How to Recognise a Urinary Tract Infection?

An infection, which occurs in any part of the urinary tract, is known as a urinary tract infection (UTI). It can take place in the urethra, bladder, ureters, and kidneys. The majority of urinary tract infections involve the lower part of the urinary tract (the bladder and the urethra). UTI is common in women compared to men. It usually occurs in an anatomically normal urinary tract in females. It is uncommon in children and men. Their infections are often associated with an abnormal urinary tract. Therefore, they need further investigation.

How to Manage Pre-diabetes in Children?

Pre-diabetes is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pre-diabetes and diabetes are also strongly linked with obesity. Therefore, prevention of this condition includes maintenance of a healthy body weight to avoid obesity. If an adult with pre-diabetes follows lifestyle modifications and takes medications to avoid diabetes mellitus, reduction in the risk has been noted(1). However, none of the studies has demonstrated how to avoid the progression of pre-diabetes to diabetes in adolescents and children so far.

If your child has pre-diabetes, certain lifestyle modifications will help bring the blood-sugar level to normal. They will at least prevent the progression to diabetes mellitus.

Is Your Child at Risk of Pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Some health-care experts consider pre-diabetes as a disease. Certain adults (five to ten per cent) with this condition normally advance to type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, adolescents and children with pre-diabetes have an ability to return to normal than adults.

Certain factors increase the risk of pre-diabetes in children. They include both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.

Pre-diabetes: Development in Children

Pre-diabetes is a well-known risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It also is considered as a disease by itself (1). Five to ten per cent of adults with this disease usually advance to diabetes mellitus. However, children and adolescents, who are with pre-diabetes, can turn back to normal compared to adults.

The rate of pre-diabetes varies according to the definition used, race, and age. Considerable variations in prevalence depend on whether pre-diabetes described by IFG (impaired fasting glucose) or IGT (impaired glucose tolerance). The occurrence of IFG is 13-40 % (2,3,4), while the rate of IGT is 2-5 % in children (5). About 20 % of children have HbA1c levels of 5.7-6.4 % (6). The frequency of pre-diabetes is considerably greater in obese pubertal children, who are with a family history of pre-diabetes.

How Do You Know You Have Pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance is described by blood-glucose levels, which are raised above the upper normal value, but below the limit (threshold) for diabetes mellitus. It is important to diagnose pre-diabetes early, because it helps assess the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and stop the progression to diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Impetigo: A Skin Infection

Impetigo, which is a superficial skin infection, usually occurs due to  bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. It is the most prevalent skin infection among young children. Impetigo is a highly infectious skin condition and is also more common in children compared to adults. Sometimes, it occurs due to Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogens, or a mixture of the two bacteria. Impetigo is common in individuals in hot climates. It rapidly spreads from person to person by direct skin contact or less frequently, by clothing and towels or bedding. It easily passes among family members and school mates. The name ‘scrum fox’ describes the impetigo spread among rugby players. Occasionally, impetigo appears without an apparent origin.

Sugar and Your Child

Children usually consume a significant amount of foods containing sugars like candies, pastries, pastas, cookies, and white breads daily. If your children regularly eat sugars, they are more prone to develop certain health issues such as obesity, tooth decay, and behavioural problems. Luckily, these complications are preventable. Some dietary habits and behavioural modifications can help avoid them.

How to Improve Immunity in Children?

The immune system, which consists of a large number of white blood cells, helps protect your child from various diseases and infections. It identifies harmful microorganisms and substances as foreign materials and acts to eliminate them. However, children have a higher risk of getting infections compared to adults because their immunity is still developing. The immune system can memorise various microorganisms and substances, to which your child has previously exposed. Then, it is able to act vigorously against the particular foreign material following a subsequent exposure. Your child acquires immunity against various pathogens and substances with time. Therefore, the risk of getting illnesses decreases gradually. Anyway, some simple habits and measures can boost their immunity.

Management of Acute Asthma in Children (Over Two Years)

Some children with bronchial asthma may develop acute exacerbations or attacks. Sometimes, severe acute asthma attacks can be fatal. Therefore, children with severe acute asthma should be offered treatment quickly. It is safer to manage them in a hospital with resuscitation facilities. Children with acute asthma should never be sedated. Physicians in primary care should start treatments as mentioned below and transfer these children to a hospital immediately.

Acute Bronchial Asthma in Children (Over Two Years)

Bronchial asthma is a long-term (chronic) inflammatory disease, which leads to an episodic obstruction of the airways. It is a reversible condition and can be managed and controlled with lifestyle changes and some medications. However, some children with bronchial asthma may get acute exacerbations (attacks). Diagnosis of acute asthma can be done with the help of symptoms, signs, and some tests.

Can You Really Prevent the Common Cold?

The common cold is highly infectious and is one of the prevalent infections in humans. It occurs because of more than 200 types of viruses. The common viruses are rhinoviruses. Others include coronaviruses and adenoviruses. Over 100 varieties of rhinoviruses are known to cause the common cold. Therefore, it is not easy for the immune system of your body to defend you from the infection. Usually, an average person experiences two to three episodes of the common cold annually. A normal child suffers from about six common cold infections yearly.

The spread of the common cold occurs mainly due to inhalation of tiny droplets, which enter the air when a person with the common cold coughs, talks, or sneezes. Otherwise, you can catch the infection by touching the contaminated objects or surfaces with nasal secretions from a patient and then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth. The spread of cold viruses also occurs through the personal contact, like handshakes.

There is no specific vaccine or other medication to prevent the infection. However, some simple precautions and lifestyle changes help reduce the risk of getting the common cold.

How to Manage Common Cold?

There's no exact treatment for the common cold. However, some simple measures help relieve symptoms and eliminate viruses, which cause the common cold.

You should keep up the hydration of your body by drinking an adequate amount of fluids. Avoid drinks containing caffeine and alcohol. Sufficient hydration of your body will help relieve congestion and flow mucous (nasal secretions) easily. Although you have a loss of appetite, it is better you have a balanced healthy diet. Some studies show that chicken soup helps reduce the symptoms. Eating hot and spicy meals may relieve the illness because, they help flow nasal secretions. Dietary nutrients will assist the immune system to eliminate viruses from your body and shorten the duration of the common cold. Your diet should contain adequate amounts of vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, folic acid, C, and the minerals copper and zinc. Zinc and vitamin C help produce a type of white blood cells known as neutrophils, which fight against infections. Zinc may reduce the duration of the illness, if the patient takes zinc in the first day of the common cold. Vitamin C may prevent the cold. However, it has no effect during the illness.

Complications of the Common Cold

The most prevalent infection in humans is the common cold. Usually, it resolves without any complications in about one to two weeks. However, some people get certain complications, which can be serious and long lasting. Therefore, it is important to know the features of the complications because, these patients need antibiotics and other medications to recover.

Obesity in Children

Why is obesity in children important? The rate of obesity has increased two times in children and three times in adolescents during last 30 years. Over one-third of adolescents and children were obese or overweight in 2010. These results are basically due to the imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure. Lifestyle, genetic, dietary, and environmental factors affect overweight and obesity.

Bronchial Asthma: Stepwise Management in Children (5-12 Years)

Children aged five to twelve years with bronchial asthma should be offered a stepwise management plan. Physicians provide asthma medication at the step more appropriate to the initial severity of the condition. They may advise to move up stepwise to obtain asthma control as necessary or move down stepwise to find and maintain the minimal controlling step. If there is no adequate response to the management, physicians should verify compliance to medication and reconsider the diagnosis of bronchial asthma.

Bronchial Asthma: Stepwise Management in Children Less than 5 Years

Management of bronchial asthma in children is provided as a stepwise treatment. Health-care professionals recommend children with asthma to start medication at the step most suitable to the initial severity of the disease. They may recommend moving up stepwise to achieve asthma control as required or moving down stepwise to seek and keep up lowest controlling step. If the response to treatment is not adequate, health-care professional should check compliance to treatment and reconsider the diagnosis.

Basics of Pharmacological Management of Asthma

The goal of bronchial asthma management is control of the condition by pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. Total control is described as follows.

• Absence of daytime symptoms
• Absence of night time awakening due to bronchial asthma
• No need for rescue medication
• No exacerbations
• No restrictions on physical exertion such as exercise
• Minimal side effects from medication
• Normal lung function (FEV1 and/or PEF should be more than 80 % of best or predicted values)

Prevention of Bronchial Asthma

There are several dietary, environmental, and other triggering factors, which may worsen and increase the frequency of asthma attacks. Therefore, avoiding these triggering factors will help prevent and improve bronchial asthma.

How to Diagnose Bronchial Asthma in Children?

Bronchial asthma is a relatively common disease among children. It occurs due to a chronic (long-term) inflammation of the airways characterised by recurring and variable symptoms, bronchospasm, and reversible airway obstruction. Common features of bronchial asthma include cough, wheezing, difficulty breathing (shortness of breath), and chest tightness.

Diagnosis of bronchial asthma in children mainly depends on the features of clinical history and examination. It depends on identifying a characteristic pattern of episodic symptoms in the absence of an alternative explanation. Some clinical features increase the probability of bronchial asthma while some lower the possibility.