chatwithketch

Q: Good day ma’am, please, evaporated milk and powdered milk which is best for children of 4 to 8 years?

A: Hello there! Thanks for writing in. Although the baby in question is between 4 to 8 years, I’ll start the discourse from the time weaning starts – six months.

From six months, baby is ready to be introduced to some other food than just breast milk and water. For a long time, the standard teaching had been to go for rice cereal as the first add-on meal because it is bland and babies tolerate this well. Other studies question this wisdom now and suggest that foods like meats with lots of essential nutrients like iron may be a good place to start. What should you do? You can boil beef/chicken very soft and blend it up for baby. If baby tolerates this, then by the next week, you could try adding some rice cereal. Try not to introduce more than one food per week so that you have time to study how your baby adapts to it and of course, look out for/isolate food allergy. And, to start off, only one meal of the complementary feed should be given daily. The rest should be the usual…breast milk 😀 This will, of course, as baby tolerates.

Generally, foods to start off weaning should be just slightly thicker than milk and so, if it retains its shape on a spoon, it may be too thick.

From 9 months, baby can be allowed to start experimenting with regular family meals…minus the spices, of course 😀

From one year of age, you can add other regular cereals and it’s also okay to introduce regular cow milk at this time. Full cream cow milk is advocated at this time for proper brain development. Thereafter, please switch to skimmed/1%/2% milk as full cream milk has a lot of saturated fat which may contribute to poor heart health. Grains, green leafy vegetables, regular cow milk, honey, whole eggs can generally be introduced after the baby turns 1 year old. Should the milk be evaporated or powdered? Well, you missed out fresh – this should be the first choice. Failing that, either of the two (powdered or evaporated) will do. But be sure to reconstitute them properly because both have had some level of water removed from their content. As usual, it never hurts t hear from your baby’s dctor

Generally, other weaning foods that can be introduced include:
Boiled egg yolk (egg whites contain substances that baby may react to), sweet potatoes, fish, chicken, beef, fruits like banana, avocados, boiled beans (with skin removed if possible etc
Simple recipes include, blend some chicken or beef with the stock or mash a banana and add to baby’s cereal.

Our local cereals can also be used and fortified with some breast milk or formula.

As baby tolerates these meals, you can get a little more adventurous.

Boiled carrots mashed with some coconut oil or a little yoghurt with mashed banana may not go amiss too.

An example of a recipe I make for my children is boil potatoes in a pot and place a stainless plate on top of the pot. Add your egg yolk and a drop Olive oil and when the yolk is cooked and potatoes soft, mash all together and feed baby.

Now I know we are all very busy, but weaning is no easy task and so we must commit to trying as much as to prepare these meals ourselves. Packaged meals usually contain additives that may trigger problems/allergies etc in the baby. Hygiene is also critical!

All the best and whenever in doubt, consult your baby’s doctor.

Q: Hello Dr Ketch, please I want to know how to get rid of washer man’s finger. It’s really spoilt 6 out of my 10 finger nails. Thanks so much.

A: So sorry you are experiencing this. I can just imagine what you may be going through. From the description of your symptoms, it’s rather difficult to say exactly what is going on with your finger nails/ hand. The term washerman’s finger, which you used may have beclouded what you really wanted us to address. Then mentioning your fingernails being spoilt, gives it the picture of a fungal nail infection. There are quite a number of conditions that can affect the hands, fingers and the nails, some of which can be a bit challenging to diagnose and even treat. I would advise you see a doctor, who would be able to have a look at your hands, fingers and nails; examine them and then advice you on what to do.

Washerman’s hand is a skin condition in which the skin of the hands or feet loses its elasticity and tugor. There is wrinkling of the fingers and feet and they become white, like no blood is flowing in them. It is more pronounced after the hands or feet have been immersed in water for a long period of time.
Fungal infections are quite difficult to treat and can be very disturbing especially those affecting the nails. It can affect one or more finger or toe nails, more often the big toe or little toenail. It may cause white or yellow patches on the nail; the end of the nail may lift up, and there may be complete destruction of the nail. This will require antifungal tablets for months.

If any of these is what you describe, I would advise you avoid immersing your hands in water for long periods. If however, the nature of your job does not allow this, then getting a waterproof pair of gloves may be of some help. You can also moisturize the hands frequently with a moisturizing cream like coconut oil and keep them dry most of the time. Hope this helps!

****This post was contributed by a guest doctor blogger.

Have a great night, beautiful people 

Q: Hi Doc. I am a breastfeeding mom and l have discovered l have a painful lump in one of my breasts, Could it be cancer? Should l stop breastfeeding?

A: Painful lumps in the breasts of breastfeeding mums may be blocked milk ducts. Usually your milk ducts block if you’re making milk faster than you’re expressing it and indeed you should feel some relief every time you breastfeed from that breast…so stopping breastfeeding may just be making a bad matter already worse 

What causes this milk duct to block? It could be that your baby is not latching on well to the breast and thus not sucking enough from that breast. It could be that you don’t feel well and are not feeding baby often enough, or you decided to wean baby suddenly. Other causes include tight nursing bra, sleeping on your tummy, a nursing pump that’s not powerful enough, a blow to the breast or it could just be that a feed was skipped.
Solutions? Nurse your baby some more, ever so often….especially from that particular breast  Yes I said that. Baby sucks hardest then and hopefully that strong sucking action would dislodge the plug. Otherwise try a nursing pump or just use your hands to express the milk.

Placing warm towels on the affected area may also help the breast milk flow faster and thus dislodge the plug.
Rest as much as possible, eat healthy (loads of fruits and veggies) and use pain relief, like Paracetamol, if needed.

If this condition is not handled immediately, it could lead to an infection of that duct (mastitis) such that the skin over that area feels hot to touch, reddens, mum feels feverish, ill and aches all over. This infection is usually treated with a course of antibiotics, which will be prescribed by your doctor.
So, if you try all the suggestions above and don’t improve, please see your doctor to confirm if this is an infection or indeed something else.

Have a great weekend, y’all 

A: Brownish breast milk usually signifies broken down products of blood in breast milk and the occasional appearance of ‘frank’ blood in the case above, appears to confirm that this may be the case. The appearance of frank or altered blood in breast milk is not necessarily a serious issue but where in doubt, as usual, please see your doctor.

What would be the cause(s) of blood in breast milk?

• Growth of milk making cells: This is likely to cause blood in milk in the first few days of birth but usually does not persist beyond a week.
• Cracked nipples: This may occur due to difficulties with baby latching in to the nipple, a blocked nipple pore, biting of the nipple as the baby starts teething etc
• Broken capillaries in the breast as a result of wrong breast pumping technique, either manually or using a breast pump.
• Small breast tumours called intraductal pappilomas. These are usually harmless, occur on one side only and disappear without any treatment.

Usually during this period, the baby may pass out dark stool (due to altered blood in the stool) or vomit blood stained breast milk after feeding.

Usually, this condition would resolve with time. However, if it is too painful to continue breastfeeding at this time, breast milk should be expressed. This gives the breasts time to heal and also provides sufficient nourishment for the baby in the interim.

To prevent a recurrence,
• Prevent cracked nipples by ensuring baby latches on well, wear bras made of fabric that can breathe and clean nipples with water only.
• Be gentle with the breasts while expressing breast milk whether manually or with breast pump. For the latter, be sure to get a pump that suits your breast size.

If baby starts having bloody diarrhea or worsening jaundice, it is possible he is getting a lot of blood in the breast milk. Please take him to see his/her paediatrician.

For related posts, please click on the links below:

Daily Health Tips: I’m A Breastfeeding Mother Who Just Developed A Painful Lump in My Breast. Could It Be Cancer?

Daily Health Tips: Breast Feeding Strike And Menstrual Migraine.

Have a good night, people