Family health A-Z - I

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A simple painkilling medicine used to relieve mild to moderate pain, inflammation and fever. Can be used in conjunction with paracetamol.

Also known as: Jaundice

Also called icterus. jaundice is a condition symptomatic of liver disease, featuring yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes due to an increase in bilirubin levels in the blood. It is relatively common to varying degrees in newborns, especially premature babies, and may be treated by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays via a special lamp (bililight).

Friends conjured up by a child’s imagination, who exist only in the mind, but can provide valuable support and company when needed. This is a perfectly normal stage of development and is usually outgrown by junior-school age. There is only cause for concern if an imaginary friend is ever-present and if a child refuses to acknowledge that he or she is not real.

Immunisation helps protect children against certain diseases, including serious infections. A routine programme of immunisations is offered in the UK, starting at the age of two months, and concluding in teenage. The diseases covered are diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b), invasive pneumococcal disease (PCV), meningitis C, measles, mumps and rubella.

A highly infectious bacterial infection of the skin, characterised by red spots which may blister before leaching a golden fluid and crusting over. Impetigo typically erupts on the face (especially around the mouth and nose), neck or hands, although any part of the body may be affected. In babies, it often occurs in the nappy area. Treatment is by antibiotics.

A cervix that is damaged or malformed sufficiently that it cannot remain closed for the duration of pregnancy. An incompetent cervix may result in spontaneous miscarriage.

The period between infection with a disease and the appearance of its symptoms

Enclosed transparent cot in which sick or premature babies are kept in controlled and protective conditions.

A midwife who is professionally qualified but works in a private practice outside the NHS.

Any method of encouraging the onset of labour, including administering a synthetic form of the naturally-occurring hormone oxytocin via an intravenus drip; placing a pessary containing the hormone-like substance prostaglandin on the cervix, or separating the amniotic sac from the cervix.

Any method of encouraging the onset of labour, including administering a synthetic form of the naturally-occurring hormone oxytocin via an intravenus drip; placing a pessary containing the hormone-like substance prostaglandin on the cervix, or separating the amniotic sac from the cervix.

Commonly called the flu, influenza is an acute, infectious, viral disease of the respiratory system. Symptoms are debilitating and include fever, muscle pain, headache and inflammation of the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract. Treatment is with simple painkillers and anti-inflammatories unless a bacterial infection occurs, in which case antibiotics may be helpful.

The most common type of hernia, also known as an umbilical hernia, affecting mostly male babies and adults. (Ninety-eight per cent of inguinal hernias occur in males.) Occurring in the groin, an inguinal hernia is caused by a loop of bowel pushing through a weakness in the inguinal canal - the triangular opening between layers of abdominal muscle near the groin. Can be corrected by a simple surgical procedure

The use of forceps or ventouse extraction, or the performance of an episiotomy, to assist a baby’s passage down the birth canal. (See ‘episiotomy’, ‘forceps’ and ‘ventouse’.)

The use of forceps or ventouse extraction, or the performance of an episiotomy, to assist a baby’s passage down the birth canal. (See ‘episiotomy’, ‘forceps’ and ‘ventouse’.)

Iron given in tablet form to some pregnant women whose have low levels of iron in their blood.

Also known as: Intrauterine-growth retardation

The use of forceps or ventouse extraction, or the performance of an episiotomy, to assist a baby’s passage down the birth canal. (See ‘episiotomy’, ‘forceps’ and ‘ventouse’.)