Children’s Illnesses
Introduction
Parents have a demanding job!
As a parent of three sons and a daughter, all born within six years of each other, and with a career in community paediatrics, I agree with the comment that being a parent is one of the most difficult jobs in the world.
There is no instruction manual and no one teaches you how to do it. Parents must be multi-skilled, needing to cook, clean, wash, iron, play, read stories, teach, manage accounts, referee fights and quarrels, be fancy dress makers, taxi drivers and the rest, and all of this without pay!
As if this were not hard enough, children often become ill, which makes the task of parenting even more difficult because it is always an anxious time when this happens. Caring for an ill child can be very demanding and requires patience and understanding. Parents are often faced with three problems:
1 Is the child really ill?
2 When do they seek medical advice?
3 Children react in different ways to illness.
How do parents know when a child is ill?
The first problem is to recognise when children are really ill. It can be very confusing; one minute they may seem really unwell, feeling hot, listless and generally unhappy, and the next they are up and running around, and there appears to be nothing wrong with them.
When to seek advice
The second problem is to know exactly what to do. Should I call the doctor? Should I take him or her to the nearest accident and emergency department (known as A&E)? Should I just wait and see how things go?
The answer is: if you are in any doubt, you should always err on the side of caution and contact your family doctor. This is particularly important for babies and younger children who cannot describe their symptoms and tell you exactly how they feel.
All children react differently
The third problem is that symptoms of illness can vary from child to child and they can also react differently to being unwell – for example, some children like to be cuddled when they are unwell, whereas others just want to be left alone. Some children become flushed, whereas others have an unusual pallor (look very pale).
Children may not want to eat or drink, may be coughing or breathless, may have a rash or be drowsy or listless, have sniffles or maybe they have no specific symptoms.
Parents may not be able to diagnose the specific problem but they instinctively know when there is something wrong. It is worth remembering that most bouts of illness pass quickly and leave a child better able to resist the next attack.
Organisation of the book
This book is divided into chapters, the first giving a general description of infections and fever, and the next six describing illnesses that affect particular systems of the body. Each of these six chapters starts with a description of the anatomy of the relevant body system. The eighth chapter explores the concept that ‘prevention is better than cure’.
Throughout the book I have explained medical terms that you may have heard when visiting the hospital or your doctor in an attempt to demystify medical language. Some medical terms sound complicated but may have quite simple meanings.
I hope by reading this book that you may gain an understanding of some of the more common childhood illnesses, which, in turn, may help to alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding them.
KEY POINTS
• Caring for a poorly child can be very demanding and requires patience and understanding
• Recognising when a child is ill is not always obvious
• Most bouts of illness pass quickly, but if you are in doubt seek medical help
