Keith Nicholl Medical Centre

Jan 2008

'My four-year-old son suffers from regular headaches. What could be the cause of this?'

'Headache is not commonly reported in children. It is rarely complained of in children less than 5 years old.

I would be concerned about a child of four complaining of headaches particularly if they had been present for some time or were associated with visual problems, were occurring at night, were associated with vomiting or where there was a change in personality or intellect. These features may indicate serious pathology within the brain.

The child should be carefully examined by a paediatrician and should be referred for an M.R.I. Scan, preferably in an 'open' type of scanner. This will detect any of the serious types of lesions causing headache.

Written by

Dr Keith Nicholl

Feb 2008

“I have problems getting my eighteen-month-old to take medicine. Even when I try to syringe it down her throat she spits it back up. Is there anything you can suggest?”

At 18 months your child is too young to understand the importance of medication and for you to reason with her effectively. Role-play, pretending to give the medicine to a favorite toy and to herself followed by lots of positive praise. She may then be happy to take the real medicine later.  Ask the doctor or pharmacist to prescribe a more palatable medicine or a drug that requires fewer doses. Alternatively mix with a small amount of favorite food e.g. yogurt. Do not dilute, as you are unable to accurately measure the amount taken. If the child spits out the medicine do not give more medicine. Always give lots of positive praise however successful your attempt maybe. With age you will be able to reason with her and hopefully this issue will resolve.

Rachel Jex

Well baby nurse

March 2008

' My two-year-old used to eat well but has suddenly stopped eating all fruit and vegetables, is playing around at meal times and doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite most of the time. Should I be concerned and how can I encourage her to sit at the table and eat properly?

We all have varying appetites through out the day/week.  Encourage your toddler to have regular meals with healthy snacks such a raisins or fruit. Don’t be tempted to give sweet biscuits or filling snacks between meals to try to ensure that they have a healthy appetite at meal times. Toddlers need to eat 3-4 hourly and you should try not to feed too late at night. As an over tired child will be reluctant to eat.

Hidden vegetables in food such as home made pizza sauce, fruit smoothies, or frozen smoothies that are a ‘lolly pop’ are an easy way to get valuable fruit and vegetables into unwilling toddlers. Try to remain calm and do not respond to disruptive behavior, ignore bad behavior and reward good behavior. We all learn table manners by example and copying. Try to eat regular meals as a family to set a good example.

written by

Rachel Jex

Well Baby Nurse