Just the words 'Sudden Infant Death Syndrome' evoke fear. Fortunately more and more is being learned about prevention of this terrible tragedy.
SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is, as the name implies, the sudden and unexpected death of an infant for no known cause. It's the largest killer of babies in the first year of life. Although the exact cause of SIDS is still unknown, research is pointing more and more to certain factors which can put our babies at risk. Research now shows a correlation between SIDS and babies who are laid down to sleep on their stomachs. Although this research doesn't state that the prone position causes SIDS, it appears to be a major factor in SIDS related deaths.
Because of this pediatrician Dr. John Kattwinkel recommends that "if there is no other reason to do otherwise, if the baby is healthy, born at term and not a baby who spits up a great deal or has abnormalities of the airway, then perhaps the parents ought to place their babies down to sleep on their side or on their back rather than on their stomach. "
Dr. Kattwinkel also stresses that parents should avoid laying their babies on soft pillows, lambskins and water beds. And he adds that although SIDS is often unavoidable there are things that parents can do to decrease the risks. "We used to think that SIDS was a sporadic problem which couldn't be avoided and could hit anyone, explains Kattwinkel. "That's still true to an extent, but there are ways to decrease the risk. Babies of mothers who don't smoke, don't use drugs, and who do breast feed and place their babies on back or sides are at a low risk of having SIDS."
One in 500 babies die each years from SIDS, with the majority of those deaths occurring in infants between two and four months of age. While the cause of SIDS is still mysterious, the more we know, the more ways we have to prevent this terrible tragedy from occurring.
Is your child suffering from teething pain and discomfort? Or is teething pain just an old-time medical myth?
Sometime between four and six months of age, most babies get their first tooth, and they'll keep getting a new tooth until all of their primaries are in place by the age of two and a half years.
Any parent that has watched their baby cry in discomfort during the teething years would be hard pressed to say their child isn’t in some pain. But can it lead to illness? For many years people believed teething and illness were synonymous. In fact, as little as one hundred years ago teething was blamed for many infant deaths. So what’s the reality? More than likely it’s somewhere between the two explains Dr. Allan Green, author of From First Kicks to First Steps. "Good studies have shown that some babies experience significant discomfort, low grade fevers and diarrhea with teething", explains Dr. Greene.
But pediatrician Dr. William Feldman says that it also happens that between four months and two and a half years of age children are exposed to many viruses and bacteria, and it’s unwise to automatically blame illness on teething. His concern is that if parents simply chalk up their child’s fever to teething, a more serious illness can be missed. "If there is a fever which accompanies this, it's usually caused by a virus that just happens to be there at the same time," explains Feldman.
If your child is in discomfort from teething, the temptation is to soothe the gums with one of the many over-the-counter topical gels available at the pharmacy. But Dr. Greene does not recommend these. "The topical gels, I'm not a very big fan of. Many kids don't seem to like them very much. They leave the mouth feeling numb and swollen like you've just been to the dentist, they wear off very quickly, and they can decrease the gag reflex in some kids."
Instead Dr. Greene recommends "a variety of solutions for babies who are experiencing difficulty with teething. Massaging of the gums can be very helpful with a clean finger. There are some homeopathic teething gels that are quite gentle and many parents report great success with those."
Over all, while it is hard to see your child suffering from teething pain, remember that in the long run this is relatively short-lived period in your child’s life. Teething rings and massage can be helpful. And if your child becomes ill, don’t automatically assume that teething is to blame. Instead have your child seen by a physician to rule out any other health concerns.
That bedtime bottle may soothe your baby tonight, but the milk or juice inside it could lead to major dental problems tomorrow.
Sucking is a normal, natural reflex for infants. Besides the fact that without this reflex a baby couldn't be fed, it also offers relaxation and comfort, which is exactly why so many babies and toddlers continue sucking well after they need to do so for nourishment. The concern that a lot of parents have is that thumbsucking and pacifier use can cause damage to children's teeth that can only be repaired through orthodontics.
Pediatric dentist Dr. David Kenney says with young children neither thumbsucking nor use of a pacifier is harmful, although most dentists prefer to see a child use a soother. "We actually recommend soothers and the reason we do, is that a child who starts out with a soother will be more apt to give that soother up than if they start out with their thumb. With a thumb you have a friend and constant companion well into the time when the permanent teeth erupt."
Dr. Kenney feels that parents shouldn't really expect two and a half or three year olds to stop sucking their thumb, but that "by five, or five and a half years of age, if the habit hasn't stopped by then there is some risk of damage which may need to be repaired orthidontically later on."
If there is one concern that over-rides all others, specifically when it comes to children and dental health, is the use of juice or milk bottles at bedtime says Kenney, "because at that time the amount of saliva is decreased and the amount of swallowing is reduced. I know that what they do is suck a little bit, then hold it in their mouth, swallow it, then suck a little more, then hold it and swallow. This keeps supplying, constantly, sugar to the bacteria. I see children with rampant decay of their primary teeth from these causes."
The result is what dentists call Nursing Bottle Decay, and according to pediatric dentist Dr. Richard Kramer, it's becoming more common. "Interestingly enough, although decay rates have generally gone down for children, for very young children decay rates have increased due to nursing bottle decay."
The final word is, if your child has to have a bedtime bottle, the only safe thing to fill it with is water.
Does your child's sore throat mean a dose of antibiotics? Only if it's a proven case of strep say the experts.
Does your child have a sore throat? While viruses cause most sore throats, the streptococcus bacteria, otherwise know as strep, usually cause those that are accompanied by headache and fever. Thankfully, in this day and age of antibiotics, strep throat is not nearly the dreaded illness that it once was, says pediatrician, Dr. Diane Sacks. "In the past, 50 or 60 years ago, it was a very serious infection that was feared because it led to serious heart problems, rheumatic fever or problems in the kidney. Fortunately, penicillin came along and it killed strep very effectively."
Dr. Sacks adds that strep can still lead to scarlet and rheumatic fever if left untreated, so if your child has a very severe sore throat and swollen glands, the doctor needs to take a throat swab, and if it turns out positive, medicine must be taken for its full coarse of treatment to prevent some of the secondary side effects."
Still, don't assume that your child will be prescribed antibiotics even when it appears to be strep. Overuse of antibiotics has been blamed for the development of some strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Therefore, most doctors won't prescribe them unless the signs of strep are very clear and the swab is positive, says pediatrician Dr. William Feldman, editor of "The 3AM Handbook". He adds "people are developing guidelines that predict strep throat a little better. Now if the child with a sore throat, has a runny nose, no fever and there's nothing to see in the throat, then the chances of this being strep throat are quite remote."
So when should you suspect strep? "If the child just has a sore throat and has a high fever and swollen glands then it's likely that this is strep and that the child should be seen," explains Feldman who adds that if your child is covered in a rash, he may have scarlet fever. "Scarlet fever is simply a strep throat with a toxin that is released into the bloodstream and causes a rash. But it's not at all serious, it's just a strep throat with a rash and will get better with penicillin."
Does your child have a fever? While fever may be a sign of illness, it may also be a part of the cure.
If your child has a fever, do you automatically reach for the medicine cabinet? Well, you may want to rethink this. Now, many in the medical profession feel that there's good evidence to suggest that fevers don't necessarily need to be brought under control with medications such as acetaminophen. In fact, fevers may actually help to kick-start the immune system into fighting off viral and bacterial infections, explains pediatrician, Dr. Paul Theissen. "The more we learn about fever over the years the more we learn that fever is an important adaptation of the body to fighting infection. We have become much more conservative about fighting fever as an objective in itself. So fever should be treated if it's making the child uncomfortable and really unwell. But I don't think that fever should be fought and brought down at any cost."
A fever is defined as a body temperature that is above normal. A child is thought to have a fever when their temperature reads higher than 37.5°C (99.5°F) in the mouth, more than 37.2°C (99°F) under the arm, or above 38°C (100.4°F) when measured rectally. While fever in itself isn't dangerous, sometimes the illness that accompanies it is. So, if your child has a fever and other symptoms such as listlessness, uncontrollable crying, a stiff neck, trouble breathing, and/or confusion, seek immediate medical attention.
The age of a child also plays a role as to when a physician must see him or her. First, a doctor should see a child of any age if the fever lasts for 3 or more days. Secondly, if your child is under two and the fever lasts for more than a day, call your doctor. Finally, if you have a newborn with a fever, seek immediate attention. According to Dr. Theissen, "a child under 3 months of age who gets a high fever of 39 to 40 degrees should be seen by a physician fairly urgently - that day. Certainly a child under one month of age should be seen immediately. A high fever should never be dismissed in a young infant. The likelihood of it being a bacterial infection is quite high."
Finally, it's always best to err on the side of caution. If you're concerned about your child's fever, always have it checked out by a qualified health professional.
While headaches are common occurrences in childhood, certain types of headaches can signal something more ominous.
Headaches are something we usually associate with adulthood, but they can and do show up in children, and for many reasons. The child may have a viral illness, be fatigued, or even stressed out. Fortunately, headaches rarely signal anything ominous like a brain tumor, explains pediatrician Dr. Paul Theissen. "If we look at the overall picture of headaches in childhood, only a small percentage actually have anything physically wrong inside their head. The vast majority of headaches in younger children will not be related to any mass that needs to be treated in any specific way. (However) I think headaches in any child under 5 years of age should be seen and addressed by a physician."
You may be surprised to learn that, according to statistics, 40% of children have had a headache by age seven, and by age fifteen 75% have coped with headaches, with 4% of those being migraine sufferers. According to Dr. Theissen "the signs of a headache that might be a migraine include headaches that are associated with vomiting, where it's severe and concentrated over one half of the head, and it might be associated with transitory visual loss or complaints of some sort. These are indications that your child might be suffering from a migraine headache." It1s recommended that, for children who suffer from migraines, the pain be treated with acetaminophen as soon as they complain of a headache. Waiting too long can just make the headache worse and more difficult to treat.
No matter what type of headache your child is suffering from it's important that you don't dismiss it, says pediatrician Dr. Marvin Ghans. "It isn't fair to a child to deny the fact they have a headache. Instead we should be sympathetic and help reassure them that the headache will go away shortly."
Finally, headaches that show up in the early morning and are accompanied by vomiting should be seen by a doctor to determine whether or not your child has a more serious problem, adds Dr. Ghans. "If your child is having persistent headaches, or prolonged headaches or if they interfere with their daily life, or affect their balance and gait, then it is time to see a doctor."
When it comes to croup, this is one childhood illness in which the bark is usually worse than the bite.
Croup is one of those illnesses that all children seem to end up with sometime in their young lives. A virus that generally strikes between the months of November and March, croup usually affects children between the ages of six months and five years. As an illness of the upper airway, croup's main symptom is a deep, bark-like cough that sounds much like a seal. When you hear the croup cough, it may set off alarm bells and bring images to mind of hospitalization and oxygen tents. However, in reality, croup is rarely serious explains pediatrician and editor of "The 3am Handbook", Dr. William Feldman. "Croup is an interesting condition which is virtually always accompanied by a fever. A child will wake up with a low-grade fever and a barking cough. Most of the time it goes away on it's own."
Treatment for most cases of croup is simple. It's an illness that requires no medication, unless specifically recommended or prescribed by your child's physician, explains pediatrician Dr. William James. "When you get your child awakening in the night (with croup), don't go running to the medicine cabinet and use one of those over-the-counter cough and cold remedies. They are dangerous in this circumstance because they dry out the mucous membranes, and you make the croup worse." Instead, Dr. James recommends that "if the child wakens in the middle of the night with this barky, hacky cough, turn on the shower, and steam up the bathroom really well. It will help to loosen things a bit." Some doctors even recommend bundling children up in a blanket and standing outside where they can breath in the cool, moist air which helps reduce airway inflammation.
And while croup is generally self-limiting, Dr. James adds that there are still instances when a child's croup takes a serious turn. "If the child starts to have some in-drawing, by that I mean that the child is sitting there at rest and has difficulty breathing, and the chest muscles are drawing and sucking in, then I think that's an indication to head to the nearest emergency department." There a child may be treated with medication to help reduce inflammation and relieve the breathing difficulties.
