MANAGING YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH: RECOGNISING SERIOUS ILLNESS IN BABIES AND VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

Posted: May 21st, 2009 | Author: admin | Filed under: General health | No Comments »

Parents will often be worried that their baby is not well. The most common cause of a baby being ‘off colour’ is a cold or simple viral infection. These are very common in childhood, and in most cases no specific treatment is necessary. Your child may be a little irritable and clingy. A slight fever may be present on and off, and he may be snuffly. It is often difficult for parents to see their child not wanting to eat or drink very much but in the majority of cases all these symptoms will pass after a few days. Young children have viral infections frequently during the winter months, especially when they begin to attend daycare or kindergarten where they are in regular contact with other children.

While most simple viral infections are mild and a full recovery is assured with no treatment, a baby or young child can sometimes have a more serious illness. Sometimes, especially during the early stages of an illness, it is difficult even for doctors to pick up the signs of something more serious. Yet it is important to realise that the earlier the signs of a serious illness are detected, the sooner treatment can be started. This is particularly important for babies and very young children. Younger children can go downhill quite quickly, and early detection of serious illness is vital.

How do parents know when an illness is minor and when it might be more serious? Recent research has pointed to signs which might indicate that the baby or young child should be seen immediately by a doctor. You should watch out for:

• drowsiness

• decreased activity/lethargy

• breathing difficulty

• poor circulation

• poor feeding

• poor urine output.

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