MyChildHealth

Swimmer’s ear is also known as Otitis externa. It is not a contagious disease. A tube like opening carries sound from the outside to the ear drum. When children spend a lot of time in the water, it enters the ear. This moisture can irritate or break the skin in the tube which is the [...]

Smallpox is an infection caused by the variola virus. For a long, long time smallpox was a dreaded infectious disease which affected people all over the world. In 1796 a British doctor, Edward Jenner, developed the first vaccine. Although people were not too willing to be vaccinated in the beginning, it worked so well that [...]

Mumps is a contagious disease which usually affects the salivary glands called parotids. There are three pairs of salivary, one on each side. Sometimes the other salivary glands, testicles (in case of boys) and ovaries (in the case of girls) or the brain may be involved. The incubation period for mumps is generally two to [...]

Small fleshy growths that many of us have had on some parts of the body are called warts. Usually they are no cause for concern and even may disappear on their own. However, if they are on the face or other exposed parts of the body you may want to get them removed. They are [...]

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a highly contagious disease. It was a most dreaded disease in the 19th century, causing a lot of deaths of children aged 1 to 4 years. It has been eradicated now to a large extent but is still prevalent in pockets where there is poverty, poor hygiene, poor nutrition and those [...]

TMJ refers to the Temporomandibular Joint. It indicates the temple area and the mandible or lower jaw. TMJ is the medical condition which affects the joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull. If you place your fingers lightly in front of your ear and open your mouth, you can feel the ends of [...]

Polio virus is the cause of polio a highly contagious disease. The virus directly attacks the nerve cells in the brain and in the spinal cord. The nerve cells which are affected the most by this virus are those which control the muscles involved in movement and walking. If these neurons are destroyed, they lead [...]

Meningitis is a medical term used to describe a disease which causes inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This can end up into a life threatening disease if proper care is not given when the symptoms first appear. Prolonged illness could result in permanent damage to the brain or other [...]

Measles is a serious disease caused by virus. The severity of this disease can be judged from the fact that up to the year 1980, when the anti measles vaccine was not in use, an estimated 2.6 million deaths were reported worldwide as a result of this disease. A majority of the fatal cases were [...]

Malaria is quite a common disease which spreads by mosquito sting. People living at places where there is lot of filth, dirt and standing water are more prone to contracting this disease. This is one of the major causes of death worldwide due to sickness. Timely treatment could result in cure but delay in treatment [...]

Influenza, commonly called flu, is a viral infection which attacks the respiratory system of a human being. Often the symptoms of influenza or flu are mistaken for the symptoms of common cold. There are three types of flu caused by strain types A, B, C. Type A strain is N1H1 strain which is able to [...]

During the seasons of the year when the weather is cool and humid, you will find a large number of children suffering from cough and cold. By the time one child is examined by the doctor the other one comes coughing. Even if you are not at the doctor’s clinic but in the market, you [...]

Headaches are quite common in school going children and about 90% of the kids going to school report having them. As the child grows older, the instances of occurrence of headache increase. There could be many causes of headache in the children. These could be common causes which may not be harmful or non common [...]

Both common cold and flu are illnesses which affect the respiratory system of the human body and both have similar symptoms so it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two on the basis of symptoms. Both common cold and flu are caused by different set of viruses and require different treatment. The symptoms of flu [...]

Encephalitis is a rare disease which has been diagnosed in 1 person per 200000 people. This disease is related to the brain and results from inflammation of brain tissues. As a result of inflammation, the brain tissues do not function in a normal manner. Due to improper functioning of brain, the child reports seizure, loss [...]

E Coli is an infection caused by bacteria. When a child gets infected, he has cramps in muscles and also severe diarrhea associated with blood. Children are affected more and symptoms are severer than the adults and are more common during summer time. Symptoms The symptoms start to appear within 10 days of infestation by [...]

Constipation at best can be called a problem. In majority of the cases it will be incorrect to call it a disease. However, in rare cases, constipation could be due to some disease. This is quite common problem faced by kids and is without any serious consequences. Constipation is a condition in which the bowel [...]

Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the mucus membrane which covers the white portion of the eye and the inner side of the eye. This membrane is called conjunctiva. Conjunctivitis generally starts from one eye and affects both the eyes ultimately. This may take a day or so, however the effect in one eye may be more [...]

Common cold is a viral infection which affects the upper respiratory system of the human body. Two known viruses which are the cause of common cold are rhino and corona viruses. The symptoms of this disease are cough, sore throat, running nose and fever. It takes 5 to 7 days for a child to be [...]

Cold sore is in the form of a blister of purple or reddish color which is formed on the outer edge of the lip of the child. This sore can appear as a single sore or in certain case in the form of bunches. The blister or blisters so formed are sometimes filled with fluid. [...]