✓ The eleventh month of the newborn: how to manage the first ailments

Fonte: shutterstock

Eleventh month of the newborn

It is said that it is a problem of nationality, that is that it is the Del Paesene mothers who feel calm only when in the face of every slightest sign of the child's discomfort, the pediatrician prescribes a medicine able to get everything through quickly. It is no coincidence that various researches conducted on the subject have shown that the small Del Paeseni take more drugs of all other European children. It is also true, however, that there are mothers who would prefer never to use traditional medicines, such as antibiotics, but would like that for each of them there was an alternative remedy, as natural as possible. New mothers can therefore be confused by the existence of two such opposing positions and consequently develop many doubts about the use of medicines. Here is the information that may prove useful, especially as the year of life approaches, after which it is possible that the child begins to get sick with a certain frequency, and not because he is weaker than the others but only because it is absolutely physiological that so happen. The diseases that involve the airways (cough, cold and so on) are, in fact, a sort of obligatory toll along the path of growth. How to treat the first ailments ineleventh month of the newborn.

Medicines, which ones and when

There are few medicines that are normally used in pediatrics and each of these should always be administered after consulting the pediatrician. This applies in general, but not for paracetamol, the first choice antifebrile for little ones, which all parents should learn to administer correctly on previous instructions from the pediatrician. Here are the medicines that you are likely to have to use in the first year of life.

antibiotics: are to be administered only in case of bacterial infection. They must be strictly prescribed by the pediatrician, who is responsible for evaluating the opportunity to administer them. They are very well tolerated by children but should not be abused to avoid the problem of resistance, in the presence of which they are no longer able to carry out their therapeutic action.
antifebrili (paracetamol and ibuprofen). They are the drugs used to lower fever. Paracetamol is the first choice in the first months of life, but many pediatricians also recommend it afterwards (in this regard, see also the paragraph dedicated to fever, in the 10th month chapter).
broncodilatatori e idrocortisone in cream: the former are used in the event of an asthma crisis. They are also indicated in all other cases of bronchial hyperactivity, that is, difficulty in breathing due to an abnormal narrowing of the bronchi. The second should be applied to the lesions that characterize the most severe forms of dermatitis.

What to do if the drug has expired

It can happen to accidentally administering an expired drug. Contrary to popular belief, no medicine becomes toxic after expiration. The danger is only linked to the possibility that its therapeutic effect is no longer guaranteed. The effectiveness of a drug in fact tends to decrease as the time following expiration passes.

But beware: one medicine that has expired for three days almost certainly performs its action adequately, while it is possible that a drug that has expired for years no longer has any power. In principle, a drug that has expired less than seven months can still have a satisfactory curative effect, provided that it was only opened at the time of intake. In fact, expired medicines that have already been opened lose their effectiveness more quickly.

The possible appearance of stomach ache and / or vomiting after taking an expired drug orally may instead depend on the fermentation of the excipients, which are the substances that improve the taste and absorption of medicines. This can happen especially if there are sugary substances among the excipients. The symptoms are however destined to disappear in a short time, without consequences.

Sweet remedies

Not always and not for all eventualities it is necessary to use the traditional drugs. In fact, there are remedies that can help to relieve the child struggling with certain types of malaise.

For a sore throat, for example, you can offer him a drink of very fresh water or, if he is already ten months old, you can give him ice cream or have him suck an ice lolly. To facilitate the fluidification of the phlegm and its consequent expulsion, water is enough to give it to drink in abundant quantities.
Vomiting attacks can be controlled by offering him 40-80 ml of a cold sweet drink with a spoon. However, cold water is also sufficient, to be administered with a teaspoon.
In case of diarrhea, extra virgin olive oil should be added to the baby food, which is supposed to help the stools quickly regain their right consistency.
For colds, washing the nose with physiological solution is enough. In the event of a dry and barking cough, combined with a sudden difficulty in breathing, the child must breathe a good amount of water vapor: the fastest way is to close in the bathroom and open all the hot water taps at the same time. After that, however, it is necessary to contact the pediatrician.

Worth knowing: the fountain

The term "fontanelle" refers to the fibrous membrane located between the bones of the skull which, at birth, are not yet joined together.

Le drinking fountains there are two main ones: one, called "front", which has the shape of a rhombus and is easy to identify by touch on the top of the head; the other,"back"which is located in the nape area and is very small in size.

Then there are others four drinking fountains, so tiny that they are impossible to identify. The temporary distance existing between the bones of the skull and filled by the fontanelles has the function of first allowing the baby's head to adapt to cross the narrow birth canal and then allowing the baby's brain to increase in size over the first few months. of life, without being undergoing compressions. The minor fontanelles, so to speak, generally close within the month and a half of life, while the anterior fontanelle definitively disappears after the year of life, sometimes around 18 months.

Ailments of this age: what can happen

Sore throat

Sore throat, or more precisely pharyngitis, is a symptom of inflammation of the pharynx, which is the upper part of the throat. The cause of the problem are particular microbes that are aggressive for the airways, such as adenoviruses, coxasackieviruses and, more rarely, the herpes virus type 1. Sometimes streptococcus can be involved, which also causes inflammation of the tonsils.

Il symptom which generally differentiates the viral form from the bacterial form is fever: if it is very high (over 38, 5 - 39 degrees), accompanied by chills and associated with swollen lymph nodes located behind the ears, it is likely that the infection is from streptococcus. On the other hand, if it is modest and associated with cold symptoms and a dry cough, it is more likely that it is a virus. Plaques, that is, the irregularly shaped and slightly raised white dots that appear on the throat and tonsils can be present in both forms.

What to do: The diagnosis must be made by the pediatrician who must be consulted whenever the baby is unwell. As for the treatments, in the first two days they are the same for all forms and consist in the administration of paracetamol to alleviate the fever. If the pediatrician suspects that streptococcus is involved, he can confirm this by carrying out a rapid test himself in the clinic, which involves taking a small amount of secretions from the tonsils using a swab. If the problem is due to strep, it is necessary to administer the antibiotic.

Hand, foot, mouth infection

Hand foot and mouth: is the English definition of "hand-foot-mouth syndrome", an infection caused by the highly contagious Coxsackie virus. It is a common infection that children can get very easily. Initial symptoms are mild fever, usually no higher than 38,3 °, lack of appetite, general malaise, and sometimes stomach ache. Subsequently, red spots appear in the mouth area and in some cases also on the tongue that quickly transform, becoming small painful ulcerations. After that, within 48 hours, the rash spreads to the hands, feet and sometimes even to the buttocks.

To do : There are no targeted treatments, the disease heals spontaneously within a maximum of seven days. Paracetamol can be used against fever and malaise.

What yes

You always have to finish one antibiotic treatment, as indicated by the pediatrician. Stopping it early, perhaps because the symptoms of the disease have already disappeared, means exposing the child to the risk of both relapses and developing resistance to that particular antibiotic. That is, bacteria can become stronger and more resistant to the drug if the therapy is too short to completely eradicate them.

thing not

Le plaques in the throat they do not necessarily signal a bacterial infection and therefore do not automatically suggest giving the child the antibiotic. The current orientation of pediatricians in case of plaque in the throat, cough, fever is to wait two to three days before prescribing it.

References

The child's agenda was drafted with the advice of Leo Venturelli, family pediatrician, author of numerous publications on outpatient pediatrics and co-author of popular books for parents including A child is born, The great encyclopedia of the child, From 0 to 6 years, a guide for the family