Your choice of day care affects your child’s health

Articles

by admin - Oct 18, 2016

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Most parents know that getting the right day care centre for their children is a difficult task. Keeping them healthy, while they are at school, is even a tougher task for the managers of these centres.

They have to deal with children who may develop an array of health issues, such as ear infections, colds, coughs, sore throats, runny noses, fever and diarrhoea at any time. If anything goes wrong, they are usually blamed for it.

A worried mother once stopped her three year-old son from attending a day care centre because he had developed a running nose (catarrh) three weeks after he was enrolled at the centre.

According to her, the ailment was still bothering her son after several visits to the hospital. She claimed that other children at the centre had been having catarrh and she was convinced that her son contracted the infection at the day care.

A second incident occurred in a preschool: the proprietress had to ride on a commercial motorcycle for the first time in her life to get a five year-old boy who had convulsed repeatedly to a health centre.

The boy died at the hospital. The school was found wanting as it had no first-aid materials, school nurse or health personnel that could have offered first-aid treatment to the sick child. The parents were also not called on phone until the child died.

The school was sued for negligence and was suspended by the regulatory body till they had fulfilled the basic requirements for establishing a pre-school.

The post mortem result, however, revealed that the boy died of asphyxia probably from repeated seizure and meningitis, which was due to a chronic ear infection that had not been treated over time.

In spite of the post mortem result, the school had already taken the blame for the unfortunate incident.

To avoid ugly situations like these, here are some suggestions for caregivers and managers of day care centres on how they can make their facilities safe and healthy havens for children:

Pre-entrance screening should be conducted for children by qualified medical personnel. This will help to detect communicable diseases, developmental delays and also disorders, such as autism, that can be picked at an early stage.

Cleanliness: The centres should be cleaned each day with safe, non-toxic cleaning products. Cleaning supplies are locked safely out of the reach of children. While other child care providers clean toys each evening, sanitise toys throughout the day to help prevent the spread of germs.

Hand washing: Encourage children to wash their hands throughout the day. By demonstrating with songs and using other methods, teach them the importance of hygiene.

Medications: Introduce strict policies for administering medication to the children and ensure that the medications are safe and protected. Based on new research about healthy practices for infants and toddlers, a doctor’s note should be issued for any medication, prescription or drug purchased over the counter given to a child under two years to ensure safety.

Child protection: Hidden cameras should be an essential component of a good day care centre. This will allow the day care managers to monitor their staff, children, visitors and parents. Mothers who may be suspicious of wrong doing on the child can request a playback.

Dedicated and friendly caregivers, nannies who are trained in child development, early childhood education or related fields, should be employed to take care of the children. All staff and teachers are to be trained in first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Caregivers and nannies must be screened annually for communicable diseases. They are to do chest x-rays, stool tests, mantoux, typhoid screening etc annually in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases from a care giver to the children.

Parents are required to keep their children at home, if they are having diarrhoea, vomiting (after two consecutive bouts), running a temperature of 38 C or over, having ear ache, severe headache or stiffness in the neck.

Children afflicted with lice, chicken pox, measles, mumps, meningitis, impetigo (skin infection) and pneumonia should not come to school to avoid the infections from spreading.

Day care centres must have a special room that may also serve as a sick bay. The service of a school nurse may be needed to render first-aid treatment.

In conclusion, children in these centres are more likely to catch infections than others who do not attend day care. However, being around a large number of germs in day care may improve children’s immunity.

Also due to the alarming rates of child abuse in the country, female children should be protected from the male workers (male guards, male security and male drivers to prevent sexual abuse).

PUNCH.

Your feet take you everywhere, care for them

Tips

by admin - Feb 3, 2016

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We rely on our feet more than we care to admit. While many people will do everything to maintain a perfect face, the majority of us hardly bother giving a thought to foot health.

Yet, whether we trek, drive or ride a bicycle/motorbike, we need foot support in all of our activities.

However trendy your dressing is, without proper foot support, many people might not be impressed. If you have the best set of shoes in your wardrobe, you need healthy feet to do them justice.

Beyond the aesthetics, though, physicians warn that the foot is prone to injuries and infections which can linger on for long if we don’t know how to care for our feet.

General Practitioner, Dr. Kunle Awobusayo, warns that foot injuries can be a big problem if neglected. He says too much trekking and wearing of ill-fitting shoes are some of the causes of foot injuries — apart from certain medical conditions, such as the following…

Nerve damage

How many times have you experienced unpleasant sensations on one foot or both feet for that matter? These sensations sometimes come in the form of burning, tingling, pins-and-needles, crawling, and electrical shocks, among others.

While they last, it’s almost impossible to engage the feet by way of walking, while one may not even feel anything at all until the symptoms subside.

Awobusayo says if these symptoms occur once in a while and disappear without much ado, there may not be any cause for worry.

However, he says, if the symptoms persist or if they pose much concern, you may have to see the doctor in order to remove the possibility of nerve damage; or to get treatment for one if it has occurred.

Awobusayo explains, “The feet is linked by nerves to the brain. When nerve damage occurs, it may be a result of larger health concerns such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and blood pressure. The physician will run appropriate tests that will pinpoint the problem, and then proceed to prescribe effective treatment.”

Bone infection

The Medical Director of Rainbow Specialist Hospital, Dr. Afokoghene Isiavwe, notes that untreated foot wounds can result in bacterial infection.

Isiavwe, who is also a specialist in diabetic foot care says, “If left untreated, foot infection can cause inflammation of the bone marrow as the infectious bacteria pass through the victim’s bloodstream, especially when we are talking of the longer bones in the legs and arms.

“The skin around the affected area can become swollen, and there could even be symptoms of fever and chills. All these are warnings that open wound in any part of the body — including the foot — must not be left untreated.”

Diabetes foot

While every symptom of diabetes is a cause for concern, one big problem with diabetes management is what is technically called the “diabetes foot syndrome.”

Isiavwe says diabetic foot ulcer is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, and probably the major component of the diabetic foot.

The physician notes, “The condition occurs in 15 per cent of all patients with diabetes and is responsible for more than 84 per cent of all diabetes-related lower-leg amputations.

“Without early and optimal intervention, the wound can rapidly deteriorate, leading to amputation of the affected limb.”

She adds, “Indeed, it has been estimated that every 20 seconds, a lower limb is amputated due to complications of diabetes. Therefore, early presentation and compliance with treatment are key to successful treatment.”

The diabetologist says when it comes to diabetes foot problem, prevention is better than treating it, hence the need for public enlightenment in that regard.

The reason is simple: when the nervous system is damaged as a result of uncontrolled blood sugar levels, Isiavwe says, the diabetic may not be able to feel sensations in his or her feet properly.

“At this level, normal sweat secretion and oil production that lubricates the skin of the foot may be impaired; and the problem can lead to abnormal pressure on the skin, bones, and joints of the foot during walking.

“All these may result in the breakdown of the skin of the foot, and at that stage, sores are very likely to develop,” the physician notes.

The American Diabetes Association adds, “Damage to blood vessels and impairment of the immune system from diabetes make it difficult to heal these wounds. Bacterial infection of the skin, connective tissues, muscles, and bones can then occur.

“These infections can develop into gangrene. And because of the poor blood flow, antibiotics cannot get to the site of the infection easily. Often, the only treatment for this is amputation of the foot or leg. If the infection spreads to the bloodstream, this process can be life-threatening.”

The bottom line: Your feet take you everywhere. The least you can do is to pamper them by promptly attending to any pain you might feel there.

ffPUNCH.