Your Child's Favorite Food Can Be a Source of Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a highly infectious liver disease. It is caused by a virus. In serious cases, it can lead to death. Hepatitis A can be spreaded through faecal contamination and then by hand to mouth contact. This is why children are particularly at risk. It can be spreaded by somebody who simply forget to wash his or her hands after changing diaper or using the bathroom. It be spreaded through contaminated food and water. Contamination shellfish is a common source of infection. It is also known to spread in a child care centre environment. The virus itself is extremely resistant and is not easily destroyed. It can survive for a very long time in the environment.

The symptoms of Hepatitis A may include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nauseam abdominal discomfort, dark colored urine and jaundice. If you have any doubts, you should consult your doctor for clinical tests.

In November 2003, 3 people died and almost 500 people fell ill after eating contaminated food at a Pittsburgh restaurant. It is the biggest known outbreak of Hepatitis A in United States of America. Around 100 deaths occurs in the United States each year as a result of severe Hepatitis A infection.

Fortunately, there is a vaccine available to protect your child. It is suitable for infant as young as 1 year old. For older children, there is a combination vaccine that also protect against the more dangerous Hepatitis B. Hepatitis A infection in young children less than 6 years old, is problematic because there may not be any symptoms. They can spread the disease to other family members whle the disease is still not detected. In any cases, proper hygiene is very important. All it takes is one person's lapse in hygiene combined with faecal contamination. So do teach your child good hygiene practice.

What To Do When Your Child Has Diarrhoea

Causes of Diarrhoea

There are many causes of diarrhoea. Diarrhoea can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or intolerance to certain food such as cow milk or fruit juices. Excessive intake of apple, banana or prune juice can cause diarrhoea. Intestinal or bowel disorder will also cause diarrhoea. Some medication such as antibiotics and antacids affects children resulting in watery stools.

Diarrhoea Can Lead More Serious Problems

Diarrhoea will lead to dehydration if not handled properly. The loss of body fluid can affect the body's normal functions. When suffering from diarrhoea, a child's intestinal lining may lose certain enzymes that are necessary for breaking down carbohydrates. Common cow's milk can aggravate the condition further leading to excessive fluid loss. For young children, this can lead to more serious health problem.

How to Handle Diarrhoea in Young Children

It is important to feed your child fliud frequently. Even if your child vomits, some fluid will still be absorbed. This will help to prevent dehydration. Your doctor may prescribe oral electrolyte solution. This help to quickly replenish fliud and electrolytes lost from your child's body. Do not use home made salt solution as the quantity of salt may be too much. Do not use sports drinks either. If in doubt consult your doctor.

Try to feed your child as normal as possible. Your child still need constant nutrition. Feed smaller portions if necessary. Serve more of the starchy food such as bread, pasta, cereal, rice or mashed potatoes. If your child show signs of intolerance to formula cow milk, you can switch to soy-based milk.

If your child's condition does not improve in 24 to 48 hours, you should consult the doctor again. Other signs to watch out for are blood in stools and  high temperature.

Signs of Dehydration

If your child shows these signs of dehydration, you should consult your doctor.

• No tears when crying
• Dark area around eyes
• Decreased urine production
• Dry tongue and mouth
• Sunken eyes
• Sunken soft spot on top of head

Why You Should Be Concerned About Pneumococcal Disease

Most people are clueless about pneumococcal diseases. Many have not heard of the disease yet it is a serious threat to young children and the elderly. Many parents would dismiss the symptoms as pneumococcal diseases can sometimes display symptoms, which are similar to other common ailments such as flu or common cold. Pneumococcal disease is a serious disease not to be trifled with. It is a leading cause of serious ailments around the world. Young children below the age of 5 and the elderly above the age of 65 are most susceptible to pneumococcal diseases. As a parent, you should learn about this disease as data have shown that children below the age of two are at the highest risk developing severe cases of pneumococcal diseases.

Pneumococcal disease is caused by a common bacterium, the pneumococcus. This is the leading cause of pneumococcal death around the world. The pneumococcus bacterium is perhaps the most serious cause of disease in early infancy. Serious respiratory infections kill approximately 2.6 million young children under the age of 5 around the world each year. Of these, it is estimated that the pneumococcus bacterium causes over one million deaths. When the pneumococcus bacterium attacks the lungs, it causes bacterial pneumonia. The bacterium also attacks other part of the body. When it enters the blood, it causes bacteremia or bloodstream infection. When the brain is attacked, it causes meningitis or brain infection. Pneumococcus can also attacks the ear and nasal tissues, causing otitis media or middle ear infection. Another common ailment is sinusitis caused when the bacterium attacks the sinus membranes.

It can be difficult to differentiate between the symptoms of a common cold or flu and pneumococca; disease. If your child is not responding well to treatment for cold or flu, you should consult a doctor. Especially if your child is breathless and distressed. Other symptoms include lethargy, chest pain, ear pain, dizziness, vomitting, headaches, neck pain and loss of appetite. 

Pneumococcal vaccination is the best mean of reducing the chances of infection. With the prevalence of the pneumococcus bacterium and the severe ailments it can cause for young children, it is advisable for parents to vaccinate their children as early as possible. This is particularly important as many children attend playgroups and childcare at a young age, increasing the risk of exposure. With vaccination, not only are the children protected, but also the rest of the household, especially the elderly who are also at great risk.

Spanking Young Children Can Lead To Aggressive Behaviour Later

Children who are spanked by their parent frequently at age of three are more likely to develop aggressive behaviour when they're five. This is according to a recent study published in the May 2010 issue of the journal Paediatrics. In the study, researchers surveyed 2,500 mothers with young children of the age of three. It was found that two years later, the mothers who had spanked their children more frequently reported higher levels of aggressive behaviour such as arguing, shouting, screaming, fighting, destroying things, acts of cruelty or bullying in their children.

In the survey done at the children's age of three, nearly half of the mothers had said that they had not spanked their children in the past month, while 27.9 per cent said reported spanking one or two times and 26.5 reported spanking more than twice.

The result of the study reinforce earlier studies which have found that young children who are spanked have lower IQ scores. Frequent spanking during childhood has been linked to growing up problems such as anxiety and behaviour problems as well as higher risk of violent or criminal behaviour, depression and excessive alcohol use.

The American Academy of Paediatrics strongly discourage striking children for any reason and recommends more effective means such as time outs, withholding special privileges and logical consequences for bad actions like taking toys away for the rest of the day if a child does not keep them properly after play.




Perhaps, I am one of the outliers. I was punished almost weekly by my Chinese language teacher in Primary 3 and Primary 5. I had the misfortune of having that horrible man as my teacher twice. I failed almost all my weekly spelling and I swear, by the smirk on his face, that he took delight in slapping my palm with a ruler or hitting my buttock. I do not remember the physical pain. It is the shame and humiliation that haunts me. I grew up hating the subject and today, I cannot read and write in Chinese. But I digressed. Despite being spanked, I do not think that I have aggressive behaviour today. I do not punish my daughter by spanking. I do not see the need for punishment in the past two years. I had only made her stand in a corner twice when she was younger. It is a simple thing but the fact that I am angry enough to punish her is punishment enough for my daughter. So, do I have aggressive behaviour? I think not.

Gastroenteritis. Diarrhoea From Rotavirus

Gastroenteristis is an infection of the gut usually caused by a virus known as Rotavirus. It can also be caused by bacteria such as Camphylobacter and Samonella. It causes serious diarrhoea lasting up to 3 weeks along with vomitting and fever. Infection by Rotavirus can cause serious symptoms requiring hospitalisation and even death. Diarrhoea may occur up to 20 times a day and vomitting yup to 15 times a day. The loss of fluid can lead to dehydration and causes shock, kidney failure or even brain damage. This is a dreadful disease that can inflict a child. It is in fact the common cause of severe diarrhoea and vomitting among babies. It is estimated that almost all children are infected with Rotavirus by the age of 5. It is most common among babies from the age of 6 months to 2 years. Breastfeeding for as long as possible is one mean to prevent infection.

Rotavirus is high infectious and is transmitted by faecal-oral route. The virus can remain on toys and other objects for days. Hence, it is easily spreaded at home and places such as day care centres. Hence, preventive measures include regular disinfection of play areas and handwashing. With known infection, the whole house should be disinfected and handwashing done with alcohol based hand-cleaning agent.

There is no cure for Rotavirus. Treatment is mainly to prevent dehydration or to rehydrate and to bolster the body's immune system to fight the virus. Fortunately, there are vaccines available to protect against Rotavirus. Consult your doctor if you want to protect your young children against this disease.

Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD)

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is an cute viral disease. HFMD is characterised by fever, mouth ulcers, skin rashes and sore throat. It affects mainly children below the age of 10 although many adults do get infected. HFMD is caused by many members of virus family, Enterovirus. The most common culprit is Coxsackie A16.

HFMD is spread by direct contact with the infected person's salvia, nasal discharge, faeces and vesicular fluid. It is also spread by indirect contact through contaminated objected handled by the infected person.

The symptoms of HFMD is a fever lasting 2-3 days, followed by sore throat with blister-like vesicles on the mouth. The vesicles would burst and leave painful ulcers on the gums and the side of the tongue. There may be raised red vesicular skin lesions on the palms, soles and buttocks. These symptoms can last for 7-10 days. The infected person may have diarrhoea and vomiting.

There is no cure or vaccine for HFMD. Hence, it is important to prevent the disease in the first place.

Fortunately, most cases of HFMD are mild. However, there are the occasional complications affecting the nervous system, heart and lungs which affect mainly children under the age of 5. So it is necessary to be vigilant.

Symptoms of severe HFMD are prolonged high fever, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, poor appetite, severe vomiting with dehydration, general weakness or numbness, confused mental state and lethargy. Patients with such symptoms should be sent to the nearest hospital.

Personal hygiene is an important preventive measure especially for young children. Cultivate good habits such as hand-washing. If anybody in the family is affected, avoid close contact and wash his or her personal belonging thoroughly. Especially things which may be soiled with saliva or faeces.


See more information on  Severe HFMD

High Risk Factors For Heart Disease

Diet High In Fat

Do you like fatty food? Well, welcome to the high risk grouo for heart disease. Fatty food is almost unavoidable, being so prevalent in our diet. It is no wonder that it is also one of the most prevalent heart disease risk factors. If you consume too much fatty foods over a period of time, you will have a build up of those fat in your blood stream. This is detrimental to your health in two ways. Firstly, it increases blood pressure. Secondly, it can clog up the arteries through accumulation of cholesterol on the wall lining. Young children are not immune to this risk factor. So it is wise to start your children on a healthy diet early.

Genetic

Some heart disease are hereditary. That is why you should be more careful if there are members of your family with heart disease. If you are genetically predispose to heart disease, staying active and healthy, and keeping a proper diet will eliminate this heart disease risk factor. But it will certainly help to prevent the onset of health conditions leading to heart attack and other heart disease. It is also important to go for regular medical check up. Early detection can be the crucial difference between cure and heart disease.

Tobacco Smoking

Snub it out. One of the most serious heart disease risk factors is tobacco smoking. Fortunately, with better health awareness and vigorous public campaigns to get people to quit, smoking as a heart disease risk factor, is gradually becoming less of a concern. For smokers, it is crucial to quit early as the chemicals present in cigarettes contribute to more than the various heart disease risk factors.