My daughter nivedita is 1yr old. when she was
2 months old . she was diagnosed with urinary tract reflux by her pediatrician.
we were told that the valve between the ureters urinary bladder is now
developed and it is a birth defect ., which she will out grow in2-3yrs
but until then she has to be on antibiotics to protect her kidneys
of infection. but the reason I am writing to you is that she does not eat
. she doesn't seems to be interested in food at all. this problem has been
since she was a baby. she used to be very fussy when I nursed her .so I
gave up nursing when she was 3 months old and started her on bottle milk
now she is really giving me a hard time to eat . She hasnt grown at all.
she weighs just 15 lb. I think that is a very low weight for a 1yr old.
please advise me as what I should do to over come this problem
Answer:
The urinary reflux disease that your child seems to be having has got
various degrees. I do not know what is the degree of reflux in your child
but from what I am able to understand from your question, I think your
pediatrician has advised you correctly as regards the cause and prognosis
(which I presume he must have given after doing all the relevant investigations
for your child). The expected weight for a one year old is around 10 kgs.
(around 22 pounds). But this can vary from one individual to another and
a child normally is expected to become three times the birth weight by
the time he/she is an year old. If you feel your child is underweight please
have your pediatrician evaluate him for the same. As regards appetite,
eating and feeding of your child please refer to Question
# 1-1, Question # 1-4, Question
# 2-2, Question # 2-4, Question
# 2-5, Question # 2-8, Question
# 2-9, Question # 3-10, Question
# 4-3, Question # 5-10, Question
# 9-7, Question # 6-9, Question
# 9-8.
Answer:
Please refer to
Question # 1-11. If your
child has been constipated right from early infancy then he probably needs
to be evaluated for any disorders of the intestinal tract. But commonly
children have what is called as habitual constipation. If they do not empty
their bowels regularly from the beginning then the stools can bet hardened.
When the child defecates these hard stools cause discomfort/pain and discourage
the child from emptying his bowels. This further leads to constipation
which then continues on like a vicious cycle. The very act of defecation
becomes such an ordeal to the child that he becomes so apprehensive of
going to the toilet What is required are a combination of medications,
supportive measures and regular toilet training that should be aimed at
reassuring the child that defecation is not a painful experience. This
condition can relapse if the treatment and training are not sustained.
You should consult a Pediatrician who will examine your child and advise
accordingly and also evaluate for other causes of constipation.
Name: Tyler Hearn, Age: 10, Gender: F,
Place: British Columbia
Answer:
Sorry but we do not recommend names of doctors in this forum.
Name: randa
Age: 26 Gender: F Place: Lebanon
Question: # 11-6
My 7 month old baby girl is healthy, but I would like to know if she
is drinking the right amount of milk, she drinks 650ml of milk daily +
solid food of everything for example veg, fruits, meat, rice is that o.k.
please help or give me a simple menu of baby food? Thank you.
Answer:
In India we recommend exclusive breast feeding for the first four months
of life. After this the infant may be gradually started on weaning foods
in addition to milk. As the infant grows older the frequency of milk intake
may be stepped down while increasing the frequency and amount of solid/semisolid
food. Please do refer to Question # 1-1, Question
# 1-4, Question # 2-2, Question
# 2-4, Question # 2-5, Question
# 2-8, Question # 2-9, Question
# 3-10, Question # 4-3, Question
# 5-10, Question # 9-7, Question
# 6-9, Question # 9-8 for further suggestions
on child nutrition.
Name: Lakshmi
Age: 13 Gender: F Place:
Question # 11-7
I see a lot of zits on my chest abd back of the neck. I see some
pimples near the nose and hairlines. Is it something related to my
age and change of hormones or is it something related to my eating habits.
I use Benzamyzine (or Clearasil) during day times and Differin during the
night times. They do not seem to help. Please advise.
Answer:
Thanks for your query but we are unable to understand what you mean
by 'zits'. As for pimples, we presume that it must be 'acne vulgaris' that
you are referring to. It usually occurs in adolescents and various causes
(ranging from hormones, bacteria, cosmetics etc.) have been suggested.
It is important that you consult a dermatologist and follow his advise
regarding treatment.
Name: M BALAJI
Age: 28 Gender: M Place: CHENNAI
Question #11-8
My male son is 19 months old but he speaks only two words like amma
and other words not frequently pronounced usually when a child starts to
speak of his own at what age? my friends says that male child usually speaks
late than the female child its true? But my son is understanding our words
and doing things
Answer:
Language (speech) in children begins to develop as early as 2months
when the infant listens to voices and begins to smile and make cooing sounds.
Between 9-10 months the child makes repetitive consonant sounds like 'mama'
and 'dada'. By 1 year the child may repeat a few more words in addition.
By 11/2 years the child may have a vocabulary of about 10 words and name
certain pictures. By 2 years the child is usually able to put 3 words together,
while by 3 years he/she repeats 3 numbers or a sentence of 6 syllables
and by 5 years a sentence of 10 syllables. However the development of language
(like all other milestones) will vary from one child to another and may
differ even between siblings. Adequate stimulation is a must for developing
communicative skills. If a child has the habit of expressing his/her daily
needs with gestures, then the parents should explain the correct word for
it and encourage the child to use it instead of gesturing. But if you are
worried about delayed speech development in your son, it would be advisable
to have a Pediatrician evaluate him.
Name: navajeevan
Age: 35 Gender: M Place:
Question #11-9
My son nose shape just like chinees. No one in my family or my wife
family has same type nose now he is 2 year old can we stretch the nose
by hand ( pull slowly every day)
Answer:
The shape and structure of our body has a genetic and racial basis.
It is not so simple that it can be altered by using your hand. The best
thing would be to accept the beauty of the nose. A Chinese nose is beautiful
too.
Name: gunjan
Age: 26 Gender: M Place: India
Question #11-10
My daughter is 4 months old. What should I give her in this age? I
feel breast-feed is not sufficient for her. I have started with bottle-feeding,
rice and dal water, banana and fruit juice. What about cerelac and raggi
etc.
Answer:
Please refer to Question # 1-1, Question
# 1-4, Question # 2-2, Question
# 2-4, Question # 2-5, Question
# 2-8, Question # 2-9, Question
# 3-10, Question # 4-3, Question
# 5-10, Question # 9-7, Question
# 6-9 & Question # 9-8 for advise regarding
child nutrition.
Name: Irene Chin,
Age: 34, Gender: F, Place: Malaysia
Question #11-11
My daughter aged 5 have been attending nursery school since 1999. For
the last two weeks, she has been crying every time her father drops her
off at school. Her problem started with a particular Chinese writing lesson
where she could not write the words as requested by her teacher. I spoke
to her teacher and we've decided to allow her to forgo writing Chinese
since Chinese is not going to be part of her lesson when she starts primary
one. However, she took advantage of this "special" treatment and started
to cry during every lesson. The more she cried, the more her teacher tried
to console her. Eventually, I lost my patience and caned her which I know
was wrong. Now, she hangs onto me whenever she leaves for school and would
cry badly. I do not know how to make things better for her and stop her
crying. All I know is that her crying is not school related but rather,
as she said herself "I just feel like crying". Please help.
Answer:
What your child has is a type of phobia or fear. In her case it is
probably related to the Chinese class. Children are very sensitive and
intelligent and can make use of any situation to draw that extra attention.
You and your spouse (along with your child) should see a child psychologist
and get some counseling as to how to cope with your child's fear at the
same time without letting her use this as a sort of an attention seeking
behavior.
Name: Anitha, Age:
32, Gender: F, Place: Anaheim, CA
Question # 11-12
My son is 8 years old. He is very intelligent at his studies. But when
it comes to exams he does not concentrate and do well. He becomes an average
student by his marks. But when he brings his answer paper home and I discuss
with him, I understand that he knows all the answers. Why he is not doing
well in the Tests ? How do I improve him in getting good marks ? He is
good at playing and he plays for atleast 2/3 hours a day. Is this causing
a problem for him not to concentrate on tests ?
Answer:
Your son must be an intelligent boy. But intelligence (or genius for
that matter) does not necessarily mean that it should be reflected in the
mark sheet. Sadly though, the examination pattern in schools (at least
in India to our knowledge) does not comprehensively evaluate a child's
intelligence nor does it purpose to find out the special area of intelligence
in a child (which would help in nurturing that area). Hence marks are not
an indicator of intelligence. However it is important that you see a pediatrician
who will evaluate your child and rule out the possibility of any minor
problems (like refractive error for example) that could cause learning
difficulties. Finding this out and correcting it adequately can work wonders.
Some children may have specific learning disabilities, which again your
pediatrician would be able to advise about. We would be glad to keep in
touch with you regarding the progress of your son and any further advise
you may need ( travikumar@eth.net).
Name: GEORGE, Age:
46, Gender: M, Place: U. A.E
Question # 11-13
My son is 11yrs old. His problem is soon afer awake from sleep he starts
sneezing for sometimes. can doctor suggest any home remedy.
Answer:
What your child seems to have is probably a type of atopic rhinitis.
Firstly your child should be shown to a pediatrician and evaluated and
then advised treatment. Secondly, I am not sure of any home remedy that
can be suggested for this apart from probably avoiding dusty surroundings
and environment and using a new bedspread everyday or covering the usual
bedspread everyday (in the mornings) with another, in order to avoid the
dust during the daytime from settling on the bedspread and causing an allergy
to your child when he goes to bed, which may lead to sneezing and running
nose in the early morning hours.
Name: Anitha, Age:
32, Gender: F, Place: USA
Question # 11-14
My daughter 6 months old and she is not interested in taking Formula
milk at all. Sometimes she needs 1/2 hour to drink 3 oz. Even though she
is hungry, she is not drinking the formula milk. I am still nursing her
in the evenings and nights. I am a working woman. I tried giving her rice
cereal with salt/sugar. She seems to be not interested in taking food at
all. We need to compel her to take food all the time. Is nursing a problem
for her food choices ? It does not seems to be the problem for me because
sometimes she eats the rice cereal better than milk, even if I feed her.
What could be the problem with her for not showing interest in food. Is
it quite normal ? She looks healthy and happy baby except that she gets
stuffy nose now and then. Therefore, the doctor always says she looks fine.
But actually we find it very difficult with her to feed anything.
Answer:
What you are addressing is a quite common observation of parents. We
suggest that you please refer to Question #
1-1, Question # 1-4, Question
# 2-2, Question # 2-4, Question
# 2-5, Question # 2-8, Question
# 2-9, Question # 3-10, Question
# 4-3, Question # 5-10, Question
# 9-7, Question # 6-9, Question
# 9-8.