Frequently Asked Questions

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First of all, do not panic. Fever also has a purpose, and helps the body to get rid of the infection faster. Remove extra clothing, give plenty of fluids, perform a warm water sponging of the whole body, and administer an age appropriate dose of Paracetamol (Crocin, Calpol), and If required Ibuprofen (Ibugesic). If still worried, you can always takethe child to the nearest major hospital for a consult with the duty Pediatrician. 

The first thing to do is to ensure adequate hydration of the child. A child with vomiting may ask for, but may not be able to retain large amounts of fluid. Give small quantities (sips) of electolyte containing fluids like ORS (Electral, Electrobion, Walyte), tender coconut water, rice ganji, soups etc. at frequent intervals. Anti-vomiting medicine (Domstal 1mg/ml) may be administered. If vomiting persists, take child to the nearest hospital for further evaluation

Stomach pain may be a symptom of a variety of underlying conditions, from something as simple as worms in the intestines, to something as urgent as appendicitis. Always take the child immediately to the nearest hospital. Antispasmodics like Cyclopam may be given for immediate relief. 

This is probably the commonest question faced by me, and the one that gives most mothers sleepless nights, and ulcers! Most of the time if the activity, growth and development of the child is normal, the best thing you can do is to let the child be! Wait for the child to get hungry, as that will automatically increase the appetite.. Cut down on unnecessary empty calories like chocolates, chips, sweets etc, and increase the quantity of nutritious and slow to digest fiber containing food like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses and legumes.. And it pays to respect the child's wishes, and acknowledge that the child is the best judge of the quantity of food it needs.

The answer is none. The reason is that food and fruits have very little to do with causing or aggravating cold, contrary to popular belief. Cold , fever, throat pain etc. are most often caused by microorganisms like viruses and bacteria, and these are spread through the air. You may have noticed that your child was all right during the summer holidays, and the frequency of cold, cough and fever has increased once school has started.

Simple measures to reduce occurrence of colds and fever would be SMS, that is, Social Distancing, or keeping people with cold and fever away from the child; Masking while someone in the household is unwell; and Sanitization or strict hand washing before touching, feeding or bathing of the child. Ensuring proper cross ventilation and air circulation in the house and classroom, avoiding overcrowding, not sending a sick child to school for a few days etc.