Checklist Health
brin in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. “Squints can develop and go unnoticed when a child is very young. After the age of nine it is much harder to ‘re-wire’ the brain as it has got used to the abnor- mality.” Certain types of squint are associated with dyslexia and difficulties with literacy. These often remain undetected for years. Short sightedness often develops in rapidly
growing school-age children. Problems with long sightedness may remain undetected by the child or the teachers because often the vision will appear to be excellent. “Uncor- rected long sightedness may lead to eye strain and fatigue and can even impact on a child’s academic progress at school. A child may not even notice there is a problem so regular checks are vital,” says Dr Alexander. All babies born in the UK now receive
routine hearing tests as part of the NHS New- born Hearing Screening Programme. Parents should monitor young children to check that they are responding to normal sounds and contact their GP if they are worried. A handful of schools have the services of local dentists but mostly parents are left to
their own devices. Prep school children should be visiting the dentist at minimum once a year. Every nine months is a good rule of thumb, or every three months if there are any problems. One hundred and thirty independent schools now offer private provision through Denplan for Schools scheme, which covers 33,000 pupils if they have a dental accident while at school. “It is offered through the schools at the beginning of the academic year and is taken up by roughly 50% of pupils,” says Tom Stokes at Denplan for Schools. Many public schools will have physi-
otherapists on call to help if pupils suffer sports-related injuries. It is fairly common to find the school nurse on the touch line during interschool rugby matches, says Fiona Smith. Parents should always keep school medical
staff fully informed of a child’s conditions, any medications they are taking and whether they have needed a specialist for any reason. “Most schools ask parents to fill in extensive question- naires. Take time to complete this carefully and it could make a huge difference to the medical history of your child at school.”
Feet Matter Too
Uncorrected
longsightedness can even impact
on a child’s academic progress
The most common foot problems for children are athlete’s foot (an airborne fungal infection), ingrown toe nails and verrucas (caused by viruses) according to Keith Harris, a chiropodist and podiatrist at the Lon- don Footcare Centre. “Keep a careful eye out and bring chil- dren in when prob- lems occur,” says Harris. OTC treat- ments rarely work with verrucas. “See a specialist if your child has verrucas as
it may be that no treat- ment is the best option.”
Fashionable footwear also causes problems, particularly with girls who wear ballet pumps. “There is no arch support and they need to be held on by clawing the toes. This leads to corns and swell- ings on the top of the toes.” Never pass on old shoes to
younger siblings. “The wear for every child is different, which may affect their gait,” says Harris. “The best school shoes are leather with good heel and arch support and fastened with straps or laces. Unfortunately, your children may not agree with you!”
Summer 2012 FirstEleven 51
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