A doctor’s advice for baby care during monsoon

The monsoon is always welcome after the scorching summer heat. The showers, the cool weather, the greenery around are always a thing we wait for. But for babies and small kids, we have to be extra careful. Pain, illness, and everyday suffering is something we can avoid by taking few simple precautions.

PERSONAL HYGIENE:

The first and foremost is personal hygiene. The baby’s room should be clean, dry and well ventilated. Change bedsheets at regular intervals. Stored clothes tend to get fungal layers. So make sure you soak the baby clothes in a capful of antiseptic liquid for an hour or two, before going for the routine washing.During monsoons, it is at times very hot when the sun is out and cool and pleasant when it rains. When it’s hot, your baby’s clothes should be loose, cotton material and when it’s raining, you should wrap your baby in warm clothes to make him/her comfortable.

Babies could sweat a lot because of humidity in the atmosphere. Give the baby bath or sponge bath at least once a day. Wipe your baby with a clean cloth, and do check his neck, underarms, ears, private areas, and other places for any fungal or skin infections.
Damp clothes do cause fungal rashes, so you can iron your babies clothes to dry them well. Keep a good supply of extra clothes and underclothes as they don’t dry so easily in this weather.

Diapers can cause diaper rashes, avoid them if possible, allow the skin to breathe. Change diapers more frequently as they are wetter due to the cool weather.

After the routine bath, dry the child especially armpit and groin areas well. The baby or child should never sit under the fan or A.C blast because then the baby can catch a cold.

HOUSE AND SURROUNDINGS:

The house and the surroundings should be free from accumulated water or stored water and garbage to avoid rats, mosquitoes and flies. If your child gets soaked in the rains, give him a hot bath or just dry his hair as early as possible, a hot drink of milk or a healthy soup following that will help avoid the baby becoming chilly.

FOOD HYGIENE:

The baby’s food should be prepared with hygienic potable water. Insist that the child should drink only boiled water. No juices or water from outside; no food from road side vendors. The baby s bottles and food plates should be washed with boiled or purified water.

Fresh, hot home-cooked food is the best. Avoid raw and unwashed food. Heavy oily food is difficult to digest. All food should be kept covered and never keep it out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours.

Eat healthy if you breastfeed: Breastmilk contains important antibodies that help to strengthen the baby’s immune system. A baby should be breastfed until at least 6 months of age. If you are eating healthy, the baby will largely benefit.

HAND WASHING:

Hand washing is the most important step in food hygiene; inculcate the habit in older kids and in the family member or caretaker feeding a baby. You use a sanitizer when not at home. Cutting your and the kid’s nails regularly also goes a long way in preventing illnesses spread through the dirt getting collected under nails.

RAIN PROTECTIVE GEAR:

Older kids should always wear a raincoat, boots and use an umbrella. Boots prevent the child from getting water-borne illnesses like leptospirosis and bacterial diseases and worm infestations. The shoes should be made of good quality vinyl or rubber and have skid-proof soles. Avoid waterlogged areas for playing.

STAGNANT WATER TO BE AVOIDED:

Stagnant water and the cool temperature and humidity encourage microbial growth and breeding of mosquitoes. These transmit a number of diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya,; water-borne illnesses are gastroenteritis and typhoid, cholera and jaundice; airborne illnesses like cold, flu, bronchitis.

PROTECT FROM THE MOSQUITOES:

Avoid mosquito bites by using mosquito repellants with a baby friendly composition like citronella. Always sleep under a mosquito net. Use a wire mesh on windows. Keep the doors and windows closed during evening hours. No stagnant water in and around the house should be allowed to accumulate.

Airborne diseases can be avoided to an extent by regular hand washing. The adult should get treated immediately if they catch an infection. Avoid contact with people having apparent infections. Cover your mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing and teach the child to do the same.

MEDICAL MEASURES:

Certain vaccines will prove wise investments against diseases like the flu vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, typhoid vaccine and hepatitis A vaccine. They help boost the child's defense system against these microbes. Keep a medical kit handy with basic fever and cold medicines at home and use as per doctor’s advice.

By Dr. Asmita Mahajan

The author is Neonatologist and Consultant Pediatrics at S.L.Raheja Fortis Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Mahim