Common childhood ailments and how to avoid them

No one likes to see their children fall ill, but unfortunately, it is part and parcel of growing up. As a parent, how familiar are you with the illnesses that are commonly contracted by children and do you know how best to prevent these? Here is a quick run-down of some common ailments and some tips on how to prevent them from afflicting your family.

1. Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD)
If you have a preschooler, you would definitely have heard of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, or HFMD, as it is referred to. This infectious disease is caused by a family of viruses called enteroviruses and is very common in Singapore. While the disease is usually mild, it does cause quite a bit of discomfort to the infected child as children with HFMD will suffer from blister-like rashes on the hands, feet and buttocks, as well as mouth ulcers and fever.

They may additionally experience having a sore throat, runny nose, vomitting and diarrhoea. HFMD can easily be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids such as mucus from the nose, saliva, faeces, and fluid from the blisters. This is why transmission is common in childcare or in kindergartens where there are many children in close proximity to each other with poor personal hygiene. There is no specific treatment for HFMD and most children usually recover well as their own immune systems fight off the virus.

2. Common Cold
When your child has a runny nose, it is likely that he has contracted the common cold, a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which primarily affects the nose. Other symptoms include a sore throat, coughing, sneezing and fever. Most of us know that common cold virus is typically spread through airborne droplets when a person sneezes or coughs, but it can also be picked up through hand-to-hand or hand-to-surface contact, and subsequently carried to the eyes, nose or mouth where infection occurs.

One of the reasons that the common cold is highly contagious is the fact that these viruses have been found to be able to survive for prolonged periods in the environment, making it easy for one to catch the cold after touching a contaminated object such as utensils, toys or telephones. There is no cure for the common cold, which is treated symptomatically, but most people recover in about a week or two.

3. Influenza
Influenza, or the flu as it is commonly called, is a very infectious disease caused by influenza A or B viruses. These viruses attack the respiratory tract in humans (nose, throat, and lungs), causing inflammation of the mucous membranes. The symptoms of the flu are very similar to the common cold but are much more severe. These include sore throat, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, headache, muscle aches and soreness and high fever.

A common complication of the flu is pneumonia, especially with the young, elderly or people with lung or heart problems. Like the common cold, the flu virus is spread through the inhalation of respiratory secretions that contain the flu virus, or from sharing food or utensils and handling contaminated items. The flu virus on the skin in the latter case would enter the body when you touch or rub your eyes, nose or mouth. While most flu symptoms gradually improve over two to five days, it is not uncommon to feel unwell for a week or more.

4. Gastroentritis
Gastroentritis refers to an intestinal infection where there is diarrhoea. The infection is frequently accompanied by vomiting and infected persons also commonly suffer from fever, stomach cramps, abdominal pain and fatigue. Viruses such as rotavirus are usually responsible for this infection which is due to ingestion of contaminated food or water. Bacteria may also cause gastroenteritis through food poisoning, which happens when food that is improperly cooked and mishandled, or left unrefrigerated for long periods before consumption.

With children, a major problem is dehydration, when too much fluid is lost through diarrhoea or vomiting. Ensuring sufficient hydration is therefore the key to recovery as the disease is generally self-limiting.

5. Chickenpox
Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that is characterised by fever and small, red spots on the face and body, which progress into itchy blisters. It is caused by a herpes virus called Varicella Zoster and spreads from person to person through direct contact or through airborne droplets from an infected person when he coughs or sneezes. It can also spread indirectly through items which came into contact with the fund from blisters of an infected person.

Both adults and children can catch chickenpox though it is more common in children. While chickenpox is harmless to most people, it can give rise to more severe problems in those whose immune systems are not as mature or impaired, such as newborns.

It is difficult to avoid all such common illnesses in kids, but in order to keep the family healthy and happy, prevention is often the best form of protection. Here are some tips on how steps you can take to keep diseases at bay:

Keep hands clean. The importance of good personal hygiene cannot be overstressed, especially when dealing with little kids who love to touch things! Regular hand washing significantly decreases the risk of passing on and coming into contact with respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, so getting your children into the habit of washing their hands at different intervals in a day, for example when they leave school, after play time and before they eat.

Also, teach them to wash their hands properly with soap and to give their hands a good scrub down before rinsing and not  simply stick their hands under the tap. This link by the Health Promotion Board gives some tips on how to wash and keep hands clean.

Maintain an active lifestyle. Children need lots of outdoor play for healthy development and studies have shown that regular exercise can reduce the incidence of cold and flu by up to 50 percent. Healthy active bodies are simply better primed for fighting off infections.

Get sufficient sleep. Here in Singapore, kids often don't get enough sleep. Yet sleep deprivation is known to increase the risk of getting a cold or flu. Make it a priority to get the kids in bed early to ensure that they get sufficient rest. Most babies need about 14 hours of sleep a day and preschoolers need an average for 11 to 13 hours of shuteye.

Maintain a healthy diet. Eat those veggies and fruits! Meals with plenty of fruits and green will help support your child's developing immune system. Ensure that your children get foods that are rich in vitamins and fibre at every meal. Eating yoghurt with active cultures can also help to build defences.

Get vaccinated. Check with your child's paediatrician about your options for vaccination against some of these more common illnesses. Getting vaccinated against flu for example is recognised as one of the more effective means to prevent contracting flu.