Bad Breath in Children - Easy Steps to Solving Halitosis

Does your child suffer from halitosis? Bad breath in children is not a common complaint, but according to some anecdotal medical reports, it has is becoming more common. Chalk this up to the foods kids eat this day, or the growing prevalence of airborne particulates that are producing more respiratory problems in today’s children.

Halitosis in Children?

Although bad breath in children is not very common, it is becoming more common. If you notice that your child is suffering from halitosis on a regular basis, the first thing you should do is to try to uncover the root of the problem. A child’s bad breath can be caused by any number of things. These include food choices, dental issues, or an underlying medical problem.

As you begin to investigate the source of your child’s bad breath, you should also take note of how long your child has been suffering from bad breath. Is it a relatively recent problem, or is it a long-standing chronic condition?

Causes of Bad Breath

There are many potential causes for bad breath, which makes it that much more difficult to pinpoint the real cause. In general, there are five basic causes for cases of bad breath. The first and most obvious reason why your child may suffer from bad breath is eating foods that are particularly pungent, such as those common culprits garlic and onion. Another very common reason for bad breath is lack of saliva flow at night. This is the culprit when it comes to morning breath.

Another common cause for bad breath is bad dental hygiene. Poor dental care in general has been known to cause bad breath. In children, one of the most common causes for bad breath is sucking a child sucking on their thumb. In other cases, the culprit may be an underlying medical condition, such as sinus infection or tooth decay.

How Can You Treat Your Child Battle Bad Breath?

There are many things you can do to help your child battle bad breath. The first step is to make sure that your child is practicing good oral hygiene. This includes making sure that they are brushing properly and thoroughly. Most dentists advise that your child brushes for a full two minutes at least twice a day. Use a fruit-flavored toothpaste to make brushing a pleasant part of their oral hygiene routine. Make sure that your child brushes the surface of their tongue as well. Also, make sure that your child visits a dentist regularly. Often, bad breath is caused by such underlying dental problems as cavities.

In many cases, your child’s bad breath can be prompted by your child sucking his or her thumb or some other object such as a toy or blanket. Most of the time, the problem can be resolved simply by stopping this habit. However, if your child is over 4 years old and still sucking on their thumb or on a favorite object, consult your doctor to find ways to discourage this habit, as it can cause more serious problems later on.

Treatment for Child’s Head Lice

It’s one of the easiest ways to realize that school is back in session.  It is the thing that can drive both mothers and fathers crazy.

It is head lice.

Children come home from school with head lice infestation and after an aggressive round of treatment seem to better.

But a few weeks later, guess what, the head lice have returned along with another round of treatment.  And so the saga that goes.

While there are many treatments on the market today known to successfully fight head lice infestations there are also some alternative medications that seem to work as well.

So you have the option of either getting a prescription strength medication, an over-the-counter medication, or researching and deciding on an alternative medicine for head lice treatment to so that you can see what might work best for your child.

While all of these treatments seem to be basic and known success stories of head lice treatment there is one somewhat controversial and perhaps strange, head lice treatment and that is the head lice treatment known as completely shaving your child’s head.

What on earth!  Have you ever heard of completely shaving head to treat head lice?  For those with a horrific infestations and seemingly resistant to less extreme treatments, shaving the head might not seem like a bad idea after all.

Using a pair of hair clippers and a razor simply begin by using the clippers to cut your hair down to an extremely short style, and then use a razor to shave your head and neck so that there is absolutely no hair left on the head.  This hair lice treatment seems to work because as you shave your head completely not only will you be removing all of the hair but you will also be removing any lice that still dare to remain embedded on the hair shaft.

Once you have shaved your head completely use shampoo rubbed thoroughly into the scalp and allow it to stand there for a few minutes before washing it off so that when you rinse the shampoo off, any loose hairs as well as any remaining lice that might be attached to dead skin on the scalp can be washed down the drain.  Repeat the scalp shampoo until you feel you have completely eliminated all hairs from your head.

Yes, this treatment can certainly sound quite radical, particularly for women with long beautiful hair.  Also those in the medical community are not proponents of this radical treatment, choosing to remain with the more mainstream treatment methods for the elimination of lice infestations.

In fact it seems that the bald look is in!  So maybe this treatment for head lice isn’t such a bad idea after all.

The head lice treatment may be a bit controversial; however, it may not be that much longer before you see it’s a proven treatment in the battle against head lice infestation.  Strange, perhaps.  But does it work?  It sure does seem so.