Published February 2010 in the Tri-City Herald
An infection is an “invasion” of foreign cells or particles, such as bacteria or viruses, that enter a susceptible site in the body and multiply, resulting in disease. Sometimes the infection is localized to one particular part of the body, or can affect the whole body causing fever. Fever helps the body fight infections by making the body’s defense systems work more efficiently. Also, bacteria and viruses do not like the higher temperatures and are killed by fever.
Ear Infections
An ear infection (known as acute otitis media) is an infection of the middle ear. Ear infections are usually the result of a chain of events. Your child catches a cold; that causes the nose to get congested; the congestion effects the tube connecting the ear and the nose; and the blockage creates a dark, warm, wet place — the prefect breeding ground for germs. Ear infections happen more often in young children, who have small, short ear tubes that get blocked more easily than those of older children and adult.
Ear infections aren’t medical emergencies, but can be painful for your child. To treat you essentially have two options: Wait and see if the ear infection clears up on its own or have antibiotics prescribed. The antibiotics won’t help with the pain, but could possibly help the infection clear up a day or two faster. Statistically, most ear infections resolve on their own without antibiotics.
Rashes and Skin Infections
Infections of the skin are common and wide-ranging. One good thing to know is that they often look awful but rarely have lasting affects on your child. And again, infections of the skin are caused by a combination of some sort of bacteria combined with a hospitable environment — for example the armpit or a scratch on the skin. Examples of skin infections include: warts, , impetigo, scabies, ringworm and cellulitis.
It’s important to have a doctor see your child’s rash or infection if things are not resolving with home treatment Very rarely, someskin infections can be life threatening and require immediate treatment. Other more common infections are fairly easy to treat, but may require a prescription medication. Additionally, your child’s doctor can determine if the infection is an indication of other illness.
Tummy Troubles
A common stomach bug is called gastroenteritis or the “stomach flu.” Symptoms of this type of infection include diarrhea, vomiting and sometimes fever; the cause is most often viral but can on occasion be from bacteria from infected food or water. Staying hydrated is the most important thing during illnesses like this. Most are self limiting. A doctor should certainly see a child with bloody diarrhea as this is much more common with bacterial intestional illnesses.. In general, infections that cause diarrhea are highly contagious and thus good hygiene is very important..
Urinary Tract Infections
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is caused by bacteria getting into the urinary tract. The two most common ways this happens is either due to poor hygiene or by withholding. UTIs due to poor hygiene occur because the bacteria that cause UTIs are primarily from the GI tract. Parents of girls especially need to make sure your child knows it is important to wipe from front to back. It seems that no matter how many times I tell my daughter this, she still hasn’t quite grasped the concept. UTIs can also be caused by holding urine; if your child urinates regularly, it keeps the tract sterile. If he or she “holds it” often, bacteria can grow. Much less common are anatomical reasons that may predispose to infection.
Avoiding Infections
The best thing you can do to help your child avoid infections of any kind is to teach good hand washing skills. Your child should know how to properly wash his or her hands and when to wash. You can also discourage habits like chewing on pens or sharing personal objects. Everyone in the family can help by keeping common objects like phones, computer keyboards and game controllers clean.
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