Common childhood illnesses

CHILDREN will soon be back in classrooms, which are breeding grounds of knowledge and creativity, and also of of bugs and illnesses.

COLDS AND FLU: Aside from treating the sniffles and soothing the symptoms, there’s not much parents can do. Flu can make children poorly, but it isn’t serious unless there are complications, or a child has pre-existing health problems.

“Children will get flu and colds, and parents need to teach them how to cope with minor illnesses,” says consultant paediatrician, Dr Markus Hesseling. “There are obviously cases where flu can become a real problem: for example, in immunocompromised children, but generally healthy children can fight the illness off without major support — mostly parental TLC, a bit of paracetamol, plus plenty of fluids.”