Ravina Sewani

In mastitis, your breasts might become tender, warm to touch, breast may get swollen, get a breast lump, skin redness, experience burning sensation continuously or while breast-feeding. Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast due to ineffective draining of milk. Mastitis is known to happen in only one breast but sometimes it can happen in both your breasts. Mastitis requires medical advice right away. When you are breastfeeding, milk production is a continuous process and if you do not empty your breasts, the pressure around the breasts increases and the milk builds up in the surrounding breasts tissues. This build up of milk causes redness and swelling. If the milk enters into the blood stream, your immune system might respond with fever or with chills and heat alternatively. Mastitis sometimes is also caused by bacteria entering your body through your cracked nipples or milk ducts. The risk of mastitis increases there is poor draining of milk, sore or cracked nipples, inefficient nursing, or if you wear a tight-fitting dress restricting your milk flow, if you smoke or have a poor nutrition compromising your immunity. If left untreated, mastitis could lead to abscess. Mastitis can be prevented by ensuring drainage of the milk from your breasts while breast-feeding. This can be done by allowing your baby to fully feed from one breast before offering the other.The usual treatment for mastitis includes prescription of antibiotics. Mastitis can recur if you do not treat the cause. You need to drain your breast totally during every feed. Continue to breastfeed through your bout of mastitis as this may help you. If you do not do this, you run the risk of another infection.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast due to ineffective draining of milk.

Mastitis in mothers

<ul><li>Dust mites are very small bugs which live in humid environments and feed on scales shed by human skin. Dust mites need around 80% humidity and so as soon as the humidity falls, they die.</li><li>A protein present in the wastes of dust mites is usually found in the beds, carpets, furniture and when your child inhales such air, an allergic reaction is triggered.</li><li>Dust mites are the most common culprits behind your child's asthma. So it is very important to clean the furniture in the house properly at regular intervals.</li><li>The growth of dust mites can be prevented by dust-proofing your house using vacuum cleaner and washing pillows and mattresses in hot water time to time.</li><li>The growth of dust mites and hence the allergic reactions can be reduced by installing dehumidifiers to reduce the percentage of humidity indoors. You can also use HEPA filters in the air purifiers of your house.</li><li>Avoid carpeting in your house if your child is allergic to dust mites.</li></ul> Symptoms:<ul><li>Itching</li><li>Rashes</li><li>Vomiting</li><li>Diarrhoea</li><li>Swelling of the lips or tongue or face</li><li>Throat constriction</li><li>Difficulty in breathing</li><li>Allergies may sometimes also cause a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis which constricts the airway passage and requires immediate medical attention.</li></ul> Diagnosis:<ul><li>Always get your child diagnosed by a healthcare expert and never on your own. Never self-assume that your child has peanut allergy. Commercial home test kits for self-diagnosis are not recommended as they may not be of the required standards.</li><li>Your child’s paediatrician may recommend that your child undertake tests like skin prick test, blood test or food/drug challenge. It is important that these tests are performed under medical supervision as these tests might trigger an allergic reaction. Along with these tests, your child’s paediatrician will also examine your child's medical/family history, existing conditions like asthma and eczema.</li></ul>

Allergy to dust mites is usually caused by the carpets used in the house. The best way to make your baby safe is to keep your surroundings clean.

Dust mites allergy

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

<ul><li>Allergic Rhinitis is a type of inflammation in the nose following an exposure to the pollen or inhalation of indoor allergens like mould, pet dander, dust mites, dried skin flakes, or smoke.</li><li>As a preventive measure, you may reduce your child's exposure to the outdoor allergens and provide a clean environment free from indoor allergens.</li><li>The symptoms of allergic rhinitis are similar to common cold like runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, nose/eye itching, and teary eyes.</li><li>Allergic Rhinitis can develop in children as early as 18 months.</li><li>In the case of Allergic Rhinitis, your child’s doctor can prescribe either antihistamines or decongestants.</li></ul>

Allergic rhinitis is a severe allergic reaction against allergens.

Allergic Rhinitis

Dr Ajab Primuswala

<ul><li>The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to identify at which level of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) your child is.</li><li>The second thing is whether it is has been diagnosed and whether you are working on it or not.</li><li>On certain level of ASD scale, media can positively help children with ASD in expressing their feelings, their thoughts and their uneasiness. There are specific apps and specific websites which can help ASD children in their development.</li><li>Children with ASD usually cannot make direct eye contact hence, a few expert recommended applications can help an ASD child with expressing their feelings better.</li><li>At the same time, it is important to keep an eye on which kind of media an ASD child is using. If the child is randomly using phones or TVs from which (s)he is not learning anything positive, such media use needs to be avoided.</li><li>The media which an ASD child consumes should lead to progressive development in their condition. The media should not suppress their already delayed development.</li><li>Consult with a child psychiatrist or child psychologist to know whether the ASD scale of your child needs media usage or not.</li><li>Age of the child also needs to be considered before letting them consume content from media.</li></ul>

Media can be helpful to some children with autism while it might suppress a child's growth as well. It is better to consult an expert (psychologist or psychiatrist) before exposing your child to media.

Media use and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Palak Vyas

<ul><li>Generally there is a notion that a gluten free diet is healthy but it is not true for everyone. Gluten free diet is for those who have either 1) celiac disease (immune reaction against eating wheat) or 2) non celiac gluten sensitivity. Gluten present in wheat, barley, rye and other products can be troublesome for celiac patients and it can make gluten sensitive people sick.</li><li>So if the kid has any of the above conditions you can go gluten free otherwise it isn’t wise to keep your child’s diet gluten free.</li><li>Gluten free diet generally includes food like vegetables, high quality protein, healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado), fruits and grains that do not have gluten.</li></ul> Reasons why you should not have gluten free diet for your child:<ul><li>Whole Grains that contain gluten have lots of crucial nutrients including B vitamins, antioxidants, iron, selenium, magnesium etc. Excluding whole grains will lead to nutrition deficiency in children.</li><li>Whole grains have fibre too which is good for digestion.</li><li>Gluten free diet can be too low in calories for growing children. It is hard to get healthy calories from other sources.</li><li>Gluten free diet can be high in arsenic. Those who do not eat wheat prefer rice as a staple food. Now rice and rice products are rich in arsenic which is not good for the baby’s body.</li></ul>

It is very important to maintain a balanced diet for the proper growth and development of the baby. Going gluten free or not is an individual's choice. It is better to look into the pros and cons before taking the decision.

Gluten free diet for children or not

Causes:Blindness&nbsp;may be due to genetic mutations, birth defects, premature birth, nutritional deficiencies, infections, injuries, and other causes. Symptoms:<ul><li>Pupils are unequal in size.</li><li>Pupils appear white instead of black.</li><li>Eyes don’t move when an object or face is moving in front of it.</li><li>Crossed eyes.</li><li>Eyes flutter from side to side or up and down.</li><li>Eyes do not seem to focus.</li><li>Clumsy behaviour such as knocking things over or bumping into things.</li><li>Repeated shutting or covering of one eye.</li><li>Avoiding tasks that require good vision.</li><li>Frequent squinting and blinking.</li><li>Sitting too close to the TV, holding books too close to the face.</li><li>Face crunching and eye rubbing.</li></ul> Diagnosis: After you observe above symptoms in your child, take him/her to an opthalmologist for thorough examination and diagnosis as there are different types of blindness. An opthalmologist will examine each eye by measuring the visual field, peripheral vision, and visual acuity. Types of Blindness:<ol><li>Colour Blindness: It is the inability to identify the difference between a few shades of colours.</li><li>Night Blindness: It is the difficulty to see under poorly illuminated situations.</li><li>Snow Blindness: It is the loss of vision after excessive exposure to UV light.</li><li>Unilateral Blindness: It is the loss of vision in only one of the eyes</li><li>Bilateral Blindness: It is the loss of vision in both the eyes.</li><li>Congenital Blindness: It is the inability to see from birth.</li></ol> Treatment:<ol><li>Make sure you take an appointment with an ophthalmologist if you do notice any of the above signs and symptoms affecting your kid. Also remember to get a routine check-up done to ensure proper progress and eye health.</li><li>In certain eye problems, wearing glasses or contact lenses may help your kid in seeing better.</li><li>Certain eye problems can be tackled by performing a surgery. In all cases, treatment of the eye problem totally depends on the cause.</li><li>In some cases, children may suffer from vision problems due to nutritional deficiencies and following a healthy diet could help solve the problem.</li><li>Cataract surgeries and certain forms of medications and eye drops could also be a treatment option for some children affected by treatable forms of visual impairment.</li></ol> Prevention: Whether a blindness is preventable or not, can only be identified by an opthalmologist because prevention, like treatment, depends on the type of blindness. Raising a visually impaired child:Connecting to the right kind of people and finding proper guidance can be a lot of help. Here are some tips you can follow to make this journey better and easier:&nbsp;<ol><li>Find your support system: The people who would understand what you are going through and offer relevant advice. Connect with other parents going through the same situation.</li><li>Follow a positive attitude: It is going to be okay! You and the child both will work it out eventually.</li><li>Do not worry about a child's future. Just be rational and practical and believe that it is always going to be better. See how you grow through this experience.</li><li>Read some articles: Go through some of the materials online or just consult your doctor. Ask for some suggestions and maybe read a book or an article on what can make your journey more fulfilling for you and your child. See how you can better the process. A few articles will help for sure.</li><li>Join some organisations: There are some private and government-based organisations you can join. They have nominal fees. These organisations are of great help because they can provide you with every small detail, the problem along with their solutions.</li><li>Educate your family: Introduce your family and extended family and friends to hows and whats of the process. So the child gets similar treatment and it gets easy for everyone to communicate and understand better.</li><li>Most important of all is time and again, take a break. Do not feel alone or weak in the process. The challenges are big sometimes but there is always a way out. You will conquer it. So just go easy on yourself and your child too.</li><li>There are special schools for children with special needs. Their ways of teaching are different and are in accordance with the child’s special needs. Your child will gradually adapt to the situation and you too will cope with it.</li></ol>

Here are Blindness Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention, and Diagnosis.

All about Blindness

Drooling is saliva coming out of baby’s mouth. Generally drooling in the early developmental stages of the child is completely normal. It is a part of physical development. It is common for baby to drool till 2 years. But if the child is drooling even after 4 years, it is not normal. Main causes of drooling:<ul><li>Teething: Drooling is common in babies during their teething periods.</li><li>Open mouth posture: Drooling happens when the baby does not have enough muscle control to contain the saliva that the body produces. The baby still has poor mouth and tongue control resulting in drooling.</li><li>Nasal congestion: When the child breathes through his/her mouth due to nasal congestion, (s)he starts drooling during sleep.</li></ul> Treatment:<ul><li>Usually the baby stops drooling by the time (s)he is 2 years.</li><li>Parents can work on improving child’s posture.</li><li>Try reducing nose blockage.</li><li>Medication can be given to help reduce the amount of saliva produced in case of excessive drooling.</li><li>Doctor can recommend injections or surgery depending upon the severity of the case.</li></ul>

Saliva drooling is very common among children and usually resolves by the age of 2 years.

Saliva drooling in children

Samiksha Choithani

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.

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