Childhood Illnesses

Parents worry about many common childhood illnesses especially in babies as they don't have a fully developed immune system, so they tend to get lots of colds and other minor problems. Do talk to a health professional if you are at all worried about any symptoms. Below is a very short guide listing some of the most common illnesses. If you are ever unsure about your child's health always make an appointment to see your doctor.

Allergic reactions
An allergic reaction is usually mild, causing hives, welts and itching. Hives look like large red patches which are normally raised and come and go disappearing in one area and popping up in another. Hives usually clear up after a few days, but may last a few weeks. Your GP can advise you on treatment, which is likely to involve an antihistamine.

A more serious type of allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, can be life threatening. This causes wheezing, breathing problems and difficulty swallowing. Your child may also feel scared and weak, and will usually have hives and swelling. If your child is experiencing these symptoms, call 999 immediately.

The most common things that children can have allergic reactions to include: medicines, foods, especially nuts, seafood, beans, egg, milk and wheat, insect stings, food additives and latex.

Asthma
Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways leading to the lungs. It causes attacks of coughing and difficulty in breathing, which can be very frightening for you and your child. Symptoms are often worse at night.

Chronic asthma is the most common long-term children's disease especially in premature babies. However, many children grow out of asthma and the milder your child's symptoms are, the more likely they are to grow out of it.

Once your GP has diagnosed asthma, they are likely to prescribe medication - either a reliever or a preventer, or both - and it is important that you give these to your child regularly. Try to keep your child away from the things you know will trigger an attack, such as cigarette smoke, pollen, pets and dust.

If your child has an asthma attack, try to stay calm and show your child that you are calm. This will help him not to panic. If symptoms persist and the medication does not take effect, call an ambulance.

How to help your child use an inhaler
Using a spacer device:

• Remove the cover from the inhaler mouthpiece
• Hold the inhaler upright and give it a shake
• Insert it into the end of the spacer
• Hold the spacer at a 45¬∞ angle
• Place the mask over your child's mouth or put the mouthpiece in your child's mouth
• Press the top of the inhaler to give a dose of medicine
• Ask your child to breathe in deeply about five or ten times
• Wait a few seconds before giving another dose
• When you have finished, remove the inhaler from the spacer
• Put the cover back over the mouthpiece and keep the inhaler and spacer somewhere handy

Not using a spacer device:

• Remove the cover from the inhaler mouthpiece
• Hold the inhaler upright and give it a shake
• Ask your child to breathe out gently
• Keeping the inhaler upright, put the mouthpiece in their mouth and close their lips around it so there are no leaks
• Press the top of the inhaler to give a dose of medicine
• Ask your child to hold their breath for about ten seconds then breathe out and wait a few seconds before administering another dose
• When you have finished, put the cover back over the mouthpiece and keep the inhaler somewhere handy

Chickenpox
Chickenpox is caused by a virus and is usually a mild illness for a child. It is rare in babies under one year old. It can take between 12 and 21 days from the time your child is infected until the spots begin to appear.

Chickenpox can make your child feel unwell and he may develop a slight fever. Clusters of itchy red spots will appear first on his body, then on his face and limbs. These spots turn to blisters that look like drops of water, and these will burst and gradually crust over.
Try to stop your child scratching as this can cause the spots and blisters to become infected.

Calamine lotion will help to ease the itching.

Keep your child cool, as heat and sweat may make the itching worse. Keep your child away from other children until no more new blisters appear and all the spots have crusted over and formed scabs.

Chicken pox has a two week incubation period and is highly contagious by air transmission two days before symptoms appear. Therefore chicken pox spreads quickly through schools and other places of close contact. Once a child has been infected with the disease, they usually develop an immunity and cannot get it again. The disease is more severe if contracted by an adult, and parents have been known to ensure that their children became infected before adulthood.

Croup
Croup is caused by a viral infection in the upper airways and causes a barking cough. It usually occurs in children under five, and often clears up without medical treatment within 24 to 48 hours.

The signs of croup are a rough, barking cough, hoarseness and noisy breathing. The symptoms often occur at night when your child has been lying down for a couple of hours, and may be accompanied by a fever.

Keep yourself and your child calm

• Sit your child up, which will allow him to breathe more easily.
• Avoid large meals or feeds, as coughing may cause your child to be sick.
• Inhaling steam can help - try sitting your child in the bathroom (not the bath) with the hot tap running and the door closed, but always stay with him in case of scalding or drowning.
• Encourage your child to drink plenty of milk or water.
• If they have difficulty breathing or blueness around his nose, mouth and nails, seek urgent medical help immediately.
• If your child has a fever he should wear as few clothes as possible and sleep under light covers.

Colds and coughs
Most babies and children will have several colds a year.
Symptoms include: Blocked up or runny nose, Sneezing and/or coughing. If these are your child's only symptoms, let them rest, give them plenty of fluids and perhaps infant paracetamol, or an infant decongestant (if your child is over three months). However, if your child has a high temperature, is floppy or seems very unwell, do seek medical advice.

Conjunctivitis
Viruses or bacteria can cause this common eye infection. It spreads easily, so don't share towels or washing items with a family member who has it. Signs of conjunctivitis are:

• The white of the eye may look bloodshot or pink and there may be yellow flecks in the corner of his eye or on his eyelashes
• Your child's eyelids may be stuck together with yellow matter.
• To unstick and clean eyes, gently wipe them with cotton wool dipped in cool, boiled water. Use a fresh piece of cotton wool for each eye.
• If the infection hasn't cleared up after a day, see your GP who will prescribe medication.
• Conjunctivitis does not damage eyesight, but if you're concerned that your child may have a sight problem, talk to your GP. Sight tests are free for children up to 16.

How to give your child eye drops:

• Wash your hands
• Shake the bottle
• Remove the top from the bottle and throw away the plastic seal
• Get your child into any of these positions to give the eye drops:
• Tilt your child's head back
• Lay your child flat on his or her back
• Ask someone to hold your child in a safe position
• Wrap your baby or young child in a light blanket or sheet to keep his or her arms and legs still
• Gently pull down your child's lower eyelid
• Avoid touching the dropper against your child's eye, eyelashes or any other surface
• Hold the dropper above your child's eye and squeeze one drop into the lower eyelid
• Release the lower eyelid and let your child blink a few times to make sure the drop is spread around the eye
• Wipe away any excess with a clean tissue
• If you are using another type of eye drop, wait a few minutes before giving it. This will stop the first drop being washed out by the second before it has had time to work

Diarrhoea
This is when your child has very loose, runny poos (stools) and passes them much more frequently than is usual for him.

If your child has diarrhoea and is aged between three months and one year, rehydration sachets can be used but only under medical supervision. Children over one year can have rehydration sachets made up with cooled, boiled water according to the instructions on the packet. If your child seems otherwise healthy and wishes to eat normally, let him do so.

Seek medical advice if:

• Your young baby has severe diarrhoea Has diarrhoea for more than 24 hours
• It is accompanied by vomiting
• Your child seems dehydrated
• Signs of dehydration include floppiness, sunken eyes, dry mouth or lips, dry nappies, darker urine than normal. The smaller and younger the baby, the more quickly he can dehydrate. Call your doctor if you are worried that your baby is becoming dehydrated.

Ear problems
Ear infections are common in young children; viruses cause some infections

Signs of ear infections include:

• Your child pulling at his ear a lot
• A red, inflamed ear
• Fluid leaking from his ear
• A fever (temperature over 37.5 C)
• An older child telling you he cannot hear as well as normal or his ear aches
• Take your child to the GP who will be able to check whether he has an infection. Some children also develop glue ear', a build-up of sticky fluid that is very common in children under five. If your child has glue ear he may be given medication to help clear it, but if it persists, your GP might refer him to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for further treatment.

How to give your child ear drops or spray:

• Wash your hands
• Get your child into any of these positions with the ear you are treating facing upwards
• Tilt your child's head back and to one side
• Lay your child flat on his or her back
• Ask someone to hold your child in a safe position as
  above
• Wrap your baby or young child in a light blanket or sheet to keep his or her arms and legs still.
• Remove the top of the bottle or spray
• Gently pull your child's earlobe backwards to open up the ear canal
• Put the right amount of drops or spray into the ear canal
• Keep your child in this position for a few minutes so the drops or spray can spread inside the ear
• If your child needs drops or spray in the other ear, turn him or her over so that the other ear is facing upwards and repeat the above steps

How to give your child eye ointment:

• Wash your hands
• Get your child into any of these positions to apply the eye ointment:
• Tilt your child's head back
• Lay your child flat on his or her back
• Ask someone to hold your child in a safe position
• Wrap your baby or young child in a light blanket or sheet to keep his or her arms and legs still
• Remove the top from the tube
• Gently pull down your child's lower eyelid
• Avoid touching the end of the tube against your child's eye, eyelashes or any other surface.
• Apply a half-inch (1cm) strip of ointment inside the inner surface of your child's lower eyelid.
• Release the lower eyelid and ask your child to close his or her eyes for a few minutes.
• Put the top back on the ointment tube.
• After a few minutes, ask your child to blink a few times to make sure the whole of the eye is covered by the ointment.
• Wipe away any excess with a clean tissue.

Eczema
Eczema is a common type of itchy red rash sometimes called dermatitis. As many as one in five children develop eczema and it usually begins in the first year of life, but rarely before two months. Most children grow out of eczema by their teenage years.

The rash of eczema is dry, red and itchy. It may become dry, scaly and cracked, oozing yellowish fluid and forming crusts, especially if the child has been scratching. The rash may develop anywhere on the body, but in younger children the face, cheeks, scalp, forearms and front of legs are most commonly affected.

In older children, the rash is usually more localised to where joints bend the skin especially at the wrists, elbows, knees and ankles.

The main treatment is to keep the skin moist and supple by using Emollients, which are oily treatments in creams or added to bath water, which help to keep the skin soft such as Inkomfe.

Many factors can make the symptoms worse such as cow's milk, stress and contact with perfume, nickel, lanolin and detergents. Woollen clothing can also irritate eczema.

Fever
A fever (temperature over 37.5 C) means that your child is hotter than he should be. It's important to cool him down as much as possible by removing warm clothes or bedding, sponging him with lukewarm water and giving the recommended dose of infant paracetamol, occasionally a child with a high temperature may have a seizure

If your baby has a seizure:

• Do not try to restrain him
• Lay him on his side and ensure he can breathe
• Call for medical help as your child will need to be taken to hospital for investigation

German Measles
Rubella (also known as German Measles) is a disease caused by the Rubella virus. The virus usually enters the body through the nose or throat. The disease can last 1-5 days, but has a long incubation period of 14 to 21 days. Children recover more quickly than adults.

Symptoms of rubella include:
Swollen glands, fever, rash, inflammation of the eyes, nasal congestion, joint pain and swelling

Rubella can affect anyone of any age and is generally a mild disease. However if a woman contracts rubella in the first eight to ten weeks of pregnancy the effects on her unborn baby can be very serious, including deafness, blindness, heart, problems or brain damage.

Fewer cases of rubella occur since a vaccine became available in 1969. Most people are vaccinated against rubella as children at 12-15 months of age. A second dose is required before age 11.

Head Lice

Lice are small black insects which live on the scalp. Lice feed by sucking blood from the scalp. They lay eggs, which attach onto individual hairs. These are called nits. Lice hatch after 7 days: are fully grown and lay eggs at 14 days. Symptoms include continuous itching of the scalp, back of the ears, bottom of the head near the neckline and central to the crown.

Treatment is easy by purchasing a nit comb or special shampoo from your local chemist. Wash the hair and apply conditioner, thoroughly comb through sections of hair. Repeat this every couple of days until all lice and eggs are removed. Follow this procedure once a week. Let your child's school know if they have head lice.

Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial infection, which can be spread by direct contact between one individual and another. The bacteria that cause this condition infest the skin by entering via a cut, insect bite or a skin condition. It can be uncomfortable and distressing to a child, although in itself is not a serious condition. Skin becomes red with thin walled blisters that contain yellow or honey coloured fluid. The blisters burst and raw, moist sores are left, which gradually enlarge. Crusts form as the surface of the sores dry out.

Measles
Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or indirectly), and is highly contagious. 90% of people without immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. Airborne precautions should be taken for all suspected cases of measles.

The incubation period usually lasts for 10-12 days (during which there are no symptoms). Infections occur by droplets from the mouth or nose. It may start like a bad cold with lots of catarrh and a temperature. Infected people remain contagious from the appearance of the first symptoms until 3-5 days after the rash appears.

Symptoms

The classical symptoms of measles include a fever for at least 3 days duration. The fever may reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit).

The rash in measles begins several days after the fever starts. It starts on the head before spreading to cover most of the body. The measles rash also classically stains by changing colour to dark brown from red before disappearing later. The rash can be itchy.

There is no specific treatment for uncomplicated measles. Patients with uncomplicated measles will recover with rest and supportive treatment.

Meningitis and Septicaemia
Meningitis is caused by a viral or bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

Both Meningitis and Septicaemia are devastating diseases that can kill in hours so if you suspect your child is ill then get medical help immediately.

Symptoms of meningitis:

• Severe headache
• Stiff neck (unusual in young children)
• Dislike of bright lights (unusual in young children)
• Fever/vomiting
• Drowsy and less responsive/vacant
• Rash
• Seizures (fits) may also be seen.

The Tumbler Test : If a glass tumbler is pressed firmly against a septicaemic rash, the marks will not fade. You will be able to see the rash through the glass. If this happens seek medical help immediately. It is harder to see on dark skin, so check paler areas.

Septicaemia is the blood poisoning form of the disease caused by the same bacteria that cause meningitis.

Symptoms of septicaemia
This form of the illness often starts with non-specific flu-like symptoms:

• Rash
• Fever/vomiting
• Cold hands and feet/shivering
• Rapid or unusual breathing
• Joint/muscle pain
• Abdominal pain (sometimes with diarrhoea)
• Drowsy and less responsive/vacant.

Other symptoms in babies include: tense or bulging fontanelle (soft spot); blotchy skin, getting paler or turning blue; refusing to feed; be irritable when picked up, with a high pitched or moaning cry; a stiff body with jerky movements or else floppy and lifeless.

Symptoms can appear in any order, not everyone gets all the symptoms and septicaemia can occur with or without meningitis.

Mumps
Mumps is another viral illness which causes swelling around the cheeks and neck. Prior to the development of vaccination, it was a common childhood disease worldwide, and is still a significant threat to health in the third world. It causes painful enlargement of the salivary or parotid glands.

Causes and risks:

The mumps are caused by a paramyxovirus, which is spread from person to person by saliva droplets or direct contact with articles that have been contaminated with infected saliva. The parotid glands (the salivary glands between the ear and the jaw) are usually involved. Children between the ages of 2 and 12 are most commonly infected, but the infection can occur in other age groups. In older people, other organs may become involved including the testes, the central nervous system, the pancreas, the prostate, the breasts, and other organs. The incubation period is usually 12 to 24 days.

MMR immunisation (vaccine) protects against measles, mumps and rubella and should be given to children 15 months old. The vaccination is repeated in some locations between 4 to 6 years of age, or between 11 and 12 years of age if not previously given.

Symptoms:
Face pain, swelling of the parotid glands (neck swelling), fever, headaches, sore throat and swelling of the temples or jaw. Additional symptoms in males that may be associated with this disease are testicular pain, testicular enlargement and scrotal swelling.

There is no specific treatment for mumps. Symptoms may be relieved by the application of intermittent ice or heat to the affected neck area, acetaminophen, oral for pain relief (do not give aspirin to children with a viral illness because of the risk of Reye's syndrome). Warm salt water gargles, soft foods, and extra fluids may also help relieve symptoms.

Vomiting
This means being sick or throwing up. It is quite normal for a baby to bring up a little milk after a feed. However, if your child brings up his entire meal, this may be symptom of a virus. Occasionally it can be a sign of something more serious, particularly if it's accompanied by other symptoms.

Call your doctor if your child is sick more than twice in twenty four hours or has additional symptoms that worry you, particularly if he seems much more listless and floppy than normal or appears dehydrated

If you think your child has been poisoned, call for medical help immediately and tell the doctor what you think has caused the poisoning.

Whooping Cough
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease, transmitted by droplets from the nose or mouth and is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths

Symptoms:
A cough, fever, sneezing, and runny nose. After several weeks the cough changes character, with coughing followed by a "whooping" sound which can go on for several weeks. Coughing fits may be followed by vomiting, which in severe cases leads to malnutrition.

The whooping cough vaccine offers protection for a few years, and is given so that immunity lasts through childhood, the time of greatest exposure and greatest risk. Immunisations are often given in combination with tetanus and diphtheria immunizations, at ages 2, 4, and 6 months, and later at 15-18 months and 4-6 years.

How to give your child liquid medicines using an oral syringe:

• Wash your hands
• Shake the medicine bottle before opening
• Insert the bottle adapter into the open bottle if necessary
• Draw up the required dose of medicine using an oral syringe as instructed
• Put the tip of the oral syringe inside your child's mouth
• Gently push the plunger to squirt small amounts of medicine into the side of your child's mouth
• Allow your child to swallow before continuing to push the plunger
• Give your child a drink to wash down the medicine
• When you have given the whole dose, wash the syringe in warm, soapy water or throw away in your household rubbish

Important

• Do not squirt all of the medicine into your child's mouth in one go - he or she may choke
• Do not aim the syringe at the centre of your child's mouth - aim at the area between the gums and the inside of his or her cheek

How to give your child suppositories:

• Remember - suppositories should never be swallowed
• Sit your child on the toilet to see if he or she needs a poo
• Wash your hands
• Warm the suppository in your hands for a minute
• Remove the foil or plastic wrapping
• Get your child into any of these positions to give the suppository
• Squatting down
• Lying on one side with one leg straight and the other bent
• Standing up with one leg raised
• Gently but firmly push the suppository into your child's bottom
• Push it in far enough that it does not slip out again
• Ask your child to close his or her legs and hold your child's buttock together for a few minutes
• Wash your hands again

How to give your child tablets or capsules:

Tablets or capsules that need to be swallowed whole:

• Wash your hands
• Remove the required number of tablets or capsules from the bottle and put in a plastic cup
• Ask your child to rest one on his or her tongue
• Give your child a drink from a ‛grown up' cup - one without a spout is best
• The tablet or capsule should be swallowed along with the drink
• Repeat with the rest of the dose if necessary

Tablets or capsules that can be crushed or emptied:

• Wash your hands
• Remove the required number of tablets or capsules from the bottle and put in a plastic cup
• For tablets - Put the tablet in the tablet crusher or crush between two spoons and empty the crushed tablet back into the plastic cup
• For capsules - Hold the capsule over the plastic cup and gently pull the two halves apart so that the capsule contents fall into the plastic cup
• Mix the crushed tablet or capsule contents with a teaspoon of yoghurt, making sure that they are well mixed
• Feed the yoghurt mixture to your child
• Give your child a drink to wash down the medicine

If any medical symptoms persist, always visit your GP.

Call NHS Direct on 0845 4647