Children's Health
Is it safe to give my child small amounts of alcohol?
In my book, it is not safe to give children small amounts of alcohol. I do not think it is safe to give children under the age of 14 any amount of alcohol whatsoever. We believe that alcohol can stimulate certain neurotransmitters and neurons in the brain that could have a rekindling effect later on in life. When that child drinks alcohol later on in life, we suspect there could be an increased risk of alcoholism or alcohol addiction as a result of this rekindling effect. That's one of the reasons not to give children alcohol. In addition to that, alcohol can be toxic to the brain. It is toxic to neurons, and even more toxic to the neurons that are developing. The final reason is that alcohol has no nutritional value whatsoever, and hence there's no point giving a child any alcohol.
I'm 14. Am I too young for an abortion?
I think one should probably approach abortion at age 14 with two aspects in mind. One is the physical aspect, and the other is the psychological aspect. From a physical point of view, I would consider that in the right hands, it is perfectly okay to have a termination in a fourteen year old patient. You have a gynaecologist: he knows perfectly well what he's doing, he's in surgery. You have an anaesthetist, and the abortion can be done without much physical risk - no more than there would be to a termination in any other age group. Having said that, I think there are important psychological issues to consider. A person of fourteen has not matured psychologically, and hence one needs to consider the risks of continuing with the pregnancy, the psychological problems with continuing with the pregnancy and the psychological problems of having a termination at the age of fourteen. Those can be very difficult to cope with. The problem really is that the decision is going to be based upon the psychological characteristics of that patient. It's really going to be a very individualised decision, and I think it has to be based upon a psychological assessment of the patient and discussion with the parents, if possible. I understand that in certain circumstances that may not be possible, but whenever possible I would consider that a very important part of the decision. Obviously, a consultation with the doctor who is normally involved with that child who may know that person in a little bit more detail, is also advised when considering an abortion.
My child has a fever. What should I do?
A fever is a normal reaction of the body in order to fight off a type of infection. The first thing we need to know is that it's a normal type of response. The problem with a fever is that if it goes too high, it can create a number of problems In particular, it can cause hallucinations and especially convulsions. These are known as febrile convulsions and can be potentially serious. The way to approach a fever is to try to assess what degree of fever a child has. In centigrade, we normally consider a normal temperature to be 37 degrees. If a child is running a temperature of 38-39, it's not too worrying, but the child may feel uncomfortable as a result and hence it would be useful to give them something to bring the temperature down. However, if the fever is running at 40 degrees or above, I think you have come to an area of risk of a febrile convulsion. That means that the fever must be brought down. In addition to the medication, which is usually acetaminophen based or ibuprofen based, there are a number of things we can do to help the child along. Don't put too many blankets over the child, have one layer of clothing and usually just one blanket. Make sure the child is not cold but certainly avoid them from being hot, because that will just push the fever up even further. Secondly, you can wash the child down with water - with tepid water or cool water, never cold water, never alcohol; just cool water to aid the body to lose temperature. The third thing you can do is to have a bit of a draft or a fan over the child, again to help remove some heat from the surface area of the body. Those are very simple but can be extremely effective measures at getting that temperature to come down during a fever.
My child is feeling sick. What should I do?
If a child feels like a vomiting, I think the first thing you want to do is not to overload their stomach. Try to give the stomach a rest. Initially, don't give them anything to eat and don't give them anything to drink, just for a couple of hours, just to see if it settles. If it does, fine; if it doesn't, the chances are it is going to progress into vomiting. If the child is vomiting, then that means they are losing fluid and you need to start replacing that fluid. It is very important that you replace that fluid slowly. If a child is vomiting and drinks a whole glass of water, the chances are that within the next half an hour, they're going to vomit that back up again. It needs to be sips at a time - just a couple of sips every few minutes, every 5 minutes or so. It will help replace the fluid and at the same time not put too much strain on the stomach. If the vomiting is very severe, then the child may not be able to retain fluids, in which case you need to begin to judge whether the child is becoming dehydrated or not. This is a very important issue because if the child is dehydrated, they need to go to the hospital. Look at the child's tongue and see if the tongue is dry, and feel the skin to check if it feels dry and sometimes soggy, and watch the urine output. If the child is not passing urine, they're obviously dehydrated. If they're passing plenty of urine, I think the chances of dehydration are not very high. These are just some simple measures and some simple things to keep an eye on, to try to evaluate whether it's serious or not serious, and whether the child needs to go to the hospital or not.
My child is coughing. What should I do?
My child has diarrhea. What should I do?
What you need to do with diarrhoea is firstly to start fluid replacement. Fluid replacement needs to be done slowly, in small amounts, and it has to be simple fluids. The best fluid is water. There are some rehydration fluids which contain glucose and some electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, which are used when diarrhoea is a little bit more severe or more prolonged. The important thing with regard to diarrhoea is assessing dehydration. Look for a dry tongue. Look for dry skin or soggy skin. Watch for urine output. If the urine output is low, the child could easily be becoming dehydrated. If you're in doubt as to whether the child is dehydrated or not, he needs to be seen. Do not doubt about consulting a doctor or even taking a child into hospital at night if you think there is a risk of serious dehydration due to diarrhoea.
Does sugar make children hyperactive?
In principle, sugar doesn't make your child hyperactive. However, we do know that sugar has certain stimulant properties. I think everybody can experience that, because when they're tired and haven't eaten, they might have a bar of chocolate. Suddenly, they feel much better and they can go on.
My child has a minor cough. What should I do?
If the child's cough is minor and has not been very prolonged - meaning that he's had it for a few days - I really don't think that parents need to worry. If the cough is ongoing in time and it's been going on for a few weeks, then I certainly think that the child would need looking at.
