When your little one requires surgery
This is a common refrain and the common practice is to express the milk out by squeezing the baby’s breasts as it is considered to be bad for the baby. This is mostly done by the दाई (the maid who looks after and massages and bathes the baby).
Continue reading “Witch’s Milk! Should I do something about it?”
The headlines practically screamed at me! What a waste of precious life! All because we cannot take basic precautions? It immediately brought back memories of another headline just a few month back
How many times have we left our kids in the car while we finished off an errand in “just a
minute”. Most unknowingly, that minute can turn into a few minutes and that for a child trapped in a hot, parked car can be fatal. It is the sun and the resultant heat stroke, that kills, not the temperature outside. Even on a cool day, just by virtue of being out in the sun, in closed confines, can heat up the inside by around 22° C in an hour! Most of this (80%) increase occurs in the first half an hour.
While most of us get tongue tied when we are overawed by a famous personality or when asked to speak in public, or too overcome by emotions, in the case of your infant, it could be due to the fact that the cord of tissue (called the frenulum) that holds the tongue in place against the floor of the mouth is too tight / thick / rigid.
Ear piercing is a rite of passage that marks a critical stage in your baby’s life. It generates a lot of anxiety among parents who imagine all sorts of things that can go wrong with the child. The parents are rightfully worried about the pain that the child may have to undergo and the possibility of infection.
If your baby is otherwise healthy, it is best to wait till the age of four months to ensure that her earlobes are developed and that she has received two doses of tetanus vaccination, at least (DPT).
Continue reading “When Should My Daughter’s Ears Be Pierced?”
I will be available for consultation from the 1st of February at Lilavati Hospital, Bandra at the following times:
For emergencies one can walk into the Casualty and ask for me directly. My resident doctors will have a look and contact me.
For my complete contact details, please click here.
This question tops the list of the most frequently asked questions to me. My child has been injured (the urgency becomes greater if the offending object was a rusty piece of metal or if the child’s wound was contaminated by dirt)! Doctor, please give him a tetanus shot!
Continue reading “Does my child need a tetanus shot?”You are having a well deserved cup of hot chai after a long, hard day at work. Either the phone or the doorbell rings and you get up to answer it or maybe you get called away to another part of the house. Unfortunately, absentmindedly, you leave your cup of tea at the edge of the table with the handle jutting out. Continue reading “Take care! How to prevent the most common burn injury in children”
As parents we try our best to teach our children all that we can. Many of the things are taught by talking to them, lecturing them or going through books etc. But children understand and learn best by what is set as an example.
I think that the only way to teach is by example, as children will more easily follow what they see you do than what you tell them to do.
Gloria Estefan
Continue reading “Have you taught your child how to cough & sneeze?”
With the advent of newer technology, there is a greater tendency amongst patients and doctors to demand that there should be complete diagnosis and evaluation for even the most trivial of complaints. This results in a plethora of investigations. Just like everything else in life, everything comes at a price. The indiscriminate use of CT scans (especially CT head for minor trauma) has greatly increased the risk of developing cancer subsequently. [1]
I think one needs to be sensible and discuss with your doctor, whether a particular investigation is really required, what are the benefits and what are the risks of the procedure.
1. CT Scans May Increase Cancer Risk in Children, Adolescents
