Health Tips

CHICKENPOX

CHICKENPOX is a common and highly infectious childhood illness that is caused by a virus. It gives you a mild fever followed (after about 24 hours) by itchy, red spots, which quickly change to blisters. These usually start on the body or scalp then spread to the face and limbs. The spots will crust over and disappear after about 12 days.
One bout of chickenpox will usually make the child immune to further attacks. In most cases of chickenpox are mild and cause no long-term ill effects.
Chickenpox is very infectious. The virus which causes it is spread from person to person in several ways:
Direct contact of the skin (touch).
By airborne particles that can be inhaled.
Even by touching old clothes recently worn by someone who is infectious.

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ADMINISTERING MEDICATION

It often becomes necessary for a care provider to administer medication to a child in care. First be sure the medication is in the original container and is accompanied with a written permission form. (See the form section of this website for examples) Now for the hard part, actually getting the child to take the entire dose of medication required. I have a few suggestions for this it will depend on what works for you and the specific child. These are ideas if the child refuses to take the medication directly from a dispenser.

NEVER MEASURE THE MEDICATION IN A TEASPOON. Teaspoons vary in measurement.

1. Give the child a freezie first. This will numb the taste buds somewhat.

2. Add the medication to a small amount of liquid in a bottle. All liquid antibiotics for children can be mixed with juice, formula or milk. (I checked with the pharmacist.) What you use will depend on the flavor of the medication. Using more than an ounce or two though could be a problem, as the child may not finish all of the drink and that will change the dose. Also be careful giving the bottle to a toddler that may put the bottle down and make it available to another child in care. It is a good idea to hold the child for this bottle.

3. Take the cap and nipple from a bottle and put the measured dose of medication directly into the nipple, giving the child the medication this way. DO NOT use plastic wrap to enclose the nipple. This is very dangerous.

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HEAD LICE

This is where your scalp and hair are infected with lice and their eggs, called nits. It is very itchy and is caught mainly by head-to-head contact, sharing combs, brushes, hats and towels. It can be effectively treated by a combination of wet combing with a very small-toothed comb and anti-lice shampoos. It is sometimes known as pediculosis or nits.
Head lice are treated by, wet combing your hair with a fine-toothed comb which can dislodge the lice and their eggs from your scalp and hair, applying normal conditioner and then use a fine-toothed comb and applying special shampoo.

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SANITIZING SOLOUTION

For an inexpensive, yet very effective sanitizing solution use the following combination of bleach and water.
6 ml bleach to 1 liter of water
Or ½ oz bleach to 1 gallon of water

This can be used for the diapering area as well as the food preparation area. Cups and dishes can be sanitized with it if there is a flu or cold going around.

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CONVULSION

A febrile CONVULSION is a fit in a child brought on by a fever. It usually affects children between six months and six years of age. It is the most common type of fit and although it can look very frightening, it is almost always harmless, even when it lasts a long time. The child usually shakes or twitches, rolls their eyes and becomes unconscious. Sometimes the child bites their tongue or wets themself. Normally the fit lasts two or three minutes and stops on its own. Occasionally, it can last up to half an hour, in which case special treatment may be needed to stop it.

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SCARLET FEVER

SCARLET FEVER affects mainly children. It starts with a sore throat and high temperature, then after one or two days a rash appears. The rash looks very red, like sunburn, and also feels rough like sandpaper. When you look closely there are little white spots. The rash starts on the face and after a day spread all over the body. It usually clears up in four or five days, and after this the skin often peels. Scarlet Fever is an infectious condition, which means it can be passed on through close contact with people who have symptoms or are carrying it.
Scarlet fever starts suddenly, with symptoms including a high fever, sore throat and headache, red-looking tonsils with small marks of pus, furred white tongue, large tender glands in the neck and sometimes vomiting (being sick) or stomach pain.
After one or two days a rash appears, starting on the face and spreading all over the body within 24 hours. The skin looks as if sunburned and feels like sandpaper. If you look closely it seems to be speckled. The rash is reddest in the groin, armpits and the creases of the elbow. The skin around the mouth often looks pale. After four or five days the tongue becomes smooth and red like a strawberry. After a week the rash usually clears up. Sometimes the skin peels once the rash has gone away, especially on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and the areas where the rash was at its worst.

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CRADLE CAP

SEBORRHOEIC DERMATITIS is a common, non-infectious skin rash that usually affects the scalp, eyebrows, either side of the nose, and the chest. It is often scaly and has a red/orange appearance. It can be itchy. Young children can get it on their scalp and face and in their neck folds, armpits and nappy area. It is very common for young babies to have this condition on their scalp. This is known as CRADLE CAP. Bathing with bath oil and using skin softening creams and medicated shampoos can treat babies. Adults can use medicated shampoos and steroid creams. It usually clears up quite quickly in babies but can keep coming back in adults.

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HYGINE- HANDWASHING

Each child's hands should b e washed after toileting, and before eating. The care provider should do this faithfully, as well as before and after diapering a child. Hand washing is paramount in preventing the spread of germs. You do not need anti-bacterial soap for this, studies show using soap and water to wash your hands being sure to rub the hands thoroughly is adequate.

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SCABIES

SCABIES is a skin condition where a mite makes your skin itch and causes a rash. It is infectious and is usually caught by contact with someone with the condition or with infected clothing, towels or bed linen. Scabies can be effectively treated with special skin lotion.
The first symptoms include intense itching, (especially at night, caused by the allergic reaction to the mite in the skin), raised pimple-like red spots called papules that can become crusted if you scratch them and thread-like burrows in between your fingers, wrists and forearms. It may occur elsewhere on the body but not usually on the face (though this can happen in babies).
The whole bodies of infants - from their heads down to the palms of their hands and soles of their feet - can become infected.

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WHOOPING COUGH

WHOOPING COUGH, which is also known as Pertussis and 100-day cough, is a very severe form of bronchitis - an infection of the windpipe and lungs. It causes fits of intense coughing. It gets its name from the 'whooping' sound that is made when a person breathes in following a bout of coughing. It can affect all ages but is most severe in infants. Those most at risk are babies less than six months old. Whooping cough is very easily spread. Humans are the only known source of the infection. It is spread either by direct contact with infected people or articles they have recently touched or by breath droplets in the air. It's been noted that the condition spreads easily within families or within institutions looking after children.

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PEANUT ALLERGY

If someone with PEANUT ALLERGY comes into contact with even the tiniest amount of peanut they can have a bad reaction.
The allergy is caused by an overreaction of the body's defence (immune) system - it sees peanut as potentially harmful. Symptoms can vary from person to person but most sufferers will experience their tongue and lips swelling, an itchy rash and it can also make their breathing difficult. The reaction can happen quickly and within minutes of being in contact with peanut. The allergy can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment. It's important for peanut allergic people to take care to avoid peanuts completely, and as long as they do this, they should remain healthy.

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DISPOSIBLE WIPES

I find it much easier in my home daycare to use disposable wet wipes instead of washcloths. They are used once and are thrown away, no sorting washcloths and remembering who's it is. The spread of germs is a constant battle in daycare situations and this goes a long way in protecting the children. I have the parents provide a box of wipes every month for their child and use a marker to label the box with the child's name.

You can make your own disposable wipes!
Follow this link to www.kid-tips.com:

http://www.kid-tips.com/Tip.asp?TipID=41917&CatID=8878

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BRONCHITIS

BRONCHITIS is the swelling of the airways in the lungs. It is usually described as 'acute' which simply means that the infection comes on suddenly and is short lived.
Children with acute bronchitis have a cough that may be painful, with or without mucus, and often feel very tired. It usually gets better without treatment within the space of two weeks. It is a very common illness especially in the winter months. Acute bronchitis usually starts off as a cold so your child will probably have a runny nose, temperature and sore throat before the infection spreads lower down the airways. The symptoms of acute bronchitis include a cough - either dry or with clear or white phlegm, excessive tiredness, shortness of breath (particularly in children), wheezing - a rasping sound when you breathe out (particularly in children), chest pain.
The viruses that cause acute bronchitis are infectious, which means they can be passed on from person to person in the air, when coughing or sneezing, or on hands that have been in contact with infected water droplets in the air.

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MEASLES

MEASLES is extremely contagious, as it is carried from person to person in droplets in the air. Children are contagious from about seven to ten days after they first come into contact with measles to about five days after the rash appears.

Symptoms appear in different stages. Early symptoms before the rash appears are lethargy, tiredness, feeling run-down and irritable. After three to five days there will be a cough, fever, runny nose, red eyes, spots inside the mouth and rash. Before the rash appears, tiny grayish spots might be seen inside the mouth, near the back teeth. Other symptoms that may be experienced are general misery and loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting and sometimes abdominal pain.

Children with measles usually develop a rash about ten days after the infection starts. The rash appears as patchy red area all over the body. It usually starts around the hairline and ears and appears at the same time as a sudden rise in fever. In the early stages the rash spreads over the face and then down the trunk and last of all the limbs. Little pinky blue spots get larger and blotchier, blending together, over the next few days. The rash can sometimes have a bruised appearance due to a small amount of bleeding into the skin. Occasionally, a little bit of peeling of the skin occurs, but not in the same way as Scarlet Fever. The rash often fades to leave brownish stains that can take quite a long time to go completely. After four to five days, the rash starts to fade away, along with the fever and cold-like symptoms. It might take quite a long time to totally disappear and the cough tends to carry on for about ten days.

In total, following the incubation period, a straightforward case of measles can last for about ten to 14 days. Measles is extremely contagious as it is carried from person to person in droplets in the air. Children are contagious from about seven to ten days after they first come into contact with measles to about five days after the rash appears.

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DRINKING CUP SOLUTIONS

When you have a Childcare in your home it doesn't take long for you to want to find a solution for the drinking cup madness! Either you find yourself washing cups all day long or you go broke buying paper cups. Here I have listed a few solutions to help you with this problem. Try out a few to find what works for you.

1. Select a color for each daycare child and stick to it. This requires you have a set of cups of different colors. It also requires every child remembers their color and sticks to it. (not always easy with toddlers!)

2. Use a set of cups that are labeled. This makes it easier for you to see who's cup is who's. There are a number of ways to do this.
a. Using colored electrical tape and a permanent marker put every child's name on a cup. With this method you can put the cups through the dishwasher. I do.
b. Using fabric/puffy paint write the name of each child on his/her cup. It is best to wash these cups by hand, as the paint may peel off.
c. You can always use the permanent marker directly on the cup. However, when the child leaves, you have a cup with their name permanently on it.Perhaps you could use this cup as part of a "goodbye" gift. Maybe fill it with crayons or markers, a treat, etc. and tie a bow around it? (Sometimes leaving a child care home is devastating to a child, this might help ease the departure as you wish them well!)

When you have each child use a specific cup every day, it will limit washing them to once a day and save you time. The toddlers and preschoolers get the chance to recognize their names faster, and there is an added bonus of knowing who did not return their cup to the sink!

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RHEUMATIC FEVER

RHEUMATIC FEVER usually follows an infection of the throat with bacteria. In some people the infection seems to set off a reaction that causes inflammation in the heart, joints, brain and skin. Signs include arthritis, a skin rash, lumps beneath the skin, jerky movements of the arms and legs and tiredness. Rheumatic fever usually affects children. The first attack usually lasts about three months. There can be long-term effects as well and the most serious of these are to do with the heart. Rheumatic fever can damage the heart valves. Rheumatic fever itself is not infectious and cannot be passed directly from one person to another. However the streptococcal sore throats that come before rheumatic fever are infectious and may be passed by close contact.

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PNEUMONIA

PNEUMONIA is an infection of the lung tissue and is caused mainly by bacteria or viruses. Viral pneumonia is generally milder than bacterial pneumonia, though bacterial pneumonia is easier to treat. Pneumonia often appears with a fever and cough following a brief cold. Children with pneumonia usually have some difficulty in breathing with either fast breathing, pain when breathing or increased effort in breathing. The condition is treated with antibiotics and most children make a full recovery in one to two weeks. It is very contagious, and travels through the air.

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RINGWORM

Fungal infections of the skin are very common and often known as RINGWORM. They can affect almost any part of the body. Sometimes, the area of the body infected by a fungus (referred to by doctors as a lesion) can be circular - this is where the common term 'ringworm' came from. However, most ringworm lesions on the body consist of scaly red patches. These are usually one or two centimeters across but can join up to form larger areas of scaly skin. The lesions may be mildly itchy, but usually the main problem is the appearance - if the person has a number of visible lesions, this can be off-putting to others and cause the affected person embarrassment.
Fungal skin infections are contagious, and can be caught directly from someone else, or indirectly, through contact with an object or surface (such as gloves, a towel or a changing room floor) contaminated by an infected person. They can also be caught from an animal or, in rare cases, from soil. Fungal skin infections can be treated very effectively with medicines called anti-fungals, which are either applied as creams or ointments or taken as tablets by mouth, and most people can be cured completely.

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ROSEOLA/THREE DAY FEVER/ GERMAN MEASLES

This is a very common viral infection of young children. It begins suddenly with a high fever that lasts for about three days but could go on for seven days. During this time the child may be irritable and unwell. The fever then disappears rapidly and a rash appears. This is made up of small, red spots or patches and begins on the trunk. The rash fades over the next one to two days. There is no specific treatment other than to keep the child's temperature down. Children make a complete recovery with no permanent problems. It is contagious. Nine out of ten children will have caught the virus, which causes roseola by their second birthday through the saliva of infected children. Not all children who get the virus will develop symptoms.

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FIFTH DISEASE

FIFTH DISEASE is an extremely common, mild condition that usually affects children between the ages of four and 15. It is caused by the parvovirus. In children the virus causes a bright red rash which appears on the cheeks for around three days or more. A lacy rash follows it on the arms and legs for up to three weeks. It can be very infectious. However the child is infectious before the rash appears making it hard to avoid. It is spread via airborne droplets.

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CROUP

CROUP is a common viral condition of early childhood. One child in 15 between the age of one and two will get it. The condition usually begins with common cold symptoms, which develop into a barking cough and noisy breathing. These symptoms are usually worse at night. Most cases of croup just last for a day or two. The treatments available are very effective and most children recover completely, with no permanent effects. Croup is not infectious.

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MUMPS

MUMPS is an infection that mostly affects children between five and 15. Its main symptom is painfully swollen glands around the face. In less than one-third of cases no facial swelling occurs and mumps is only diagnosed when another illness (a complication) develops as a result of the infection.
Mumps is infectious, or catching. The most infectious period is usually before the symptoms start, generally from a few days before you get ill to five days afterwards. This is the time during which people pass the disease on.

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HANDWASHING IS VITAL

It is a constant battle in any situation where there are a number of children at one time, to prevent the spread of germs. Likewise, you want to stay healthy yourself. Washing your hands at vital times during the day goes a long way to help. Even if you wear disposable gloves while changing a baby, washing your hands increases your chances of fighting off germs.
Hand washing routine: Before and after toilet routines/ diapering. Before and after preparing and handling food

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