5 Diseases That Mostly Affect Older Children 

This post is sponsored by Nidhi Mahajan

As a parent, there are few experiences more alarming than having your children become ill. Children often suffer from illnesses such as urinary tract infections, coughs, colds and flu, chicken pocks, ear or throat pain, bronchitis or sinusitis, however some diseases such as Hepatitis A and Rubella are more common among older children. Understanding key symptoms and what to look out for is critical. Here’s more information about five of these diseases:

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver that mostly affects children. Many children do not even show symptoms. The symptoms usually last for about eight weeks and include diarrhea, vomiting, jaundice, fever and light or clay colored stools. Children mostly do not care about what they are eating or drinking. This disease mostly spreads through food and water and hence mostly affects children. Shellfish that is not properly cooked can also be one source. No specific medicines are available and only regular symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea are treated.

PANS

PANS or Paediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric syndrome is another disorder that mostly affects children. They suddenly show characteristics of obsessive compulsive symptoms or OCD. Anxiety, attention deficit, irritation and aggressive behavior might be noted. Sleep disruptions might also be seen. Performance in school might also get hampered. Loss of maths skills is noted in some children. The child may also take to eating a lot or not eating at all. The child may also isolate himself. A lot of infections also develop in these children. The most common infections that might develop are rhinitis, sinusitis and pharyngitis. Influenza like symptoms are also noted.

Dental Caries

Dental Caries is quite common in small children. It is the breakdown of teeth by acids produced by bacteria. Symptoms include pain with difficulty in eating. Inflammation of the tooth, tooth loss and infection might be seen. Children often do not brush their teeth properly. This often leads to the lodgement of food particles in between teeth. Bacteria finds an ideal place to thrive and therefore produces acids causing tooth decay. Children also often consume a diet rich in sugar. This also leads to formation of caries. Therefore, children should always be taught to clean their teeth properly and twice a day.

Rubella

Rubella is also known as three day measles. The infection is often mild. A rash is seen after exposure and lasts for three days. It usually starts on the face and spreads to the entire body. Swollen lymph nodes are common and lasts for few weeks. Fever, sore throat, fatigue, and joint pain is also common.

ADHD

Children suffering from ADHD are generally weak students and have difficulty in making friends or getting along with siblings. It is important to treat ADHD otherwise it might have an extremely negative impact on your child. It might be difficult for these people to maintain their education or jobs later in life.

ADHD is seen in a lot of school children. It is more common in boys than girls.

ADHD medication is the treatment prescribed for this. These are often the first class of treatment that is used to treat the disorder and are divided into two types:

• Stimulants
• Mild stimulants
• Non stimulants
• Examples of ADHD medication stimulants are:
• Ritalin
• Vyvanse
• Adderal
• Dexedrine

Mild stimulant ADHD medications include Focalin, Concerta, Daytrana, Metadate, Quillivant and Methylin. They have side effects similar to stimulants.

Non stimulants take longer to act and are prescribed to patients when stimulating medicines fail to cure the disorder or it is proved to be unsafe.

Have you children suffered from any of these diseases?

Share your thoughts and comments with us.