MANAGING ILLNESS II

ALTERATIONS IN GASTROINTESTINAL
FUNCTIONS:

COLIC
 Colic is frequent, prolonged and intense
crying or fussiness in a healthy infant.

 Can be particularly frustrating for parents.

 Colic is a special pattern of crying.

Signs and Symptoms:
Causes:

 Doctors aren’t sure what causes colic.

Contributing factors could include:
1. Pain or discomfort from gas or indigestion.
2. A digestive system that isn’t fully developed.
3. Overfeeding or underfeeding.
4. Sensitivity to formula or breast milk.
5. Overstimulation.
6. Early form of childhood migraine headache.
7. Emotional reaction to fear, frustration, or excitement.
How to relieve Colic of Baby:

 Lay them on their back in a dark, quiet room.

 Swaddle them snugly in a blanket.
 Lay them across your lap and gently rub their back.
 Try infant massage.
 Put a warm water bottle on your baby's belly.
 Have them suck on a pacifier.
 Soak them in a warm bath.
 TEETHING
Baby’s teeth start to
come through their gum
line. A.k.a.
“odontiasis”.
Some babies are born with their first teeth.
-Others start teething before they are 4 months
old, and some after 12 months.
-But most babies start teething at around 6
months.
 When and how teeth come in
can be different for every baby
and may be based on family
history.

In all, 20 “baby teeth” will

eventually be in place, usually
by age 3.
 THUMB-

SUCKING
A natural reflex for children. Sucking on
thumbs, fingers, pacifiers or other
objects may make babies feel secure
and happy and help them learn about
their world.
 Soothe themselves and help them fall
asleep.
 Effects of Thumb-Sucking

 Affects the
development of the
teeth, jaw, and palate,
the habit can also
change how your child
eats and speaks.
May cause lisping and other speech
impediments, including an inability to
pronounce hard consonant sounds like
"D" and "T.
 How to Stop Thumb-Sucking?

Use positive reinforcement.

Identify triggers.

Offer gentle reminders.

 DROOLING
 Saliva flowing outside of your mouth unintentionally. Often a
result of weak or underdeveloped muscles around your mouth,
or having too much saliva.

 Normal in the first two years of life.

 Babies might also drool when they’re teething.

Normal during sleep.

Can occur in people who have other medical

conditions or neurological conditions, such
as cerebral palsy.
Causes:

A symptom of a medical condition

or developmental delay, or a result of
taking certain medications.
Age. Drooling begins after birth.
It is normal, especially when going through the
teething process.

Diet. High in acidic content often cause excessive

saliva production.
 Neurological disorders.
Neurologic conditions, such as cerebral
palsy, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), or stroke may cause muscle
weakness that affects the ability to close the mouth
and swallow saliva.
Treatment/Management:

 Drooling isn’t always treated. Doctors usually won’t recommend

any treatment for someone under the age of 4 or who drools during
sleep.
 Therapy. Speech and occupational therapists teach positioning and
posture control to help improve lip closure and swallowing.
 Applianceor dental device. A special device placed in the
mouth helps with lip closure during swallowing.
 Medications. Certain medications help reduce saliva
production. Scopolamine (Transderm Scop), Glycopyrrolate
(Robinul), Atropine sulfate.
 Botox injections. May help reduce symptoms of
drooling by tightening facial muscles.
 Surgical treatment. The most common reroutes the
salivary ducts to the back of the mouth to prevent
drooling outside of the mouth.
Another procedure removes your salivary glands
completely.
 HICCUP
 Caused by involuntary contractions
of your diaphragm -
This involuntary contraction causes
your vocal cords to close very briefly,
which produces the characteristic
sound of a hiccup.
Common Causes:
 SPITTING UP
 Spitting
up is the easy flow of a baby's
stomach contents through his or her
mouth, possibly with a burp.

 The medical term for “spitting up”

is gastroesophageal reflux.
How to reduce spitting up?

 Keep your baby upright. Feed your baby in a more

upright position.
 Avoidoverfeeding. Feeding your baby smaller
amounts, more frequently might help.
 Take time to burp your baby.
 Put baby to sleep on his or her back.
 Experiment with your own diet.
 THRUSH
 Common in babies and not usually serious.
Thrush in babies is a type of yeast infection that
typically appears as white or yellow irregularly
shaped patches or sores that coat your baby's mouth.

 Oral thrush (also called oral candidiasis) can affect

anyone, but is most common in babies younger than
6 months old and in older adults.
 GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS:

DIARRHEA
 Diarrhea
is loose, watery stools (bowel
movements).
 Loose stools three or more times in one
day.
 Essentiallya manifestation of altered
GIT function in digestion, absorption or
secretion.
 Can be infectious or non-infectious.
Different Causes of Diarrhea:

A. Food Associated (Cow’s milk and Soy Protein Intolerance)

 Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI)- a temporary inability to digest the

proteins found in cow's milk and soy products.

 Signs/Symptoms: mostly show at the first 3 months of life

-vomiting
-rectal bleeding maybe seen if colitis is present
-edema
 - Rhinorrhea, wheezing and eczema (occasionally)
-anaphylaxis

 Management:

- Elimination of the offending dietary antigen, although severely

affected infants may take 2 weeks to months to recover and may require
intravenous alimentation until the intestinal mucosa heals.
B. Acute Infectious Diarrhea
 Remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the
world.
 Mode of Transmission:
-Eating food or drinking water contaminated with human waste.
-Hand to mouth transfer of contaminated materials
-Vector –flies
 Treatment:

-Use of antibiotics.
-Use of antispasmodics and anti motility is
discouraged.
-If other symptoms disappeared upon diagnosis, just
wait for the diarrhea to stop on its own.
 Prevention and Control:
- Wash hands thoroughly after going to the toilet and before preparing food.
- Cover food to prevent contamination.
- Store raw and cooked food separately.
- Choose foods processed for safety.
- Cook food and boil drinking water thoroughly.
- All suspected cases should submit for stool examination and bring to hospital for
isolation and prompt and competent medical care if found positive.
- Sanitary disposal of human feces like diapers.
 Management:
- If infant has only wild diarrhea caused by overfeeding, withhold solid food
temporarily and instead give boiled water. Give ORESOL.
-Cleanliness of the diaper area is extremely important in the care of any infant
who has loose stools.
-Continue feeding the child with regular meals, but alter the diet to include
binding foods such as banana, rice, apple and toast(BRAT diet).
-Avoid high fiber and junk food.
-Take the patient immediately to the hospital if condition worsens.
 Causative Agent:
 CHOLERA – Vibrio cholera bacteria
*S/Sx: sudden onset of frequent
painless rice watery stool, vomiting, rapid
dehydration, muscle cramps, cyanosis
*Incubation period: from few hours
of infection to 5 days, usually 3 days
*Communicability: 7-14 days after
onset; occasionally 2-3 months
 Dysentery (Bacillary Shigellosis)
*S/Sx: diarrhea, fever, tenesmus
: in severe cases, there is bloody and mucoid stool
which are frequent in infant and in elderly debilitated
person.
*Incubation period: 1 day usually less than 4 days
* Communicability: during acute infection and until
microorganism is absent from feces.
C. Food Poisoning Diarrhea
 Salmonellosis
*Etiologic Agent: Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella
Montenideo(found in the feces of household pets)
*Cause: infected food handled by humans, insufficient cooking of all
food stuffs especially egg products, preparation of food such as custards and
pudding and allowing them to stand at room temperature for quite sometime
before consumed.
*S/Sx: onset is abrupt with nausea and vomiting, severe diarrhea,
abdominal cramps, tenderness of abdomen, fever, stools are offensive later
becoming watery and greenish, tenesmus
*Treatment: antibiotics (particularly chloromycetin), Sulfonamide
*Prevention&Control:
1. Proper food handling and keeping.
2. Proper hygiene at all times.
3. Always wear slippers and shoes outdoors.
4. Proper toilet facility and stool disposal.
5. Be sure to drink safe water.
6. Avoid unhygienic places and areas with poor
sanitation.
 Staphylococcal Food Poisoning
*Etiologic Agent: preformed enterotoxins
from certain strains of staphylococci
*Cause: contaminated food such as pastries,
processed ham and milk
*Prevention&Control:
1.Proper refrigeration of custards, puddings
and all sliced and chopped meats.
2.Proper care of leftover foods.
 Botulism -a rare but serious illness caused by a
toxin that attacks the body's nerves and causes difficulty
breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.
*Etiologic Agent: toxin is made by Clostridium
botulinum and sometimes Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium
baratii bacteria.
: common in
canned and preserved foods
*Incubation Period: 12-36 hours
*S/Sx: weakness, dizziness, disturbances of vision,
difficulty in speaking, swallowing and breathing.
*Prevention&Control:
1. Government regulation of commercial processing
of canned goods.
2. Education concerning proper processing of canned
and preserved food at home.
3. If a group of person are involved and one becomes
ill before the others, the rest should be given antitoxin doses of
10000-50000units of Butolism.
 GASTRO-
ENTERITIS
 A short-term illness triggered by the
infection and inflammation of the
digestive system.

 Occurs in person of all ages and is a

major cause of morbidity and
mortality in underdeveloped country.
 PARASITIC GASTROENTERITIS
Signs & Symptoms
Prevention:
 CONSTIPATION
 Constipation occurs when bowel
movements become less frequent
and stools become difficult to
pass.
 It happens most often due to
changes in diet or routine, or due
to inadequate intake of fiber.
Causes:
Treatment:
 VOMITING
 Vomiting is an uncontrollable reflex that expels
the contents of the stomach through the mouth.
 also known scientifically as “emesis”
 It's also called “being sick” or “throwing up.”
 Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but rather
are symptoms of many different conditions
 TYPHOID FEVER
 Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are life-threatening
illnesses caused by Salmonella serotype Typhi
and Salmonella serotype Paratyphi, respectively.

 Typhoid fever is contracted by drinking or eating the

bacteria in contaminated food or water.

 The bacteria can survive for weeks in water or dried

sewage.
 HEPATITIS
 Inflammation of the liver.
 Caused by a variety of infectious
viruses and noninfectious agents
leading to a range of health
problems, some of which can be
fatal. (WHO)
 Types of Hepatitis:
 HEPATITIS A
 An inflammation of the liver caused
by the hepatitis A virus (HAV).
The virus is primarily spread when
an uninfected (and unvaccinated)
person ingests food or water that is
contaminated with the feces of an
infected person.

 There's currently no cure for

hepatitis A, but it normally gets
better on its own within a couple of
months.
 HEPATITIS B

 Can cause both acute and chronic disease.

 Most commonly transmitted from mother to child
during birth and delivery, as well as through
contact with blood or other body fluids during
sex with an infected partner, unsafe injections or
exposures to sharp instruments.
 Hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccines that are
safe, available and effective.
 HEPATITIS C

 Thevirus is the cause of

hepatitis C and some cancers
such as liver cancer and
lymphomas in humans.

 Thereis currently no effective

vaccine against hepatitis C.
 URINARY TRACT
INFECTION (UTI)
 Urinary traction infection
(UTI) is a very common type of
infection in your urinary
system. Can involve any part of
your urinary system, including
the urethra, ureters, bladder and
kidneys.
 Types of urinary tract infections (UTIs)

 urethritis – infection of the

urethra.
 cystitis – infection of the bladder.
 pyelonephritis – infection of the
kidneys.
 vaginitis – infection of the vagina.
 RUBEOLA
“TRUE MEASLES”
 An infection caused by a virus that grows in the cells
lining the throat and lungs. It’s a very contagious
disease that spreads through the air whenever
someone who is infected coughs or sneezes.
 Also called rubeola, "10-day measles" or "red
measles,“
 Measles can be serious and even fatal for small
children.
Signs/Symptoms
 GERMAN MEASLES
(RUBELLA)
 A contagious viral infection best known by
its distinctive red rash.
 It's also called German measles or three-
day measles.
 Rubella is a contagious disease that mostly
affects children.
 CHICKEN POX
(VARICELLA)
 A highly contagious disease caused
by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV).
 It can cause an itchy, blister-like rash.
The rash first appears on the chest,
back, and face, and then spreads over
the entire body.
Symptoms:
 TUBERCULOSIS
 A bacterial infection spread through
inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes
of an infected person.
 It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any
part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen),
glands, bones and nervous system.
 A person with TB can die if they do not get
treatment.
 MENINGITIS
 An inflammation (swelling) of the protective
membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
 A bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding
the brain and spinal cord usually causes the swelling.
 Some people with the infection die and death can occur in as
little as a few hours. However, most people recover from
bacterial meningitis. Those who do recover can have
permanent disabilities, such as brain damage, hearing loss, and
learning disabilities.
 TETANUS

“LOCKJAW”
An infection caused by bacteria called
Clostridium tetani.
 When the bacteria invades the body, they produce a
poison (toxin) that causes painful muscle
contractions.
 Another name for tetanus is “lockjaw”.
 It often causes a person's neck and jaw muscles to
lock, making it hard to open the mouth or swallow.
 ACUTE
POLIOMYELITIS
 A disease of the anterior horn motor
neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem
caused by poliovirus.
 Flaccid asymmetric weakness and muscle
atrophy are the hallmarks of its clinical
manifestations, due to loss of motor neurons
and denervation of their associated skeletal
muscles
 DENGUE

“H-FEVER”
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection, found
in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide,
mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
 It is an acute illness of sudden onset.
 There are four serotypes of dengue viruses,
designated as DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and
DENV-4; all are transmitted from human to human
through the bite of certain species of Aedes
mosquitoes, primarily Ae. aegypti
Stages of Dengue:
 RABIES
 A deadly virus spread to people from
the saliva of infected animals.
 Rabies virus is usually transmitted
through a bite.
 Dogs are the main source of human
rabies deaths, contributing up to 99%
of all rabies transmissions to humans.