Baby’s Health

The importance of immunization

Even though babies get most antibodies through the mother’s placenta and breast milk that help fight and prevent infections, there are certain common childhood diseases which they can still fall prey to. Some of them can be even fatal and life-threatening, so it’s important to vaccinate your baby on time against these major diseases.
The diseases include diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles ), hepatitis A and B, and haemophilus infections (which can cause meningitis and other diseases). A DTP injection also helps safeguard against tetanus. While some immunizations are taken together, others require shots to be taken in course.

*Please ask your doctor to recommend the vaccination record for your baby. The standard vaccination schedule that is usually followed is mentioned below:

Immunization Schedule:

Managing your baby when he’s ill

Seeing your little one suffer in discomfort and pain can be certainly distressing for you too. Thus, it becomes imperative for you as parents to have the necessary knowledge to be able to handle your baby well in such circumstances. However, in case of an emergency, you should immediately call for help.

*Some situations which require an emergency help are, when your baby:

• Becomes unconscious
• Has difficulty in breathing
• Has convulsions
• Becomes pale
• Has unusual drowsiness
  

*Other warning symptoms which require an immediate attention are, when your baby:

• Has either high temperature (more than 100.4 degree F or 36 degree C) or very low temperature (below 95 degree F or 35 degree C) in rectal readings
• Has extended diarrhea (lasting more than a couple of hours) or vomiting
• Loses healthy appetite
  

Keep a separate baby’s First-Aid kit. The must-haves include:

• Thermometer – Generally a rectal thermometer is recommended for an infant, and a digital one for an older child.
• Medical prescriptions – A list of medication prescribed for different symptoms or minor ailments by your doctor will be helpful, along with his contact number.
• Antibiotic ointment – To help heal rashes or cuts and prevent them from getting infected.
• Sterile bandages - These may be needed to clean up scrapes and staunch bleeding
• Calamine lotion – To help soothe insect bites, rashes, and sunburn for older babies.
• Insect repellant – Consult your doctor about the kind that is safe and can be used for babies.
  

Taking temperature

The first thing to do when you suspect your baby to be sick is to take his temperature. A baby’s normal body temperature is 98.6 degree F. Always take the temperature twice as it may fluctuate. Avoid taking the temperature orally in case of infants and small kids as they may tend to bite and break the glass, which can be fatal for them. Though the most accurate method suggested by doctors for infants is to take rectal readings, by inserting the bulb (slightly lubricated) of a rectal thermometer into the rectum for a minute, most parents prefer to use the underarm method. This method shows a lower temperature than the internal body temperature by about 1 degree F.

*Underarm method: For this, take your baby in the lap. Wipe his armpit dry, shake the thermometer, and put the bulb into the folds of his armpit. Hold his arm flat against his side, and leave for three minutes.

Keeping in mind the fact that your doctor may not be able to make house visits every time your baby suffers from a medical problem, it is advisable that you keep a close watch and maintain a record of your baby’s condition to help your doctor make the right analysis and offer the appropriate treatment. A combination of symptoms can be more dangerous than any single one.

Once the doctor ascertains the cause of your baby’s illness, you should carefully follow his instructions and prescribed medications, and continue to nurse your baby well until he recovers completely.

Tips to remember:

• In case your baby is suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, or high temperature, ensure to give him lots of fluids to replace all that he has lost.
• A high temperature can be risky and should be avoided. Try to bring down the temperature by sponging your baby with lukewarm (boiled and cooled) water. Remember to keep him wrapped up inside a towel while doing this. Cover him with light clothes and ensure there’s plenty of fresh air in the room. Keep a periodic check on his temperature every 15 minutes until it comes down below 102 degree F (38.5 degree C).
  

Taking a pulse

A baby’s pulse rate is normally quite high – can be between 100-160 beats per minute (bpm) and slows down to 100 to 120 bpm once he completes a year. Keep the palm of your hand over his chest by the left nipple, count the number of heartbeats in 15 seconds and multiply by four to get the bpm. You can also take his pulse by his wrist.

Administering Medicine:

• Through oral syringe: Take the baby in your arms. Place the tip of the syringe between his rear gums and cheek, avoiding the taste buds. Squirt the medicine slowly to avoid him from choking. Also, do not touch the back of the tongue with the syringe, as this can cause gagging.
• Pacifier-style syringe: This has a nipple-shaped tip that your baby can suck while you express the medicine. Place the baby in your arms supporting his neck in the crook of your arm. Put the tip of the syringe in his mouth and slowly press the plunger.
• Putting eye drops: To prevent your baby from moving, swaddle him and lay him on his back. Tilt his head to one side, with the affected eye nearest to your leg. Pull down his lower eyelid and squeeze the drops into the eye. You may require another adult’s help to hold his head steady.
• Putting ear drops: Lay your baby on his side, with the affected ear facing up. Since the medicine has to go through the ear canal, pull back the lobe to straighten the canal, and holding your baby steady, slowly put the drops into his ear. Use cotton balls to wipe away the leaks.
  

Emergencies

Giving First-Aid:

In case of an emergency, the first thing that you should do is to contact your doctor or the emergency service for help.

It is equally important to have a basic knowledge to handle your baby in grim conditions. Though this cannot substitute first-aid training, but may help save your baby’s life. There may be circumstances when you will have to act quickly to prevent further decline in your baby’s condition while the doctor or emergency service takes his/its time to reach you to help. At such times you should be confident enough to attend to your baby by following the given instructions.

Note: If your baby hurts or injures himself in any major way, the first thing that you must always do is check that his air passage is clear, he is able to breathe, and that his pulse is above 60 beats/min (120 is normal for a baby). If you think he has a spinal injury, do not twist or move him, but lay him still on his back and call your doctor immediately.

Choking

Babies in their early growing stages have a tendency to put everything into their mouth and as such become highly susceptible of getting choked, which at times can also lead to their death.

If your baby is able to cry and cough even when choking, just pat his back gently.
In case he is unable to take out sound (cry or cough) or breathe but is conscious, or is making odd noises and coughing very weakly, follow the instructions in the given order:

• Give back blows: With your baby’s head below his body, place his face down along your forearm supporting his head and neck, and rest your hand on your thigh. Using the heel of your hand, strike four to five firm back blows between his shoulder blades to dislodge the object.
• Give chest thrusts: If he still is unable to make any sound, place your free hand on the back of the baby’s head giving support along the spine and turn him over. Support him on your thigh and keep his head lower than his body. Keeping the pads of two to three fingers on his breastbone just below the nipples, push straight down on the chest ½ to 1 inch, then allow it to return to its normal position. The thrusts should be smooth and not jerky. Continue this for four to five times or unless the baby is able to cough up the object.
• In case he falls unconscious but is breathing: Lay him on his back on the floor and perform a mouth check. If you see the object on the tongue now, take it out, or if it’s stuck in the throat, slip your little finger into his mouth to the base of his tongue. If the object is visible, use a hooking action carefully and remove it.
• If the baby is unconscious and not breathing: To check whether your baby has fallen unconscious, tap his feet and shoulder lightly and call his name. If he doesn’t respond, call for an emergency help. In the meanwhile, gently tilt the baby’s forehead, lift his chin and open his airway. Check if he’s breathing by observing his chest movement, listening for sounds, or by feeling air on your cheek. If not, give him rescue breaths by covering his nose and mouth with your mouth, and gently give him two slow breaths, making sure that your baby’s chest rises when you breathe into him and falls when you stop. Do not give fast or hard breaths as the baby’s lungs being much smaller may get damaged. Follow by giving four to five back blows and chest thrusts. Repeat this until he breathes or help arrives.
  

What is CPR?

This term stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. This will be required if your baby is unconscious, cannot breathe despite being given rescue breaths and you are unable to find his pulse.

How to give CPR?

Keep your baby lying on his back, hold his forehead with one hand and put the index finger of the other just below the imaginary line running between his nipples. Placing the next two fingers right underneath (the breastbone), raise the index finger and compress the chest ½ to 1 inch, then release. Try to give a steady push down. Do this about five times in quick succession. Then give one slow rescue breath lasting for about two seconds. Repeat this twelve times and check for the pulse. If you still can’t find the pulse, continue this cycle of compression and a breath. If your baby starts breathing, stop this and keep checking the pulse every minute for sometime until help arrives. Get your baby checked by the doctor to ensure that his air passage is clear and that there are no internal injuries.

Holding an unconscious baby

If your baby is unconscious but breathing, hold him up in your arms with his head tilted slightly towards the back. This will enable his air passage to remain open and drain out liquid from his mouth which you can wipe away with a napkin or a soft cloth.

Drowning

If a baby slips even under an inch of water during a bath, with his mouth and nose covered for only a few minutes, he may drown very easily. In such a situation, lift him out immediately and hold him with his head lower than the rest of his body. This will help drain the water out of his lungs. If he gets unconscious, hold him up in your arms with his head tilted slightly towards the back and call for help. If he is not breathing, perform rescue breathing.

* Note: Breathe more firmly into the baby when water gets into his lungs, so that the lungs get properly inflated.

Electric Shock

Once the babies start crawling or moving around, they are likely to touch and fiddle with whatever they can get hold of, even put their finger into an unprotected electric outlet. An electric shock can stop his heart, disrupt his breathing, cause shock, convulsions and severe burns. Always remember to protect yourself from getting electrocuted before you try to dislodge your baby, as it will prevent forming a circuit. First, either disconnect the plug, or stand on a non-conductive material like a wood or plastic. Using a broom handle or a wooden stick or leg of a chair, push your baby away. As a last resort, pull the baby by his clothes. Check for burns and if any, wrap him with a sterile dressing or a plastic bag. If the baby becomes unconscious, hold him up in your arms with his head slightly tilted towards the back. If he still does not breathe but has pulse, use rescue breathing or CPR.

Poisoning

It is best to keep hazardous substances away from your child’s reach. Make sure that all medicine bottles have child-proof caps as well as other bottles containing liquid detergent or acid are absolutely out of his reach. The signs of poisoning include vomiting, dizziness, convulsions, unconsciousness and burns or discoloration around the mouth. Contact your emergency control center or your doctor. Try to find the facts like the substance he took, its quantity and how long ago, so that you can inform your doctor. If your baby vomits, keep a sample though do not force him to vomit. If he is unconscious but breathing, try to hold him up in your arms with his head slightly tilted towards the back and wipe away the vomit if he tends to throw up. If he doesn’t breathe, try rescue breathing through a cloth.

Bleeding

If your baby bleeds profusely as a result of hurting himself, be prompt to counter it. Severe blood loss can send him into a shock. Apply direct pressure to the wound and raise the injured part above the level of the heart. If a foreign body is there in the wound, without touching it apply pressure on both its sides. Expose the wound by cutting away the clothing if necessary, and apply pressure with a clean dressing.

If the wound is spurting too much blood (an indication that an artery is cut), apply more pressure for a longer period of time, say 10 minutes, and put a pressure bandage. If blood continues to leak through the bandage, just wrap another bandage strip over the first dressing.

Shock

This can lead to a drastic drop in the blood pressure and prove to be fatal. The warning signs include cold, sweaty skin, pale nails and lips, low breathing and unconsciousness. Contact the emergency cell or your doctor immediately. Place your baby on a coat or blanket, turn his head to his side in case he vomits, and keep his feet in a raised position (about eight inches). Loosen his clothing and rub his feet to keep them warm.