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CHILD HEALTH


THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR MAY SIGNAL AN INCREASE IN CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES AND CONDITIONS, BUT THE COMMUNITY PHARMACY IS THE ‘GO TO’ PLACE FOR KIDS RIGHT FROM BIRTH. PHARMACY IN FOCUS TAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT...


CHILDHOOD ILLNESS MINOR AILMENTS


As a pharmacist, you’re probably asked for advice by parents on a regular basis. Common baby and child health miseries - everything from colic to head lice - can leave kids in considerable discomfort and parent tired, irritable and upset.


Fortunately, there are products available on the market for practically every minor ailment that affects young babies and small children.


COLIC is a very common condition, which can lead to uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby, and which can be very distressing for both babies and parents. Key symptoms include loud crying, often for two or three hours, pulling feet up under the body and clenching fists. While the cause of colic is not fully understood, eating too fast or too much, or swallowing air


20 -PHARMACY IN FOCUS


without burping can be contributory factors. Colic tends to appear at around two to four weeks of age and can last for three months or longer in some cases. Babies with colic can sometimes be soothed by being rocked in a cradle or on a parent’s lap, being taken for a drive in the car, wrapped up tightly in a blanket, or by having their stomachs gently massage. If these measures don’t work, then anti-colic drops should be suggested.


CRADLE CAP is a form of seborrhoeic dermatitis, which can lead to a dry, flaky and itchy scalp. The condition isn’t serious, but is unsightly, appearing as red or yellow scaly patches and thick plaques on the skin that look like scabs. Cradle cap is very common in babies and usually appears during the first couple of weeks following birth. The cause is unknown, but the condition is temporary and harmless.


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Cradle cap shampoo should be massaged gently but firmly over the entire scalp. This will help to lift the scaly patches away and leave the scalp clear.


TEETHING can cause a baby major discomfort and distress. Babies’ teeth actually begin to form before they are born, and the milk teeth generally start to push through between six and nine months. As well as crying


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