Sickness in Children

Abstract

A sick child can cause considerable strain on the family. There will of course be the natural anxiety and worry, but in addition there may also be other physical strains, e.g. cooking special foods to tempt the child’s appetite, additional washing and cooking if the child happens to vomit or has diarrhoea, lack of sleep at night, etc. The social life may be curtailed, or if the mother goes to work she is upset that she cannot stay at home and nurse the sick child. The other children at home feel neglected and demand more attention. It is important to understand all these various strains one is being subjected to during an illness at home in order to be able to cope with them If the family is under the care of the family physician he would recognise these strains and provide guidance and emotional support for the family in addition to treating the child’s illness.