Category

Child Health

The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
September 18, 2018

How to produce more breast milk

Being a new mother can be scary! Even more so, if you a low milk supply. There are different reasons for this condition, including waiting too long to start breastfeeding, not breastfeeding enough, breast surgery and certain medications. Other factors may include premature birth, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and maternal obesity. If you're struggling with producing enough milk for your baby, here are some things you can try: Latch on If your baby has a poor latch, he’ll struggle to remove the milk from your breast. To check that your little one is latched on properly, make sure his mouth…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
June 13, 2018

Protect your baby from cot death

Imagining your baby in any kind of danger is your worst nightmare. So, it’s important to know the risks of something as common as cot death, and how to prevent it. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or cot death, happens for many reasons. It’s when a baby who’s 12 months old, or younger, suddenly dies during sleep with no warning signs. Infants between two and four months are most at risk. Protect your little one There isn’t a foolproof method to prevent SIDS, but there are ways to lower the risk. Baby on his back You may be tempted to…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
May 11, 2018

How to protect your child from diabetes

Diabetes is a condition where your body cannot use glucose effectively. Glucose comes from the food you eat and is used as a source of energy. To use glucose, your body needs a hormone called insulin. Insulin is released into your body by a gland called the pancreas. If you have diabetes, your body either can’t make insulin or can’t use it properly. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is where your immune system attacks your pancreas and destroys the cells that are used to make insulin. Type 2 is where your pancreas can make insulin, but your…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
April 20, 2018

Is your child too clean? He may need a helping of germs!

Our children these days are too clean, say researchers. Rather than it keeping them healthy, over-sterilising them and their environments leave them more vulnerable to illnesses. Sounds strange – but it’s true. Author of the book, Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child's Developing Immune System, Professor Gilbert explains, “Parents are over-sterilising the environments of their children because they don't understand why dirt is good for us. Most parents think all germs are bad, that is not true. Most will just stimulate your immune system and make you stronger.” And so, ironically, when we ensure that our children…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
March 7, 2018

How to raise allergy-free kids

Convincing your child to eat their broccoli is hard enough, and it’s only worse if they have food-allergies! A food allergy occurs when the immune system falsely communicates that a certain protein in a food is harmful. Once you have an allergy, an allergic reaction happens every time you eat that specific food. A baby’s chance of developing an allergy is increased if his siblings have also been diagnosed with an allergic condition like eczema, asthma, hay fever or a food allergy. How does it work? Food allergies are developed when a protein called Immunoglobulin E (IgE) and a mast…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
December 8, 2017

Help for a colicky baby

The minute your little one starts crying you immediately respond by checking whether he’s hot, cold, hungry or in need of a nappy change. But what if it’s none of the above?! A baby that doesn’t respond to soothing, can be very stressful! But thanks to Dr. Morris Wessel, we now have a name for it: colic. Why is your baby screaming? If your baby’s cry sounds different to normal, is sharper and more piercing – it may be colic-related. We often think the crying is coming from pain like an upset tummy, but colic pain is from the colon.…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
December 8, 2017

How to prevent Hand, Foot and Mouth disease

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is a common contagious, viral illness that often affects infants and children, although it’s possible for older children and adults to contract it too. Don’t confuse HFMD with that similar-sounding disease that affects animals though! What causes HFMD? HFMD is a viral infection that’s brought on by the Coxsackie A16 virus. Although a different, related virus called Enterovirus 71 can also cause HFMD, it’s highly unlikely that there are other strains of viruses that will cause the same symptoms. The virus is highly contagious and can spread directly via saliva drops or bodily fluids,…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
August 29, 2017

From the dietician: how to help your child gain weight

Your child is smaller than his friends. He’s not putting on weight as he should, and it’s beginning to worry you now. With the help of Kerryn Gibson, a dietician based in Durban, and Bridget Surtees, a dietician from Cape Town, we look at why this is happening and how you can sort it out. Undernutrition The primary cause of growth failure in children is undernutrition. This means not getting enough energy and nutrients to grow and maintain good health. Undernutrition can be caused by: Not enough nutrients. When children aren’t given the right types of foods to eat or are…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
July 3, 2017

“Help! My child got injured!”

It’s the law of parenting: Your child is playing and you take your eyes off him for two seconds to answer your phone. Like clockwork; he falls, trips, bangs his hand against the wall and all hell breaks loose. With children around, “oops” moments’ happen frequently and often, in the blink of an eye. It’s perfectly normal and happens to most parents. Kids are naturally curious and inquisitive, and this curiosity often sends them flying off the rails, or diving into a bush. Here’s a guide to treating those cuts and bruises, because we all know – they are inevitable!…
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The Hello Doctor Team 0
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Child HealthParenting
January 6, 2017

Prevent peanut allergies in your baby

Want to hear something nuts? Peanut allergies kill more people than any other food allergy. Even the smallest trace of peanuts, slipped into your restaurant order or snack, can be fatal for someone who is allergic. Your throat swells up, you find it difficult to breathe... it's truly an awful experience. But science has found a way to prevent this. The answer? Fight fire with fire, or rather, peanuts with peanuts. (more…)
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