Discovering the world around him – what could be more fun?
Your child is an explorer, a curious little scientist who feels compelled to discover the world. Children want to touch everything, put stones or leaves in their mouths in the park, and if it was up to them, they would be outside playing with other kids come rain or shine. Children learn to experiment through playing, and this is exactly when your child’s brain is growing and developing, not in front of the television screen. Not allowing your children to play in this way, and telling them off for trying to do so, is not recommended.
Eyes, ears, nose and mouth – there are so many little dangers out there!
These are vulnerable areas for your child. They are never covered up, and are gateways from the outside world into the body for threatening germs and viruses. Drinking from a used glass, putting things in their mouths, rubbing their dirty hands in their eyes and rolling around outside in the leaves on the grass are just a few things that children do without giving it a moment’s thought. Our bodies are amazing things, but a child’s immune system is still developing, so this kind of behaviour can result in a cold, a cough, irritated eyes, sore throat or inflammation of the insides of the mouth, and earache, which can sometimes turn into ear infections.
Little solutions to alleviate discomfort.
Most of the time, these ailments start with a small infection, and usually take their own natural course, which can, however, be helped along in order to minimise any discomfort.
Take mouth ulcers, for example: small, white or reddened sores that are 3–10 millimetres in diameter that some children can suffer from, which normally disappear on their own from within a week to up 10 days. That’s exactly when gels specifically designed for this ailment can help to alleviate discomfort and encourage the natural healing.
Another condition that’s less common but still widespread especially among newborns is oral thrush. This is a fungal infection caused by the excessive growth of Candida Albicans, which can cause irritation both inside and outside the mouth, and result in oral thrush.
Its rise may be due to the use of antibiotics, which have a tendency to destroy the ‘good’ bacteria which prevent the Candida from growing.
In cases like this, one remedy is to use disposable wipes, sanitize your child’s dummy by boiling it, and pay more attention to the use of glasses and cutlery at the dinner table.
Be careful though! If your child’s mouth ulcers are particularly big (wider than 10 millimetres in diameter), and if the oral thrush has spread all around the inside of the mouth, not just in one isolated area, consult your paediatrician, who will be able to prescribe the correct treatment. You should also visit the doctor if mouth ulcers and oral thrush recur after a few weeks, or throughout the year. Although you might get used to treating these conditions, there could be an underlying reason for them, such as an iron or B12 deficiency, and they must be carefully investigated until the cause is known.