Child Specialist

  Winter rains can bring a number of infections in children. Because of winter and high precipitation and humidity children are prone to develop allergic cough and bronchospasm and allergic cough. Children start developing a hacking cough specially at night. The cough wakes up the child from sleep and is continuous. In addition, there is bronchospasm and children develop wheezing. Sometimes the wheezing may be so severe that the child develops status asthmaticus. There is intercostal and subcostal recession. Wheezing sound is heard. Nose is blocked. Due to cold people like to stay indoors in closed areas.  According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – Child Specialist in Karachi this results in transmission of the respiratory viruses from o person to another. Flu and other influenza viruses spread very fast. Therefore, keep the rooms ventilated. Keep the children away from blasts of cold air. Give steam to the children. Anti-allergic are very help full.

Mumps is a condition characterized by painful swelling and inflammation of the parotid Glands. It can occur at any age but is more frequent above 2 years of age. Initial symptoms are high grade fever and a swelling below the ears, along the jawline, obliterating the angle of the jaw. The swelling is very painful, and the child has difficulty in opening the mouth. The swelling is hot and tender to touch. There is high grade fever. It generally starts from one side which subsides in a few days. The next side is then involved. The whole process takes about a week. Treatment is mainly symptomatic, with anti inflammatory and pain killers.    According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla specialist in Karachi in rare cases some complications may occur. This includes swelling and inflammation of the testis in boys, orchitis or swelling of the ovaries in girls. Orchitis if not treated may led to sterility in boys. Another dangerous complication is pancreatitis, which maybe life threatening. H...

Epigastric Pain is a type of abdominal pain which occurs in the epigastrium. The area of the abdomen just below the sternum and above the umbilicus. This type of pain is common in children. As they are children, they are unable to pinpoint the exact location of the pain. Older children can generally locate the pain. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – Child Specialist in Karachi , Epigastric pain generally occurs due to gastritis. When the child has taken too much spicy food, chips etc. Sometimes the epigastric pain maybe due amoebiasis or giardiasis. Giardia lamblia infections are quite common in children in tropical countries. This type of pain is characterized by a feeling of fullness or diarrhoea. The child may pass foul smelling gas. In addition, there maybe worm infestation. This is in fact very common. Referred pain to the epigastrium can occur too. Pain from the liver or gall bladder. Another dangerous and emergency type of epigastrium pain is due to pancreatitis. This is very...

  Wheezing is a whistling sound heard in the chest due to broncospasm. This occurs chiefly in allergic children occurring chiefly in winter or even throughout the year whenever any allergin stimulates the bronchial system. This is whistling sound , as if the air passes through a narrow bottle. It is so loud that it can be heard if the mother is standing next to the child. The allergic reaction causes the bronchi to go into spasm, in addition mucus gets collected and as the air passes through the bronchi and bronchioles it produces a whistling sound. The wheezing is best heard with a stethoscope. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – Child Specialist in Karachi   the wheezing is treated with a bronchodilator, which can be given with a nebulizer or oral bronchodilator. In severe cases when the spasm is not relieved steroids may need to be given. It is important to prevent bronchospasm. The child should be protected from cold air, dust, paint smell, perfume smell or any factor w...

There is lots of confusion in the minds of people regarding what vaccines are and how they work. The body has its own immune system i.e a system whereby the body produces an effective fighting force in the form of antibodies to fight infections. This is known as natural immunity. Vaccines produce another immunity based on the same principle. There are two types of vaccines. Inactivated and live attenuated. In the inactivated vaccine, the organism antigen is treated in such a way that it is not harmful to the body. It is inactivated. The body however recognizes it as an antigen. When injected in the body it produces an antibody response by the body. By antibody response means infection fighting ability of the body. The virus in this case is dead in the vaccine. Another vaccine is live attenuated vaccine. The virus/bacteria is treated in such a way that it loses its virulence i.e loses the strong harmful effect. However, the virus is live but does not cause disease.eg Polio vaccine. ...

 Candidiasis is a condition characterized by fungal infection. It generally occurs in the mouth(oral cavity) but can also occur in the genital region. Due to moisture the fungi flourish and grow. It occurs as a thick while coating on the tongue Initially, it appears as small white spots in the mouth. Tongue, cheeks, gums, under surface of lips, or anywhere in the oral cavity or genital region. The mother thinks it is milk stuck in the baby’s mouth. When she tries to remove it, the mucosa surface starts to bleed and it is difficult to remove. The baby finds it difficult to drink or eat. If a small baby she cries whenever milk is given. AS time passes and treatment is not started, the white coating becomes thick and starts to cover the whole of the oral cavity. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla - Child specialist in Karachi , treatment involves maintaining oral hygiene and apply glycerine and Nilstatin. It takes atleast 2 weeks to resolve. This should be accompanied by a good diet s...

 Wheezing is a condition characterized by a whistling sound coming from the chest. It occurs due to spasm of the bronchi and bronchioles. The windpipes get pressed and as the air passes through them a whistling sound is produced. This can be heard by the parents as they are standing close to the child. Wheezing occurs generally in an asthmatic child but can occur as an allergic bronchospasm as well as part of bronchopneumonia and chest infection. Wheezing is accompanied by chest in drawing, increased respiratory rate, rapid and deep breathing, intercostal recession. It can very well be a sign of pneumonia. Sometimes the mucus gets stuck and produce wheezing. A foreign body in the bronchiole can produce wheezing also. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla - Child Specialist in Karachi treatment of wheezing is use of bronchodilators. These bronchodilators are given chiefly by nebulizors and help in expanding the airways. This releases the air passages and reduces the breathlessness. Ora...

 Scabies is an itchy condition caused by a mite scroptes scabie. The mite burrows under the skin causing intense itching. The itching is specially intense at night. Small red coloured lesions develop with burrows. It quickly spreads all over the body but specially around in underarms, inguinal region , near wrist, near the waist, between the fingers and near skin folds. Red coloured bumps develop everywhere. Scabies spreads through the entire family, in play groups, in schools. Therefore, the whole family needs to be treated. The main symptom is severe itching. Keep all bedding and linen clean and disinfected.  According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla - child specalist in Karachi scabicide creams or lotions kill the mite and eggs. Permethrin or sulphur ointments are used and applied to all over the body. They are applied at night and bath given to the child in the morning. This is done for 3 nights or more. Generally whole family is treated.

Ear Pain is common in children and can be quite painful for the child. It can be due to number of reasons. Simple ear infection is also known as otitis media. It causes redness of the ear drum. In young infants who are breast feeding or on milk are more liable to develop ear infections. The Eustachian tube is very narrow and milk flows from the oral cavity to the middle ear cavity. Infection of the throat can spread to the ears. If the infection persists pus develops, the ear membrane is broken and pus is discharged outside. This condition needs urgent attention.  According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla - Child Specialist in Karachi , use of antibiotics and drainage of pus. Sometimes a foreign body gets stuck in the ear canal of the external ear. AS the child tries to remove it, it goes in even further. This leads to further pain. And infection can set in too. Excessive wax production can block the ear and cause pain and irritation. Ear pain should not just be treated with ear drops but...

Neonatal Conjunctivitis is a common condition occurring in neonates characterized by infection in the eyes of the newborn. After 3-4 days there is redness and yellow colour discharge from the eyes. The eyes are watery and when the baby gets up the eyes are sticky with a yellow discharge. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – Child Specialist in Karachi , conjunctivitis occurs in neonates when the fetus passes through the vaginal canal, and the vaginal secretions infect the fetal eyes. Generally, the infection is due to gram negative organisms. The mother should clean the eyes with sterile cotton using normal saline. Appropriate antibiotic drops are prescribed by the doctor. These generally need to be put every 2-4 hours. It takes around around one week to 10 days for the conjunctivitis to resolve.

 Acute Abdomen is a condition characterized by severe pain the abdomen. The pain is very severe, and the child becomes irritated and starts crying. The pain maybe continuous or in spasms. The child may   roll and scream in severe pain or it might be a continuous pain. There are many causes of acute abdomen. It may be acute appendicitis, acute pancreatitis, acute pylonephritis, urinary tract infection, intestinal obstruction, perforated ulcer, abcess, and constipation. .The management is initially conservative. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – Child Specialistin Karachi the child should immediately be taken to the emergency. Nothing should be given by mouth. The doctors conduct investigations, including blood tests, X Ray, Ultrasound or even MRI. In nearly half the case, surgical intervention is needed. Do not give pain killers at home without consulting the doctor as it might mask the findings.

Candidiasis is a fungal infection generally affecting the mouth and in some rare cases the vaginal area. The mouth or oral cavity develops a white patch. Thick whitish yellowish patch coats the tongue and the gums, oral cavity. It is very painful and the child is unable to eat anything. The child is irritable and cries constantly. It can coat the whole or part of the oral cavity occurring in patches. It is difficult to remove when you try to remove it, blood oozes out leaving a rough bleeding surface. The same may occur in the vaginal area. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – child specialist in Karachi the treatment takes at least a week to ten days including use of glycerine and nystatin. In addition, oral hygiene is very important. Use of folic acid and B complex syrups helps in early healing. The whole process may take a month in severe cases.

A low birth weight baby is known as a LBW. It is generally less than 2500 g.It basically means the weight of the baby is less than the gestational age. A LBW may or may not be premature. A full term baby can also be LBW if the weight is less than 2500g. A weight less than 1500 g is very low birth weight. Low birth weight babies generally are unable to suck properly. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – A Child Specialist in Karachi   a few days they are fed with a feeding tube. Once sucking settles, breast feeding is started. They cannot maintain their body temperature so need incubator care. In addition, they may be hypoxic so may need oxygen therapy. They are more susceptible to infection, and can develop chest infections or septicemia. They are generally anaemic too LBW babies need special care and good nutritional care.

 Haemhorragic Disease of the Newborn is characterized by bleeding tendency in the newborn. It occurs chiefly due to deficiency of vitamin K in the newborn. Chiefly premature babies, low birth weight babies or babies with an immature liver are affected. It is characterized by bleeding tendency. Generally, the baby may start passing blood in the stool. This may be streaks of blood or frank blood. The newborn may pass blood streaks secretions from the mouth or nasal discharge. Or the baby might bleed from the umbilicus. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – A child specialist in Karachi The baby may or may not be jaundiced. Every newborn needs to be given one dose of vitamin K at birth. Sometimes at birth the hospital does not give vitamin K to the newborn. This also leads to bleeding /Ceratain investigation like bleeding time, clotting time, PT, APTT need to be done to exclude other causes of bleeding. Treatment is giving 3 doses of injection Vitamin K on three successive days.

Typhoid is also known as Enteric fever. It is characterized by high grade fever of 101-104 F of at least one week duration. The fever does not touch the baseline. The child gets high grade fever with chills and shivering. There is weakness and the child looks sick. The child is lethargic. There is associated pain in the stomach and diarrhea. There may be nausea and vomiting and the child does not feel like eating. If not treated in time complications may occur. Ulcers may occur in the small intestine. This can give rise to severe abdominal pain. If timely treatment is not started, the ulcers may rupture. This leads to surgical intervention. In some cases encephalitis may occur. According to  Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – A child specialist in Karachi  diagnosis is based on blood culture. Though a CBC can give some indication. Widal is not recommended and Typhidot is non specific. Treatment is mainly antibiotic. The correct anti biotic has to be given as antibiotic resistence has dev...

Dehydration is a condition leading to loss of water from the body. Dehydration occurs in many conditions including diarrhea and vomiting. Any condition causing loss of water from the body leads to dehydration. Children get dehydrated very fast. In vomiting the child is unable to retain water and gets dehydrated. In diarrhea the child loses water very fast. The stools are very watery. A dehydrated child is generally very lethargic. In infants less than 18 months, the anterior fontanelle is depressed. The eyes are sunken and lusterless.   The tongue is dry and the child feels very thirsty.   The child may cry but there are no tears. The skin is dry is dry and lusterless. The child does not pass urine or very little urine. The breathing may become fast. If dehydration persists, the child might collapse. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – A child specialist in Karachi Severe dehydration requires urgent treatment. Intravenous fluids should be given. Not only is there loss of w...

Eye Infection is common in children. It is known as conjunctivitis. The eye becomes red, swollen and watery. There is yellow colour discharge from the eyes. When the child gets up in the morning the eyes are sticky with a yellowish discharge and the child has difficulty in opening the eyes. Even if one eye is involved the second eye soon gets affected as the child rubs the eyes. The eyes may become painful and there may be accompanying fever and headache. It is also very common in neonates. In some cases the eyelid may be affected. This is known as a chalezion. In other cases the eye lash may be affected. This can lead to the formation of a stye and swelling on the eye lid. Eye infections are contagious and spread from one child to another in school or play groups.  According to Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – A child specialist in Karachi it may also be due to improper hygiene due of the eye. The treatment is to keep the eye clean and to use eye drops. The eye drops are antibiotic eye dr...

Abscess basically means a localized collection of pus.Abscess can occur anywhere in the body. It can occur in the skin or subcutaneous tissue when it is visible and painful. It can occur in the body organs when it is not visible but can give rise to generalized symptoms. It can occur under the skin after an injury, bruise or injury. There is generalized fever, pain at the site of the abscess, redness over the skin, the area is hot to touch and becomes tense. It commonly occurs where there is space e.g. Surface of hands, palm, foot, buttocks or where there is fat tissue. Internal body abscess is more complicated. According to Dr, Mubina Agboatwalla - A Child Specialist in Karachi , depending upon its location the symptoms vary. In all cases there is generalized fever. In lung abscess there may be coughing, with sputum, difficulty in breathing. In liver abscess, pain in upper abdomen, vomiting. In kidney abscess there are urinary symptoms. In such cases diagnosis is based on X ray and ...

Urinary Tract Infections are common in children specially girls. They can occur at any age but mainly after one year of age and older age groups. They are more common in children due to a smaller urinary tract. The main reasons are children drinking less water, some congenital abnormality of the urinary tract or incomplete washing of the genital area by children. The symptoms include fever with or without shivering, increased passage of urine, burning during passage of urine, difficulty in holding urine. There may be pain in the lower abdomen or back.  In some cases this may be accompanied by vomiting or nausea.   Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla - A Child Specialist in Karachi , diagnosis is based on a urine examination. Urine D/R and culture. Treatment should always begin after getting the urine culture and sensitivity. Later ultrasound should be done. Treatment comprises of appropriate antibiotic and plenty of water. This should be accompanied by taking Cranberry juice or Citralka ...

Flu or Influenza is a common condition occurring throughout the year but chiefly in winter. It is characterized by runny nose, blocked nose, runny or watery eyes, nasal congestion, sneezing, slight fever, chest congestion, and aches and pains in the body. It is caused by influenza or parainfluenza virus.  The child feels miserable, is irritable and cranky. There may be associated cough. It spreads by droplet infection. Spreads mainly in daycare centres and schools or in winter when people huddle together in small congested houses. This is generally a self limiting condition and subsides in 4-5 days. However, it may get complicated with superadded bacterial infection. Which may lead to simple things like pharyngitis, tonsillitis or complications like pneumonia or bronchitis.  According to  Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla - A Child Specialist in Karachi , treatment of flu is steam inhalation, antiallergics and nasal drops. Paracetamol for fever. Antibiotics are not needed. However...