| Gastroenteritis
What it is and how to spot it:
- Gastroenteritis is the inflammation of stomach and intestines,
characterised by vomiting and diarrhoea. In babies this can quickly
lead to dehydration.
- In children over two, this is termed as food poisoning.
Why babies are at risk:
- A baby’s immune system is weak because it cannot create
disease fighting cells (immunoglobulins – IgA)
- Up to three months, breast fed babies can only derive IgA from
maternal milk
- Up to six months babies have virtually no ability to create
IgA
- Between six and twelve months, the levels of IgA build slowly
but still have limited defensive value.
It
is caused by:
Bacteria, viruses or their toxins. The following are most likely to
affect babies:
- Rotavirus
- Campylobacter
- Salmonella
- E Coli 0157
- Shigella
- Listeria
How it
is passed on to baby:
Most commonly, through poor hand washing and contaminated feeding
utensils
How to reduce the risk:
- Sterilise all feeding utensils until baby is one year (Milton
will kill all food poisoning bacteria within one minute)
- Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling nappies, going
to the loo and before feeding baby
- Avoid leaving weaning foods at room temperature
- Ensure refrigerator temperatures are maintained correctly
- Ensure kitchen surfaces are cleaned after preparation of raw
foods
- Sterilise breast pump parts if you are breastfeeding
What is Thrush?
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