Samiksha Choithani

Try the following and see which one works out the best for you and your child: Laid back breastfeeding: Laid back breastfeeding is also known as biological nurturing which means that your baby's natural instincts will guide your position.You just need to make yourself comfortable, support your back, shoulder, neck and arms with pillows and bring your baby close to your skin. Rub your nipple on your baby's lips and your baby will open its mouth widely and start to latch. This is a natural instinctive way of nursing and you will be able to do it with ease. ﻿Cradle hold: Hold your baby in one of your arms wherein his/her head rests in the crook of your elbow and support rest of his/her body with the same arm. Cup your breast with your other hand and using your thumb and index finger, place your nipples along with areola into your baby’s mouth and ensure that the baby latches properly. To be specific, position your thumb on top and fingers below the nipple. The entire areola (dark circle around the nipple) should be in the child’s mouth. Football hold (Clutch or underarm hold): This position is especially useful if you have had a C-section, large breasts, premature baby or twins. This is a position where you hold the baby on the same side as the breast you are nursing from, tucking your baby’s legs under your arm just like a football. Hold your baby’s head in your palms and support his/her body with your arm. Cup your breast and latch your baby the same way you would do for the cradle hold. Sleeping or side-lying: Lying position is comfortable for mothers who have had C-section. Use your arm to comfortably position the baby’s head and hold the baby’s buttocks in the palm. Use the other hand to your breast. Use a blanket to cover the little one and your breast to help the child feel warm and safe.

For starters, most mothers find it difficult to stick to one position for breastfeeding. But with time, it gets better.

Breastfeeding positions

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

Ravina Sewani

Conjunctivitis in children is very common. Conjunctivitis causes red, irritated and sticky eyes. It is caused either by an infection (viral or bacterial) or due to allergies (irritants). Symptoms of conjunctivitis can last from 3 days to 3 weeks. If the child is younger than 6 weeks, consult a doctor immediately. Causes:<ul><li>Bacteria</li><li>Viruses</li><li>Allergy</li><li>Pollution</li></ul> Signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis:<ul><li>Redness of the white part of the eye</li><li>Irritation or itching in the eye</li><li>Bacterial conjunctivitis shows stringy discharge</li><li>More tears than usual</li><li>Swelling of the eyelids</li><li>Crusting of the eyelids or eyelashes</li></ul> Treatment of conjunctivitis:<ul><li>Viral conjunctivitis may last for one to two weeks and does not need medical treatment. It resolves on its own.</li><li>For bacterial and allergic conjunctivitis, see a doctor. Symptoms usually improve within 24 to 48 hours once treatment is started. Bacterial conjunctivitis is usually treated for five to seven days.</li></ul>You can use follow any of the following remedies to treat conjunctivitis in children:<ol><li>Salt water solution: Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt to pot of boiling water. Let it cool down. Then dip a cotton ball in this water, squeeze it a bit and keep it on both the eyelids of the baby.</li><li>Potato Slice: Peel the skin of raw potato. Wash it properly, Cut very thin slices and place them on both the eyelids of your child.</li><li>Chamomile oil: Add a few drops of chamomile oil in lukewarm distilled water. Dip cotton balls in this and place it on both eyelids of the baby for 5-7 minutes. Please note that this is not recommended for children below 1 year.</li><li>Consult an eye specialist if the problem persists for more than a few days.</li></ol> Prevention of conjunctivitis:<ul><li>Ask your children to wash their&nbsp;hands often throughout the day with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Wash your hands before and after using the eye drops. Also wash your hands if you come into contact with an infected person’s eyes, clothes, or other personal items.</li><li>Ask your child not to&nbsp;touch or rub his/her eyes.</li><li>Do not allow sharing of personal items such as towels, blankets, pillowcases, etc.</li><li>Wash bedding, washcloths, and towels in hot water after you use them.</li><li>Do not send your child to school or play if he has severe conjunctivitis with pus and sticky discharge.</li></ul>

Here are Conjunctivitis Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention.

All about Conjunctivitis

Meningitis is a rare infection affecting the membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord - called meninges. There are several causes of this disease, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Symptoms:<ul><li>Confusion</li><li>Fever</li><li>Headache</li><li>Numbness on face</li><li>Sensitivity to light</li><li>Stiff neck</li><li>Upset stomach or vomiting</li></ul> Causes:<ul><li>Meningitis is usually caused by a bacterial, viral, or a fungal infection. Bacterial meningitis can be life-threatening whereas viral meningitis is less severe and people with viral meningitis usually recover without any treatment. Fungal meningitis, on the other hand, is very rare and happens only in people whose immune system has been weakened.</li><li>Meningitis is almost always caused by a bacterial or viral infection that begins somewhere else in the body, like ears, sinuses, or throat.</li></ul>Less common causes of meningitis include:<ul><li>Autoimmune disorders</li><li>Cancer medications</li><li>Syphilis</li><li>Tuberculosis</li></ul> Bacterial Meningitis:It is an extremely serious illness. Your child will need immediate medical attention. It can be life-threatening or lead to brain damage if no quick treatment is offered. Bacterial meningitis spreads when infected people cough or sneeze. Hence being around an infected person, poses a risk for your child as well.Viral Meningitis:Viral meningitis is more common than the bacterial form and is usually less serious.Fungal Meningitis:Fungal meningitis is very rare than the bacterial or viral forms. Healthy people rarely get it. Someone with a problem like AIDS, for example is more likely to become infected with this form of meningitis. Diagnosis:Your child’s doctor will ask for your child’s medical history. The doctor will check for neck stiffness and look for a skin rash that might suggest a bacterial infection. The doctor will also direct you for following tests:<ul><li>Blood tests to find bacteria</li><li>CT or MRI scans of your head to find swelling or inflammation</li><li>Spinal tap wherein a health care worker uses a needle to take fluid from around your spinal cord. It can tell what’s causing your meningitis.</li></ul> Treatment:Your treatment will depend on the type of meningitis you have.<ul><li>Bacterial meningitis needs immediate treatment with antibiotics. Your child’s doctor will prescribe antibiotics even before they’ve found the exact bacteria that caused your illness and then change to a drug that targets the specific bacteria they find. The doctor might also prescribe medication to deal with the inflammation your child faces.</li><li>Viral meningitis usually goes away on its own without treatment. The doctor might suggest your child to stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids. The doctor might sometimes prescribe medication for pain and fever.</li><li>For fungal meningitis, antifungal medications are prescribed by doctors.</li></ul> Risk factors: Following individuals are at a high risk of getting infected with meningitis:<ul><li>Children under 5</li><li>Teenagers and young adults ages 16-25</li><li>Adults over 55</li></ul> Complications:<ul><li>Hearing loss</li><li>Neurological problems</li><li>Vision problems</li><li>Seizures</li><li>Learning disability</li><li>Damage to internal organs like heart and kidneys</li></ul> Prevention:<ul><li>Regular vaccination goes a long way towards preventing meningitis. The Hib, measles, mumps, polio, and pneumococcal vaccines can protect against meningitis caused by those germs.</li><li>Avoiding Germs - Kids should wash their hands well and often, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom.</li></ul>

Here are Meningitis Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Risk factors, Complications, and Prevention.

All about Meningitis

Blood pressure is the force of blood as it flows through the body's vessels. The vessels widen and contract as needed to keep blood flowing well. In a child with hypertension (high blood pressure), however, the blood pushes too hard against the blood vessels, which can cause damage to blood vessels, the heart, and other organs. Causes:<ul><li>Kidney problems</li><li>Blood vessel abnormalities</li><li>Heart disease</li><li>Endocrinological disorder</li></ul> Risk Factors:<ul><li>Obesity: Obese children have a higher chance of developing hypertension</li><li>Hypertension history in family</li><li>Sleep disorders</li></ul> Symptoms:<ul><li>Headaches</li><li>Loss of vision</li><li>Double-vision</li><li>Chest pain</li><li>Abdominal pain</li><li>Breathing problems</li></ul> Diagnosis:Your child's doctor will use charts based on your child's sex, height, and blood pressure numbers to determine whether or not your child has high blood pressure. Treatment:If your child's high blood pressure is severe and doesn't respond to lifestyle changes, the doctor may prescribe medication for the same. How High Blood Pressure Affects Children:<ul><li>Heart disease</li><li>Kidney disease</li><li>Stroke</li></ul> Helping child with hypertension:<ul><li>Keep your child away from tobacco smoke.</li><li>Limit the amount of time your child spends playing video games and watching TV.</li><li>Make changes to diet and exercise a family affair.</li><li>Make sure your child has his or her blood pressure checked as often as recommended by your child's doctor.</li></ul>

Here are Hypertension causes, symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment.

Hypertension in children

Wheat allergy is an allergic reaction to foods containing wheat. Allergic reactions can be caused by eating wheat and also, in some cases, by inhaling wheat flour. Wheat is found in many foods, including some you might not suspect, such as soy sauce, ice cream and hot dogs. Wheat allergy sometimes is confused with celiac disease, but these conditions differ. Wheat allergy occurs when your body produces antibodies to proteins found in wheat. In celiac disease, a specific protein in wheat — gluten — causes a different kind of abnormal immune system reaction. Symptoms of wheat allergy:<ul><li>Swelling, itching or irritation of the mouth or throat</li><li>Hives, itchy rash or swelling of the skin</li><li>Nasal congestion</li><li>Headache</li><li>Difficulty breathing</li><li>Cramps, nausea or vomiting</li><li>Diarrhoea</li><li>Anaphylaxis</li></ul> Causes:Exposure to a wheat protein triggers the body's immune system for an allergic reaction. Your child can develop an allergy to any of the four classes of wheat proteins — albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten. Sources of wheat proteins:<ul><li>Breads and bread crumbs</li><li>Cakes, muffins and cookies</li><li>Breakfast cereals</li><li>Pasta</li><li>Semolina</li><li>Soy sauce</li><li>Meat products, such as hot dogs</li><li>Dairy products, such as ice cream</li><li>Natural flavourings</li><li>Modified food starch</li><li>Vegetable gum</li><li>Cosmetics</li></ul> Risk factors:<ul><li>Family history: The chances of your child being allergic to wheat are higher if there is someone in the family who is allergic to wheat.</li><li>Age: Wheat allergy is most common in babies and toddlers, who have immature immune and digestive systems.</li></ul> Difference between Wheat Allergy and Celiac Disease:Wheat allergy involves an allergic response to any of the four proteins in wheat. Whereas, celiac disease is caused by gluten (a type of wheat protein). Celiac disease does not cause an immune response but rather causes a problem with the absorption of food in the intestines. Diagnosis:Symptoms of wheat allergy and celiac disease are overlapping hence an allergist can determine whether an allergy is present or not. You will be required to give your child's medical history, family's medical history combined with a skin-prick or a blood test. Prevention:<ul><li>Develop a habit of reading the food labels for ingredients and allergy information.</li><li>Teach your child to mention about the allergy whenever (s)he goes to visit someone.</li><li>Inform your child’s school about your child’s allergy. You can also give the medicines prescribed by your child’s doctor to the school which they can use in case of sudden allergic reactions.</li><li>Be careful about the possibility of cross-contact; especially when visiting a restaurant.</li><li>Always keep the allergy medication handy for your child.</li></ul> Treatment:<ul><li>The best way to prevent allergies of any sort in children is to avoid the source of the allergen.</li><li>In allergies, paediatricians usually prescribe antihistamine medicines for mild allergic reactions. Whereas for severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis, your child’s paediatrician will prescribe an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI).</li></ul>

Some children can develop allergic reactions towards wheat and need to be fed on a different cereal.

Wheat allergy

Dr Aliraza Khunt

Prachi Shah

Chewing may start around 6-9 months. By 10 months, your baby should be given textured food and opportunity to chew. Babies can do light chewing till 1.5 years as they still lack molar teeth. There can be several reasons behind a child not chewing its food properly:<ul><li>Late introduction of food</li><li>Delayed development of motor skills (jaw, tongue, swallowing)</li><li>Disinterest in food because of test, texture, or flavour</li><li>Boredom of same food</li><li>Allergy</li><li>Consumption of milk three times</li><li>Big portions</li><li>Distraction</li></ul> Please refrain from the following behaviour:<ul><li>Generally, parents put on child's favourite cartoon or TV programme and feed their child. For parents, the only concern is to make the child eat sufficient amount of food so as soon as this is done, they think that their part of duty to feed the child is over.</li><li>This is where children get into the bad habit of eating while watching T.V. When a child eats in front of the screen, (s)he does not know what (s)he is eating. The child will also not chew the food properly.</li><li>If a child observes that his/her parent is taking a sandwich in their hand while going to office and eats moving around the house or watches television while eating, the child will learn the same. The child models their parents’ behaviour and thus (s)he doesn’t chew properly. Either they eat too slow or just gulp without chewing.</li></ul> For improvement, take the following steps:<ul><li>When a child eats food on their own, proper chewing habit develops easily. This way the child becomes independent and learns to do his/her own thing. So encourage them to eat their food on their own.</li><li>Make it a point to have a family meal time where everyone eats together.</li><li>Vary the type of food, food's texture to keep the food interesting for your child.</li><li>Instead of a screen, tell them stories or talk to them while feeding them.</li><li>Make sure there is sufficient gap between meals. When the child is not hungry, (s)he does not chew the food properly. Take this as a sign that your child is not hungry.</li><li>You can constantly keep telling them about the importance of chewing process and help them develop this habit by following it yourself.</li><li>Eat with them, but in a different plate. When a child watches you eating calmly and properly, (s)he learns the same.</li></ul>

Kids tend to skip chewing and try to swallow the food directly. Do not get angry, try to be patient and address the problem.

Helping child to chew food properly

Child's disinterest in healthy home cooked food starts from an early age of 6-7 months. There are several reasons behind a picky eater child: <ol><li>Medical Challenge - Allergy, Reflex, Constipation</li><li>Oral-motor Challenge - Chewing, Breathing, Swallowing</li><li>Sensory Challenge - Recognises only few flavours or smell</li><li>Temperament and mood - Easily frustrated so feels and express the internal emotion.</li><li>Early exposure to junk food - This is the most common</li></ol> What can be done to make your child eat all kinds of food:<ul><li>When during the initial months of introducing food to child, do not introduce sugary chocolates, junk food like packed food items, extremely spicy or salty food or else the child will develop the taste for those kind of things. If you introduce foods which are higher on the taste spectrum, the child will throw tantrums when you give him/her healthy food. In this case you can always start slow by making their food interesting, example - using ingredients they like and garnish their food with smileys. Using decorative plates and cups also helps.</li><li>Be patient: If your child throws tantrums on seeing healthy home cooked food, do not melt and give the junk food just because your child is crying. Be strong because developing a new habit will take time.</li><li>A child who has eaten chocolates will not adjust to khichdi. Khichdi does not have the same taste as chocolate. A child is driven by taste and not by nutrition.</li><li>Make sure that everyone in the family eats the same dish. Special dishes should not be prepared for everyone. If the child watches that special dishes are being prepared for someone in the family, the child also learns to demand the same.</li><li>Do not keep any distractible food on the table - like sugary or spicy foods.</li><li>Make it a point that everyone eats together in their own plates. This way the child learns to eat everything and also on their own.</li><li>Keep a fixed meal time.</li></ul>

It is not right to completely put the blame on kids for their disinterest in healthy food. As parents, we need to reflect on ourselves and take necessary measures for the same.

Child being choosy about food

Normally babies cry after the injection because the prick of the injection is painful for a baby. The doctors usually advise the parents to give paracetamol to reduce the pain so the child can have some relief. Keep the following in mind to soothe your child after injection:<ul><li>Stay near your baby to distract and calm him/her during injection.</li><li>Hold your baby in a position so that the doctor can easily give injections.</li><li>If your baby is under 6 months, use a sugar solution to pacify him/her. You can dip his/her pacifier in a sugar solution and let him/her suck it.</li><li>Distract your baby with lights, sounds or some new toy.</li><li>After the injection, rub the vaccination site gently.</li><li>Swaddling can be helpful for little babies.</li><li>Place your baby on one side or on the stomach.</li><li>Swing him/her in your arms.</li><li>Feed your baby.</li><li>Apply cold compress at the site of injection.</li></ul>

tongue tied health concerns

Following article(s) will help solve your concern.