CHILDREN
Minor ailments for minor patients
PharMacY IS oftEn thE fIrSt Port of call for ParEntS, Who arE frantIc oVEr What arE actUallY coMMon condItIonS for BaBIES and YoUng chIldrEn. It’S YoUr rolE aS thE coMMUnItY PharMacISt to allaY thEIr concErnS. hErE’S hoW…
t
he fact that a child’s immune system is underdeveloped means that they are much more
prone to infection and illness than most adults. But there’s no doubt that the endless crying of a baby with a common complaint such as colic can be distressing for both parent and child.
adding to the child’s distress is the fact that the parent cannot ascertain the underlying cause due to the baby’s young age, and there’s no doubt that this can exacerbate the worry and alarm.
Most children will, at some point, experience common childhood conditions and infections. among the most common are: • conjunctivitis (‘pinkeye’) • chickenpox • croup • colic • tonsillitis • Mumps
fortunately, in your role as the ‘advice provider’, you are more than supported with a wide range of over-the-counter products that can help reduce the distress of both parent and child.
a raised temperature in a child is caused by the resetting of the body's own natural thermostat to a higher level. In order to make the body hotter, the blood vessels on the surface of the skin become much smaller to minimise the loss of heat.
once this new, higher setting of the body's own thermostat is reached, the temperature will be higher than
18 - PharMacY In focUS
normal. Most parents adopt the attitude that a fever is bad for a child, but this may not always be true. a raised temperature may, in fact, be harmful to any bugs, which are causing an illness and may actually reinforce the body's own immune system, which is fighting the problem. to reduce a child's temperature, the child should be stripped down and sponged with a cool cloth. Paracetamol will not only help to reduce the temperature, but will also help to kill any pain that the child may be experiencing.
common colds are - as you know - caused by viral infections and can't really be prevented, so treatment of the symptoms is really all that can be done. Sore throats and a temperature can be treated with paracetamol and there's a variety of otc medicines available. If the child's nose is sore from blowing into tissues, suggest that Vaseline is smeared on it to bring the child some relief. a humidifier may also help.
Sticky eyes or conjunctivitis is the term given to eyes, which are red and sore looking. It is usually easy to diagnose thanks to the distinctive yellow gunge on the edge of the lids, which often causes the lids to stick together after a night's sleep. often the infected eye is runny, red and inflamed. the condition isn't really painful, but can cause a gritty soreness in the eye, especially when blinking.
If the infection looks mild, the parent should be advised to simply bathe the eye with lukewarm water, but, if the eye looks more 'gungey', then you
should advise the parent to go to their gP as a course of antibiotics may be required.
chickenpox - or varicella to give it its correct name - is one of the most common infectious childhood illnesses. the child will feel as if he or she has a cold or fever, then small pink bumps will spread over the whole body, developing into little water blisters. the child will be
itchy and infectious until the last spot is dry. Scratching can cause scarring, so suggest to parents that they dab calamine lotion onto the spots.
the child may be more comfortable at home and should not come into contact with pregnant women as exposure to chickenpox can lead to birth defects. If the child's spots become infected a gP may prescribe an antibiotic cream.
>
The Metanium range is here to help at any one time, around a third of babies will have nappy rash, making it a very common condition [1]
the Metanium range offers a choice of
products to both treat and prevent nappy rash. Metanium Everyday Easy Spray Barrier lotion and Metanium Everyday Barrier ointment help prevent nappy rash; and Metanium nappy rash ointment is specifically licensed to treat nappy rash. a new handy guide to nappy rash is being offered by Metanium to all members of the popular digital platform ‘Your Baby club’. (
www.yourbabyclub.co.uk).the guide is being promoted extensively through social media. additional 2018 promotional plans for Metanium include extensive sampling at key Baby Shows, print and digital advertising with major parenting titles, an ongoing partnership and promotions with leading baby websites, as well as regular reader offers and competitions.
thornton & ross, linthwaite, huddersfield hd7 5Qh 01484 842217 /
www.metanium.co.uk
reference: 1.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/nappy-rash/ accessed 11th January 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
