Newborn and Child Health

Noisy breathing is one of a very common complains in babies. It occurs due to very small nasal passage which is blocked easily even with small amount of secretions. Noisy breathing is more in smaller babies and gradually decreases with age of babies and disappears by 6 months to 1 year maximum. It is also more in winter seasons due to frequent respiratory infections like common cold. It can be prevented or decreased by frequent cleaning of nostril by normal saline drops and or suctioning of secretions. Noisy breathing can be serious when associated with other symptoms e.g.    1).  Baby is not able to feed well. 2). Associated with fast breathing or chest in drawing or bluish discoloration of hand and sole. 3). Baby is febrile and or irritable. Conclusion: Mild noisy breathing is normal in newborn and infant until unless associated with other abnormality like dullness, irritability, fast breathing or bluish palm and soles.

  Fever is an increase in body temperature more than 37.5 C (99.5 F). Fever is not a disease per se, but a symptom.   If fever is presents that mean there is something wrong with your body. Fever can be measured in three areas- armpit, mouth or rectum. Rectal temperature monitoring is most accurate but it can leads to rectal injury or perforation in inexperienced hand so most commonly used is armpit temperature in newborn and children. For babies below 3month of age fever is always an emergency. In babies fever can due to different reasons like infections or overheating or dehydration. Most cases of fever have infectious etiology like common cold, diarrhea, pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis etc. In infections a newborn baby may have a low body temperature (less than 36C or 97F). Low body temperature associated with dullness or decrease activity is an medical emergency for babies. Also febrile babies with changes in activity (dull or irritable), decreases feeding or skin change...

  Taking care of a newborn baby can be chaotic and overwhelming for first-time parents especially if living in nuclear family. Although caring of newborn babies is an exhausting work but it is also most wonderful experience in anyone’s life. Here are some basic problems in babies which you may encounter during parenting and also tips to make you confident during baby care. 1.       Maintain hygiene and Temperature: Always wash your hand or sanitize it and warm before handling your baby. Also clean baby immediately after bowel movement and dry it by soft clean clothes. Avoid putting kajal in eyes as it can leads to infection and eye discharge. Do proper clothing of baby to avoid cold in winter and heat in summer. 2.       Exclusive breast feeding: Your baby should be on exclusive beast milk up to six months. Each feeding session should be of 20-30 minutes and 8-12 session per day is suppose to be adequate. If feeding adequate...