents will love them and that they are not the source of the problem, being blunt with them will make them respect you more than if you try to hide it from them.
As mentioned, all of this is stressful without the holidays around to add to the problem which is why it is helpful to know how to stay calm on Christmas Day. To start off, as an adult you need to invoke your right to say no to situations that may be hard to handle such as spending the day at the in-laws. Instead, maybe friends would be a better choice or perhaps a different member of the family as they may help take the stress off you back.
On the other hand, a simple Christmas that is easy on the children and both you and your partner may be the best choice so that everyone can relax and just focus on the day instead of their public faces around people that they do not want to see their troubles. In addition, you may consider starting a new tradition such as doing something different to help from getting into any situation that is going to make you sentimental and emotional. IN the end the choice is yours, but the aim is to avoid adding on any more emotional stress then you already have which can be easily done if you take control of the holiday and plan it the way you want.
December 16, 2011
Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 5:08 pm
All new parents spend endless hours watching and wondering over their infants. This puts them on the front line so far as noticing when things seem amiss.
Parents are almost always the first to notice the signs of positional plagiocephaly, the medical term for an unusual flattening of the skull. It is usually on the back or on one side of the head, and it can be identified by the position of the bald spot that all babies get as they rub their heads on the bed covering. Positional plagiocephaly is common and found in as many as one in 30 infants. It occurs when an infant’s malleable skull is moulded by constant pressure. Often, that pressure may be part of the uterine environment. In other cases, that pressure is exerted when babies spend too much time sleeping in a single position or it can be associated with torticollis, a tightening in te muscle on one side of the neck.
If you notice your baby developing a flat spot on his or her head, consult your health visitor or GP right away. With the correct advice, and if noticed early enough the flat spot can be effectively treated through simple repositioning techniques. Plagiocephaly repositioning techniques are a form of physiotherapy for infants, and should not be implemented without input from a health care professional.
Repositioning Techniques for Plagiocephaly
Which part of your baby’s head is flattened? A useful guide here may be to think of the top of your baby’s head as a clock with the 12:00 mid day position at your baby’s nose. If you notice that your baby’s flattened spot is at the five o’clock position, at the back and right of your baby’s head, then you need to choose seven to nine o’clock positions deliberately as contact points and keep these in mind during all your interactions with your baby.
Positioning Your Baby While Awake
If you breastfeed, try feeding so that pressure is put on the side of your baby’s head that does not show flattening. Take care not to hold the part of your baby’s head that’s affected by positional plagiocephaly.
If you bottle feed, move your baby around so that no pressure is on the flattened part of the head. Position that point against your chest or arm. If your baby falls asleep in your arms, again be turn your baby’s head away from the flattened area. Yes, your baby may be disturbed when he or she is repositioned, but this is something you are doing for your baby’s own good.
When you take your baby out in a buggy or carrier, use a small towel to lift the flat part of your baby’s skull away from the hard surface inside the carrier. Do the same thing in a car seat or a bouncer. Whenever possible, make sure there is visual stimulation so that your baby will have plenty of incentive to turn his or her head so that the flat part does not make contact. Make sure your baby has plenty of supervised tummy time during the day!
Positioning Your Baby While Asleep
The Foundation for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) recommends that you should always place your baby on the back to sleep. This advice has saved thousands of baby’s lives. If your baby has a plagiocephaly position the head so that the flat spot does not touch the cot mattress. There are several pillows and cushions on the market. If you decide to use these always follow the manufacturer’s advice to ensure safety in sleeping. If the flat spot is at the back of your baby’s head, this may mean making a little pillow that can move your baby’s head off the affected spot. If you do this, make sure to clear it with your infant’s physician so that you are complying with his or her recommendations.
If by the age of four to five months, you are not seeing any improvement, you may consider using a helmet to gently correct the head shape as your baby continues to grow.
Since 2003 Technology in Motion has been providing treatment for plagiocephaly and brachycephaly (flat head syndrome), conditions which involve the deformation of the head of an infant.
Filed under: Baby items — Alan @ 5:07 am
Most people aspire to being ecologically aware, and this is particularly pertinent for parents as their offspring rely on the future of our planet. The problem is that even though they are eco-aware in other areas, they are mostly reluctant to try and reduce their carbon footprint by using non-disposable nappies.
GNappies have now come up with a hybrid alternative which they say give parents the best of both worlds. This combines a cloth nappy with a disposable liner and the loner is simply thrown away and the cloth nappy washed and reused.
Working parents, or those which more than one baby, may still feel that this is time consuming and they would prefer to stick to their disposable nappies, but what many fail to realise is that by changing to these biodegradable nappies they are having positive effect on the environment.
Says Kim Graham-Nye, co-founder of gNappies, “Parents genuinely want to do better environmentally and, many are horrified to learn that disposable nappies account for a third of landfill. However, cloth nappies aren’t for everyone – which is why the hybrid option is a great solution. Changing nappies doesn’t have to be such as chore– and the availability of disposable and biodegradable refills means it’s even easier for parents to consider this as a viable option.”
Kim and her husband Jason introduced the hybrid nappy concept after discovering shocking facts about disposable nappies and their impact on the environment. Around 11 million disposable nappies enter UK landfill every day, each taking up to 500 years to decompose and accounting for a third of the world’s landfill.
gNappies gives the option to choose between disposable nappies or cloth nappies – with the disposable element being a gRefill – an insert which is home compostable or can be disposed of in the domestic waste. On a home compost, the gRefill only takes 50 – 100 days to biodegrade, compared with 500 years for a single disposable nappy.
gNappies come in a range of colours, patterns and sizes. The dedicated gNappies UK website - www.gnappies.co.uk – features all the products as well as gBundle starter packs.
December 15, 2011
Filed under: Baby items — Alan @ 8:48 am
There are many things that you will need to consider buying before your baby is born and one of these is the sort of bedding that you want to choose for your child. A recent innovation in the baby bedding market is the idea of a baby sleeping bag.
While these are popular with some parents, most are still choosing to use cotton cellular blankets as these allow parents to keep their baby at the right temperature in the easiest way. Using many layers of blankets means that they can simply be added or removed as needed. With a sleeping bag you do not have this flexibility and this is why it is not so popular with parents.
If your baby is going to be sleeping in a room that is quite cold then it can be a good idea to use a warm blanket than the traditional cotton type, there are many different fabrics that can be considered for colder temperatures.
Acrylic cellular blankets are better than cotton ones at keeping a child warm and can be a great option for parents with a cold house. Wool blankets are another good option for providing additional warm but these can be harder to wash, if you do choose will make sure that they can be washed in a machine where you are going to be washing a great many sheets by hand.
Sleeping bags do have significant advantages however and one of the most notable of these is that the baby cannot kick them off. A common problem the parents face when using blankets is that the baby will kick off in the night and this can mean they are too cold. A baby cannot put the blankets back over themselves, so parents will be woken to a babies cries and they will have to tuck them back in. If parents choose a sleeping bag this problem can be prevented.
There are sleeping bags designed for newborn babies but most parents prefer to not use them for the first few weeks. If the weather is particularly cold then extra sheets can be added to a sleeping bag to increase its warmth.
There is some safety advice to consider when using a sleeping bag for children and this comes from the Study of Infant Deaths. They say that you should never use a sleeping bag that has a hood or has a neck that is too small and this can mean the baby slips inside the sleeping bag and can suffocate. They also recommend against using wool blankets on top of the sleeping bag as this will cause your baby to overheat.
You should also make sure that you can make your chosen bag is appropriate for the temperature outside. The warmth a sleeping bag provides is measured in togs and you should have a higher top number for the colder months and a lower one in the summer
Duvets are something very popular with adults, but if you are using them with a baby it is best to wait until they are at least one-year-old. Babies will find a duvets are simply too hot for them and they can also restrict their movements. If you choose a duvet make sure that it is made out of only cotton.
December 9, 2011
Filed under: Child Birth — Alan @ 9:23 am
New guidelines have been issued by maternity services in the UK and women are now entitled to choose a caesarean section. They are able to choose this method of birth even if they have no medical need for it and they are also to be offered counselling about the risks associated with the procedure.
The Royal College of Midwives have recently stated that this is something that already happens and the new guidelines are merely a formalisation of a process that already was happening.
The guidelines have been produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and it is said that the guidelines will probably mean that the number of women having a caesarean will actually decrease because of increased awareness about the procedure. The guidelines that have come from Nice have highlighted the risks that both caesarean and vaginal birth.
Currently about one in four women in the United Kingdom have a caesarean section and in most cases these are planned ahead so that the health so the mother is assured. The risks that are highlighted in the guidelines are for women who are choosing to have a caesarean section ahead of time, if you have one during pregnancy because of complications the risks are very different and sometimes a mother may need to be transferred to an intensive care unit.
Mothers who have a caesarean section are also more prone to postnatal depression and are more likely to have trouble breastfeeding their baby. The guidelines also highlight the risks of giving birth through the vagina which include, injury to the vagina, shock from loss of blood, heavy bleeding and pain. The risks associated with a caesarean section include admission to the ICU, a longer hospital stay, bleeding, the potential need for a hysterectomy, and heart attack.
The guidelines also confirmed that having a Caesarean section is significantly less painful than giving birth through the vagina. However, they also state that three days after giving birth the pain is equal to that of someone who had a vaginal birth. It also found that the vagina might be damaged during a traditional birth but highlights that there are significant benefits of it over a caesarean section.
The more major risks of a caesarean section, such as heart attack and the need for a hysterectomy are incredibly low with the figures being 0.2% and 0.03% respectively. The guidelines also give information about the chance of death during birth although they state that information is conflicting.
One study showed that a caesarean section was less likely to cause death but then another study showed there was a higher risk for those having a caesarean. The data on which is safer is quite conflicting but all studies agree that the chances of something happening are incredibly low.
The chance of complications occurring were found to be less than 1% no matter what method of delivery you chose. However, considering the health of the baby is important and babies who are born vaginally at significantly less likely to need admission to an intensive care unit.
December 1, 2011
Filed under: New Born — Alan @ 7:19 am
A recent study of over 3000 mothers has shown that they have less sex after having given birth. Around 40% of those who answered the study said that they felt that their partners found them less attractive since they had had a baby. The survey also showed that around a third of women said that since having a child their partners viewed them as a mother, rather than a sexual partner.
The survey showed that nearly 80% of mothers have less sexual intercourse after the birth of a child and 20% said that since giving birth they were no longer seen as sexual by their partners. This leads to mothers having the additional problem that because of the change in a relationship they see themselves as a different person to who they were before.
Since giving birth nearly half of the mothers said that they have lost touch with fashions and trends and many have said this is because their bodies have been affected by giving birth and they feel less attractive.
The women surveyed said that is not just their sexual partners that make them feel less attractive and more like a mother. Nearly 90% of those surveyed said that since they have become a mother they are treated differently by those closest to them.
Siobhan Freegard is the founder of the website netmums and has recently said, “Being a mother is part of being a woman and while having children is certainly a life changing experience it isn’t something that should cause women to lose their sexuality. There is no reason that mothers should stop spending time on their appearance and interests just because they have had a baby. Mothers should find time for themselves even though they might have less time available.”
When a young child is ill it can be hard to tell if they are suffering from a sinus infection or from an upper respiratory infection, but it is important to know the signs of both so that you can make sure that they get the appropriate aid. Signs of a sinus infection in a young child usually include a stuffy nose, coughing, a runny nose, crying in infants for no apparent reason, and a fever.
