With a child you learn about things that you never thought wold be an issue. In the past few weeks my family has been dealing with Hand, Foot, Mouth or HFM, Sty/Stye also known as Hordeolum, and then a suspected urinary tract infection believed to be caused by bubble baths.
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| She seems pretty happy about it. |
First of all I had never heard of HFM. As most of you know, I worked at a day care and was a nanny for five years. I never have even crossed a case of HFM. But apparently it is on the rise. What it is are small red bumps located on the child's hands, feet, mouth, and around their buttock. According to the pediatrician, there is a rise in outbreaks and my daughter had a very mild case because she was showing little to no signs of pain. She did not want to eat which is normal considering that is where the bumps first appear. The cause is from children putting their hands or feet in their mouth. If the child's hand aren't properly washed all the time then the germs can cause this. As with other things, I believe there really isn't a
rise of this disease just a more knowledgeable population.
Next on to Stye Eye. The little girl I take care of has a stye that she may have to get removed. Styes are not suppose to last more than two weeks and although not painful can be irritating. They are usually caused by germs getting in the eye due to excessive rubbing of the eyes. The way to get rid of a stye is by making sure the area stays clean, avoiding touching the eye, and warm compresses 4 to 5 times a day.
The Case of the Bad Bubble Bath:
Did you know that you are not suppose to use bubble bath even as an adult? The FDA says they can not regulate any shampoo, conditioner, other hair products, soaps, body wash, or bubble baths because they are not considered something that is consumed. But these types of products go over our eyes, ears, mouths, and pores through out our skin. For 25 years studies have shown that bubble baths are not safe but yet now we have Sponge Bob Bubble Bath, they even make a variety of
Baby Bubble Baths. I did not know I wasn't suppose to be giving my daughter bubble baths. I remember having bubble
baths as a child and
thought what better way to make a bath fun. My daughter was showing signs of discomfort so we took her to the doctor. I wish it didn't come to my daughter's discomfort for me to realize that the chemicals used in your everyday products, aren't always as safe as you think they are. The doctor said let them play in the plain water, then stand them up, wash them off, rinse off with a cup or bucket of some sort, and take them out. And as cute as bubble bath pictures are, they aren't worth the discomfort of your little one.
This all basically comes down to this...wash your child's hands as often as you would your own and watch the labels on the products you use. Also do research. I would have never guessed bubble bath was harmful until this happened. So if you don't know what a chemical on a label is, then look it up. HFM, Stye, and Bubble Bath mishaps are all common mistakes that I just don't want you to make. And if you are reading this thinking it could never happen to me, well I thought that same thing.
