The Common Health Problems In Children

In children, who often become a serious illness or severe in very fast time. A disease that requires several days or several weeks to make an adult suffering from severe, may be able to kill children in just a few hours. So it is very important to pay attention to early signs of disease and treats the children if known early symptoms of illness.

Some common diseases that often befall the children include:

1. Less Nutrition / Malnutrition

Many children are malnourished because they are not getting enough food. Or if they just get less food

nutritional content, such as foods with plenty of water and fiber in it, such as cassava, taro root, or grits. This type of food only makes the children become full and did not meet the nutrient requirements for growth. Sometimes the children found to lack certain nutrients, like vitamin A deficiency, iodine, and others.

Malnutrition can cause various problems in children, including:

In mild cases:

slow growth

abdominal swelling

thin body

loss of appetite

energy loss

pallor (anemia)

sores in the corners of the mouth

frequent colds and other infections

short-sighted

In more serious cases:

weight did not increase

swelling of the feet (sometimes also advance)

black spots, 'bruise', or peeling open wounds

hair thinning or even loss

lack of desire to laugh or play

sores in the mouth

intelligence does not develop

'Dry eye' (xeroftalmia)

blindness

Preventing and treating malnutrition in children is actually quite easy, by providing enough nutritious food, or try to give him more / frequent meals. Besides the addition of (fortification) of essential nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamins, proteins, etc. in food is also very good to meet these deficiencies. Always guided by the pattern of 4 healthy meals 5 perfect in meeting the children.

2. Diarrhoea and Dysentery

Diarrhea in children can be characterized by the frequency of bowel movements more than 4 times in infants and more than 3 times in children. The biggest danger for children with diarrhea is dehydration, or losing too much fluid from the body. This will increase the danger if accompanied by vomiting.

Infants and toddlers with diarrhea need more fluids to replace body fluids lost through feces and vomit. Appropriate fluid administration with an adequate amount of primary capital to prevent dehydration. Fluids should be given little by little with frequency as often as possible. ORS is a potent formula to address diarrhea in children.

If the child during breast feeding, continue breast-feeding, but also necessary to add liquid / drink to avoid dehydration. The second great danger to the children with diarrhea are malnourished. Give your child nutritious foods.

3. Fever

Child said to a fever if her temperature exceeded 37.5 ° C when measured with a thermometer. In small children, high fever (over 39 ° C) can easily lead to seizures or brain damage.

To reduce fever, can be done several things:

- Compress with warm water

The child can be compressed with moistened towel moistened with warm water (30 º C) then dilapkan entire body. The decrease in body temperature occurs when water evaporates from the skin surface. Therefore, children do not "wrapped" with a cloth or a damp towel or allowed to stand in water due to evaporation is inhibited. Add warm water if the fever gets higher. Thus, the difference between the water compresses the body temperature is not too different. If the water is too cold compress to the child's blood vessels wrinkled. As a result, the body heat does not come out. Children become increasingly shivering to maintain body temperature equilibrium.

- Give a fever reliever

The most effective treatment for fever is to use fever-reducing drugs such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. There are a variety of preparations on the market such as: tablets, drops, syrups, and suppositories. This treatment can reduce the child's discomfort and lower the temperature of 1 to 1.5 º C. While Aspirin is not recommended for children under 18 years of age because it can cause side-effects of serious illness called Reye's syndrome, although the incidence of this rare disease.

- Give plenty of fluids

Fever in children can increase the risk of dehydration (lack of fluids). Signs of dehydration are the most easily reduced urine and darker urine than usual. Therefore, parents should encourage children to drink adequate amounts of fluid. Children with fever may feel hungry and should not force children to eat. Liquids such as milk (or cow's milk or formula) and water should still be given or even more frequently. Older children can be given soup or fruits that contain lots of water. When children are unable or unwilling to drink within a few hours, parents should be sent to the doctor.

- Get plenty of rest

Fever causes the child is weak and uncomfortable. Parents should encourage their children to get enough rest. Should not force children to sleep or rest or sleep when the child is feeling better and the child can return to school or other activities when the temperature is normal in 24 hours.

4. Convulsions

The cause of seizures in children include high fever, dehydration, epilepsy, and meningitis. If the child has high fever, so as not immediately relieve spasms. Check for signs of dehydration and meningitis. Seizures are sudden, without fever or other signs of possible epilepsy, especially if the child looks mediocre without showing any unusual symptoms. Seizures that begin in the jaw and then the entire body may become stiff due to tetanus.

The signs of seizures in children, among them:

both legs and arms stiff movements accompanied by a strong shock and convulsions for 5 minutes. eyeballs turned upward.

teeth clenched

gag

not infrequently the child stops breathing for a moment.

in some cases can not control spending bowel / small.

in severe cases, the child often unconscious. The intensity of the seizures also vary widely, from several seconds to tens of minutes.

5. Meningitis

This dangerous disease can come as a complication of measles, mumps, or other serious diseases. The children of mothers who have TB may get TB meningitis. A very sick child who lies with his head tilted way back, the neck was too stiff to bend forward, and that his body makes strange movements (seizures) may have meningitis.

Symptoms are typical and commonly displayed by people over the age of 2 years of meningitis are fever, headache and neck muscle stiffness that lasts for hours or be felt up to 2 days. Other signs and symptoms are photophobia (fear / avoid the glare of light), phonophobia (fear / disturbed by a loud voice), nausea, vomiting, often seems confused, difficulty to wake up from sleep, even unconscious.

In infants the symptoms and signs of meningitis may be very difficult to know, but usually the baby will look weak and quiet (inactive), shivering, vomiting and are reluctant to breastfeed.

Meningitis caused by viruses can be transmitted through coughing, sneezing, kissing, sharing eating a spoon, brush your teeth with the use and smoking alternately in one trunk. Wash hands thoroughly before eating and after using the toilet, holding the pet. Maintaining stamina (endurance) of the body with nutritious meals and regular exercise is very good to avoid various diseases. Meningitis vaccine immunization is the proper action, especially in areas prone to outbreaks of meningitis known.

6. Anemia

Common signs in children include:

pale, especially on the eyelids, gums, and nail

weak and tired

looks like a malnourished

severe glossitis (inflammation of the tongue accompanied by pain)

diarrhea and loss of appetite

Causes include:

less iron

Chronic intestinal infections

hookworm

malaria

Prevention and Treatment:

Eat iron-rich foods such as meat and eggs. Beans, lentils, groundnuts (peanuts), and dark green vegetables also have some iron.

Often found in children of hookworm anemia.

If you suspect a hookworm, check with your child's stools in the lab. If found hookworm eggs, do get rid of hookworm treatment for this.

If necessary, give iron salts by mouth (ferrous sulfate).

Caution: Do not give iron tablets to infants or small children because it can cause poisoning. Should give a liquid iron. Or crush the tablet into powder and mix it with food.

7. Worms and other parasites

If one child in a family known to suffer from intestinal worms, all children in the family must be treated or treated to ensure the loss of worms. To prevent worm infections, children should:

Maintain cleanliness

Use the latrine.

Do not go barefoot.

Do not eat raw meat or raw fish or undercooked.

Drink only boiled water or pure.

8. Skin problems

Skin problems are most common in children include:

scabies

infected sores and impetigo

ringworm and other fungal infections

To prevent skin problems can be done in the following ways:

The most important: keep cleaning

Bathe child as often as possible to clean

Control of bedbugs, lice, and scabies.

Do not let the children who suffer from scabies, lice, ringworm, or infected wounds playing or sleeping together with healthy children.

9. Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)

Pinkeye, or conjunctivitis is also called the clear membrane lining inflammation and redness that covers the whites of the eyes and the membranes on the inside of the eyelid. Pinkeye most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection, although allergic, toxic materials and the underlying disease may also play a role.

Clean the eyelid with a clean damp cloth several times a day. Use antibiotic eye ointment on the eyelids 4 times a day. Do not let children play with pink eye or sleeping with other people. If he does not does not heal within a few days, call your doctor or health worker.

Avoid touching the eye area, and wash your hands frequently, especially after using the drugs to the area. Never share towels or handkerchiefs, tissues, paper towels and discard immediately after use. Change sheets and towels every day. Use a disinfectant on all surfaces, including counter surfaces, sinks and doorknobs. Dispose of all used makeup when infected.

10. Colds and 'Flu'

Common cold, with runny nose, mild fever, cough, frequent sore throat, and sometimes diarrhea is a frequent but not a serious problem in children. Give plenty of fluids in children. Let your child plenty of rest or sleep. Provide nutritious food and fruits to help children avoid colds and speedy recovery.

If a child is suffering from flu become very ill, high fever, rapid breathing, the child may be suffering from pneumonia, contact your doctor immediately.

11. Ear pain, and Ear Infections

Ear infections are common in young children. Fever will increase, and children often cry or rub the side of his head. Sometimes the pus can be seen in the ear. In small children's ear infections can sometimes cause vomiting or diarrhea. So, when a child has diarrhea and a fever be sure to check out his ears.

Treatment:

It is important to treat ear infections as soon as possible. Give antibiotics like penicillin or cotrimoxazole. In children under 3 years, ampicillin often work better. Give acetaminophen to relieve pain. Aspirin also works but it is not safe for children.

Clean out the pus from the ear with cotton carefully.

Children who suffer from ear pus must bathe regularly, avoid swimming or diving at least 2 weeks after recovery.

To prevent infection of the ear, clean ear of the child regularly and carefully.

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