Reasons for Mother Not to Breastfeed

A few viruses are known to pass through breast milk. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of them. If the mother is HIV positive, she should not breastfeed. If she has HIV and wants to breastfeed, you can get breast milk for your baby from a milk bank. Sometimes babies can be born with a condition called galactosemia, in which they can’t tolerate breast milk. This is because their bodies can’t break down the sugar galactose.

Babies with classic galactosemia may have liver problems, malnutrition, or mental retardation. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, since both human and animal milk contain the sugar lactose that splits into galactose and glucose, babies with classic galactosemia must be fed a special diet that is free of lactose and galactose.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, mothers who have active, untreated TB (tuberculosis) or who are receiving any type of chemotherapy drugs should not breastfeed.

If your spouse is breastfeeding, she should not take illegal drugs. Some drugs, such as cocaine and PCP, can affect the baby and cause serious side effects. Other drugs, such as heroin and marijuana can cause irritability, poor sleeping patterns, tremors, and vomiting. Babies can become addicted to these drugs. If you smoke tobacco, it is best for the mother and the baby if she tries to quit as soon as possible. If she can’t quit, it is still better to breastfeed. She also should avoid drinking alcohol. An occasional drink is ok, but she should avoid breastfeeding for two hours after the drink.

Sometimes a baby may have a reaction to something the mother has eaten, but this doesn’t mean your baby is allergic to her milk. Usually, if the mother has eaten a food throughout pregnancy, the baby has already become used to the flavor of this food. If your spouse stops eating whatever is bothering the baby, the problem usually goes away on its own. Some women think that when they are sick, they should not breastfeed. But, most common illnesses, such as colds, flu, or diarrhea, can’t be passed through breast milk.

In fact, if your spouse is sick, her breast milk will have antibodies in it. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, these antibodies will help protect your baby from getting the same sickness.

10 Ways to tell if your baby has allergies, and not just a cold

Many of the symptoms of nasal allergies (also known as allergic rhinitis) are similar to those of cold symptoms—runny nose, watery eyes, cough, nasal congestion, sneezing. Many times parents are confused on whether their child has a long-term cold or allergies.
Allergies are different though. Here are ten things to look for:

• Is your baby sneezing a lot?
• Does he have a dry cough, not coughing anything up?
• Are his eyes, red, watery, and itchy?
• Is his skin breaking out, irritated, or have an itchy red rash?
• Is your baby’s nose always stuffy or running?
• Does it seem like your baby always has a cold? (Colds usually wind themselves down in a week to ten days; allergies don’t.)
• Does your baby breathe through his mouth?
• Is your baby constantly rubbing, or touching her nose?
• Does your baby have thin and clear mucous draining from her nose (or is it think and yellow or green?)?
• Does it look like he or she has a black eye (“allergic shiner”) where the skin is dark or purple under her eyes.

If your baby has more than one of these symptoms, there is fairly good chance your baby is allergic to something in his or her environment. The most common culprit is dust mites, but there are many other allergies. Since common allergies are linked to ear infections and possibly asthma, it’s a good idea to discuss these symptoms with your doctor and eventually with an allergist who can easily test for more specific allergens.

Adenovirus, what’s that?

Adenoviruses are viruses affecting both humans and animals and were initially isolated in human adenoids ( tonsils ) — hence the name. The infections caused by these viruses tend to cause illnesses mainly in your toddlers’ respiratory system. Children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years are most commonly susceptible to these infections.
The common cold is the most typical example of an upper respiratory tract infection. A pharyngoconjunctival fever involves sore throat, red eyes with fever. This is another commonly occurring adenoviral infection.
Other adenoviral infections may include:

• Sore throat
• Ear infections
• Tonsillitis
• Conjunctivitis

Your toddlers and the virus
Toddlers spend their time touching their mouths, noses and eyes throughout the day. They can often be observed running around with runny noses and afterwards, suffering from occasional fevers. The two causes are not unrelated—the one leads to the other. This is because viruses tend to survive on surfaces which your toddlers touch and easily enter their bodies through contamination.
Preventive measures:

• Make sure kids cover their noses when they sneeze and cough.
• Wash their hands before and after play and otherwise as frequently as possible.
• Wash the surfaces they come in contact with — avoid contamination.

Treatments
It is important to remember that antibiotics are not useful in this situation. Although there is no cure for common cold, there are ways of making your toddlers comfortable and relieving them of their symptoms with the help of the following techniques.

• Moisturizing nasal drops
• Decongestants
• Cough suppressants
• Giving them plenty of fluids to drink

Constipation: How Can You Protect Your Baby from the Pain?

Constipation is defined as difficulties in bowel movements characterized by hard or firm stools and irregular or infrequent bowel movement. It is labeled chronic if the symptoms are present for more than two weeks.
Causes
The causes of constipation in infants and toddlers include:

• Change from breast milk to formulas
• Insufficient intake of fluid
• Low fiber diet
• Metabolic disorders
• Cow’s milk or any other ingredient in the child’s food
• Certain medications

Symptoms
Here are some symptoms of constipation seen in young children:

• No bowel movement in three days
• Stool is hard and looks like small pebbles or is large in diameter
• Gas formation in the stomach
• Pain and discomfort with passage of stool
• Leakage of liquid stool into the child’s underwear or diaper

You should call the doctor immediately if the following are noted:

• Blood in the baby’s stool
• Stomach ache
• Fever
• Vomiting
• Constipation despite 3 days of home care

Treatment
The following methods may be used to reduce constipation:

• For infants older than six months, a high-fiber diet can be introduced. Increase the child’s intake of barley, oatmeal, vegetables especially peas, fruit, and other foods that are rich in fiber.
• For infants between four to six months, drinking 2-4 ounces of water or diluted fresh fruit juices day may work.
• Avoid honey, infant mineral oil, cow’s milk, and syrup.
• Remember also that a BRAT diet (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast), which is good for diarrhea, has a worsening effect for constipation.

If nothing works, it is important to consult your doctor immediately.

Baby Cold – How to Prevent Your Baby from Cold

Common cold is simply an infection that affects the nose and respiratory tracts. More than 200 different viruses can cause a cold. Babies, in particular, are more vulnerable, because their immune systems are not completely developed. Most colds are not dangerous, and usually last only a week. Colds that last longer than a week should be treated by a health professional. A cold may lead to pneumonia or other serious illnesses, especially in babies younger than three months.
 
Symptoms
 
Children with a common cold may display one of the following symptoms:

• Runny nose
• Low-grade fever
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Watery eyes

Treatment
 
There is no cure for the common cold. However, here are some ways you can help your baby feel better:

• Wash your hands regularly. Keep the baby’s toys, pillows, and bed clean.
• Let your baby drink plenty of water, juice, or other suitable liquids to keep your baby hydrated. Breastfeeding is the best option at this age, since human milk contains the necessary antibodies to fight infections.
• Clear the baby’s nasal passage with a rubber-bulb syringe.
• Keep the air in your baby’s room moist by running a humidifier or vaporizer.
• Doctors may suggest giving a medication such as acetaminophen to reduce discomfort to babies older than three months but always double-check dosage since the doctor will calculate on exact weight and age of your baby.

Call the doctor immediately in the following cases:

• When the cold symptoms persist for more than two weeks
• When the child displays symptoms such as wheezing, panting, or other breathing difficulties
• When the child complains of pain in the ears
• When a fever higher than 100F persists for more than three days
• When the sputum is tinged with blood

Sunlight: How Can You Protect Your Baby Against its Ill Effects?

Even though babies are supposed to stay indoors, warmly cuddled in their mother’s bosoms, they may need to be taken out for regular check-ups to the doctor and other outdoor baby adventures.
Even though sunlight contains vitamin D which is essential to your child’s health, prolonged exposure to sunlight is harmful for your baby. This is mainly because sunlight contains ultraviolet light. UV light, as it is commonly called, is liable to cause damage to the baby’s health both in the short and longer run—such as increasing the risk of skin cancer. If your baby is pale skinned, the risks are even higher.
Even if you or spouse “tan easily” and have never had problems in the sun, do not risk sunburn with your baby whose skin is more delicate than yours.
There are two forms of common sun protection available for babies:

1. Sun creams to protect your baby’s exposed skin
2. Protective accessories and clothing to shield your baby

Sun Creams
There are special sun creams formulated especially for young healthy baby skin. Using an adult skin cream can result in irritation for your baby.

• Read the label to check if the cream offers maximum protection from UVA and UVB rays.
• No cream offers 100 percent protection for your baby’s skin, so it makes sense to keep them in the shade whenever possible.

Sun Dresses and Parasols

• T-shirts with long sleeves are easiest to dress your baby with and provide the best protection under the sun.
• Cover as much of your baby’s skin with comfortable-fitting clothes. Make sure the clothes you buy are made from closely-woven fabrics.
• Choose a nice colorful hat that covers your baby’s face, neck, and ears. Babies are most vulnerable and exposed in these parts.
• Window shades or tinting on the car’s windshield provides the extra protection babies need when traveling.
• There are also parasols and meshes available to protect babies in prams and buggies. The latter can also serve as cover from rain.

Cord Blood Banking – Learn More About this Medical Procedure

What is cord-blood banking?
Cord blood banking refers to the collection and storage of the umbilical cord blood of your child. This blood, from the placenta and umbilical cord, is rich in hematopoietic stem cells. Stem cells from this cord blood play an important role in the treatment of certain serious blood and immune system related genetic diseases such as cancers that are treated with bone marrow transplants.
Benefits

• Cord blood stem cells have a higher success rate than stem cells from the bone marrow.
• They are valuable in treating conditions such as leukemia or lymphoma, aplastic anemia, severe sickle cell anemia, severe combined immune deficiency, and other diseases that require bone marrow transplants.
• They may prove useful for a family that has a medical history of diseases that are usually treated using bone marrow transplants.

Disadvantages

• The odds that the baby’s cord blood will ever be used to treat a family member are very low; odds that it will ever be used to treat the same child are even lower.
• It is expensive. Storing a sample of cord blood may cost approximately $1, 500, along with an annual maintenance of $ 150.
• It has limited use. Cord blood stem cells are mostly used in the treatment of children and young adults. The quantity of stem cells provided by cord blood is not enough for transplant into adults.
• It is not yet certain whether stem cells from close relatives actually offer a higher rate of success than those from strangers.
• The process of collecting the blood holds some risk, though very low, to the baby.

Help Your Child Cope with Colic

Colic is a health condition characterized by long and repeated bouts of crying seen in otherwise healthy infants. The causes of colic are not known, and though some believe that there is no such thing as colic, acute abdominal pain is believed to cause the symptoms.
While all infants cry, babies are said to be colicky if they cry for more than three hours a day for at least three days in a week in the first three to four months.
Symptoms

Colicky babies may display the following symptoms:

• High pitched crying for long periods in spite of constant comfort
• Irritability and fussiness
• Clenched fists
• Passing gas
• Arched back
• Sleeplessness and exhaustion

Treatment

• Diagnosis – Typically, infant colic subsides after a few months. A thorough medical examination is necessary to eliminate all possible causes. Take your child to a health professional immediately if you suspect that the child is suffering from colic.
• Dietary changes – Colic is sometimes attributed to certain foods or ingredients. Cow’s milk is not suitable for some children who are lactose intolerant.
• Use of soothing techniques – Try different methods such as pacifier, baby swings, back massage, etc. to soothe the infant.
• Medications – Some parents believe gripe water and colic drops may help to reduce the child’s symptoms.
• Use of Sedatives – Tranquilizers, alcohol, or any drug can adversely affect the child’s development and need to be avoided.
• Alternative therapies – Several herbal and alternative remedies are available but the FDA does not regulate most of them. Hence, parents need to exercise caution.
• Parent Care – Parents of colicky babies require some care and attention themselves. To reduce the stress and frustration, parents may take turns to handle the child. Support by family members and friends may be a good alternative.

Childhood Diseases – Chickenpox Symptoms and Surviving the Pox

Chickenpox is the common name for Varicella simplex, a disease that mainly affects children. Until recently, chickenpox manifested itself so frequently as a disease, that it came to be recognized almost as a rite of passage for childhood.

Parents knew the first symptom: the red itchy rashes that would spread across the back, the chest, and the scalp; the smaller signs of sickness: the fever, the loss of appetites and finally the scars it would leave behind. Most parents raised their children, accepting chickenpox as a fact of life.

The year 1995 saw the development of a chickenpox vaccine, which turned out to be a safe, effective way to prevent chickenpox and its possible complications. Even in cases where the vaccine does not stop the disease’s progress completely, the surviving infections are known to be much milder than those of the past.

Chickenpox is believed to have been named after chick peas. The specks that appear after the contagion make the skin look as though chickens have pecked it.

There is usually a 10-14 day incubation period before symptoms can be noticed. The disease is highly contagious and spreads by air.

Chickenpox starts off with a few red spots or bumps (often mistaken for insect bites). The appearance of fever is common. The signs then proceed from bumps to blisters and on day 4 the original blisters will start to crust over. By the end of the week, most or all of the blisters will be crusted over. The fever is known to last for 5 days.

Doctors are known to prescribe an antihistamine to relieve itching but other than that, chickenpox requires no medical treatment in healthy children and should simply be allowed to run its course. Parents should be wary of any treatments involving aspirin, due to the risk of developing Reye’s syndrome.

In case of complications (such as pneumonia and encephalitis) or exacerbation of symptoms, parents are advised to seek their doctor’s attention. However, serious illnesses are more common in older children and adults.

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