When your child starts to play with other children they might get more than just improved social skills: nits, worms, sticky eyes, slapped cheeks - you name it, these minor ailments spread everywhere and can make life tricky for you and your little one.
When your little person starts to toddle around and get busy this increased activity is often accompanied by a spike in minor illnesses. And, the picture can look a little more sickly again when junior goes to childcare. Here are some of the most common viruses, bugs and infections your child may catch and what to do about them.
Nit picking
Anyone with hair can catch head lice - they are not, as many people believe, a sign of bad hygiene. They are spread simply by head-to-head contact. And as toddlers and young children often play with their heads close together, they are most likely to be affected.
- What are they? - Head lice are tiny insects - smaller than a match head - and are grey or brown. They live on human scalps and feed by sucking blood. The females lay eggs (nits), which they attach to a single hair shaft between 0.5 and 1cm away from the scalp. They look at bit like a tiny tear-dropped, brownish plastic teardrop and take seven to 10 days to hatch and another seven to 14 days to become fully mature. This is when they can then mate and lay eggs.
- How to spot them - Itching isn't necessarily a symptom, unless the lice have been living in the hair for a while. The best way to detect them is to wash your child's hair, put on lots of conditioner and comb through with a special nit comb (available from chemists or the supermarket). After each stroke wipe the comb on a tissue - any eggs or lice will slide off on to it.
- How to treat them - Wet combing every three to four days, as described above, is the most successful option. This should clear the infestation in about two weeks. Alternatively you could try a specially formulated insecticide lotion - ask your pharmacist to recommend one. Read the label and follow the directions carefully. Don't, however, use these lotions repeatedly - if the eggs continue to hatch, use wet combing instead. Battery-operated combs that detect and kill the lice are also available, but many people find that they are not effective at clearing all the lice.
To help prevent head lice from returning, keep long hair tied back, and nit-comb your child's hair at least once a week. You could also try adding a drop of lavender or tea tree oil to your child's shampoo or hairbrush.
Worm worries
Nearly half of all children at childcare and primary school have threadworms at some time. The good news is they're not harmful, but they can be very itchy.
- What are they? - Tiny worms that look like fine threads of cotton, up to 1cm long, that live in the bowel. At night, the female worm comes out of the anus to lay her eggs, which are coated with a sticky, irritating substance. When scratched, the eggs get caught under the fingernails and can then be transferred back into the body, re-infecting that person all over again. They can also be spread from hand to hand or hand to food and infect others.
- How to spot them - If your toddler is constantly scratching or rubbing her bottom, check for thin white threads in her nappy or after wiping her bottom. Anything that moves is probably a threadworm.
- How to treat them - You can buy worm treatments over the counter from your pharmacy. Ask for help as you may need to be sure your child is old enough to take worming medicine which you can buy as a liquid, tablet or in chocolate form. It's best to treat the whole family (unless you are pregnant or breastfeeding) at night, and some GPs recommend you don't shower until the follow evening when eggs will have died.
You can wash your toddler's bed linen and pyjamas on a boil wash to make sure you've killed off any stray eggs. Help prevent future infections by keeping nails short and well-scrubbed and encourage everyone in the family to wash their hands after going to the toilet and before preparing and eating food.
Ringworm
- What is it? - Ringworm is not a worm, thankfully, it's a fungus Tinea corporis, similar to the fungus that causes athlete's foot and it's usually caught from household pets, stray animals or other children. It creates an itchy rash, it's quite common and doesn't mean you or your child are unhygienic.
- How to spot it: The rash appears as an itchy, red ring on the skin with a lumpy or raised edge. Look a little closer and you may see scales. The centre of the ring is usually clear. The rash may increase in area or it can spread to another part of the body. If it pops up on your child's head, some hair may fall out. See a doctor if the rash is painful, develops into sores or it doesn't improve after treatment or if your child has lost hair.
- How to treat it: Apply antifungal cream, which can be bought over-the-counter at the pharmacy, consistently twice a day for several weeks. You need to apply the cream for around seven days after the rash disappears to stop it coming back.
If you're worried your pet is the source of the ringworm, take the fluffy one to the vet to check this out. The vet may prescribe antifungal medication.
Your child may be allowed to keep attending childcare with ringworm as it is not highly contagious.
Sticky eyes
If your toddler looks like she has conjunctivitis - also known as sticky eye - you may be asked by her childcare centre to keep her at home until it has cleared up.
- What is it? - Conjunctivitis is when the membrane - the transparent covering - protecting the eyeball becomes red and inflamed. If it's caused by an infection due to bacteria or a virus it can be very contagious; it's easily passed from one eye to the other, as well as one person to another.
- How to spot it - Look out for red itchy eyes. The lower eye will become sticky with a discharge that may cause the eyelids to become crusted and stuck together, especially after your toddler has been asleep.
- How to treat it - Bathe your child's eyes in cooled boiled salt water and clean cotton wool, wiping from the inner to the outer part of the eye. Use a fresh piece of cotton wool for each stroke and each eye - and always wash your hands before and after treatment.
See your GP if it doesn't clear up after a day or two. If it's caused by bacteria your toddler will be prescribed anti-bacterial eye drops or ointments to be used morning and night. Get your toddler to lie back and talk about something he can see, such as a lampshade or a mobile, while you squeeze the drops in. Then ask him to blink to help bathe the eye in the drops. Clean any crustiness away using a piece of clean cotton wool dipped in warm water.
Article supplied by Mother & Baby magazine