Choking

Infants put anything and everything into their mouth. Parents should keep all small objects or items that have tiny detachable parts out of a baby’s reach as they can pose a choking hazard.

Safety Measures

• Buy toys that are appropriate for your child’s age. Check the labels if you’re unsure.
• Encourage your older kids to keep their toys (that can be potentially dangerous) away from their baby brother or sister.
• Check toys frequently for loose or broken parts that could cause choking.
• Make sure that baby’s toys like rattles and teethers are large enough so that they cannot become lodged in an infants throat.
• Regularly check floors for small objects like coins, paper clips, hair pins, etc.
• If your child is under four, do not give him hard candies, popcorn, nuts, raisins or grapes.

Drowning

A baby can drown in just one inch of water in a matter of seconds.

Safety Measures

• Never leave your baby or toddler unattended in the bath while you answer the phone or the door.
• If you live in a house with a private swimming pool, install a four sided fence around it so your baby or toddler will not risk falling into the pool.

Poisoning

In an annual report by the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System, over 415,000 kids one year and below were exposed to poison in 1993.

Safety Measures

• Keep all potentially harmful products out of reach of your child. These may include medicines, pesticides or household detergents. never refer to ‘medicine’ as ‘candy’ to your child.
• Keep perfumes, cosmetics and mouthwash on high shelves.
• If you keep plants at home, make sure they are not poisonous or pose a potential threat to your child.

Burns

Babies and children have thinner skin than adults and are therefore more susceptible to burns at lower temperatures within a shorter period of time. Hot tap water, heated beverages and foods are potential causes of burns in young children.

Safety Measures

• Always test the water temperature before putting your baby in the bathtub.
• Do not warm the milk bottle in the microwave oven. Heat it with warm water instead.
• Do not hold your child and a cup of hot beverage at the same time.
• Keep hot foods and water away from the table edge.
• Never carry your child when you are cooking. He could reach out and touch the hot pan or worse, get scalded by heated oil.
• Do not let your child come near you when you are ironing. He may accidentally pull at the iron cord when you are not looking and get scalded.
• Always keep matches and lighters safe in a high cabinet. It may be a little inconvenient for you but at least it will give you peace of mind.

Suffocation and Strangulation

Young children, especially babies fall easy prey to these hazards, most often than not, due to the parent’s negligence.

Safety Measures

• Make sure the baby’s cot mattress is firm and fits the cot perfectly.
• Check that the gap between the cot railings are not wide enough for the baby to get his head stuck.
• Do not put pillows or thick comforters in the baby’s cot.
• Keep all plastic bags away from your child.
• Never tie a pacifier or anything around your child’s neck.

In The Living Room

• Make sure the floor is not wet, especially tiled or polished floors, which can be very slippery for toddlers. If you have carpets at home, check them regularly for holes or loose edges that might trip your child.
• If your child can reach the door handle, fix a bolt further up the door to keep it from your child’s reach.
• If you’re living in a home with stairs, fix stairgates at the top and bottom of the staircase. The rails of the stairgate should not be more than 10cm apart. If the gap is too wide, the child could get his head stuck or get through the gap and fall down the stairs. Also make sure the gate is not high enough for the child to climd over.
• If you have a balcony, fix it with railings to prevent your child from climbing over.
• Avoid glass-topped tables and furniture that have sharp corners.
• Do not leave breakable objects, lighted cigarettes or lighters on low tables or within reach of your child.
• Curtain ties and blinds cords should be wound up and kept out of reach as a child could be accidently strangled by a dangled cord.
• Keep railing wires out of sight and reach of your child so that he won’t trip over, pull, or worse, chew at the wires.
• Cover unused plu sockets with safety socket covers to prevent your child from experimenting with them.

In The Kitchen

The kitchen, with its various cooking activities and household utensils, makes it a potentially dangerous place for kids. Heres how you could minimise the risks to your child:

• Turn pan handles or boiling kettles away from the cooker’s edge, so that your child will not reach it and get herself burnt. Teach your child what ‘hot’ means so that she understands a warning.
• Keep all knives, cutlery, heavy pots and pans, medicines, cleaning solutions, matches or stove lighters safe in the drawers and cupboards, away from your child’s sight and reach.
• Never allow your child to touch the microwave oven.
• Keep chairs and stools away from work tops to prevent your child from climbing onto them.
• Unplug electrical appliances when they are not in use.
• Avoid using a tablecloth, even if it looks nice on the table. A walking toddler may pull at the tablecloth, thus bringing everything on the table down on himself.
• Keep your kitchen floor clean and dry, and wipe up any spills immediately to prevent your child from slipping.
• Make sure your kitchen windows are fixed with drills to prevent your child from climbing over.

In The Bedroom

• Do not use cribs or Moses baskets once your baby is about 3 months old as they are not stable enough and may tip over if your baby moves too vigorously.
• Your baby’s cot should be deep enough – at least 50cm from the mattress to the top of the rail to prevent him from climbing out.
• The gap between the cot bars should be between 2.5cm and 6cm wide to avoid your baby getting his head stuck between the bars.
• Do not use a pillow for a baby under 12 months as it could suffocate him. Put a pillow under the mattress instead if you need to raise his head.
• Use a thin sheet or cellular blankets until your baby is at least 12 months old. A quilt may be too thick and your baby may risk pulling it over his face and getting suffocated.
• Always put baby to sleep on his back or side, never on his front, to reduce the risk of cot death.
• Once your child is old enough to climd out of his cot, transfer him to a bed.
• Teach your child to tidy up his toys on the floor each time after he has played to prevent him from tripping over.
• Make sure the bedroom windows are also fixed with grills.

In The Bathroom

• Remember to turn off the heater each time after you have used it. This prevents your child from turning on the water and getting scalded.
• Use non-slip mats on the floor of the bathroom.
• Never leave your baby or toddler unattended in the bathroom. babies or children getting drowned in the bathtub or a pail of water is not uncommon.
• Keep all toilet cleaners and bleach on a high shelf or cupboard, away from your child’s reach.
• Other potential hazards such as mouthwash, make-up lotions, razors and aftershave should also be kept safely locked in a cabinet.
• Keep the toilet bowl lid down after each use.
• Do not mix toilet cleaners with bleach as the mixture can give off toxic fumes.

Paediatric Sinusitis

Sinusitis arises when the mucous membranes which line the sinus cavities are inflammed. This swelling causes the mucous glands in the sinuses to secrete excess fluid and obstruct the tiny holes which allow for drainage. Acute sinusitis is most commonly the result of a bacterial infection where the buildup of fluid in the sinuses are less ‘classical’. They seldom complain of headache, facial pain or toothache. In most children, purulent nasal and eye discharge may be the only signs of sinus disease. Those with chronic sinusitis usually have nasal congestion, persistent cough and sore throat. Halitosis or bad breath may also be present. Only careful examination of the upper airway will reveal infection in the nasal drainage.

The Triggers

The vast majority of sinusitis sufferers have high levels of allergies, and about 70% of those with chronic sinusitis have asthma as well. Sufferers are usually allergic to dust mites, and only very rarely is food allergy the cause, although spicy food may aggravate the situation. Other triggers include cold weather, and strong smells. To control sinusitis, it is critical that parents check their environment.

Dust Mites

The most common inhalent allergen is the house dust mite. These are mites that live on human skin and are present in the dust of your home. What is harmful abou these bugs are the highly allergenic faeces. Despite what people think, allergies are not always aggravated by poor air quality, and the problem may actually be found in your carpets, furniture, draperies, stuffed toys, and bedding where dust mites thrive.

Although it is impossible to eradicate house dust, simple measures can reduce the dust level in the home, with special attention to your child’s bedroom. Experts recommend thorough cleaning of the room at least one a week, and minimising the use of objects that collect dust such as soft toys, soft furnishing, and carpets. If possible, buy pillows and mattresses only made of synthetic material. All blankets, bedsheets, and pillows should be washed in hot water once a month, as the heat will kill the mites.

Mysterious Moulds

Next to dust mites, moulds may be the second most common culprit. In places where there is increasing humidity, homes that have carpets laid on a concrete slab tend to harbor tons of mould growth. There are 100,000 types of moulds (which usually thrive in basements and bathrooms) with toxic agents such as bleach will keep them at bay. Some moulds however, may be hard to reach as they grow in out-of-the-way places.

Pets

Most pets like cats, dogs, hamsters, mice, and rabbits release proteins that may lead to allergic reactions. If possible, keep them outdoors and bathe them at least once a week.

Clearing Out The Sinus

Occasionally, sinus infections clear up on their own. But the best treatment for your child would be a good course of antibiotics. While nasal decongestants help unblock the openings of the sinuses, antihistamines in either tablet or syrup help reduce mucus production. These medications are easily available over-the-counter but you should always consult your family doctor first.

In adults, doctors may recommend surgical drainage when congestion does not respond to medication. However, this is highly unlikely in young children as doctors have found a marked reduction in frequency of sinus disease from childhood to adolescence, suggesting a ‘healing’ effect from growth. Still, predicting which child’s condition will improve remains an open question.