Common Childhood Conditions

Symptoms: A mild fever 1-2 days before rash, scabby spots, itchy, aching and generally unwell.

How is it spread? Person to person, coughing / sneezing, touching blisters and saliva mucus’s of infected person 14-16 days but can range from 10-21 days.

When is the child contagious? 2 days before spots appear / ends after last blister scabs over.

Advice:

• Encourage your child to stay hydrated by drinking fluids
• They can take paracetamol to keep the temperature down
• Make sure keep bedding, towels and clothes clean – wash separately to avoid contamination

What is colic?

Symptoms:

• Crying can start suddenly
• Crying is high pitched
• Crying is often worse in the afternoon or evening and can have a pattern of the same time each day
• Baby brings their legs up to their tummy when they cry
• Your Baby might be gassy, fussy and fighting sleep.

What can help?

Babies can cry if they are hungry, tired, wet/dirty or they are unwell, so first check these basic needs. Try some simple calming techniques:

• Talk calmly or sing to your baby
• Let them hear a repeating sound like a vacuum cleaner/white noise
• Hold them close – skin to skin
• Take your baby outside for a walk
• See if a warm bath helps settle them

Useful links:

The Cry-sis Helpline | Support for parents with crying and sleepless babies

Signs and symptoms: Pink/Red of the whites of the eyes, swelling of the eyelids, increased tear production, feeling like something is in the eye, urge to rub eyes, burning eyes, and puss sticking to the lashes.

Treatment

• Use cool boiled water and cotton wool to cleanse the eye (one piece of cotton wool per eye).
• Wash hands regularly with soap and water.
• Hot wash face flannels, towels and bed sheets; do not share towels and bed sheets.
• The child can continue to access nursery or school unless feeling unwell.

Symptoms: The early symptoms of bronchiolitis are similar to a cold, such as sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, a cough and a slightly high temperature of 38C.

Advice: Take small regular sips of water, frequently wash your hands using soap and water and clean surfaces and toilets with bleach.

If you are formula feeding, make sure you use the correct number of scoops of formula to water according to the packaging. Using too much power to water ratio can lead to constipation.

Babies often strain and look in pain when trying to poo. This isn’t a sign of constipation, they’re just getting used to feeling of their bowel working, including the feeling of pooing and passing wind.

Dehydration can cause constipation in babies. Watch for your babies feeding cues to ensure they’re getting enough milk.

Should I give my baby water if I think they’re dehydrated?

Breast fed babies under 6 months are not recommended to need water. During hot weather, you may find your baby breast feeds more often. This is their way of staying hydrated. Make sure you stay hydrated too!

Breast fed babies can be offered a small cup of water at mealtimes when weaning.

Formula fed babies rarely need extra water alongside milk bottles. We only recommend a small amount in hot weather. This water must be cooled boiled tap water. We do not recommend babies to have bottled water.

Bottled water is also not recommended as it may contain too much salt (sodium) or sulphate. If parents/carers have to use bottled water, they should be advised to check the label to make sure the sodium (also written as Na) level is less than 200 milligrams (mg) per litre. The sulphate (also written as SO or SO4) content should not be higher than 250mg per litre.

Here is a guide on water contents: Microsoft Word – FAQ – Water during infancy_10Aug2022_FINAL with cover page

Croup is an infection of the throat and vocal cord (larynx), in children under 5, in older children it is known as laryngitis. It’s caused by a common cold virus that causes the lining of the throat and larynx to become red and swollen.

Symptoms: Barking cough, crying that throat is hurting, fever, hoarse voice, breathing might be noisy and laboured.

How is it spread: Croup is contagious for 3 days after symptoms start or until fever goes.

Advice: Stay calm, sit the child upright, comfort them as crying can make symptoms worse, plenty of fluids, call 111/GP/Ambulance, sucking in (breathing working hard), high pitched breathing.

What is the most common concern for children? Under 5’s-Dehydration.

Signs and symptoms? Diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.

Advice: Take small regular sips of water, frequently wash your hands using soap and water and clean surfaces and toilets with bleach.

NICE Guidance has created a helpful colour coded traffic light system to help parents understand when to be concerned about a childs breathing.

The guide can be seen here: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng143/resources/support-for-education-and-learning-educational-resource-traffic-light-table-pdf-6960664333 

Symptoms:

• rub or pull their ear
• do not react to some sounds
• have a temperature of 38C or above
• are irritable or restless
• are off their food
• keep losing their balance

Earache and ear pain can affect 1 or both ears.

Advice: use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, do not put anything inside your ear, such as cotton buds, do not try to remove earwax, do not let water get inside your ear.

Contact your GP if your child is under 12 months old and you think they need help for earache, they have earache that lasts for more than 3 days, your child keep getting earache.

Hand, foot and mouth

Initial symptoms:

• Sore throat
• Pyrexia
• Cough
• Abdominal pain
• Reduced appetite
• Incubation 3-7 days

The prodromal period is approximately 12-36 hours.

Mouth ulcers will then appear followed by raised spots on the hands and feet, and sometimes buttocks and groin, which turn into blisters, lasting 7-10 days.

Transmission

• Caused by a group of viruses called Coxsackie viruses, most commonly Coxsackie Virus A16.
• Cough and sneeze droplets, fluid in the blisters and faeces.
• Contagious a few days before symptoms start, but can spread within the first five days of symptoms.
• Mildly infectious faeces for approx. 4-8 weeks after illness.
• The spots on the hands and feet can be painful and itchy. The fingers, back of the hand and margins of the heels tend to be more affected that the the palms of the hands or soles of the feet.
• Children should avoid nursery and school whilst feeling unwell but there is no need to wait until blisters have healed.
• Prevention includes good hand hygiene, washing towels, bedding, clothes and not picking/bursting blisters.

This can be known as plagiocephaly or brachycephaly and affects around 1 in every 5 babies.

In most cases they’re not a cause for a concern because they do not have any effect on the brain and babies do not experience pain from it. It often improves by itself over time.

Why does it happen?

• It can happen because babies sleep on their backs so their head becomes flattened. But remember, it is important babies sleep on their back because it reduces the risk of SIDs.
• In the womb, some babies are squashed or have a lack of amniotic fluid to cushion them.
• Prematurity: premature babies have softer skills and are weaker therefore end up naturally rest their head to one side more.
• Neck muscles: some babies have weaker neck muscles or even tight neck muscles which makes it harder for them to turn their head.
• A flat head can be caused by craniosynostosis.

What can I do to help?

• Tummy time throughout the day. By encouraging different positions during play time, it takes the pressure off the side they might be preferring.
• Change position of toys so they are encouraged to look in a different direction.
• Alternate the side you hold your babies or feeding and carrying.
• Reduce time babies are on a firm flat surface for example prams and bouncy chairs. Try using something different like a sling or a front carrier which takes pressure off their heads. (Remember sling safety, TICKS)

Flattening of the head shouldn’t be as noticeable by 1-2 years old.

More information: Plagiocephaly and brachycephaly (flat head syndrome) – NHS

Measles although now rare in the UK is one of the most contagious communicable diseases. It is caused by the measles virus and is a leading cause of vaccine preventable deaths in children worldwide. The is an increase in the UK as herd immunity has been affected by the uptake of MMR Vaccine.

Signs and symptoms: Runny/blocked nose, sneezing, watery eyes, swollen eyelids, sore red eyes, sensitive to bright light, red/brown blotchy rash, fever, small greyish/white spots in mouth, aches and pains.

How is measles spread? It is a virus that lives in the nose/throat of the infected person, it can spread by coughing and sneezing and it can live in the air for up to 2 hours.

Advice: Wash hands frequently, cover mouth and nose with tissue or sleeve when coughing and sneezing, AVOID sharing utensils, bottles etc. Drink plenty of water, take paracetamol and ibuprofen, damp sterile cotton wool for eyes, stay of school/work for at least 4 days from when rash disappears.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord and can be cause by a bacteria or a virus.

What bacteria causes meningitis? Newborns: Group B streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), E.Coli.

Signs and symptoms: Seizures, sleepy, difficult to wake, high temperature, colds hands/feet, vomiting, confusion, breathing quickly, muscle/joint pain, pale mottled/blotchy skin, spots or rash, headache, stiff neck and dislike to bright lights.

How is it spread? People sharing respiratory/throat secretions, coughing, sneezing, kissing.

Advice: Seek medical advice, possible antibiotics, possible hospital admission for test for viral/bacterial, week antibiotic via vein/fluid, plenty of rest, painkillers, anti-sickness, medication can relieve symptoms.

Nappy rash makes children’s bottoms sore and inflamed.

Key points:

• Change nappies often so your baby isn’t sat in a soiled nappy
• Keep their skin clean and dry
• Use a barrier cream: apply the cream thickly enough to create a barrier that stops wee and poo from getting onto the skin. You’ll know you’re putting the cream on thickly enough if you can still see some of the cream at the next nap
• Using disposable nappies
• Have plenty of nappy free time

• Flu-like symptoms including a high fever, sore throat and swollen glands.
• A rash that appears 12-48 hours after the initial flu-like symptoms. The rash consists of small raised bumps which feel rough to touch like sandpaper.
• A white coating appears on the tongue which peels leaving a red, swollen tongue “strawberry tongue”.

Treatment for scarlet fever:

• Scarlet fever is highly contagious and lasts for around one week
• Offer soft foods
• Analgesia
• Calamine lotion of antihistamine
• Antibiotics (still contagious until 24-hours after the first dose of antibiotics). If you do not take antibiotics, you are contagious for 2-3 weeks

Viral infections are far more common than bacterial infections.

• Symptoms such as runny nose, cough, wheeze, sore throat, red eyes and diarrhoea are more likely with a viral infection. How your child is acting in themselves is important to acknowledge, if they’re alert and wanting to play then this is positive.
• You can’t treat viral infection with antibiotics
• If your child is on antibiotics, they may experience symptoms like a rash and diarrhoea. Antibiotics are often avoided to reduce the risk of developing antibiotic resistance.
• It is normal for babies to have a temperature up to 48 hours after their immunisations. Paracetamol can be given after the MenB vaccination.
• Occasionally, children with fever can have a seizure / fit. This is called a febrile convulsion and most often happens in children aged between 6 months and 3 years. This should be treated as a medical emergency.

What can I do to help?

• If your child seems unsettled or uncomfortable, you may wish to give your child paracetamol or ibuprofen. This should help their symptoms but also reduce their temperature. Offer your child one of these medicines (paracetamol) and if you don’t see an improvement within 2 hours, you can offer them the alternative medicine (ibuprofen).

Paracetamol

• There are different types of paracetamol for children of different ages including 2 different strengths of syrup – infant and Six plus. Always read the dose instructions carefully. You must wait at least 4 hours between doses. Do not give more than 4 doses in 24 hours.

Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is available in syrup and tablet form. Ibuprofen is not suitable for some children. If you are unsure whether your child can take ibuprofen, check with your pharmacist or doctor. Always read the dose instructions carefully. Don’t give ibuprofen if your child has not had a wee in the last 12 hours. You must wait at least 6 hours between doses. Do not give more than 3 doses in 24 hours.