Children are little devils, well, almost. You never know when and where they create a problem of mysterious nature. Their antics at times imperil their lives, forcing elders to run helter skelter to save them. At times accidents of various kinds cause deep anxiety for guardians. Under such situations parents should keep their poise and look deep into child’s problem to find a tenable solution. How to do this? Just read on.
Weeping not allowed
Children know it too well that falling ill does no good. Yet, they may be tempted to imagine the flip side of it. It’s worth it, they may say; no work, no going to school, and no homework when you are sick. Mummy, Papa, Uncle, Aunty rush in with loads of chocolates, toffees, juice pouches, cornflakes, fruits and cold drinks—enquiring welfare. Whole day long you are home watching T.V. Wow! Isn’t it nice to fall ill?
Nevertheless, the little smarty must know that falling ill or feigning illness, is no cakewalk. Just imagine the plight of your parents, who love you dearly. Would you like to bother them by falling ill? No, never.
Take plunge
The fear of drowning in ocean is for those who wouldn’t like their feet soaked in water. Those who relish swimming in tides, can fetch pearls from deep seas.
—Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
Consider this. You are ill, and a doctor comes to examine you. Or, conversely, your parents take you to a doctor. There would be a rush outside doctor’s clinic. May be you stand in a bee line waiting for your turn. And the spectre around you…of howling children, bandaged broken limbs…will it strike a chord with you?
And check out on your savings in your piggy bank. May be, part of it is shelled out to pay your doctor’s fee. And why not? After all it is you who has fallen ill—that too by your own follies.
And who is not aware of the syringe and needle which physicians keep? Would you like a prick of it? Or the taste of that bitter medicine? All syrups, you know, aren’t sweet. And thank heavens if you are saved a surgeon’s knife and painful sutures. Should surgery be adopted, how will you play? You will be lying on bed, feeding on bottle. Who will then go for cricket match, movie, and birthday party? Only mummy, papa and sister. Not you. So isn’t it bad for you to fall sick?
So take control of your health by keeping in mind the suggestions given here below. You will then save yourself from illness, without your mummy-papa- brother and sister hankering after you.
1. Take care of your two ears
As children play around, wild and carefree, things like grains of cereal and pulses, beads of rosary, small stones, buttons, fruit seeds, peanuts and sand particles can lodge into their ear canals. If this happens, these must be removed with care. If some difficulty is faced in removing them, consult a doctor. Remember :
❑ Never try extricating a foreign object from ear canal by way of sharp or pointed objects.
❑ If some insect/worm has tunneled into ear, torch light should be flashed on pinna. This will bring out intruder without much ado.
❑ If grains of pea, wheat, and gram are suspected; don’t put oil or water into ear. Because that will make them swell up in size. There upon they would be difficult to dislodge, or, may break into fragments when being extricated.
❑ If ear is invaded by fly or other motile life form, instill a few drops of mustard oil or glycerine in ear. This will force invader to come out.
❑ Never ever put any miscellaneous object into your ear—playfully or absentmindedly. It can cause pain, injury, pus formation, and even chronic disease condition which may dog you for life. Even your hearing may be impaired by such misadventures.
❑ Should something penetrate into your ear—by design or default—immediately inform your parents or elder siblings. Don’t try pulling it out on your own or with the help of your friends. Because slightest of mistake may aggravate the problem calling for medical intervention of a serious nature.
❑ If your ear canal is jammed with ear wax, making you hard of hearing, don’t attempt cleaning it with a piece of metal wire, alpin, or a match stick. Your ears are extremely delicate and sensitive organs. And all that happens in nature, in any part of your body, is basically beneficial for you. Ear wax, infact, is a lubricant which serves to protect the extremely delicate and sensitive organ, the ear drum, deep inside ear canal. A little amount of it buffers harsh and high pitch sounds thereby saving ear drum from a damaging shock. If there is no wax, ear drums could rupture leading to deafness—partial or complete. That apart, wax acts as dumping ground for dust, sound, miniature life forms, mosquitoes etc.
If ear wax has indeed accumulated to level that demands cleaning, see ENT specialist. The doctor will prescribe some drops which when instillation in ear will soften wax. Then it would be easily drilled out. For that a fast jet of water from piston pressured syringe may also be used. This washes the ear clean of wax without pain of injury.
❑ Children you know well that during rainy season, moulds and fungus grow thick and fast on food and sundry items. You must have seen bread pieces and pair of shoes so infested. In the same way your ears can catch fungus. You will know it by pain or irritation in inner ear. So drenching in rains for long, is not advisable. Similarly you should take care that water doesn’t seep into your ears during monsoon season.
2. Your throat
On many occasions children are prone to choke by default gobbling of glass ball, button, sweet ball, metal coin or even medicinal tablets/capsules. For the non-vegetarians, accidental swallowing of fish spikes and bone pieces is a real problem. Nevertheless, following steps come handy in avoiding emergency situation of such kinds.
❑ Immediately inform your parents if something you ingested gets struck in your throat. Towing it out with exploratory figure could be an easy way out.
❑ Sit with your head bowed down on knees. Let someone box your back with force. This may extricate the offending object out through mouth.
❑ Little babies may be taken by feet and hung upside down. Then their back and shoulders should be tapped hard. This will push out object lodged in throat through oral cavity.
❑ A dry piece of bread, crumbs of gol gappas; if they cause asphyxia—promptly drink water to wash them down.
❑ If some grain or shrapnel bothers you in throat, gulp down a big morsel of rice. The bulk of food will drag irritant along into the stomach.
❑ Spikes in fish curry, and pieces of bone can similarly be swept down the throat by a mouthful of bread, chapati, rice or even banana.
❑ Swallowed some sharp object? Like pin, zip chain, metallic coin? Then eat banana, bread, boiled potatoes or sweet dish like ‘kheer’ in generous amount. They will entrap the foreign object and expel it safely along with bowel movements.
❑ Those children who suffer from sore throat, may find it difficult to swallow their food. Those who breathe through open mouth may suffer from inflamed lymph nodes or tonsils. These condi-tions call for medicinal or surgical intervention.
❑ Those who suffer from tonsillitis, are also likely to suffer from mouth ulcers and bad teeth. Many a times tonsillitis may arise on account of pre-existing tuberculosis. Whatever be the case, you shouldn’t worry. Regular medication will solve your problem.
3. Your nose
At times children poke things like button, plastic beads, peanuts and such like tidbits into their nasal cavity. They may do it playfully or by accident. In any case, it can lead to an emergency. Following tips should help you tide over such situations.
❑ Never rub your nose to remove a foreign body because chances are that instead of coming out its moves deeper inside creating more problem.
❑ Good children never put finger in their nose. It is advisable to wash nasal canal with fresh running water. If nose gets packed by nasal exudate (as in common colds) it should be blown clean near running tap water. Mucous in nose can be blown out by closing one nostril with the help of thumb and exhaling forcefully through the other opening.
❑ Dear kid, never ever prick at your nose. Should you sense some loose coating inside, don’t tug or pull at it. There can be better ways of taking it out, else your nails may cause injury inside. Crust formations in nose are more likely to occur in summers with dry winds. This layer is so tenacious that the more you pull at it, the thicker, bigger, and harder it gets. And should you still persist in peeling it off, your nose will bleed. Easy way out is to instill two drops of mustard or coconut oil in nostrils before going to bed. By following morning, the offending layer will slip out—all on its own.
❑ Those children who feel that their nasal cavity is dry and irritating, can take recourse to Soframycin cream. It will benefit them immensely.
❑ Epistaxis or bleeding from nose is another serious problem. When nose bleeds, apply ice or a piece of cloth soaked in cold water over nose. Nasal opening should be shut close by pressing with fingers. Should you be at home alone, lie down quietly with a pillow under the neck, eyes facing up straight on roof. Consultation with ENT specialist will help. Keeping your age and problem in mind, doctor will give you right medication to stop bleeding.
❑ If your nose bleeds in school campus inform your teachers. They will arrange for your treatment.
❑ Inhaling of tobacco or sniff powder can also help in removing nasal obstruction.
4. Your eyes
While at games or play, sand dust, coal dust, stubs, iron grindings, mosquitoes and flies can fall into the eyes causing great pain. Eyes become red hot and shed copious water. A persistent grain grit feeling adds to discomfort. Hence emergencies of eye call for immediate redressal. Following steps can prove useful on this count.
❑ On way to school or while in open, small flies and insects often fall into eye. These can be wriggled out with the corner of a clean piece of fabric, or point of a crisp piece of paper (a currency note is better choice).
❑ Do not rub your eyes in such situations. Because rubbing harms sensitive and delicate components that enable us to see. This can cause injury as well.
❑ Another way to flush eyes clean of foreign particle is to rub at nose so hard that tears well up in eyes. With these tears the irritant is flushed out.
❑ If only one eye is effected, it helps to rub the other one. By so doing the injured eye is helped in expelling the irritant.
❑ If exposed to acid, lime, chemicals, insecticides and such like object; eyes should be flushed with cool water. Then a few drops of olive oil or castor oil should be instilled in each eye. In the meanwhile immediate medical help should be taken.
❑ Never, and a big NEVER, ever take recourse to sharp forceps, pencil point, nail, scale, compass or such like objects to fish out any object or particle lodged in eye ball.
Remember
❑ Children should always keep a few strips of Band Aid in their school bag so that minor injuries may be attended to without any loss of time.
❑ If raw injury in clobbered by sand and dust, it should be washed clean with water and covered with a piece of cloth or handkerchief.
