Child Specialist

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...

Vomiting is a common complaint in children. It can occur in any age and the reasons maybe different. In neonates vomiting may be in the form of undigested milk or curd. Undigested milk comes out within 1-15 minutes after feeding and occurs if proper burping does not take place or there is a condition called oesophageal reflux. Whereby, the milk comes out of the stomach because the sphincter between the stomach and oesophagus is weak. In older children the most common cause of vomiting is part of gastroenteritis or food poisoning. Infection of the gastrointestinal tract due to any reason causes vomiting and diarrhea. According to Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla - A Child Specialist in Karachi , vomiting is more dangerous than simple diarrhea as the child cannot retain fluid and vomits out everything, leading to dehydration. Other causes of vomiting include obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract due to any reason. This is a surgical emergency. The vomiting is watery and effortless. In these ...

Influenza is also known as flu is the most common illness in winter. With the onset of winter children generally develop runny nose or blocked nose. Watery eyes. Post nasal drip at the back of the nose, falling in the throat leads to night cough. The eyes may be red. The child develops temperature around 100F or sometimes more. The child is irritable and cranky. There is accompanying cough which may be productive. The voice may become hoarse. Initially stuffy nose maybe followed by a blocked nose, flu maybe caused by any of the influenza virus strains. Treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Initially any paracetamol syrup accompanied by an anti allergic should be given. Nasal drops are important. According to Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla a Child Specialist in Karachi , steam inhalation should be done twice a day. If needed simple nebulization with normal saline should be done. The symptoms should subside in 3 days or so. However, if the fever increases and the respiratory symp...

  Cellulitis is a condition characterized by swelling and infection in any area of the skin. The infection occurs mainly in soft tissue areas. It may occur around the eyes, orbital cellulitis, on the palm, on the upper part of the palm, on the buttocks or anywhere on the skin. It generally starts as a small boil, or an insect bite or a cut. The child generally scratches it and infection sets in. The area initially becomes red and hot. The child develops fever. There is pain in the area. The area becomes tender to touch and gets swollen. In case of orbital cellulitis, the whole eye becomes swollen. The eye is surrounded by a red area. It is extremely painful and there is associated headache. In case of the hand there is difficulty in moving the hand. Gradually the infection starts to spread.   According to Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla – A child specialist in Karachi , If not controlled then pus starts to develop and the cellulitis may turn into an abscess. In the early stages antib...

Chicken Pox is a vesico popular rash caused by varicella. It occurs in children of any age, but mainly under five years of age. Initially there is high grade fever lasting for one to two days. This is followed by runny nose, cough and flu like symptoms. This is followed by a rash. The rash comprises of small discrete reddish raised areas, these are then filled with a fluid (papules) like small boils. They first start appearing on the abdomen and back. The trunk is initially involved. This is followed by spread to the arms and legs. By day 4 and 5 it spreads to face also. As new lesions appear the older lesions dry up and start to disappear. Some papules may get infected and develop pus. The fever remains high and there is itching. The child is very restless. The papules occur in the mouth also. They may produce ulcers and the child feels pain on eating. Generally, the lesions subside by one week. The fever disappears after 6 days. There may be slight cough and runny nose.   However...

Kawasaki Disease occurs mainly in children characterized by inflammation of medium sized arteries throughout the body. The inflammation affects the coronary arteries, the arteries supplying the heart muscles. Also known as muco cutaneous lymph gland syndrome as the lymph glands around the skin and the mucous membranes around the mouth swell. Initially, there is high grade fever, red eyes, rash on the body, red tongue, cracked lips, swollen red skin on the palms with peeling of skin. This may be followed by diarrhea, vomiting. There is accompanied joint pains. In very rare cases Corona infection may be followed by Kawasaki Disease. Boys under 5 years of age are more likely to get affected. According to  Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla a child specialist in Karachi , complications include inflammation of the coronary arteries that supply the heart, inflammation of the heart muscles or inflammation of heart valves. Inflammation of the coronary arteries can lead to weakening of the ar...