“Looking after a very sick child is the Olympics of parenting”
– Chris Cleave
A new school year means a potential new crop of childhood ailments. With their immature immune systems and tendency to forget about hand-washing, our kiddos are magnets for a host of pediatric illnesses.
Knowing what to look for is half the battle. Here’s a primer on the bad, the worse, and the ugly:
Lice:
Lice are pretty much every parent’s nightmare. The tiny varmints need close contact to spread. That’s readily available in classrooms, especially in winter (toque season).
Let’s clear up some myths:
- Lice has no connection to personal hygiene, ethnicity, gender, or economic status
- They are not dangerous
- Shaving heads doesn’t get rid of them. It just makes bald kids
The obvious symptom is itching, but don’t rely on that. They don’t always itch.
You’ll want to check regularly for the nits (eggs). They’ll be small, beige or brown and clinging to your little one’s scalp.
Treatment takes consistency and can be challenging. Anti-lice shampoos, nit combing, and disinfection will work eventually.
Pinworm:
As unpleasant sounding as pinworms are, they’re easily treatable as long as we know how to identify them. They’re more common than we’d like to think.
Pinworms are white, thread-like worms that live inside rectums and come out at night to cause general discomfort. If your little one complains of an itchy bum at bedtime, take him or her into a doctor for a check.
Like lice, getting pinworms has nothing to do with hygiene and all children are susceptible. They spread when kids scratch affected areas (yes, their bums), get eggs on their fingers and leave them on surfaces. When kids touch those surfaces and their little fingers eventually (inevitably) find their way into their mouths, pinworms are the result.
To treat pinworm, a doctor will need to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe oral medications. Remember to also disinfect the surfaces in your home, especially in your child’s bedroom and bathroom.
Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease:
To clear up the confusion, this is not the “foot and mouth” disease that afflicts cows and hits the headlines. Hand, foot, and mouth is very different and usually hits kids under 5 (but anyone can get it).
It spreads rapidly via the air, contaminated surfaces, or person to person contact. It thrives in preschools and kindergarten classrooms where busy fingers touch everything.
Often treatment for the disease is not required, however management and treatment of symptoms may be. Symptoms are:
- Fever (usually) and general unwellness
- Painful sores in the mouth and difficulty swallowing
- Skin rashes on the palms and soles of the feet (sometimes also elsewhere).
If you think your kiddo has HFMD, checking with a doctor to confirm the diagnosis and discuss symptom management.