General information about children’s health including helpful resources to support you and your family. It’s a real worry when your child becomes ill. Understandably, we don’t want to take any risks.
Here you will find useful information about registering with a GP, the importance of having a basic first aid kit, minor ailments and head lice and nits plus some other advice that will help keep your family healthy. You can find more information about child health on NHS UK and there are a number of apps available that offer further advice and support.
Sleep
Getting into good sleeping habits is important for all of us. This can seem difficult at times when you have children, however, good sleep is important for your child’s physical and mental wellbeing as well as your own. The following links provide some excellent advice that you can follow for yourself with your family. If for any reason problems still persist, please contact your 0 to 19 team for further advice.
Find out more about the following sleep related concerns.
- How much sleep does my child need?
- Why is sleep so important?
- Healthy sleep habits
- Sleep and autism
- Nightmares and night terrors
- Emotional health and sleep
- Teenagers
- Information & who else can help
Teeth and toothbrushing
Poor dental hygiene affects not only your child’s teeth but also their health and wellbeing.
Taking your child to the dentist from a young age (usually when their first milk teeth appear) is the best way to avoid problems such as tooth decay. Tooth decay can be avoidable yet it remains an issue in many young children.
Your child may experience pain or infections in the mouth which may cause other childhood difficulties such as poor eating habits, sleep disturbance and general behavioural issues. Registering with a Dentist and attending recommended reviews may help parents recognize if their children are at a particular risk of dental decay.
‘Brushing for Life’ is a government scheme to promote oral hygiene in young children. The ‘brushing for life’ pack contains a fluoride toothpaste and toothbrush offered to children under the age of 3. The pack also contains further information about dental care and keeping teeth healthy – these are provided from your health visitor at your child’s 9 to 12 month review.
Keeping your children’s teeth healthy will help them to maintain clean and healthy teeth and gums and develop good oral hygiene habits they will need throughout the rest of their lives. Remember the most important thing is brushing at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and to have regular dental check-ups. Although children enjoy eating and drinking sugary food and drinks it’s best to keep these to a minimum and for children to only have them at mealtimes.
Headlice
Head lice infestation is a condition caused by a parasitic insect. Live lice can be found anywhere on the scalp; the eggs are most commonly found behind the ears and at the back of the neck. The severity of infestation varies from a few lice to thousands of lice, but a typical infestation might have about 30 lice per head. Head lice infestation is most common in children 4–11 years of age.
Confirming active infestation of head lice includes systematic combing of wet or dry hair with a head lice detection comb. A live louse must be found in order to confirm active head lice infestation. An itching scalp is not sufficient to diagnose active infestation.
The presence of louse eggs alone, whether hatched (nits) or unhatched, does not indicate active infestation as it is hard to distinguish between dead and live eggs with the naked eye, and eggs may maintain a viable appearance for weeks after death.
All members of the household and close contacts should also be checked for head lice as untreated family members and close contacts may cause re-infestation in the people, who have been treated.
Treatment of head lice
First line treatment is Dimeticone 4% lotion (Hedrin) which is a physical insecticide. This can be purchased over the counter or be given as a prescription. It is rubbed into dry hair and scalp, allowed to dry naturally, shampoo is applied and rinsed off after at least 8 hours (or overnight). A repeat application is needed after 7 days. This prescription can be given by a Health Visitor or a GP.
For further information:
British Association of Dermatologists
The NHS website – Head lice and nits
Helpful videos
Torbay health and care videos – finding and treating headlice
Toileting
Daytime wetting
If your child has not been fully successful with toilet training and continues to have accidents once they start school your 0 to 19 service can offer continued support.
Daytime wetting affects 1 in 75 children aged 5 years and above. It is usual for younger children to have wetting accidents as part of the toilet training process but as children get older, daytime wetting can be more difficult to manage at school or in social situations.
The following are ways in which you as a parent can support your child:
- Encourage your child to drink regularly through the day, 6-8 water-based drinks each day. For more information on recommended fluid intake for children, see: Water UK.
- Continue to give younger children prompts.
- Constipation can be the cause of wetting, provide a balanced diet which includes fibre, cereals, fruit and vegetables. See: The NHS website – Good foods to help your digestion.
- Check that your child’s school allows easy access to drinking water and to the toilets.
- Encourage your child to wait before getting off the toilet to make sure that they have fully emptied their bladder.
- Above all, stay calm and relaxed.
daytime-wetting
Nightime wetting
Bedwetting (known as Nocturnal Enuresis) is a common childhood condition affecting an estimated 500,000 children and young people in the United Kingdom (UK). Bedwetting usually stops happening as your child gets older without the need for any treatment. Please be aware that bedwetting is not the child’s fault, it happens during sleep and there is no conscious awareness that it is happening.
The following are ways in which you as a parent can support your child:
- Drinking a good amount of fluid is crucial in training the bladder to fill and empty – encourage your child to visit the toilet to empty their bladder regularly throughout the day.
- Encourage your child to drink water-based drinks as some fizzy drinks, tea, coffee, and dark squashes such as blackcurrant can have a diuretic effect on the bladder, causing the need to go to the toilet more often.
- Constipation can be the cause of bedwetting, provide a balanced diet which includes fibre, cereals, fruit, and vegetables.
- A bedtime routine of going to the toilet as part of getting ready for bed and again just before settling down to sleep – should ensure that the bladder is empty before going to sleep.
- Ensure that your child has easy access to the toilet during the night. Perhaps a night light or a light switch near the bed, or leaving the bathroom light on can be useful.
- Try to avoid ‘waking’ or ‘lifting’ your child overnight to go to the toilet – whilst this may result in a dry bed, it does not help them recognize and wake to the sensation of a full bladder on their own.
- Remain calm and positive and supportive of your child – remember it is not their fault.
Please note that much of the above information has been resourced from the ERIC website. The ERIC website is an excellent resource for further information, advice and support around this topic.
night-time-wetting
Soiling
Soiling is when a child regularly poos their pants. If they are already potty-trained, the soiling is often because they are badly constipated.
You may feel angry or frustrated when your child keeps pooing themselves. But they aren’t likely to be doing it on purpose and may not even realise its happening. Causes of soiling, advice about when to seek medical help and treatment from a GP and things to try at home can be found on the NHS website.
The NHS website – Soiling (child pooing their pants)
There is also a lot of useful information about young children and school aged children soiling, and a ‘poo guide’ on the ERIC website.
ERIC – Guides to children’s bowel & bladder problems
Constipation
Constipation is a problem for 1 in 3 children. It commonly starts around the potty training stage and can also affect babies.
It is a medical problem that needs treating properly to stop it getting worse. Constipation won’t go away by itself.
Go to the ERIC website to find out the common causes, the signs to look out for and how to relieve constipation in your child.
constipation-soiling
Additional help
Seek professional support from your 0 to19 public health nurse team if problems persist and can complete a professional assessment to identify why the issue is happening and offer support to resolve or manage it.
ERIC – Children’s Bladder & Bowel Charity – Free helpline: 0808 169 9949 (Monday to Thursday, 10am – 2pm)
The NHS website – Constipation in young children
The NHS website – Pelvic floor exercises
Hand washing
It’s really important for children to learn how and when to keep their hands clean as it stops germs from spreading and helps prevent your child and those around them from getting an infection.
How to wash hands
Use warm water and soap and make up a lather on both sides of the hands, wrists, between the fingers and around the nails. Hand washing should take about 10 to 15 seconds.
When to wash hands
- Before eating or touching food
- After using the toilet
- After blowing your nose or coughing
- After having contact with pets or other animals
- After playing outside
- Before and after visiting a sick friend or relative
When hands are dirty
Home hygiene
Keeping your home clean helps to avoid germs spreading and causing illnesses. A germ is a microbe that causes disease. Not all microbes are germs – there are many microbes in our environment that do not, or only rarely cause infection.
In any home there will be many millions of microbes including some germs. Good hygiene doesn’t mean getting rid of all the germs in the whole house; it means getting rid of as many germs as possible, where and when there is a risk of them spreading and causing infection.
A healthy place to live
Washing with hot, soapy water and using disinfectants to clean floors and surfaces, and washing laundry at the right temperature to kill germs can help make your home a healthy place to live.
Cleaning means removing visible dirt by vacuum cleaning, damp dusting, or washing with warm water and detergent. Cleaning removes dirt and some germs but does not necessarily reduce them to a ‘safe’ level.
Hygienic cleaning means removing dirt and getting rid of as many germs as possible, either by removing them or killing them by disinfecting.
- Removing germs can be by thorough cleaning with hot water and detergent and then rinsing to remove the germs.
- Disinfection can be achieved using heat or by using a product that states it ‘kills’ germs
- Sometimes a combination of removal and killing is used.
After hygienic cleaning, surfaces should be dried. Drying can be by air drying, tumble drying, hanging to dry or by using clean towels, cloths or paper towels on surfaces.
Helpful information and advice
It’s also really important for you, your child and others in your household to keep your hands clean to help stop germs from spreading. Teach your child how to wash their hands.
NHS How to stop germs spreading
