Parenting | KIMS Cuddles

20 November, 2022

Bone and Joint Infections In Children You must be aware of

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Bone and Joint infections are generally termed as Musculoskeletal disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders are any disease that affects the joints, ligaments, nerves, muscles, and bones. These are commonly caused due to the infection, injury, or it can be inherited and develop as a part of a child’s growth. At times they occur for no known reason at all.A child’s bones grow continually and thus reshape them after every few years. The old bone tissue is gradually replaced by new bone tissue making the difference. Most of the disorders affecting the bones of a child occur in a growing child musculoskeletal system. These disorders may get worse or better as the child grows.Musculoskeletal conditions in children and teenagers are becoming more common now. They require conscious observation and understanding to avoid and treat their symptoms. This World Pediatric Bone and Joint Day (October 19th) let us have awareness about the impact of musculoskeletal conditions in children. Common Bone and Joint Infections observed in children Here is the list of common bone and joint infections seen in children: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Post-Streptococcal Reactive Arthritis (PSRA) Septic Arthritis (Joint Infection) Bone fractures Muscular dystrophy Developmental dysplasia of the hip Tendinitis Osteoporosis (bone infection) Symptoms to recognise Musculoskeletal disorders As children cannot communicate with the issues directly, it is important for the parents to catch up their signs. The following are the common symptoms a child tend to show while going through musculoskeletal disorders. Fever and Warmth Redness near the infected area Pains, Swellings Infants may show irritable and lethargic behaviour Refuse to eat, or vomit Limited movement of the infected area Treatment Procedures available for Bone and Joint Infections in Children A timely diagnosis plays a crucial role in the better treatment process for children. If ignored or not recognised for long, these infections tend to evolve into chronic disorders. The following mentioned procedures have proven to show good results for the immediate diagnosis. Antibiotics to control the infection and spread to other parts of the body. Medication to help manage pain and swelling of the infected area without further damage In case of severe damage, surgery can help clean out the affected areas in and around the affected bones. It is estimated that nearly 48% of adults and 10% of children have a musculoskeletal condition. However, the myth that children do not contract musculoskeletal disorders has to be removed. Diagnosing and treating them timely will help you save them from severe health conditions in future. *Information shared here is for general purpose. Please take doctors’ advice before taking any decision.

02 February, 2022

The Ultimate Guide to Taking Care of Toddlers in the Winter

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With the cold weather already here, you may be thinking about whether it’s safe for your toddler to play outside or not. However, no matter if the temperatures outside are decreasing, toddlers during the winter require physical activities because they are great stress relievers for them when they are cooped up inside their house for so many hours. Thus, it is safe for a toddler to play outside during the cold weather. The American Council of Exercise even recommends that the children should receive approximately 60 minutes of physical activity each day. So you may allow your toddler for outdoor play in different intervals by providing them breaks after 10 to 20 minutes. Here are several other tips that will facilitate outdoor play for your toddlers while keeping them safe. Dressing Them Properly During Cold Weather Toddlers during the winter should be sent outside to play only after dressing them in layers. The layered dressing will help to keep the body warm of your toddler with scarves, boots, hats, earmuffs, socks or mittens. Additionally, the layers will not only protect your child while they’re playing outside but will also help to retain their body heat through the air pockets present in the different clothes. Though your child may become sweaty through outdoor play, you can always take off one layer. It is even recommended to dress your child in an extra layer as compared to an average adult. Helping Them Keep Warm Indoors Unlike adults, toddlers cannot regulate their body temperature during cold weather. So, you need to take special care to help keep your toddler warm indoors during the cold weather. For this, you should shut off the windows in case it is extremely cold outside and use a room heater or a humidifier to provide a warm and comfortable environment for your toddler. Additionally, you can keep your toddler’s bed warm by using a warm water bottle and keeping it at the side of your toddler while he or she sleeps. Hygiene Concerns With winters just round the corner, comes the season of seasonal flu and cold. So it becomes necessary to practise the right hygiene for your toddlers and help keep them safe. First of all, you should make sure that your toddler is vaccinated for the flu. Secondly, when your toddler comes home after outdoor play, you should wash their hands properly. You can also provide them with a sanitiser to keep their hands clean. Additionally, in case any other person in the house is already suffering from cold and cough, do not let your kid stay around that person as there is a higher chance of getting infected with the cold and flu. In the end, another hygiene concern for toddlers during the winter is their dry skin. Tell your toddler not to bathe in very hot water and moisturise their skin after bathing. Tips for Keeping Them Active You should encourage toddlers to be active during the cold weather by playing outside and participating in their outdoor play yourself. There are a plethora of winter activities like outdoor as well as indoor games. You may play indoor games with your child like Ludo, Carrom or even teach him or her during the free time. Also, allow room for physical activity by letting your kids play outdoor with their friends. Keeping Their Ears From Getting Colds There is a higher chance of ear infections in toddlers during winter because of the reduced blood flow to the ear. With the reduced blood flow, the ears lose their capacity to fight off infections. Hence you need to keep your toddler’s ears from getting colds in winter. So let your toddler wear earmuffs or even a woollen hat during the winter that can help to keep frostbite away. Avoiding Overheating Themselves Toddlers have an amplified sensitivity to temperature changes and hence it may become difficult for you to keep your toddlers warm in winter because there is the risk of overheating. You can avoid overheating your toddlers by regulating the layers they wear during winter. It’s crucial to layer up your toddler while he or she is going outside to play or going for a walk. However, reduce the layers once your toddler is peacefully sleeping in the car or is with you indoors. So, these are some of the tips for toddlers during the cold weather. Hopefully, this guide will help you to keep your toddler warm during the winter season. *Information shared here is for general purpose. Please take doctors’ advice before making any decision.

29 January, 2022

Common Diseases and Issues: Caring For a Baby And How To Prevent Them.

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Caring for a baby is very crucial because during the initial first year the baby’s immune system is quite weak. Due to this, there are amplified chances for him or her to develop several common diseases in babies or sickness in infant. But with the right care, you can treat common diseases in babies easily. However, new parents and caregivers may have several questions related to their infants’ healthcare. So this guide will help you to know how to care for your baby and prevent the common diseases in babies and sickness in infant. Now let’s have a look at the common diseases in babies worth one year or less and how to care for them, or how to prevent them earlier only. Bowel movements Keeping track of the bowel movement of your infant is crucial because this can help you to know if your infant is likely to develop any disease. So the different factors you need to consider regarding the bowel movement of your baby are as follows. Consistency. Initially, the consistency of your kid’s stool will range from loose, runny or soft. However, infant or formula-fed may have stools with a tan yellow shade and firmer as compared to the infants who are breastfed. All you need to consider while checking the consistency of your infants’ stool is that it should not be hard or very dry because this can be a sign of dehydration. Colour. The Initial bowel movement of a newborn is generally a dark green or black coloured substance known as meconium. However, once the meconium has passed, you can see that the colour of the stools will turn yellowish-green. Frequency. When your baby has reached the duration of three to six weeks, he or she should have one bowel movement per week in case you breastfeed the infant. However, if you formula feed your infant, then the baby will have fewer bowel movements than this. If you find hard stools, you should immediately check with your healthcare provider as this could be a symptom of a sickness in infant known as Constipation Colics In case your baby is continuously crying in the evening and it gets worse through the night, then this could be a symptom of another sickness in infant known as colic. According to the research conducted by the American Association of Paediatrics, approximately 1/5th of the babies between the age of two to four weeks have an amplified risk of developing colic. Being one of the common diseases in babies, the symptoms can include excessive crying or screaming by the babies, passing gas or pulling up their legs. In some cases, the baby might even enlarge their stomachs. Once your baby enters the duration of three to four months, the colic is likely to improve. Though there is no definite reason for developing colic, sometimes a change of diet for the breastfeeding mother or changing the bottle-fed formula of the infants can help. You can even truncate the adverse effects of colic by a pacifier or snugly wrapping your baby in a blanket. Jaundice Due to the buildup of bilirubin, a substance produced by the body during the breakdown of the old red blood cells, your baby might get one of the most common diseases in babies known as jaundice. Jaundice causes a yellowish tinge in your baby’s mouth, eyes and skin. In case the liver of the baby is unable to remove bilirubin from the body in the first few days after birth, the infant may get jaundice. This sickness in infant should be immediately treated by contacting your healthcare provider. Generally, the infants need no treatment during jaundice but your healthcare provider may sometimes prescribe phototherapy for the infant. *Information shared here is for general purpose. Please take doctors’ advice before making any decision.

24 January, 2022

Baby’s First Year – Feeding Schedule and Nutrition Tips

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You’ve happily clicked a snap of your little munchkin eating messily! That’s great, but now are you worried about how to provide the best nutrition to your baby in the first year? Fret not, here’s a guide on the feeding schedule for baby in the first year. Keeping in mind the fact that different infants require a different amount of nutrition, the nutrition you provide to your infant depends on his or her age, appetite, and body weight. So let’s have a glance at the healthy food for baby according to their age in the first year of birth. Newborns. As you must know, infants should receive the nutrition and calories only through breast milk or formula. So let’s know the feeding schedule for baby with both these items. Breast milk According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, an infant should drink one to two ounces of breast milk per feeding. However, once your baby is at least two weeks old, the amount of this quantity will amplify to two to three ounces. Generally, you need to feed breast milk to your newborn every two to three hours ass it proves to be a healthy food for baby. Formula. If you’re opting to include a formula in the feeding schedule for baby, then make sure to provide two to three Oz per feeding. Additionally, you need to remember that the infants take up formula every three to four hours. Once your baby grows, gradually the amount of this liquid even increases. According to an associate professor of general pediatrics in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, you should provide 2.5 ounces of formula per pound of your baby’s weight. 1-3 months old babies. The feeding schedule for baby gradually heightens as he or she enters the three months of age threshold. During this period, the baby will become more vocal when his or her appetite increases. The healthy food for baby during this period is also either breast milk or formula. According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, a two-month-old baby can consume four to five Oz of breast milk or formula every three to four hours. Four to six months old. When the babies reach five to six months of age, they tend to start eating solids. Some of the indicators showing that your infant may now be ready to take in solids include their grabbing skills and head and neck control. So during this duration, you can aim at providing one to two tablespoons of food to your child twice a day. However, make sure not to substitute solid food with milk completely. The American Academy of Paediatrics suggests including some 8 ounces per feeding every four to five hours once your baby is six months old. 6-9 months old. Healthy food for baby when he or she is 6 to 9 months old includes both milk and solid items. However, during this period, the major calories should still come from breast milk or formula. Generally, you may aim at feeding up to two meals to your child that include two to four tablespoons each. You can introduce solid items to your child during this period that include single-grain baby cereals, pureed fruits, vegetables or meats. At the same time, when breastfeeding, make sure not to cross the limit of 32 ounces of formula per day. 9 to 12 months old Once your baby enters this age threshold, the feeding schedule for baby should provide half the calories from food and half from breast milk or formula. Generally, babies even like to play with their food and explore their tastes during this period. So you can even consider adding yogurt, or an additional dip with their whole-grain crackers or food items. So now you can create a feeding schedule for baby that includes healthy food for baby. *Information shared here is for general purpose. Please take doctors’ advice before making any decision.

04 December, 2021

5 Superfoods To Maintain Your Children’s Eyesight

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Maintaining your child’s eyesight begins with a healthy diet. Many food groups are rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that aid in preserving their vision. But carrots come to mind when you think about foods that might help you enhance your vision. You wouldn’t be wrong, would you? After all, while “rabbit food” is high in vitamin A, which is necessary for excellent vision. However, it isn’t the be-all, end-all of eye-healthy foods. There are other superfoods, including carrots, that will help you maintain your child’s eyesight. Here are 5 superfoods to maintain your children’s eyesight. Deep Water Fish with Omega-3 fatty acids - Omega-3 fatty acids are mostly found in salmon, tuna, and mackerel. They assist in keeping your child’s eyes lubricated and avoid dry eye syndrome. They can also help lower their chance of getting cataracts and macular degeneration later in life if they eat them regularly.Green leafy vegetables - Lutein and zeaxanthin are abundant in kale, spinach, and collard greens. These carotenoids have strong antioxidative characteristics that help protect your eyes from free radicals. They function as a defensive mechanism to prevent macular degeneration and cataract formation as your youngster grows up, according to your professional eye doctor.Berries and Citrus Fruits for Vitamin C - As a snack, try giving strawberries and oranges as snacks for your kid. These fruits are rich in Vitamin C, which helps improve your child’s immune system and increase their resilience to illnesses and disorders. Include them together in their meals.Nuts with Vitamin E - Almonds, pistachios, and walnuts should all be included in your child’s diet. Vitamin E, which significantly works as an antioxidant, is abundant in these nuts and helps to protect your child’s eyesight. Having nuts on a regular basis has been shown as an excellent home treatment for myopia management.Eggs and carrots Preventing night blindness and dry eyes might be as simple as eating vitamin A-rich eggs. Carrots also have a lot of beta-carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A. They protect your child’s ocular structural integrity and ensure that their eye components work properly. When to visit the doctor? Call your doctor if the child mentions frequent pain in the eyes, touches their eyes repeatedly, has chronic tears, or complains of hazy or double vision. In the interim, apply a cold pack to your child’s damaged eye for 15 minutes every hour or so. If you’re going to use an ice pack, cover it in a wet towel to keep the eye from freezing. Taking immediate actions will help your child greatly in avoiding the more significant damage. *Information shared here is for general purpose. Please take doctors’ advice before taking any decision.