Causes of deafness:<ul><li>Otitis media: middle ear infection</li><li>Premature birth</li><li>Diabetic mother</li><li>Genetic make-up</li><li>Smoking or consuming alcohol while pregnancy</li><li>Nervous or brain disorder</li><li>Illness of injuries - meningitis, encephalitis, measles, chickenpox, flu</li></ul> Look for these signs to make sure that your child's hearing is developing continuously: From birth to four months, your infant should:<ul><li>Startle at loud sounds</li><li>Wake up or stir at loud noises</li><li>Respond to your voice by smiling or cooing</li><li>Calm down at a familiar voice</li></ul> From four months to nine months, your infant should:<ul><li>Smile when spoken to</li><li>Notice toys that make sounds</li><li>Turn its head toward familiar sounds</li><li>Make babbling noises</li><li>Understand hand motions like the bye-bye wave</li></ul> From nine to 15 months, your baby should:<ul><li>Make various babbling sounds</li><li>Repeat some simple sounds</li><li>Understand basic requests</li><li>Use its voice to get your attention</li><li>Respond to name</li></ul> From 15 to 24 months, your toddler should:<ul><li>Use many simple words</li><li>Point to body parts when you ask</li><li>Name common objects</li><li>Listen with interests to songs, rhymes and stories</li><li>Point to familiar objects you name</li><li>Follow basic commands</li></ul> Hearing loss Symptoms:<ul><li>No reaction to loud noises</li><li>No response to your voice</li><li>Child makes simple sounds that taper off</li><li>Pulls or rubs an ear</li><li>Be constantly cranky for no clear reason</li><li>Stops paying attention</li><li>Has little energy</li><li>Does not understand directions</li><li>Often asks for the TV or radio to be louder</li><li>Has a fever</li><li>Has ear pain</li></ul> Diagnosis: Hospitals usually check newborns' hearing before they are sent home. Some others are particularly tested where deafness is known in the family. Types of Hearing Loss:<ol><li>Conductive hearing loss: It is caused by something that stops the sounds from getting through the outer or middle ear. This type is usually treated via medicines or surgery.</li><li>Sensorineural hearing loss: It is caused because of the functionality problem either of the inner ear or hearing nerve.</li><li>Mixed hearing loss: It is due both the conductive and the sensorineural hearing loss.</li><li>Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder: The sound enters the ear normally but because of the defects in either the inner ear or in the hearing nerve, the brain does not understand what the sound is.</li><li>Unilateral or Bilateral hearing loss: Hearing loss in one ear (unilateral) or both the ears (bilateral).</li><li>Symmetrical or Asymmetrical: Hearing loss is the same in both the ears (symmetrical) or different in both the ears (asymmetrical).</li><li>Congenital or Acquired: Hearing loss from birth (congenital) or develops later in life (acquired).</li></ol> Treatment:<ul><li>Conditions like otitis media go away on their own. So if your child is diagnosed of otitis media, in time (s)he will be able to hear soon. An ENT doctor will guide you for the same. The doctor may prescribe antibiotics for this condition. If otitis media does not improve, an ENT doctor might suggest getting the ear tubes surgery done.</li></ul>Other treatments include:<ul><li>Hearing aids: Children as young as 1 month old can use this device. Consult an ENT doctor to choose the right device for your child.</li><li>Implants: These are electronic devices which are placed in the inner ear to help with the hearing. These are a second resort when hearing aids don't work.</li></ul> Prevention:<ul><li>Maintain healthy lifestyle during pregnancy.</li><li>Make sure the child gets all the vaccines.</li><li>Keep your child away from excessive loud noises.</li><li>Wear ear protection like earplugs or earmuffs if you are going to be around very loud noises for more than a few minutes.</li><li>Remove excessive earwax.</li></ul> Raising a child with hearing impairment:Hearing impairment can be either congenital defect, due to some injury/disease or due to exposure to loud noises after birth. Raising a child with hearing loss can be quite challenging. It is altogether different. It will demand more patience and more understanding with loads of love.Depending upon the level of deafness, parents can select a kindergarten or school where a child's special needs are met. There are special schools and educators for such differently-abled children. With certain children, hearing is possible with surgery or a hearing device. But sometimes this defect is irreversible and can’t be cured. In all cases, the child and parents can learn different ways of communication to understand each other better. Lip reading skills, written or printed texts and sign language, are the ways for communication with such children.&nbsp;There are important aspects that parents can work on:<ol><li>The most important of all is a child's self-esteem. As a parent, you can always boost their confidence by praising their little efforts and continuous smiles.</li><li>Motivate them throughout the process.</li><li>Usually parents tend to overlook and forget to acknowledge their child’s immense effort in coping with the situation.</li><li>Do not treat them as weak. Support them but at the same time let them learn to be independent.</li><li>Let them have their own battles and own victories. Do not talk on their behalf. Unless they ask you, stay away and let them deal with friends and people on their own.</li><li>Be around whenever they need help but do not impose yourself all the time and everywhere.</li><li>Gradually the child as well as people around develop understanding and learn to communicate with each other.</li><li>Stay consistent with your behaviour. Sometimes the parents start pitying their child. Avoid over sympathising with them. As a parent, you give them the liberties which you would not otherwise if they could hear. So do not do this. Raise them firmly and with the right kind of attitude. Do not compare your hearing-impaired child to another child who can hear properly.</li><li>There should be same rules and regulations for all the kids in the house.</li><li>Instil qualities of self-control, behavioural management, cooperative skills and positive responses to people.</li><li>Good communication is the basis of good bonds in the family. Be patient with such a child and let them have their time to communicate. Give them a fair chance to express in everyone’s presence.</li><li>You, as a family, can learn the sign language or develop a system to communicate with your child. Playing games using sign languages can enhance his/her communication skills.</li><li>Family support is the strength of such a child. Be sensitive and supportive of them. Help them feel normal, natural and strong.</li></ol>

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

All about Deafness

Palak Vyas

Some mothers&nbsp;produce more milk than their breasts can hold, which makes the breasts feel rock hard and uncomfortably full – a condition called engorgement.This condition might last temporarily for 24 to 48 hours. However it can be painful. What do engorged breasts feel like?The breasts feel large, hard and lumpy. The skin of your breasts look shiny and feel stretched, and your nipples becomes hard and flat. Breast engorgement can cause breastfeeding difficulties – which can, in turn, worsen the problem. Your baby might struggle to latch if your nipples are flatter and your breast tissue is harder,&nbsp;causing sore nipples. Causes of breast engorgement:<ul><li>Engorgement usually occurs because the baby is not feeding frequently enough (at least eight times in 24 hours).</li><li>Those women who doesn’t feed their babies or who can’t, due to any reason for example either they are working or too busy with chores due to large families, these women can develop breast engorgement. It can also cause when the woman produces more milk than her baby can have.</li><li>Engorgement can also happen if you suddenly cut on breastfeeds, maybe, because your baby is sick,&nbsp;either (s)he keeps sleeping longer, starting solid foods and other liquids, or going into childcare, which keeps him away from you for longer time.</li></ul> Treating engorged breasts:<ul><li>Breastfeed your baby for minimum 8 times in 24 hours.</li><li>Check that your baby has a good breastfeeding latch.</li><li>Try breastfeeding in different positions.</li><li>You can also massage your breasts gently while feeding to help the milk drain effectively.</li></ul>

New mothers might worry about breast engorgement but there is nothing to worry about much.

Understanding Breast Engorgement

Ravina Sewani

<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.

Treating hair lice

There are different types of thermometer available in the market:<ol><li>Glass thermometer with mercury</li><li>Glass thermometer without mercury</li><li>Digital thermometer</li></ol> Glass thermometer can be of two types depending upon its usage - rectal thermometer and an oral thermometer. There are several ways to take your child’s temperature: Rectal Method (by the rectum or buttocks):<ul><li>Use a thermometer with a stubby tip.</li><li>Put a diaper or other cloth across your lap. Put your child over that diaper or cloth on his/her stomach or back; whichever way is comfortable for the child.</li><li>Put a little amount of petroleum jelly on the tip of the thermometer.</li><li>Insert the tip gently without giving any pressure, into the rectum. Do not try to force it at all.</li><li>The silver tip of the thermometer is half an inch. If your child is less than 3 months old, insert only half an inch, that is just the silver tip of the thermometer.</li><li>If your child is above 3 months, insert as deep as 1 inch, not more than that.</li><li>Hold the thermometer in place. A digital thermometer makes a beep sound in 30 seconds. Glass thermometers take longer, approximately 3 minutes. Take the thermometer out and read the temperature.</li><li>Measuring the temperature via the rectal method is a bit tricky hence it Is advisable to be done only by healthcare experts, not at home.</li></ul> Oral Method (by mouth):<ul><li>Use an oral thermometer, the one with a thin long tip.</li><li>Do not give anything hot or cold to the child for 20 minutes before measuring the temperature.</li><li>Place the tip of the thermometer in your child’s mouth, under the tongue and close to the mouth.</li><li>You will have to hold a thermometer for him/her. A beep sound comes in 30 seconds with a digital thermometer. For glass thermometers, hold in place for 3 minutes. Take the thermometer out and read the temperature.</li><li>If your child is very young, this method is not advisable as they might bite on to the thermometer and hurting themselves.</li></ul> Axillary Method (under the armpit):<ul><li>Here, you can use an oral thermometer.</li><li>See that your child’s underarm is dry, or else wipe it dry first.</li><li>The tip of the thermometer is directly placed in the armpit.</li><li>Press the child’s upper arm against his chest to keep the arm still and the thermometer in place.</li><li>Digital thermometers may take longer than 30 seconds before beeping when using this method. Using glass thermometer can be tedious because it takes 7-10 minutes which is too long for a child to be still.</li><li>This is the safest method to use at home.</li></ul> Temporal artery Method (forehead):<ul><li>Temporal artery thermometer is an infrared device that scans the temporal artery and shows temperature.</li><li>Put it straight across the forehead, to the temporal area and not down the side of the face.</li><li>Remove, read and record the temperature.</li><li>The device used here is expensive compared to a digital thermometer.</li></ul> Tympanic Method (in the ear):<ul><li>If your child has been outdoors on a cold day or is overheated because of playing, he needs to be inside for 15 minutes before taking the temperature this way.</li><li>Slowly pull your child’s ear backwards to straighten the ear canal (back and up if your child is over 1 year old).</li><li>Gently put the tip of the thermometer in the ear until it stops. The tip should point to the space between the eye and the ear on the other side of the head.</li><li>Within two seconds you will hear a beep sound, take it out and read the temperature.</li><li>This is also a risky method as children tend to move a lot and might get hurt in the ear.</li></ul> Whenever you are using any type of thermometer or whichever the method you use, always be careful and hold the thermometer in place until you get the reading.

There are several thermometers available and different ways to measure the temperature during a fever.

Different types of thermometer to measure a child's fever

Tearing is a normal function of the eye. But when tear ducts get blocked due to infection and inflammation, tears well up in the eye and fall excessively; this is called "eye watering". In newborns, the condition usually resolves itself within a few weeks. Common causes of watery eyes:<ul><li>Allergies</li><li>Blocked tear duct</li><li>Common cold</li><li>Dry eyes</li><li>Ingrown hair lashes</li><li>Pink eye (Conjunctivitis)</li><li>Stye (a red, painful lump near the edge of the child’s eyelid)</li><li>Tear duct infection</li><li>Eye injury</li><li>Chemical splash in the eye</li></ul> Symptoms associated with watery eyes:<ul><li>Eye pain</li><li>Eye infection</li><li>Runny nose</li><li>Vision impairment</li><li>Sneezing</li><li>Swelling in the eyes</li><li>Redness in the eyes</li></ul> Treating eye watering:<ul><li>Sometimes a sticky liquid may form around the baby's eye or eyes. You can use a piece of cotton wool that has been soaked in sterile water to clean the eyes. Make sure to boil the water to make it sterile and then cool enough before dabbing it on the child’s eyes with cotton wool.</li><li>Sometimes tears can be relieved by gently massaging the tear ducts. Apply light pressure with the finger and thumb to the outside of the nose.</li><li>If the situation persists for more than a day, consult a doctor.</li></ul>

The problem of constant tears usually resolves within a few weeks in a newborn. If eye watering is accompanied with other problems, you might want to consult a eye specialist for your child.

Treating eye watering

<ul><li>Yes! There is a difference in potty training boys and girls. Most parents start potty training their child when they are between 2-3 years old. Usually, a girl child is ready to start potty training when she is 18 months old or it can vary up to 4 years in some cases.</li><li>Girls tend to get started with potty training about 3 months earlier than boys. Boys take more time to get ready; at around 2 years they start and can be fully potty trained between 4 to 6 years of age. So they start later and take longer to train.</li><li>Boys have to learn two different ways and they easily accept this. To start with, teach them to use the potty while sitting and gradually they learn to use the toilet in standing position for peeing and in sitting position for potty.</li><li>Girls mature faster both physiologically and intellectually. They are quick with the concepts of language and understand better so their potty training is faster. They learn how to dress and undress and they have better control than boys.</li><li>Every child is unique. Regardless of gender, potty training will be different for everyone. Each child will be potty trained in his/her own time and in his/her own way.</li><li>It is important to reward your child for achieving this milestone of being potty trained.</li></ul>

You might have to adapt different approaches to potty train your girl child and boy child.

Difference in potty training for boys and girls

<ul><li>When a grownup child of 4 or 5 years does not eat food on their own, it is a matter of concern. Actually, the training of a child eating on their own should begin in early years. When a child in of 6th or 7th month, (s)he tries to put everything in the mouth and that is the age when the child is eager to eat on his/her own.</li><li>At this time, the parent doesn’t allow thinking that the child is too young to eat on his/her own and will create mess like making their clothes dirty or floor and because the child will take longer time. So the child is being spoon fed and later when they get habituated to be fed by the parent, the parent starts complaining.</li><li>So the whole approach towards feeding needs to be changed. Child should be allowed to eat on his/her own even when (s)he creates mess or takes time.</li><li>Finger food which can be put on their fingers like fryums, cucumber or toast sticks, fruits are the kinds of food children like to eat on their own. Make food interesting for them and gradually they will develop the habit.</li><li>Of course developing a new habit is going to take time and you will need to be patient with your child.</li></ul>

When a child is ready to eat food on its own, (s)he will give you signals. Look for the signals and you will know how to help your baby.

Helping Children eat food on their own

Chicken pox is a communicable disease but is also self limiting, which means, the virus gradually leaves the body in few days naturally. Chicken pox is caused by Varicella-zoster virus. Most cases occur through contact with an infected person. The virus can spread through:<ul><li>saliva</li><li>coughing</li><li>sneezing</li><li>contact with fluid from the blisters</li></ul> Symptoms:<ul><li>The obvious sign of chickenpox is a super-itchy skin rash with red blisters. Over the course of several days, the blisters pop and start to leak transparent watery fluid. Then they dry out before finally healing. The first sign is usually a general feeling of being unwell.</li><li>Body aches</li><li>Fever</li><li>Feeling extremely tired (fatigue)</li><li>Feeling irritable</li><li>Loss of appetite</li><li>Headache</li></ul> Most cases of chickenpox are mild and go away on their own. But see your doctor right away if your child develops any of the following symptoms:<ul><li>The rash spreads to one or both eyes.</li><li>The rash gets very red, warm, or tender.</li><li>Dizziness</li><li>Shortness of breath</li><li>Vomiting</li><li>Stiff neck</li><li>Fever over 102 F</li></ul> Spreading: You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed. Diagnosis: Your doctor will be able to diagnose chickenpox based on a physical exam of blisters on your child’s body. Treatment:Chickenpox generally resolves within a week or two without treatment. There is no cure, but a vaccine can prevent it. Your child's doctor may prescribe medication or advise on how to reduce the symptoms of itchiness and discomfort.<ol><li>Pain or fever: Your child's doctor will prescribe a medicine that will help with symptoms of high temperature and pain.</li><li>Avoiding dehydration: It is important that your child drinks plenty of fluids, preferably water, to prevent dehydration. Some doctors recommend sugar-free popsicles for children who are not drinking enough.</li><li>Mouth soreness: Sugar-free popsicles help ease symptoms of soreness if there are spots in the mouth. Salty or spicy foods should be avoided. If chewing is painful, soup might be a good option, but it should not be too hot.</li><li>Itchiness: ltchiness can become severe, but it is important to minimize scratching to reduce the risk of scarring. The following may help prevent scratching:</li></ol><ul><li>keeping fingernails clean and as short as possible</li><li>placing mittens or over a child’s hands when they go to sleep</li><li>applying skincare lotion prescribed by the doctor</li><li>wearing loose clothing</li></ul> Precaution:<ul><li>Do not send your child to school so that other children are safe.</li><li>Keep other kids in the house away from the infected child.</li><li>Calamine lotion is usually used to soothe the spots.</li><li>Make children wear light cotton clothes.</li><li>Make them drink plenty of fluids.</li><li>Don’t let your child scratch his/her itchy skin. This could lead to bacterial infection and leave scars.</li></ul> Prevention:Your child should get 2 dose of Chicken pox Vaccine. One at 15th month and second at 18th month to prevent the disease. Vaccine is painless, Very safe and 95% effective if both the doses are given on time.

Here are Chicken pox Symptoms, Causes, Spreading, Prevention, Precaution, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

All about Chicken pox

Fever in itself is not a disease. Instead, fever is the body’s immunity fighting against a virus or bacteria which has invaded the human body. So when a pathogen attacks our body, our immune system activates and increases blood circulation in the body. The activation of the immune system and increased blood circulation leads to a rise in the body’s temperature. This is how our bodies are naturally designed to fight against diseases whenever there is any external attack on the body. Fever is not our enemy, it is our friend. Toddlers and infants easily catch fever because they are always in contact with germs. If your child is eating fine, sleeping for appropriate hours, and urinating 7-8 times a day, then there is nothing to worry about. The fever will come down easily after 2-3 days. If the fever lasts for more than a week, and your child does not eat, sleep, and urinate properly, it is advisable to visit your child’s paediatrician. Sometimes, infants and toddlers might suffer from fits during high fever. This is when it becomes very much essential to bring down the fever. Children also feel pain or ache during fever due to which it is important to lower down the fever in children by giving medication. Common Causes of Fever:<ul><li>Respiratory tract infections</li><li>Flu</li><li>Tonsillitis</li><li>Cold and cough</li><li>Ear infections</li><li>Teething in infants</li></ul> How to be sure whether a child has fever or not?<ul><li>Most of the parents touch their child’s forehead and if they find it a little warm, they consider it as fever. Scientifically this is termed as delusion of fever.</li><li>Delusion of fever might result due to several reasons:</li></ul>- Mother’s hand being cold because of working with water on and off. Also, hands are usually cold as they are quite away from our hearts.- As infants barely have hair on their head, their head feels a little warmer than adults.- As a child’s brain is developing, there is blood circulation going on and that is the reason their head can feel hotter compared to the rest of the body.<ul><li>If the temperature of a child's head is 98.5 or 99 degree Fahrenheit and if mother’s hands are at 90 or 92 degrees Fahrenheit, then too the mother can find a child’s forehead way hotter even if the child’s temperature is actually normal.</li><li>So never assume there is fever just by touching your child’s forehead, always use a clinical thermometer to stay assured.</li></ul> Diagnosis:Thermometer reading:<ul><li>Digital thermometers are the most reliable and the easiest to use. Place it in the armpit of your child for 1-2 minutes and it will clearly show temperature readings. There is a beep sound that comes when the temperature stops rising. Take that reading and you would accurately know your child’s temperature.</li><li>Scientifically, if the axillary (armpit) temperature reaches 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or is more than that, it is considered as a fever.</li></ul> Treatment:Medicine for children having fever:<ul><li>Safest option for relieving a child’s fever is paracetamol. Paracetamol is easily available in the market. Choose any medically acclaimed brand which has a good taste so that the child can easily take it. Or you can simply ask your child’s paediatrician.</li><li>Dosage is usually mentioned on the bottle. Dosage depends upon the age and weight of the child. Paracetamol comes in two different preparations. One is the regular preparation and the other is DS- (double strength) preparation.</li><li>Regular paracetamol syrup contains 120-125 mg of paracetamol in 5 ml. Whereas DS paracetamol syrup contains 240-250 mg of paracetamol in 5ml.</li><li>Usual dose that needs to be given is 10-15 mg of paracetamol per kg of a child's weight.</li><li>For example, if your child is say 8 to 10 kgs in weight, 5ml of regular paracetamol is enough. As the weight increases, dosage should also be increased.</li><li>For every 2kg of weight increase, 1ml of syrup should be increased.</li><li>For a child who is 12 to 14 kg, 5 ml of DS paracetamol can be given. Otherwise the child will have to take 7 to 8 ml of regular paracetamol which is more than required.</li><li>Paracetamol is considered the safest medication for children. Certain reports say giving 20 mg per kg of child’s weight is also allowed in a few cases. In a whole day, giving 60 to 80 mg of paracetamol per kg is also considered harmless.</li><li>If it is required, you can give paracetamol after every 4 hours. There are certain diseases in which the fever subsides for 10 to 12 hours, once you have given paracetamol. In such cases there is no issue. But there are other types of diseases where the fever keeps coming back frequently. Here, once you give the medication, the fever subsides for a while but there are toxins in the blood therefore as the effect of medicine subsides; there is rise in temperature again. In such a case you need to give paracetamol after every 4 hours as per required.</li><li>It is very rare that the child’s fever doesn’t subside after taking paracetamol. In most cases children respond well to this medicine yet there can be a few cases where a child’s fever is not affected at all even after taking paracetamol. In that case, you will have to give some other fever medication after consulting your child’s paediatrician.</li><li>If paracetamol does not seem to work for your child, you can try either of these two combinations:</li></ul>i. Combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen. It is commercially known as ibugesic plus or Combiflam.ii. Combination of Paracetamol and mefenamic acid. At times when giving Paracetamol doesn’t show any improvement, you can use mefenamic acid - Meftal, which is also a very popular medicine for fever. <ul><li>Apart from medicines, you can also use cold packs to decrease your child’s temperature.</li><li>Keep in mind to not use cold refrigerated water cold packs for fever, instead use normal tap water. Soak the cloth in the water, drain excess water and place it over the child’s hands, legs, and forehead. Temperature will eventually subside.</li></ul> Home Remedies:<ul><li>If the temperature is below 102˚ F the fever is normal, just give plenty of fluids (liquid) and extra rest.</li><li>If the fever is between 102˚ F to 105˚ F give a warm bath or sponge your child with lukewarm water, this will help to reduce the temperature.</li><li>Make the child wear light clothes and use a light blanket.</li><li>Complete rest and good sleep can help the child recover soon.</li><li>Increase the water intake as much as possible.</li></ul> Prevention:<ul><li>Make sure your child(ren) wash hands properly and regularly.</li><li>Make them to avoid touching their mouth, eyes, and nose constantly.</li><li>Maintain hygiene in your child's surrounding.</li><li>Avoid sharing cups/glasses/spoons.</li></ul>

Here are Fever Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Home remedies, and Prevention.

sids health concerns

Following article(s) will help solve your concern.