Health Problems of Infants

CALCIUM DEFICIENCY

Calcium deficiency in new born babies,in older infants and preschool children is in association with Vitamin D deficiency. Calcarea Phoshoricum is a great boon for such children.

Symptoms

• Irritability
• Jitteriness
• Pain in lower legs.
• Baby finds comfort on massaging his legs.
• White patches are formed on cheeks, forehead, or arms.

Suggestions:

• Pregnant and lactating mothers must have adequate amount of calcium and Vitamin D in their diets to prevent problems associated with calcium deficiency. 
• Artificially fed children are more prone to develop calcium deficiency. The high phosphate content of non-human milk depresses the level of calcium in the blood. 

Medicines in Homeopathy
Calc. fluor., Calc. carb., Calc. phos.

Though rare in breastfed infants, calcium deficiency can occur in such infants whose mothers are deficient in calcium and Vitamin D. 

PREVENTION: Exposure of infants and mothers to adequate sunlight can help in prevention of this condition.

TEETHING

Teething can start at any time between 3 month to 12 months of age. 

Teething symptoms

• Drooling baby
• Babies may refuse to eat or drink.
• Irritability
• A tooth visible below the gum
• Swollen, bulging gums
• Trying to bite, chew, and suck on everything she can get her hands on
• Rubbing her face
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Grabbing her ears
• Waking more at night and generally being more unsettled.

Suggestion

• Gently rubbing over the affected gum with your clean finger may ease the pain. 
• Many children find that biting on a clean and cool object is soothing (for example, a chilled teething ring).
• Chewing on chilled fruit or vegetables may help. 
• Carrots and cucumbers are excellent soothers.

Homeopathic Medicines for Teething

Podophyllum, Belladonna, Calcarea phosphorica, Caffeinum. 

EAR INFECTION

Watch and wait if you notice fussiness, fever, trouble sleeping, or pulling at the ear that lasts for one to three days following congestion or an upper respiratory infection.

Visit the doc if these symptoms last for more than three days or if baby seems to be in severe pain and younger than 6 months. Doctors prefer to let baby's immune system fight an ear infection at first, but antibiotics may be in order if he isn't better after three days.

Homeopathic Medicines  for Ear Infection
Belladonna, Ferrum phos, Hepar sulph., Pulsatilla..

STOMACH VIRUS

Visit the doctor if vomiting or fever lasts more than two days, if baby doesn't want to drink, if she goes for six hours or more without urinating, or if there's blood in her stool. Your baby might have a serious infection such as salmonella or E. coli, which may require treatment with an antibiotic.

What Temperature Indicates That Baby Needs to See a Doctor?

"Fever and the symptoms that accompany it, such as congestion or vomiting, are your baby's way of fighting infection, "Babies tolerate high fever -- 104 degrees plus -- a lot better than we do, and duration is usually a much better indicator of illness than how high it is."

Its Time To see Doctor if the fever lasts more than a day, if other symptoms interfere with baby's ability to get rest and eat well, or if your parental instinct tells you something is wrong. If your baby is younger than 2 months and comes down with a fever, you'll need to take it more seriously and get him checked out immediately -- with newborns, it's much trickier to figure out which infections might be brewing.

Homeopathic Medicines for Fever
Aconite napellus,  Belladonna,  Ferrum phosphoricum

See you soon .. with more concerning issues on health.

Eat healthy !

Stay Happy !


These medicines are only suggestive and should not be taken without consulting a homoeopathic physician.

Health Problems in New Borns, Part - II

DIARRHOEA

Loose stools with frequency more than 10 in a day are labeled as Diarrhoea in small children.In babies who are teething( 6 months+),at times the number of stools goes as high as 15-20 ion a day.The stools can be watery, frothy, with mucus, smelly, whitish or multi colored.

Causes :

• Food poisoning
• The stomach of babies is not used to too many variety of foods. At 6 months of age, one fruit is to be started and continued for a week before the second fruit / vegetable is introduced in the babies diet.
• The water is added in the child's diet and the water should boiled before giving.
• Rice and wheat should not be given together
• During teething the metabolism of the child changes and that he passes loose stools.
• Formula diets can also cause diarrhoea

Suggestions

• Baby fluid intake should be in plenty.
• Exclusive Breast feeding. Certain elements in breast milk can inhibit the growth of the germs that cause diarrhoea.

Homeopathic medicines for Diarrhoea

Common Homoeopathic medicines are Belladonna, Ipecac, Pulsatilla, China, Chamomilla, Calcarea Carb, Calcarea Phos,Podophyllum.

CONSTIPATION

There are many causes of infant constipation. One of the most common causes of constipation in babies is the introduction of solid foods.

Causes

• Introduction of solid food(s) – breastfed babies may be more prone to constipation when solid foods are introduced. This is because their tiny tummies are used to processing the easily and highly digestible mother’s milk
• Diets low in fiber
• Diets of excessive dairy products (yogurt, cheeses, milk)
• Foods such as Bananas, Cereals, Breads, Pasta and White Potatoes may contribute or cause constipation.

Exercises to Help Relieve Infant Constipation include:

• Tummy Massage – Gently massage and rub baby’s tummy in a clockwise direction. Place your hands at baby’s navel and massage in a circular motion, moving your hand(s) out and away from the center of baby’s belly.
• Bicycle Legs – Place your baby on her back and lightly hold her legs in a half-bent position.  Gently begin to move your baby’s legs as if she is riding a bicycle. Alternate “Bicycle Legs” with Tummy Massage.  *”Bicycle Legs” also may help to relieve a baby who is gassy.
• A Warm Bath – A warm bath helps relaxing the baby.

Suggestion:

• Start with one fruit (apple) or Vegetable (carrot) steamed and pureed.  Give it for 10 days before starting new vegetable or fruit. 
• In a month can start with two fruits and two vegetables.

For Babies younger than 4 months

Try giving one to two ounces of diluted fruit juice such as grape, prune or apple-prune twice daily and practice some of the above exercises. 

Homeopathic Medicines for constipation:
Some Homoeopathic medicines are Nuxvomica,Calcarea Carb, Bryonia, Alumina.

 
These medicines are only suggestive and should not be taken without consulting a homoeopathic physician.

to be continued...

Health Problems in New Born's, Part - I

If you're a new mom, you'll likely have moments of panic about your baby's health. Your child's health is important. Learn about common allergies, cold and flu; how to treat a fever; ear infections; rashes; sore throats, stomach aches, and more.

Common Health problems in new born are:

BRONCHITIS

Bronchitis most commonly affects babies and young children under a year old. Most cases are mild and improve without specific treatment within about two weeks, although some children have severe symptoms and need treatment in hospital. Bronchitis is an infection or inflammation of the large air passages to the lungs. (These airways are called bronchi.) When your child has a cold, sore throat, flu, or sinus infection, the virus that caused it can spread to the bronchi. Once the germs take hold there, the airways become swollen, inflamed, and partly blocked with mucus.

Symptoms:

• Cold symptoms
• Runny nose 
• Nose blocked
• Difficulty in feeding.
• Breathing through mouth.
• Slight fever (100 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit) 
• Crankiness.

Suggestion

• Avoid giving antibiotics to babies as it reduces the babies immunity and the child keeps falling sick more often. Try Homeopathy instead.

Homeopathic Medicines:
Homeopathy provides good treatment for bronchitis and patients can be easily treated in 4-6 days. Common medicines for this are Aconite Nap, Bryonia, Phosphorus, Antim Tart etc but these should be given after consultation with the doctor because symptoms vary from each child to child.

COLIC

Colic is the term used to describe uncontrollable crying in an otherwise healthy baby. If your baby is younger than 5 months old and cries for more than three hours in a row day or three or more days a week for at least three weeks, he's considered colicky.

Symptoms

• Cry is loud, continuous and irritating.
• The baby's face often gets flushed or red. 
• The belly is sometimes distended or prominent 
• The legs alternating between flexed and extended straight out
• The feet are often cold and the hands clenched.

Begins at age of 2-3 weeks

on peak at the age of two months.

Subsides by age of 3-4 months.

There are factors that may worsen the colic symptoms:

• Overfeeding in an attempt to lessen the crying.
• Feeding certain foods, especially those with high sugar content (for example, undiluted juices), may increase the amount of gas in the intestine and worsen the situation.
• The presence of excessive anger, anxiety, fear, or excitement in the household.

Suggestion for relieving colic babies:

• Sit on the chair and hold the baby with his face down and place hi nob your thighs with his face looking at the ground. Put slight pressure with your knees on his chest. With your hands, rub the back of the chest - motion of the hand being from center of the back towards the head.This causes the air inside to move towards the mouth and escape.
• Do not Overfeed. Stick to regular schedule and timing.
• Breastfeeding mothers should avoid too many milk products, caffeine, onions, cabbage, beans, broccoli, and other gas-producing, irritating foods.
• Avoid juices (young infants should not be drinking juice anyway).
• In the formula-fed baby, try changing to a formula containing whey hydrolysate (such as Good Start) or try a low-allergy formula (such as Nutramigen, Alimentum, or Pregestimil).
• Try walking the baby in a front-pouch-style carrier with his legs drawn up and pressure off of his belly.

Homeopathic Medicines

Homoeopathic medicines that can relieve colic are Chamomilla, Mag Phos, Plumbum Met and others but should be only given with consultation with the doctor.

 to be continued...

These medicines are only suggestive and should not be taken without consulting a homoeopathic physician.