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Child HealthThis page is aimed at certain aspects of Children's Health. There is, of course, a degree of overlap between what applies to children and adults, and so please also see our General Heath Page, and the page on Women's Health and Men's Health. Children's Health can actually be influenced before they are born ! To reduce the risk of problems it is therefore important to pay attention to the following during the pregnancy. In the case of Folic Acid tablets, ideally these should be started 3 months before the pregnancy.
Childhood ImmunisationsIt is very important that all Children are fully immunised and up to date with their vaccinations. In order to help with this we have laid out the recommended immunisation schedule for you below. If you are not sure whether your child (or yourself) is up to date, then please ask the health visitor, nurse or the doctor. It is important to remember that many of these illnesses that we vaccinate against are quite rare now, but this is not a reason to reduce the number of people vaccinated. Indeed, it is only because everyone is vaccinated that the illnesses are so rare. DTP. This is Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (Whooping Cough). This was originally called the Triple Vaccine, but it is now given with the HiB vaccine as well. It is given as an injection. HiB. This is Haemophilus Influenzae Type B. Now given with the triple vaccine. It is given as an injection. Meningitis C. This is
Meningococcal Group C Vaccine, which was the first Meningitis vaccine to be
produced. It is given as an injection. (It is important to remember that there
are other bacteria and viruses that can cause Meningitis, and so even if your
child has been vaccinated, you should still Polio. This is Poliomyelitis Vaccine. It used to be given as drops into the mouth. It is now given by injection along with the DTP and HiB, but as they are all in the same injection it does not mean that your child will have to have an extra injection. They can all be safely given together. There are several advantages to this new injection version of the polio vaccine. Please ask the Health Visitors for more details. Pneumococcal. The pneumococcal vaccine is designed to give people immunity against the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. This bacteria can cause pneumonia, septicaemia (blood poisoning) and meningitis. There are two types of the vaccine. One is called Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and this is given to children. The other is called the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV) and is given to adults. The pneumococcal vaccine will be offered to children at two, four and thirteen months. There will also be a catch up campaign run from November 2006. MMR. This is a combined Mumps, Measles and Rubella (German Measles) Vaccine. It is important to remember that mumps caught by a boy can render him sterile in later life, and rubella (German Measles) caught by a pregnant lady can result in problems for the unborn child. These problems are all preventable with the vaccination. Childhood Immunisation Schedule
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IMMUNISATIONS THEN PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO THE NHS IMMUNISATION WEB SITE. If after reading that you are still not sure, then please ask the Health Visitor, Practice Nurses or your own Doctor for advice. Feeding in InfancyOnce born, it is generally felt that "Breast is Best" when it comes to feeding. The midwives and health visitors will be happy to help you with this. Sometimes it can take a little time for the milk to come in and so do not be put off if it takes you a few days to settle down into a routine. It is also not true that if you are breast feeding then the Dad's can't help. You can express some milk with a pump and then keep it in the fridge or freezer. This can be useful for when you have had a few too many sleepless nights, and so it can mean that you can have a break. Early ChildhoodAs children grow they need to have sleep, a good diet and plenty of attention and stimulation. Some people worry about what the children eat. It has been in the media a lot recently that many children are now actually obese. Most children should aim to eat a healthy balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables and not too much fried food. A lot of children also drink more fizzy drink than perhaps they should. These tend to have a lot of sugar in and they are therefore not only bad from the point of view of they can put weight on, but they are also bad for their teeth. Most children should not need any supplements if they are eating a balanced diet with regular meals. Of course that does not always happen, and sometimes children will not eat as much fruit or vegetables as we would like. If you are worried about what your child is eating then you can ask the Health Visitor or your doctor for some help and advice. VitaminsMany people ask about vitamin supplements for children. It is not possible to be specific here, but in general if you are worried that your son or daughter is not eating a reasonable balanced diet then you should discuss this with a health professional. It may be that they will recommend some Vitamin supplements. It is important to bear in mind, however, that though we need some vitamins and that they are therefore good for us, it is possible to have too many and so it is important to follow the instructions carefully. Safety about the HouseIt is still a sad fact that many young children are injured at home. There
are also a significant number of children who drink or swallow either medication
or potential poisons (e.g. cleaning fluid, garden sprays, bubble bath) each
year. This should be avoidable in a lot of cases if the appropriate childproof
containers are used, things are kept out of the child's reach, and |
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