Jonesboro Kids Blog

Stomach Ache

Most minor stomachaches in children are not serious and require no treatment. You should contact your physician if your child should have a stomach ache associated with fever, pain in urination, persistent vomiting, or if the stomach ache is severe. Severe stomachaches associated with fever and anorexia (absolutely no appetite) are potentially serious. If your child has these symptoms, you should call your doctor.

Teeth & Teething

Most babies cut their first tooth at around six months of age, however, there is considerable variation from child to child. Teething is a normal event in a child’s life. It probably does not cause illness in children. Drooling and chewing are also normal around six months of age and these may be in part due to the discomfort of teething. In general, it is not recommended that you put salve or lotion on the baby’s gum for teething symptoms. Acetaminophen (Tempra, Tylenol – see Dosage Guide) can be given for mild teething symptoms. Certainly any severe symptom such as fever, prolonged vomiting and irritability should never be assumed to be due to teething, but rather treat it as you would any illness in your baby. Probably the best advice to give for the child who is teething is to provide a cold pacifier or cold teething ring to bite on.

Mouth Trauma

Young children may take falls and often injure their mouths in the process. Bleeding after such a fall can be due to a tear of the frenulum, which is a small growth of skin between the lip and gum. Applying pressure to the gum will stop the bleeding in a few minutes and no other treatment is needed. If teeth are loosened or knocked out, consult your dentist. If a tooth is knocked out, you should put the tooth in a clean container and bring it to your dentist. Some teeth can be replaced.

Vomiting

Vomiting or forceful emptying of the stomach happens when the stomach becomes irritated. This is usually caused by a viral infection, although there are other causes. When vomiting is due to a routine stomach virus, it is sometimes associated with diarrhea.

The following treatment should be used for vomiting and/or diarrhea:

• Give nothing by mouth for three or four hours after the last vomiting episode to rest the stomach, then begin to give fluids with frequent small sips gradually increasing the volume. If the vomiting persists for more than four hours, begin fluids (small sips) anyway, in between vomiting episodes. Much of this fluid can be absorbed even though the vomiting continues. If diarrhea alone is present, begin fluids as outlined below in large amounts.
• Watch closely for signs of dehydration (see section on diarrhea and dehydration of this booklet).
• For the first 24 hours, give:
  • no milk products
  • clear fluids in small amounts at room temperature and offer frequently
  • offer fluids such as: Infalyte or Pedialyte – for infants, Kool-aide or Gatorade – above the age of 2 years, Jello, Jello water, Sprite or 7-Up, Ginger-ale, Pop-sickles
• After 24 hours: Offer bland foods if your child can tolerate these. These foods include:
  • Rice or cooked cereal (no margarine or butter)
  • Ripe bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Crackers
  • dry toast
• After 48 hours: As your child’s appetite increases, offer foods such as:
  • Canned or cooked vegetables
  • apples
  • apricots
  • peaches
  • pears
  • Angel Food cake or plain cookies
  • Gelatin /gelatin desserts
  • Plain macaroni
  • spaghetti
  • noodles (no cheese or grease)
  • Rice or mashed potatoes
  • Baked or broiled chicken, fish or turkey
  • Bullion or chicken soup (no fat)

You should avoid milk or milk products, whole grain cereals or breads, raw fruits and vegetables, citrus fruits, red meats, greasy foods, and fried and spicy foods for five days after an episode of vomiting and/or diarrhea

You should contact your physician if:

1. The vomiting persists for more than 12 hours.
2. Signs of dehydration are present (see section on diarrhea and dehydration).
3. Your child becomes confused or difficult to arouse.
4. The vomiting is associated with a severe headache.
5. Your child is less than two months old and is vomiting forcefully.
6. The vomiting is green stained (bilious).
7. Your child is unable to keep down clear liquids.

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful if used correctly and performed with validated methods. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, applying pesticides, and reducing tick habitat. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease can occasionally transmit other tickborne diseases as well.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Prevent Lyme disease!

Wear repellent

• Use a repellent with 20% DEET
• Also, clothing treated with permethrin kills ticks!

Check for ticks daily

• Check for ticks on you and your children. Ticks like to hide in folds of skin and in the hair.
• Check pets too!

Shower soon after being outdoors

• Shower after being outdoors to remove ticks
• Tumble clothes in a hot dryer to kill hidden ticks.

Call your doctor if you get a fever or rash

• A Lyme disease rash may appear within 3-30 days, followed by fever, muscle and joint pain, or fatigue.

For more information:

Telephone: 800-CDC-INFO, (800-232-4636)
TTY: 888-232-6348
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Web: www.cdc.gov/Lyme

Preventing Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead and treating children who have been poisoned by lead.

The goal is to prevent lead exposure to children before they are harmed. There are many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead. Lead hazards in a child’s environment must be identified and controlled or removed safely.

How are children exposed to lead?

Lead-based paint and lead contaminated dust are the main sources of exposure for lead in U.S. children. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978. All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead-based paint. However, it is the deterioration of this paint that causes a problem. Approximately 24 million housing units have deteriorated leaded paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust. More than 4 million of these dwellings are homes to one or more young children.

Who is at risk?

All children under the age of 6 years old are at risk because they are growing so rapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths.

However, children living at or below the poverty line who live in older housing are at greatest risk. Additionally, children of some racial and ethnic groups and those living in older housing are disproportionately affected by lead.

What can be done to prevent exposure to lead?

It is important to determine the construction year of the house or the dwelling where your child may spend a large amount of time (e.g., grandparents or daycare). In housing built before 1978, assume that the paint has lead unless tests show otherwise.

• Talk to your state or local health department about testing paint and dust from your home for lead.
• Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chewable surfaces painted with lead-based paint.
• Pregnant women and children should not be present in housing built before 1978 that is undergoing renovation. They should not participate in activities that disturb old paint or in cleaning up paint debris after work is completed.
• Create barriers between living/play areas and lead sources. Until environmental clean-up is completed, parents should clean and isolate all sources of lead. They should close and lock doors to keep children away from chipping or peeling paint on walls. You can also apply temporary barriers such as contact paper or duct tape, to cover holes in walls or to block children’s access to other sources of lead.
• Regularly wash children’s hands and toys. Hands and toys can become contaminated from household dust or exterior soil. Both are known lead sources.
• Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe window components. Because household dust is a major source of lead, parents should wet-mop floors and wet-wipe horizontal surfaces every 2-3 weeks. Windowsills and wells can contain high levels of leaded dust. They should be kept clean. If feasible, windows should be shut to prevent abrasion of painted surfaces or opened from the top sash.
• Prevent children from playing in bare soil; if possible, provide them with sandboxes.Parents should plant grass on areas of bare soil or cover the soil with grass seed, mulch, or wood chips, if possible. Until the bare soil is covered, parents should move play areas away from bare soil and away from the sides of the house. If using a sandbox, parents should also cover the box when not in use to prevent cats from using it as a litter box. That will help protect children from exposure to animal waste.

FluView National Flu Activity Map

The FluView National Flu Activity Map is a complementary widget to the state-by-state flu map widget introduced in the 2007-2008 flu season. This interactive map allows users to see the most recent seasonal influenza activity map for the entire country as well as the activity levels from previous weeks in the current flu season.

Accident Prevention – The Teenage Years

Most serious accidents during the teenage years involve the mixture of automobiles and alcohol and/or drugs (such as, Marijuana: pictured at right). Motorized all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles are also very dangerous. Suicide and unwanted pregnancies are major health problems in adolescence. Sexual activity can result in venereal disease (including AIDS). Open, honest lines of communication between parent and child during this time of transition are extremely important to help teenagers avoid disastrous life-style choices. Withdrawal changes in behavior and/or friends should never be ignored. These may be warning signs that your teenager is undergoing stress. Parental involvement in a teenager’s life can  be a gratifying and helpful experience both for the teenager and the parent. You should stay involved in your child’s life, especially during this time by keeping your communication lines wide open.

Teenagers who smoke become addicted faster than adults do and nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. Teenagers are more likely to smoke if friends, parents and older siblings smoke. Tobacco is the first substance used by those young people who use alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Smoking will cause lower level of lung function, reduced rate of lung growth, heart disease, faster resting heart rate, increased risk of lung cancer, and stroke, and smokers live approximately 7 years less than nonsmokers do. Smokeless tobacco will cause gum disease, cancer of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and pancreas. Start educating children early about the risks and dangers of smoking before they are tempted to start. Starting smoking is easy; quitting smoking is extremely difficult at any age.