Ravina Sewani

Infants and toddlers tend to get a heart attack but in very rare cases. Some children are also born with congenital heart defect, which means that a child is born with a heart structural problem. Congenital heart defects can be simple or complex and may or may not need treatment or surgery. There are about more than 25 different types of congenital heart defects and only a professional expert can decide whether a child needs surgery or not. Congenital heart defects are the cause of heart attacks in babies and children. Symptoms of congenital heart defect:<ul><li>Pale grey or blue skin colour</li><li>Rapid breathing</li><li>Swelling in the legs, abdomen or areas around the eyes</li><li>Shortness of breath during feedings, leading to poor weight gain</li><li>Easily becoming short of breath during exercise or activity</li><li>Fainting during exercise or activity</li><li>Swelling in the hands, ankles or feet</li></ul> Diagnosis:Serious congenital heart defects are often diagnosed before or soon after your child’s birth. If you notice that your baby has any of the signs or symptoms above, call your child's doctor. CausesResearchers aren't sure exactly what causes most of these defects, but they think genetics, certain medical conditions, some medications and environmental factors, such as smoking, may play a role. Types of heart defects:<ul><li>Holes in the heart: Holes can form in the walls between heart chambers or between major blood vessels leaving the heart.</li><li>Obstructed blood flow: When blood vessels or heart valves are narrow because of a heart defect, the heart must work harder to pump blood through them.</li><li>Abnormal blood vessels: Several congenital heart defects happen when blood vessels going to and from the heart don't form correctly, or they're not positioned the way they're supposed to be.</li><li>Heart valve abnormalities: If the heart valves can't open and close correctly, blood can't flow smoothly.</li><li>An underdeveloped heart: Sometimes, a major portion of the heart fails to develop properly.</li><li>A combination of defects: Some infants are born with several heart defects.</li></ul> Risk factors:<ul><li>Pregnant mother with Rubella</li><li>Diabetic mother</li><li>Certain medications; it’s better to give a list of medications a mother takes to her doctor before she tries to get pregnant.</li><li>Drinking alcohol during pregnancy</li><li>Smoking</li><li>Heredity: Genetic testing can detect such disorders during fetal development.</li></ul> Complications:<ul><li>Heart failure: This serious complication may develop in babies who have a significant heart defect.</li><li>Slower growth and development: Children with more-serious congenital heart defects often develop and grow more slowly than do children who don't have heart defects.</li><li>Heart rhythm problems</li><li>Cyanosis: If because of your child's heart defect, oxygen-poor blood mixes with oxygen-rich blood in his or her heart, your child may develop a grayish-blue skin colour, a condition called cyanosis.</li><li>Stroke: Although uncommon, some children with congenital heart defects are at increased risk of stroke.</li><li>Emotional issues: Some children with congenital heart defects may feel insecure or develop emotional problems because of their size, activity restrictions or learning difficulties.</li></ul> Prevention:It may not be possible to prevent congenital heart defects as the exact causes are not known. But here are a few things to do to reduce the risks of such defects:<ul><li>Get a rubella vaccine</li><li>Control chronic medical conditions like diabetes</li><li>Avoid drinking and smoking</li><li>Take a multivitamins with folic acid</li></ul> Heart Attacks or Heart Failure in children: Causes:<ul><li>Over-circulation failure: When blood mixes inside the heart due to a congenital heart defect.</li><li>Pump failure: When the heart muscle becomes damaged and no longer contracts normally. This can be due to a viral infection as well apart from the problems with the heart muscles and arteries. Children with muscular dystrophy may eventually also develop problems with their heart muscle.</li><li>Low blood (anaemia) can also result in heart failure.</li></ul> Symptoms:<ul><li>Trouble breathing</li><li>Poor feeding or growth</li><li>Excessive sweating</li><li>Low blood pressure</li></ul> Diagnosis:If your physician suspects that your child may be experiencing heart failure symptoms, a chest X-ray may help determine if the heart is enlarged. You also may be referred to a paediatric heart specialist.&nbsp;Additional tests can include an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to evaluate the heart rhythm or an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram) to evaluate heart structure and function. Treatment:<ul><li>If heart failure is caused by over-circulation due to a congenital heart defect, surgery is often necessary to repair the defect. Often, your physician may initially treat your child with medications, which sometimes requires hospitalisation. Other dietary changes such as low-salt and low-fat diets may be discussed. Following appropriate treatment, your child’s condition and symptoms may improve. This is called compensated heart failure. Then your child can get a surgery done as and when the doctor guides.</li><li>If the heart failure is caused by pump failure, your child may require a pacemaker. A pacemaker reminds the heart to maintain a normal heart rate. The small, battery-operated devices are like tiny computers and are implanted under your child’s skin with a small wire connected to the heart. This requires a surgical procedure. In other cases of pump failure, different kind of surgeries might be needed.</li></ul>

Here are Heart Defects Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Types, Risk factors, Complications, Prevention, and Treatment.

Heart Defects and Heart Failure in Children

Allergic reactions towards celery are triggered when the body perceives the proteins in celery as a threat.Allergic reactions to celery may range from Oral Allergy Syndrome to severe allergic reactions.Allergic reactions towards celery are very rare but it is better to always stay careful. Symptoms:<ul><li>Nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing or dry cough</li><li>Eczema (a dry, itchy rash) or hives (reddish, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)</li><li>Redness of the skin around the mouth or eyes</li><li>Itchy mouth, ear canal or lip swelling, odd taste in the mouth</li><li>Nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea or stomach pain</li><li>Severe reactions include loss of consciousness, chest pain, turning pale, shortness of breath, trouble swallowing, or anaphylaxis.</li></ul> Diagnosis:Seek help from a healthcare expert to get your chid diagnosed of the celery allergy. The doctor will examine your child’s symptoms, medical history, family history, and may suggest a few tests like skin prick tests, blood tests or Oral Food Challenge. Precautions:<ul><li>Develop a habit of reading food labels for the ingredients. Teach your child the same.</li><li>Teach your child to mention about the allergy whenever he/she goes to visit someone.</li><li>Avoid consuming all forms of celery (raw or cooked) including celeriac (the root of celery), celery seeds or celery salt (used for flavouring).</li><li>Inform your child's school of your child's allergy to celery. You can provide your child’s school with necessary medicines and adrenaline auto-injectors (AAI) as the school might need these when your child shows allergic reactions suddenly.</li></ul> Foods to avoid:Canned soup, stock cubes, crisps, mar-mite, sandwiches, and salad

Celery is a marshland plant with long fibrous stalk. Even though celery allergy is not very common, it is better to stay aware.

Celery allergy

Samiksha Choithani

Are root canals good for a 5 year old?Root canals can be safe for 5 year old child if performed properly by an expert. The procedure and materials used for performing root canal is safe and suitable for child and does not cause any harm. Do Pediatric dentists do root canals?Yes, Pediatric dentists do root canal for babies. Your family dentist may address the problem but a child’s specific dental needs can be treated by a pediatric dentist. Hence, it is good to visit a pediatric dentist to do the procedure of root canal How long does it take to do a baby root canal?Root Canal treatment for babies usually takes around 30 mins to an hour, however you might have to spend around 90 mins at the dental clinic for a complete entire treatment.

Frequently asked questions about root canal treatment

All you need to know about root canal

Palak Vyas

Type 1 diabetes in children is a condition where the child’s body is unable to produce an important hormone called insulin. Without this hormone, the sugar in the blood cannot travel to the cells causing high blood sugar levels. This condition is also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. Insulin deficiency in the body has to be replaced by insulin injections. It is hard on both the parents and the kids when the child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This is because after the diagnosis, the child has to be given regular insulin injections and his/her sugar intake has to be limited as well. Parents and the child have to be extra cautious all the time.&nbsp;Symptoms:<ul><li>Increased thirst</li><li>Frequent urination, bed-wetting even if the child has been potty trained.</li><li>Too much hunger</li><li>Drastic weight loss</li><li>Fatigue</li><li>Irritability and changed behaviour</li><li>Fruity smelling breath</li><li>Girls may also develop a yeast infection.</li></ul>&nbsp;Causes:<ul><li>The first and foremost reason could be a family history of this disease. The child having parents or siblings having the same condition is at a high risk of developing it.</li><li>Genetics play a major role here.</li><li>It is said that exposure to various viruses can trigger the autoimmune destruction of the islets cells (cells that produce insulin).</li></ul>&nbsp; Diagnosis: Blood glucose level is measured before and after food and by observing for symptoms of diabetes. Complications associated with type 1 diabetes in children:<ul><li>This condition affects the major body organs of the child.</li><li>It narrows down a child's blood vessels, causes high blood pressure, heart disease and can cause stroke issues in later stages of life.</li><li>Basically it affects blood vessels which in turn damage the kidneys, eyes, and nerves.</li><li>Type 1 diabetes reduces bone mineral density causing a risk of developing osteoporosis in later stages of life.</li><li>DKA- Diabetic ketoacidosis is a leading cause of mortality in children with type 1 diabetes. When insulin levels are very low, the body cannot use sugar to produce energy. So it starts breaking down fat for energy. This leads to ketones production, which is toxic at high levels. When the levels are high, it results in DKA, where the body becomes acidic.</li></ul> Treatment: The only treatment for type 1 diabetes is the use of insulin tablets or injections. Prevention:<ul><li>This condition cannot be prevented. Research is still going on in this direction. All you can do is control the damage.</li><li>Maintain blood sugar levels.</li><li>Ensure your child has healthy food.</li><li>Regular exercise routine</li><li>Regular examination and monitoring by the doctor.</li></ul>

Here are Diabetes Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention, Diagnosis, and Complications.

All about Type 1 Diabetes

Cleft is a split in the lip that can be immediately identified during the birth of a baby. A cleft lip is a split in the lip. Cleft lip and cleft palate can affect one or both sides of the mouth. Cleft lip and cleft palate can occur independently of each other or can occur together. A cleft lip is caused due to many reasons - it can be hereditary, exposure to substances like cigarettes, alcohol or medications, diabetes or obesity during pregnancy. Babies having cleft lip can breastfeed comfortably, however babies with a cleft palate may have difficulty in sucking.&nbsp;Consider this while feeding a baby with cleft lip (Without cleft palate):<ul><li>The baby may find it difficult to seal nipple with the mouth. If there is a hissing sound, it indicates that air is entering in the mouth.</li><li>Try to reposition the breast and baby’s mouth to form a vacuum.</li><li>The nipple should be behind the tongue; this will help the baby to hold the nipple in its mouth.</li><li>You can adjust and change positions to identify the one that works the best for your baby</li></ul> A cleft palate is a split or opening in the roof of the mouth. A cleft palate can involve the hard palate (the bony front portion of the roof of the mouth), and/or the soft palate. Consider this while breastfeeding a baby with cleft palate:<ul><li>Hold your breast in such a way that baby can get a good grip and latch properly.</li><li>The cleft can be repaired with surgery after 6-12 months but before that do not stop breastfeeding your child.</li><li>Breast milk is very helpful as it does not cause irritation on delicate tissues of the nose and throat and can help to reduce ear problems. Try to avoid formula milk.</li><li>Take help from nurses or specialists to feed the baby with a cleft palate. There are alternate methods like bowl and spoon-feeding, use a breast pump to get the milk in a bowl and feed the child with a spoon.</li></ul>

A cleft occurs because the tissues of the baby’s face and mouth don’t fuse (link) properly.

Breastfeeding a child with cleft lip/palate

If you notice that your baby is not gaining weight according to standard figures or peeing quite often, it could be&nbsp;that the child is not getting enough breast milk. The good news is that most women produce one-third more breast milk than their babies will drink, so there’s nothing to worry about it. In case your milk supply is running low. There are ways to increase your milk supply:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Use a breast pump regularly.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Breastfeed often</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Make sure the child is latching on properly.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Feed from both breasts (one by one after completing from one side)</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Don't skip feeding times</li></ul>

The beginning is always tough, but it does get easier with time. Find out more in the full article.

How can I improve my lactation?

Breastfeeding after having a C-section delivery can be difficult due to the painful wound. Your healthcare provider will guide you about the positions that are most comfortable for you. Breastfeeding positions which you can try are the under-arm hold where your baby lies on your side under your arm. In this position, support your back and the side with cushions. Another position which you can try is side-lying hold, where you lie on one side, support your head and back with pillows with your baby closely tucked to you and facing you. You can read about these positions in detail in our Breastfeeding positions article. While breastfeeding, use a pillow over the wound to protect it and then ask someone to pass the baby to you. Make the best use of your hospital stay to get the needed guidance to breastfeed your baby effectively.

Breastfeeding after having a C-section delivery can be difficult due to the painful wound.

Breastfeeding after a C-section

Babies who are prematurely born may have complications as some of their organs haven’t yet fully developed. Premature babies can have complications in the first few days, weeks or months and so are first kept in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for survival and to provide optimal environment for growth. Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) is a unique practice where a baby is taken care of outside the incubator. The baby is positioned directly on the mother's bare chest after birth and is covered with a warm blanket. Care should be taken to not move the baby too far away from the incubator as the machine is connected with tubes and wires. There are several benefits of Kangaroo care. They are:<ul><li>Kangaroo care regulates baby's body temperature and heart rate.</li><li>It promotes baby's digestion and improves oxygen levels for the baby.</li><li>It helps babies sleep longer, thereby promoting growth and protection from infections.</li><li>Kangaroo care releases hormones that support breastfeeding and increases the volume of volume that contains antibodies.</li><li>It is a great practice to develop the bond between the mother and the baby.</li></ul>

Kangaroo care is a method of holding a baby that involves skin-to-skin contact with the mother.

Kangaroo care for children

<ul><li>Most chemical head lice treatments aren't suitable for babies under two years old. So the best way to get rid of your little one's head lice is by wet-combing.</li></ul> 1. Make your child comfortable: Comb or brush any knots out of your child’s hair with an ordinary comb. Wet your child’s hair completely with plenty of water to straighten it so that the comb moves smoothly.2. Comb hair still using an ordinary comb.3. Change to a comb with fine teeth: Use a head lice comb and comb sections of your child's hair. Comb from the roots to the ends of the hair. Be careful while using lice comb so that it doesn’t hurt your child.4. After each comb, wipe the conditioner on to a paper towel or tissue. Check the tissue or paper towel for lice and eggs (a magnifying glass may help you to see them more easily).5. Repeat the combing for every part of the head, section by section. Comb each section at least 4 or 5 times before moving on to the next section.6. After you have combed the whole head, rinse out the conditioner.7. If you find lice or eggs, repeat these steps every day if you can manage it, but at least every 2 to 3 days. You can stop when you find no lice or eggs for 3 days in a row.8. Check the hair of everyone in the house twice a week for the next 2 weeks to make sure everyone stays clear. <ul><li>You can also use lice controlling medicated shampoos after concerning your paediatrician.</li></ul>

Children below 3 years usually do not suffer from hair lice. If they do, proper shampooing of their hair and an oil massage is helpful for them.

one breast feeding health concerns

Following article(s) will help solve your concern.