In nut shell some common childhood diseases are discussed here.
T.B.: It is completely treatable. T.B. is over-diagnosed frequently, when any child having a chronic cough or recurrent chest infections it is ‘empirically’ put on T.B. drugs.
Polio : It can cause paralysis and the child may be left with permanent disability. Once a child gets polio, there is no cure. So best is prevention through vaccination.
Rabies : A change in the behaviour of the dog under observation for 10 days is as important assign as the death of the animal for you to initiate urgent steps. The vaccine is given on days 0, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 90. Rabies immunoglobulin is as important as the vaccine.
Parental attitude : Most of the symptoms (e.g. fever, diarrhoea, coughs and colds) are viral, benign and self limiting. It may take a week for the illness to subside. So if the child doesn’t become fine in a couple of days, don’t panic and go ‘doctor-shopping’. Many parents pressurise the doctors for a rapid and ‘magic’ cure. My request is, be patient, else it loads to ‘shot gun’ type of multi-drug prescription, e.g. antibiotic, antimalarial, anti-typhoid, steroids etc. Simultaneously, in the hope that one of them will hit the target and cure the disease. This is not rational. Sadly, this happens quite often because the doctor does not want to lose the patient and his client. As a result your child is subjected to a lot of unnecessary medications. The most commonly overprescribed medicine is antibiotics.
Fever : It is the body’s response to infections, and plays a role in fighting them. In some cases, the cause of fever may not be immediately apparent and the doctor may follow a ‘wait and watch’ policy till the diagnosis is clear. This is advisable rather than a multi-drug prescription. Parents often clothe their child excessively when they have fever. In fact the child should be dressed lightly, so that excessive heat from the body can dissipate. Sponging should be done with mild cold water over as much area of the body as possible, followed by light fanning. The whole body should be sponged rather than putting a strip of wet cloth on the forehead.
Diarrhoea : It is usually due to a viral infection of the intestines. Benign and self-limiting, its therapy is mainly ORS solution for dehydration. ‘Over vigorous’ therapy like antibiotics may worsen it because antibiotics kill the ‘good’ bacteria in the intestines.
Constipation : Constipation may be part of an acute febrile illness. Some parents believe that unless a child has normal stools, his disease won’t get better, which is erroneous.
Respiratory Infections : Children may have 10-12 attacks per year. Cough mixtures are much sought after by parents without much objective evidence of their benefit. The role of steam inhalation is also questionable. Neither Vitamin-C nor swathing the child from head to toe in multiple wrappings of warm clothing prevents colds. Colds are due to viruses, which are present in the air. And how can one prevent the child from inhaling air and thus the viruses.
Use of Steroids : Doctors use steroids wrongly as a ‘magic bullet’ to maintain their clientele, as steroids can provide quick and dramatic relief from fever, colds, cough etc., which the parents want. Actually steroids lead into a false sense of relief as the symptoms are being suppressed and not cured. This may be dangerous, as the disease is still silently present inside.
Tonsils : Tonsils may be enlarged normally. Parents believe that removal of tonsils is a magic cure for frequently occurring cough, cold etc. Besides surgery, homeopathic treatment can be considered.
Asthma : It is a chronic recurrent disorder with negative psychological consequences on the parents and child, The treatment is to inhale brochodilators (rather than oral) and steroids.
Heart problems : If your doctor detects some murmur in the heart of the child and tells you that it is innocent, don’t worry. The heart is essentially completely normal.
Convulsions : ‘Febrile Convulsions’ (associated with fever and occurring in an otherwise normal child) are benign and the child outgrows them by 5 years of age. These fits have no ill effects on the long-term development of the child, Recurrent Convulsions are termed ‘Epilepsy’. Fortunately, excellent anti-convulsants are available to control epilepsy. They are given for a period of 3 years. An epileptic and an asthmatic should lead as normal a life as possible. Some of the greatest personalities like Caesar, Napoleon, Einstein etc. suffered from epilepsy, which proves that greatness has no relation with epilepsy.
Hernia : The only treatment is surgery. There is no medical cure. Wearing belts in order to keep the hernia in check may do a little.
Undescended tests : Tests that have been seen or felt in the scrotum at any time are retractile and normal. On the other hand, truly undescended tests lies in the abdomen and should be brought into the scrotum by operation before the child is 3-4 years old, as the testis after that may atrophy and lose its function. Some children are born with one testis only. A single testis can carry on the function of reproduction and the person won’t be sterile.
Squint : A condition in which the child appears cross eyed is not to be taken lightly, particularly if the child is older than 6 months, as one eye can become ‘functionally’ blind.
Myopia (short sightedness) : The first inkling often comes during school going when the child may not be able to see the blackboard clearly. The child may not complain because of shyness. So all parents should check periodically whether the child’s vision is good.
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