Understanding Medical Restrictions

As a parent or guardian, you know how scary it is when your child is sick. Childhood seems to be a long line of one illness after another for most kids. The majority of the illnesses are harmless, like the common cold. But some of them are more severe and may require pediatrics services from your family pediatrician. It is important to be able to identify common illnesses and the ideal treatment for each one. This guide goes over the most common illnesses children might get and the accompanying symptoms.

Ear Infection

Ear infections are one of the most common illnesses young child will get. It can be hard to determine what exactly it is in younger babies who are nonverbal until you go to the doctor. The child will be extremely fussy and may tug at their ear that has the infection. Other symptoms include:

• Fever

• Red ear

• Difficulty hearing

• Fluid leaking from ear

The pediatrician will perform an examination of the ear. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, your pediatrician will prescribe antibiotics for your child.

RSV

Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV as it is commonly called, is a serious and extremely contagious lung infection. It is usually diagnosed in babies or toddlers since they are the most susceptible to the virus. The symptoms of RSV are like the common cold. Children will have a cough and runny nose. The danger with the virus is that it makes it hard for the child to breathe properly. A lot of infected kids require fluids or oxygen until they are breathing normally and not dehydrated anymore. Since RSV is a virus and not a bacterial infection, antibiotics cannot be used. The warning signs of RSV include:

• No appetite

• Mucus-producing cough

• Wheezing

• Lethargic

• Blue lips or fingernails

Any child with these signs should be taken to the emergency room immediately.

HFMD

Another very common and extremely contagious childhood disease is Hand-Foot-and-Mouth or HFMD. And like RSV, it is a viral infection, which means antibiotics cannot be used to treat it. HFMD is pretty easy to identify. The symptoms are:

• Sore throat

• Fever

• Blisters covering hands, feet, and inside the mouth

The blisters can cover other parts of the body as well. They are very painful and your child will be in considerable distress. You can use medications like Tylenol or ibuprofen to reduce the fever and help with the pain. Your pediatrician may recommend an anti-itch lotion to put on the blisters if they are itchy.

Conclusion

Most illnesses aren't very serious but it is good to know which ones are. Talk to your pediatrician to learn more about common childhood illnesses and what you can do to prevent them.