Parenting is not easy, especially for new parents. Whether you are raising a newborn or a growing child, parents need to tackle many challenges.
Many choose to follow traditional methods passed down from their parents. Others join a maternal care group and adopt methods from other mothers based on experience. While people recommend these practices out of good intentions, these practices can cause some misconceptions and unintentional harm to your children.
Parents should heed the advice of a paediatrician. UCSI Hospital’s paediatrician Dr Long Wai Lup, who has 12 years of medical experience, was admitted as a paediatrician at the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (MRCPHC) in 2019.
Here are his advices to parents when facing the following situations.
What is neonatal jaundice?
Jaundice is the yellow discolouration of the sclerae (whites of the eyes) and skin. It occurs in ˜60% of mature babies and 80% of premature babies during the first week of life.
What cause my baby to contract jaundice?
A baby could contract jaundice due to the deposition of a yellow pigment called bilirubin in the tissues. When the bilirubin exceeds a certain level, jaundice becomes visible to the observer.
Is neonatal jaundice dangerous?
It depends on the type and severity of jaundice. The unconjugated bilirubin may penetrate the brain cells. However, jaundice can lead to progressive brain damage, mental retardation, and death if there is no medical intervention.
What is the treatment for neonatal jaundice?
Depending on the bilirubin level, phototherapy may be the go-to treatment. Your baby may need additional intravenous fluid therapy if he or she appears dehydrated. Regular monitoring of bilirubin level will be done from time to time.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic (long-lasting) inflammatory lung disease that causes airways to swell up, tighten, and narrow.
What causes asthma?
What are the symptoms of asthma?
How is asthma treated?
What is constipation?
Constipation is an abnormal pattern of bowel movements in which stools are passed less frequently than usual and are often harder than expected. Everyone has a different normal pattern. However, a child is constipated whenever his/her pattern slows down noticeably. Sometimes constipation can cause recurrent tummy pain.
What causes constipation?
In most children, there is no disease. However, once constipation begins, it tends to continue. These are some of the factors that may contribute to the onset of constipation:
What should parents do?
What is infant colic?
We do not know what causes colic, but it is usually harmless and lasts for a few months before getting better on its own. However, it can be upsetting for parents and caretakers.
Colic has been the common word used to describe regular crying and unease in a baby. This crying can happen at any time but often occurs in the late afternoon and evening, especially in babies between two weeks and four months of age. It is common for young infants to have crying and unsettled times.
What cause colic?
Sometimes, there is a medical reason for the baby's crying. You may need to check with a doctor or nurse. It can be helpful as it is hard for parents to reassure their baby if they are worried that there may be a medical problem. However, in most babies, no medical cause is found. Crying is a communication from the baby to their caregiver that they are in discomfort or distress. It is a normal part of their growth and development. However, it can be upsetting for parents and caretakers.
What are the symptoms of colic?
Colic usually starts when your baby is a few weeks old. The symptoms last for a few months. Most babies grow out of it by the age of three or four months or six months at the latest.
Your baby may cry for several hours a day. You might find it hard to soothe or comfort him or her. A baby with colic can weep at any time of the day, but you may find that the weeping is worse in the late afternoon or evening. Although colic may not be painful for your baby, he or she may look uncomfortable.
How to treat infant colic?
There is no single treatment for colic that works for every baby. Different babies are comforted in different ways, and you may need to try a few methods to see what works best. In time, colic will stop, and your baby’s crying will get better after a few months.
What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental problem that results in poor concentration and control of impulses. It is not an illness. With medical treatment, understanding and care, a child with ADHD can live an ordinary life.
What cause ADHD?
ADHD is a complex disorder with multiple causes that remain poorly understood.
What are the symptoms of ADHD?
These are the common signs:
How to diagnose ADHD?
The diagnosis of ADHD must be made by a trained and experienced health professional, using information from both the family and the school.
How to treat ADHD?
Stimulant medication is the single most effective treatment for the symptoms of ADHD. Positive parenting, home, and classroom strategies such as keeping structure, boosting self−esteem, building social skills, planning the physical and learning environment can help the child. Sometimes the child needs counselling. Children with ADHD need support and understanding from family and teachers.
What is autism?
What causes it?
Who can get it?
What are the signs my child could be autistic?
How is it diagnosed?
How is it treated?
What is eczema?
Eczema in children is a non-contagious skin condition. It usually appears in early childhood and disappears around six years of age. In some cases, eczema may continue into adulthood. Sometimes, it is called atopic dermatitis. The skin becomes dry, cracked, itchy, and may weep. Eczema can vary in severity and alter daily.
What cause eczema?
The causes of eczema are unknown. However, some things seem to make it more likely to appear, for example:
What are the signs and symptoms for eczema?
How to treat eczema?
Doctors may prescribe a range of creams include steroid cream, moisturiser, bath oil, antibiotic cream, and medications to control itch to treat the condition
What is febrile fit?
Febrile fits are seizures triggered by high fever. They are the most common convulsion (occurring in three to five percent of children) and are generally harmless. The children are usually between six months and six years of age. A febrile fit is not epilepsy and does not cause brain damage.
What cause febrile fit?
It usually occurs with a high fever at an average of 40oC, but it can occur with any temperature when there is a sudden temperature rise. An infection in any part of the body can cause a fever. They do not cause any brain damage, unless in exceptional cases where the seizure is unusually prolonged for more than half an hour.
How to treat febrile fit
When should I bring my child to the hospital?
Typically replies within a day
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