Burns in babies

It has been such a long time that my blog remained inactive, owing to being busy with my son!! :) Now that he is 1.5 years, things have picked up pace as he is running all over the place!!! :) Time just flies.....:)

Recently, he burnt his finger when his curiosity took over him and he touched a bowl of hot water. Curiosity because I had asked him not to touch and exchanged our little "danger" sign. Yet the accident happened.

Immediately I remembered my mom's advice of handling burns and within 30 minutes, he forgot he had burnt his finger and it did not even leave any mark.

It is my prayer that your baby is protected and has no such incidents. But, God forbid, if it happens then the following may prove helpful:

a) Immediately, allow the burnt area under plain running water for a minute or so. Avoid ice water as it may cause blisters.
b) Pat it dry and rub the area with cut potato.
c) If no potato, apply honey on the affected area.
d) After a while, apply calendula cream. Within minutes, it will alleviate the pain.
e) If calendula cream not available or not sure of the efficacy of it, then simply apply boroplus or borolene or apply some more honey.
f) Once the child is soothed a little, give him or her some warm milk with turmeric powder mixed in it. This really helps a lot to alleviate the pain.

These were a few things in my knowledge, of course, there would be many more. Readers please share some more home-remedies for the benefit of all.

With best wishes to the parents and prayer of safety for the babies, I sign off!

World Environment Day - How Ironical!

Lion grabbing a coke bottle at Hyderabad Zoo

Is it not an irony that a lion grabbed a coke-filled bottle in the Nehru Zoological Park at Hyderabad just a day before the World Environment Day?

This weekend our family planned a visit to the Nehru Zoological Park or the Hyderabad zoo on Saturday, 4^th of June 2011. It was sort of an educational tour for our 16-month old son too. He was all excited seeing the animals and birds we have shown him in his board books and DVDs. Besides recognizing the animals and the birds, we also taught him not to throw plastic wrappers of the chips.

Around 4 p.m., we went to the area of lions and found lot of shouts and cries of excitement. After reaching there we found that someone had thrown the “coke-filled plastic bottle” in the water to get the attention of the lions. Well, the audience did succeed in getting their part of the fun but no one ever thought of the hazards of the action.

The zoo authorities have been making all attempts to keep the animals safe. At numerous places, it is written that feeding the animals is prohibited and to throw waste in the dustbins. It is also mentioned in bold letters that plastic is hazardous to animals for it can cause choking in them. Along with the authorities, it becomes our responsibility as well to keep the animals safe which provide us the entertainment we seek during holidays.

After coming home I was admiring my photographic skills in capturing some rare poses of wild animals in the zoo but this photo reminded me of the reason why I clicked it. It is to bring to public attention that not everything is fun and that we must be cautious of our actions.

The incident caused much pain and anxiety to us and we appeal to the future visitors to be more cautious of their actions in the zoo. Teach our children to take care of the animals like our own. On World Environment Day, let us take a pledge to conserve the animals and the zoo ecology to ensure that the respective animal enclosures remain filled with healthy and happy animals.

Commencement of solids at 6.5 months

Hi, I am back with some experiences to share, regarding feeding solids to our son. There were initial hiccups, then rejects, insecurities, throw-ups and many more emotions to be handled, when we started giving solids to our son. 

We were, again, poured in with innumerable advice as to when to start solids. Despite lot of pressure from relatives and friends to start early, we started solids for our son not before he was 6.5 months.  Sometimes, they are no longer advice but more of repeated instructions in every conversation, like the FOR LOOP with infinite bounds! 

Anyway, coming to the main topic, we observed a few signs before we decided on solids.

Signs

• he started attacking the food in our plates, which was not seen until he completed 6 months.
• he made chewing motion. Initially we thought he has put some object in his mouth, but on inspection found that his mouth was empty. Thus, a sign that he was ready for solids.
• frequency of desire for breastfeeding increased, guess he was feeling more hungry.
• he was able to sit upright with back support without losing balance for more than 1 minute. We were not exactly waiting but he somehow was sitting at the same time he was doing the above mentioned things too. Guess, am unsure whether this is a sure sign.
• he started using his thumb and index finger to pick up things. This started much at the same time that he started sitting. Again not sure if this is to be taken as sure sign.

Six-month old falls from bed

The most horrendous moment for any parent is to hear that "THUD" sound when his or her baby falls from the bed or couch or some high furniture. Worst even to see the poor infant wailing on the floor, I mean it takes a while to get out of the shock.

Our son fell from the bed in his 6th month. Our bed is 1.5 feet from the ground. One day, in his 3rd week, he fell from the bed while attempting to hold something that caught his attention. I was in the other room and suddenly I heard "THUD!!" and my heart sank. I ran and took him in my arms. He was wailing and seeing him I wanted to cry myself. But composed myself, immediately rushed to the washbasin and dabbed some cool water on his head which soothed him a little. He cried for almost 2 minutes, the longest 2 minutes of my life! Anyway, I performed the following checks:

• Eyes - They were white. When kept his favorite objects(which generally we tell him not to touch) like phone, he was following them. Later on I read on the net that if the eyes get pink or red, immediately rush to the doc.
• Ears - I played his favorite music, title song of "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." and he quietened for sometime and smiled as he does always. Then did all the noisy actions that he generally does and found that he was following the sounds. It is said that if the baby behaves the same way as earlier, no need to worry.

Common cold to 6-month old

I am posting this for the benefit of all the parents who go through this experience the first time.

Our son fell ill with common cold just after a week he completed 6 months. It was due to weather change.

Symptoms and his general behavior:

• running nose
• cough, made a sound like something is stuck in his throat. Guess its the phlegm which he either used to vomit or pass it in stools. 
• was active and playing normally.
• no fever
• At night, his nose got blocked due to which he found it difficult to breathe. 

Treatment

First we took him to our nearby paediatrician, he prescribed some syrup for cough and nose and nebuliser sessions twice a day for three days. For 10 years, I have been a chronic asthma patient and was on inhalers and nebulisers. Therefore, I was totally against it for a small child who is still in his developmental stages. But considering that it will take a few hours before we could talk to our family homoeo doc and get the medicine we put our son through the ordeal of the nebuliser. And what a way he cried those 10 minutes, my God!!! After that, we never took him back for another session.

Later that evening our homoeo doc prescribed us BC-6, 2 globules with breastmilk three times a day. By the third dose, we could see marked improvement. Beside the medicine, we were giving him home-made chicken soup and tulsi ka kadha or basil-leaves decoction. He enjoyed drinking both and it gave him relief too. 

At nights, we used to elevate his head a little so that he can breathe seamlessly till the nose blockage got alright. Also, we put nasoclear drops in his nose at night before sleeping for further relief. 

Since it was monsoon, there was large variation in temperatures. At times, it will be humid and lead to perspiration and other days it will be very cold. So, we took constant care that he was properly clothed. Always watched out for sweating as sweating can aggravate the problem. So, I used to put a thin cotton undershirt and then hosiery full hands tee shirt and thick pyjamas. If there was sweating I would take off the top layer shirt, powder him a little and put on a fresh one.

Thankfully, we do not have an air-conditioner. Closed rooms are catalysts for common cold, thus, we kept the room well-ventilated. 

CAVEAT - Whoever is taking care of the baby, will invariably catch the cold. If the baby is on breastfeeding, then mother can take care by putting on a scarf on her face while feeding. But, still probability is high that mother will get it. Thus, better if father remains a little away from the baby so that in case mother is unwell, atleast father is healthy enough to take care of both the baby and the mother! We did not anticipate it and both of us caught cold and realised our folly. 

Medicines, soups, aerated rooms, proper clothing, are all the physical aspects of nursing. The most important thing that the baby seeks during this time is lot of cuddling and hugging to provide that warmth and security. 

This was our experience and how we managed it. There are many other ways and will be glad if readers share their experiences too! :)