My 7-yr-old son does not eat properly and looks pale. I have tried to serve him different dishes every day but to no avail. What should I do?

— Monica Mehrotra

Dr Sanjeev Bagai, HoD, Paediatrics Dept, Rockland Hospital, says:

Most likely your child is suffering from anaemia. Anaemia is quite common in infancy. It is a condition in which the number of red blood cells in your child’s body drops below normal. Red cells carry oxygen to different organs in the body and the body needs iron to produce red blood cells. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anaemia in early childhood. This can be corrected by giving a balanced diet with more iron. The following foods contain iron -- spinach, green peas, beans, kidney beans, broccoli, raisins and papaya. Among the non-vegetarian foods, egg, meat, fish and poultry have the most iron. You should give him more of these foods. Avoid junk food and sweets. Iron pills can be given orally too after consultation with the doctor. This should be had on an empty stomach for at least two to three months. Iron containing medicines stain the teeth and cause greenish black stools, but this is harmless. Keep iron-containing medicine out of the reach of children because an overdose can be dangerous.

My 4-yr-old frequently gets a runny nose and a cough. What treatment should be given?

— Seema Sharma

Dr Bagai says:

A cold or upper respiratory infection (URI) is a viral infection. Most healthy children get at least six episodes of URI each year. Usually the fever lasts less than 3 days, and all nose and throat symptoms are gone by one week. In younger babies, the best treatment for cleaning the nose is to use a soft rubber suction bulb to remove the secretions gently. Older children should be encouraged to sniff and swallow the secretions. If the secretions are dry, few drops of nose saline drops should be added in each nostril.

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