Day: January 10, 2024

#kid's health #School exclusion periods

Threadworms (pinworms)

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Threadworms are tiny white worms that can live in your intestines. They are most common in children, and cause itching around the anal area. You can catch threadworm if you get worm eggs on your hands and put your hands in your mouth. You can treat threadworm with a single dose of medicine available over-the-counter from the pharmacy. To prevent the spread of threadworm, treat the whole family at the same time and encourage good hygiene. What are threadworms? Threadworms, also called pinworms, are tiny parasites that grow to about 1cm in length and look like tiny pieces

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#Healthy and active children #kid's health

Developing life skills through sports

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Organised sport has many physical, developmental, psychological and social benefits for children. Playing sport helps children learn to control their emotions and channel negative feelings in a positive way. Playing sport helps children build resilience and feel better about themselves. Parents play a key role in developing a child’s life skills through participating in sport. To keep your child interested and enjoying sport, make it a positive experience for them. Keep the focus on having fun and being active, rather than on winning. Organised sport has many psychological and social benefits for children – even more than the

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#kid's health

Speech development in children

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Children learn to speak at their own pace, and there is a wide range of ‘normal’ speech development. There are certain milestones that can provide a rough guide to normal development. Babies need to learn how language sounds before being able to learn how to speak. There are many different ways you can encourage your child to start talking, and also some things you should try to avoid. If you are worried about your child’s speech development, ask your doctor if your child needs an assessment or hearing test. What is normal speech development in children? Language development

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#Healthy and active children #kid's health

Sleep tips for children

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Healthy sleep means getting enough good quality sleep, and having regular sleep routines. Sleep is essential for growth, immunity and learning, and is important for helping children heal and recover from illness and injury. Poor sleep is linked to mental health problems, poor growth and reduced school performance. Why is sleep important for my child? All children need sleep for growth, learning and development. Getting enough sleep is vital for your child’s physical health, brain function, emotional wellbeing, safety, and ability to function day to day. Having a good night’s sleep can help your child be happier, helps

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#Cold and flu #kid's health

School exclusion for health reasons

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

What are school exclusions for health reasons? Sometimes children must be kept away from school or childcare. This is called being ‘excluded’. It can happen if a child has a certain type of sickness. Some sicknesses are caused by germs that can spread to other people. A person who is sick from these germs is sometimes ‘infectious. This means the germs can be spread from that person to someone else. A child may need to stay away from school or childcare if they are ‘infectious. Staying away can stop the germs spreading to other children or people in the community.

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#Healthy and active children #kid's health

A safe sports environment for children

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Children need a safe environment to play sport. This includes an environment that is free from abuse, discrimination and harassment. All equipment used should be safe and meet Australian Standards. A child’s emotional environment is just as important as their physical environment. Listen to your child. Take their concerns seriously and respond to them. Creating a safe sports environment for children It is important to ensure a safe environment for children who play sport. By law, sporting organisations in Australia are responsible for protecting children from abuse, discrimination and harassment. Make sure the sporting environment is safe by

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#Healthy and active children #kid's health

Safe exercise for children

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Safe exercise for children means making sure the sporting environment is safe, checking that equipment is appropriate, and the conditions are right for the age and fitness level of the child. Check that your child plays sports that suit their size, age and ability, and that the emotional environment is right for your child. Parents and other adults can take steps to help prevent injuries at children’s sporting events. Warming up, cooling down and preventing sunburn and dehydration are important elements of safe exercise for children. What is safe exercise for children? To help your child stay safe

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#I #kid's health

Immunisation and vaccinations for your child

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts ‘Vaccination’ is when your child gets a vaccine and ‘immunisation’ is the process of them becoming immune after getting a vaccination. Immunisation protects you, your child and your community from serious diseases, before you come into contact with them in the community. Many vaccines are free for babies and children under the National Immunisation Program. The Australian Immunisation Register records every vaccine your child has to help you know when your child’s next vaccination is due. The ‘No jab, no pay’ policy means you may not get some government benefits if your child does not have their routine

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#Childhood illnesses #Gastrointestinal illnesses #kid's health

Vomiting in children

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Vomiting is one of the most common reasons parents take their child to the doctor. Babies often bring up small amounts of food after feeding — it’s known as posseting or reflux, but this is different to vomiting. Vomiting in children can result from many different causes, but viral gastroenteritis is the most common cause. Babies and children are especially at risk of dehydration when they are vomiting. Children with diarrhoea and vomiting should be given small amounts of oral rehydration solution or plain water often (for example, every 15 minutes), especially if they are vomiting a lot.

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#Caring for others

Respite care

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Key facts Respite care provides a temporary break for carers and the people they care for. If you’re caring for someone, you can use respite care for a short break to unwind or take care of personal matters, or for overnight or extended periods to go on holiday. Respite care is usually organised in advance, but you can access emergency respite care if you get sick or are suddenly not available to provide care. Respite care can be offered in your home or in a community centre, respite cottage or aged care residential home. You will need to have an

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#Visual system

Flashes and floaters

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Overview Flashes and floaters are a common ophthalmic presentation. Flashes and floaters are common presenting complaints. They can be caused by both benign and potentially sight-threatening pathologies. For this reason, most patients usually warrant a referral to ophthalmology. Flashes Photopsia, or ‘flashes’, refer to the perception of light without an objective stimulus. They may be described as seeing ‘stars’, ‘lightening streaks’ or ‘flashing lights’. They are essentially visual hallucinations of light with geometric-like structures (e.g. triangles, diamonds). The underlying aetiology of ‘true’ flashes is inappropriate stimulation of the optic nerve or the retina. The main mechanism is retinal traction occurring

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#Neuroscience

Headache

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Overview Headache is a very common clinical presentation. Headache refers to pain felt in any region of the head, which also includes behind the eyes and ear or in the upper neck. It is an extremely common presentation and can be broadly divided into primary headaches and secondary headaches. Primary headaches: a headache not caused by or attributed to another disorder. In other words, the headache itself is the primary disorder. Examples include tension-type headache, migraine, and cluster headache Secondary headaches: a headache caused by another underlying disorder. In other words, the headache is a symptom of another pathological process.

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#Accidents and injuries #Musculoskeletal

Back pain

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Overview Back pain refers to pain experienced in a patients’ back that is often in the lower regions. Back pain is an extremely common presentation that is estimated to affect a significant proportion of adults at some point during their life. The majority of back pain is felt in the lower lumbar region (known as low back pain) and is usually self-limiting. There are a variety of causes and it is important to be able to differentiate non-specific back (i.e. in the absence of an underlying disorder) from a sinister cause (e.g. discitis, cancer). Location The location of back pain

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#Gastrointestinal

Abdominal pain

By Dr. Ahmed Hafez

Overview Abdominal pain is a very common presenting symptom. Abdominal pain is a very common presenting complaint. It can be difficult to comprehend due to the shear volume of conditions that can present with this symptom. The job of any junior doctor, physician associate or advanced nurse practitioner is to take a good history, performance a solid examination and then come up with a synthesised list of possible diagnoses (i.e. the differential diagnosis). Two of the most important things to uncover from the history is the ‘timing of onset’ and the ‘location’. This is because these two factors really help

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