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Common Summer illness In Children

By Dr. A.J. Chitkara in Paediatrics (Ped)

May 03 , 2016 | 2 min read

During summer vacation, when children indulge in lots of activities and spend time as they want, a lot of attention and monitoring is required. This is not always possible for working parents. However, if you are aware of the various risk factors of summer season, you can take preventive measures and make your kids enjoy the vacation at the fullest.

If your child is feeling fatigued most of the time in summer, do not panic because it can be due to repressive heat. It can also happen because your child is suddenly free from the tight routine of school and home work and feels lazy and tired. However, there are certain common infections that occur in summer and you should be familiar with their causes and symptoms.

Here are some of the common summer illnesses which you should watch out for:

SUNSTROKE: Sunstroke can happen if anyone goes out in the sun without taking proper care of hydrating themselves. Sudden exposure to heat can give heatstroke and the person suffers from fever, sometime very high.

BOILS: The body heat most often erupts in the form of boils on different parts of the body. Take proper and professional advice in this case.

ALLERGY: In addition to sun allergy and heat allergy there are many other types of allergies seen in small children, and adults too.

WATER BORNE DISEASES: Water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, diarrhoea and many more are commonly seen especially among those who are used to eating out.

FOOD BORNE DISEASES: Bacteria thrive in warm and moist environment and so food poisoning and occurrence of diseases due to food infection is more during summer days.

MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASES: Unattended accumulation of water can lead to mosquito borne diseases like Dengue, Malaria and other diseases.

POLIO VIRUS: This is one of the diseases caused by viruses found in summer. Children feel slight throat infection and fever. Meningitis and/or paralysis occur within few days. Thankfully, if your child has been vaccinated, you do not have to worry about this.

TIPS FOR PREVENTING SUMMER ILLNESSES IN CHILDREN

Avoid giving cut fruits and food items from roadside vendors to your children. Also avoid cooking spicy and fried food items for children. Stick to fresh fruits, green vegetables and fresh fruit juices.

Encourage your children to increase intake of water. Make sure that the water is properly purified and free from germs and viruses.

Provide food rich in fibre to your kids. Pay attention to their diet and right nutrition.

Give lemon juice, coconut water and other natural fluids to your children as they help in hydrating from within. These have lots of nutrition that your child's body needs at this time.

Make your child wear light weighted and loose fitting clothes preferably made of natural fibers.

Exercise with your kids early in the morning or late evening to avoid over exhaustion.

Since you are aware of the common illnesses during summer season, you should take necessary precautions to keep your child healthy and safe. Make sure you take care of sun safety, water safety and avoid insect bites during summer season.

Pay attention to intake of water and nutritious diet in summer. Increase intake of fresh fruits and insist on making your children take minimum two baths daily to stay cool and infection free.