If your child is poorly

Transcription

1 If you child is pooly A quick guide fo paents and caes of young childen What you can do to help you child CCGs woking togethe Aiedale, Whafedale and Caven CCG Badfod City CCG Badfod Disticts CCG

2 This booklet gives you advice to help teat you child at home when they have a common childhood illness like a cough, a cold o sickness and diahoea. Also included is some advice about asthma. Set up a medicine cabinet at home Most of the time you can teat mino illnesses at home. It is a good idea to have a medicine cabinet that is well out of each to childen. You could keep a themomete, plastes, ceams fo nappy ash and painkilles fo childen such as paacetamol o ibupofen in you cabinet. Always make sue you use the ight stength of medicine fo the age of you child and suga-fee options whee you can. Read the instuctions caefully and check use by dates. Whee can I get moe help? You know you child bette than anyone else but if you ae still woied the back page of this booklet has details of whee you can get moe help. If you need moe infomation afte eading this booklet, you can also visit the NHS website - You can also use this website to find you neaest GP pactice, phamacy o hospital.

3 Asthma Asthma is a common lung condition that causes occasional beathing difficulties and often stats in childhood. Thee's cuently no cue, but thee ae simple teatments that can help keep the symptoms unde contol so it doesn't have a big impact on you child's life. The main symptoms of asthma ae: wheezing (a whistling sound when beathing) beathlessness a tight chest coughing (especially at night). The symptoms can sometimes get tempoaily wose. This is known as an asthma attack. If you think you child has asthma please contact you GP pactice. Seveal conditions can cause simila symptoms, so it's impotant to get a medical diagnosis and coect teatment. You GP will usually be able to diagnose asthma by asking about symptoms and caying out some simple tests.

4 What can cause asthma? Asthma is caused by swelling (inflammation) of the beathing tubes that cay ai in and out of the lungs. This makes the tubes highly sensitive so they tempoaily naow. It may occu andomly o afte exposue to a tigge. Common asthma tigges include: allegies to house dust mites, animal fu o pollen cigaette smoke, pollution and cold ai infections such as colds o flu.

5 How to teat asthma Asthma is usually teated by using an inhale, a small device that lets you child beathe in medicines. It's impotant to always use a plastic device called a space with the inhale. You can ask you GP fo a space if you child does not have one. The main types of inhales ae: pevente inhales which should be used evey day. To make sue you child uses it daily you could suggest they use it befoe they clean thei teeth. It's eally impotant you child uses thei inhale as it will help pevent asthma attacks. elieve inhales which can be used to quickly elieve asthma symptoms fo a shot time. If you child is using a elieve moe than thee times a week then thei asthma is not well contolled so please make an appointment to see you GP o asthma nuse. Make sue you child uses thei inhale

6 How long does it last? Asthma is a long-tem condition fo many. In childen, it sometimes disappeas o impoves duing the teenage yeas, but it can come back late in life. The symptoms can usually be contolled with teatment and most people live nomal, active lives. Although asthma can usually be kept unde contol, it's still a seious condition that can cause a numbe of poblems. This is why it's so impotant to follow you child's teatment plan and not ignoe thei symptoms if they'e getting wose. Badly contolled asthma can cause poblems such as: feeling tied all the time undepefomance at o absence fom school lung infections (pneumonia) delays in gowth o pubety. Thee's also a isk of sevee asthma attacks which can be life-theatening.

7 If you child has an asthma attack and thei elieve is not woking, please call 999. Remembe, sadly, asthma still KILLS. Appoximately 13 childen die each yea in the UK, most of these deaths could be avoided.

8 Colds, coughs and coup Colds It's nomal fo childen to have a lot of colds each yea. This is because thee ae hundeds of diffeent cold viuses and young childen have no immunity to any of them as they've neve had them befoe. Childen will gadually build up immunity and get fewe colds. Most colds get bette in five to seven days but can take up to two weeks. How to teat colds Make sue you child dinks plenty of wate. Ask you phamacist o health visito about using saline nose dops to help loosen died snot and elieve a stuffy nose. If you child has a feve, pain o discomfot, childen's paacetamol o ibupofen can help. Childen with asthma should not take ibupofen so check with you phamacist o health visito fist. Always follow the instuctions on the packet. Encouage the whole family to wash thei hands egulaly to stop gems speading.

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10 Coughs Childen often cough when they have a cold. It is often caused by a vius and will impove on its own but it may take up to a week. Although it is upsetting to hea you child cough, this is impotant to help clea the mucus which is tickling down the back of thei thoat. If you child is feeding, dinking, eating and beathing nomally without wheezing then a cough isn't usually anything to woy about. Contact you GP pactice o call NHS 111 fo futhe advice if: the cold wosens o lasts longe than thee weeks you child is hot and shivey o finding it difficult to beathe you child has a high tempeatue of 38 C o above.

11 Coup A child with coup has a distinctive baking cough and will make a hash sound, known as stido, when they beathe in. They may also have a unny nose, soe thoat and high tempeatue of 38 C o above. Coup can usually be diagnosed by you GP and teated at home.

12 Constipation Constipation is common in babies and childen. You can usually teat it at home with simple changes to you child's diet. It should impove within a few days but sometimes it can take a few weeks. It's likely to be constipation if: you child hasn't had a poo at least thee times in a week the poo is often difficult to push out and lage than usual the poo is often dy, had o lumpy. Things to look out fo in childen include: a lack of enegy being iitable, angy o unhappy soiling thei clothes. How to teat constipation Simple changes to you child's diet o to thei potty taining outine can help teat constipation. You can also ty gently moving you baby's legs in a cycling motion o caefully massaging thei tummy to help.

13 What causes constipation? Sometimes thee is no obvious eason and constipation in babies and toddles can have many possible causes. It usually happens when you child: fist stats having fomula o pocessed foods as a baby is being potty tained as a toddle has just stated school. The most common causes include: not eating enough fibe such as fuit, vegetables and ceeals not dinking enough fluids ovefeeding including giving babies too much milk fea o anxiety about using the toilet at home o at school poo potty taining such as feeling pessued o being egulaly inteupted. Make sue they eat plenty of fuit and veg

14 Making changes to you child's diet Give you baby exta wate between thei nomal feeds if they haven't stated to eat solid food yet. If you'e using fomula milk, don't add moe wate to the mixtue. Give olde childen plenty of fluids and encouage them to eat fuit. Chop o puée it if it's easie fo them to eat. The best fuits fo constipation include apples, gapes, peas and stawbeies. Do not foce you child to eat as this can make mealtimes stessful. Helping you child with potty taining Some childen feel anxious o stessed about using the toilet. This can cause them to hold in thei poo and lead to constipation. This usually happens duing potty taining o if thei usual toilet outine has changed, fo example, afte moving house o stating nusey. Give you child plenty of time to use the toilet while they ae still leaning. Encouage them when they do use the toilet.

15 In much ae cases, constipation in babies and childen can be caused by a medical condition. If the poblem doesn't go away o you child is unwell, has abdominal pains o stats being sick, please contact you GP pactice o call NHS 111 fo futhe advice.

16 Ea infections Ea infections ae common in babies and small childen. They often follow a cold and sometimes cause a high tempeatue. A baby o toddle may pull o ub at an ea. Othe possible symptoms ae a cough, a feve, iitability, cying, difficulty feeding and estlessness at night. How to teat ea infections Most ea infections last up to thee days and ae caused by viuses which cannot be teated with antibiotics. If you child has eaache, with o without a feve, you can give them paacetamol o ibupofen at the ecommended dose but do not give ibupofen to a child with asthma. Do not put any oil, eadops o cotton buds into you child's ea unless you GP tells you to do so. Afte an ea infection, you child may have some heaing loss but this should get bette within a few weeks. If the poblem lasts fo any longe than this, ask you GP fo advice.

17 Feve A feve is a high tempeatue of 38 C o above. Feve is the body's natual esponse to fighting infections like coughs and colds. A nomal tempeatue in babies and childen is about 36.4 C but this can vay slightly fom child to child. Childen often develop a high tempeatue fo a few days when they have an infection. A high tempeatue may be caused by common childhood illnesses like a cold, soe thoat o an infection such as chickenpox. You child could also develop a feve when they have thei vaccinations. Checking a high tempeatue You child might: feel hotte than usual to the touch on thei foehead, back o tummy feel sweaty o clammy have ed cheeks. Use a digital themomete (which you can buy fom phamacies and supemakets) to take you child's tempeatue. How to teat a high tempeatue You can usually look afte you child o baby at home and thei tempeatue should go down ove thee o fou days.

18 Do ü give them plenty of fluids ü look out fo signs of dehydation ü give them food if they want it ü check on you child egulaly duing the night ü keep them at home ü give them paacetamol o ibupofen if they'e distessed o unwell. Do not sponge them down to cool them off cove them up in too many clothes o bedclothes give aspiin to unde 16s give paacetamol to a child unde two months give ibupofen to a child unde thee months o if thei weight is unde 5kg give ibupofen to a child with asthma outinely combine ibupofen and paacetamol, unless a health pofessional tells you to give ibupofen to a child with chicken pox. In ae cases a high tempeatue is caused by a moe seious infection. Please contact you GP pactice o call NHS 111 fo futhe advice if you child's tempeatue does not etun to nomal o they ae dowsy, floppy o efuse to dink; have developed a ash; o you have othe concens.

19 Soe thoats Soe thoats ae often caused by a vial illness such as a cold. You child's thoat may be dy and soe fo a day o two befoe a cold stats. You can give them paacetamol o ibupofen to educe the pain. Most soe thoats will clea up afte a few days. If you child has a soe thoat fo moe than fou days as well as a high tempeatue and is geneally unwell, please contact you GP pactice o call NHS 111 fo futhe advice.

20 Upset tummy Sickness and diahoea ae common in babies and childen. You child may have them togethe o on thei own. They ae usually caused by a stomach bug and can spead easily. Childen ae most likely to pass on the stomach bug to othes fom when the symptoms stat until two days afte they've stopped. It is impotant that you keep them at home until the symptoms have stopped fo two days. How long will it last? diahoea usually lasts five to seven days vomiting usually lasts one to two days. How to teat sickness and diahoea You can usually teat you child at home. The most impotant thing is to give you child plenty of wate to avoid dehydation. If they feel sick encouage them to take small sips.

21 Do ü keep you child at home to est ü give you child plenty of fluids, such as wate o squash ü cay on feeding you baby as nomal and ty giving small feeds moe often than usual if they'e being sick Make sue you child dinks plenty of wate ü give small sips of wate between feeds fo babies on fomula o solid foods ü let them eat when they feel able to you don't need to have o avoid any specific foods. Do not give you child fuit juice o fizzy dinks as they can make diahoea wose make baby fomula weake use it at its usual stength give young childen medicine to stop diahoea give aspiin to unde 16s.

22 To avoid it speading to othe adults o childen ü ü ü ü Do wash you hands and you child's hands with soap and wate fequently wash dity clothes and bedding sepaately on a hot wash clean toilet seats, handles, taps, sufaces and doo handles evey day keep you child away fom othes until symptoms have stopped fo two days. Do not shae towels, flannels, cutley o utensils go swimming fo two weeks.

23 In ae cases, sickness and diahoea is caused by a moe seious poblem. Please contact you GP pactice o call NHS 111 fo futhe advice if the poblem doesn't go away o you child is efusing to dink; has abdominal pains; isn't weeing o has blood in thei sick o poo.

24 Phamacy You local phamacist can give you expet advice on common illnesses and the best medicine to help you child. Many phamacies ae open until late and at weekends. You don't need an appointment you can just walk in. Choosing the ight place to go fo help NHS111 NHS 111 can help if you child has an ugent medical poblem and you'e not sue what to do. It is available 24 hous-a-day and calls ae fee fom a landline o mobile phone. It can povide you with an out-of-hous GP appointment o call an ambulance if necessay. GP Pactice If you feel that you child's illness cannot be teated at home o thei symptoms do not impove, you GP pactice will give you an appointment with a docto o nuse. You will find you GP pactice's opening times and phone numbes on thei website. Accident and Emegency (A&E) and 999 ae fo life-theatening emegencies. A&E Requesting a leaflet in a diffeent fomat This leaflet can be made available in othe fomats such as lage pint, Baille o othe languages, please communications@badfod.nhs.uk Date pinted: Mach 2019 The latest infomation can be found on the NHS website at