Ask Dr. Pixie McKenna your Q about children's health in winter and you could win a £150 Love2Shop voucher! ANSWERS NOW BACK

[AnnMumsnet]

As we head into the colder months, sniffles and sneezes may become more common. Courtesy of Nurofen for Children, we’ve teamed up with Dr. Pixie McKenna who is on hand to answer your questions on keeping your children healthy this winter, specifically looking at colds and flu, fever and sleep difficulties. As well as being a medical expert, Pixie is also a mother so she’s had first-hand experience of looking after her own child and is here to share her top tips and advice with you.

Here’s a little bit more about Dr. Pixie:

Pixie comes from a family background of medicine, being the third generation of doctors in her family. She has over 13 years of medical experience since qualifying and is currently a practising GP at London’s Harley Street.

Post your questions to Dr. Pixie by the 27th November and we will pick 20 for her to respond to. Everyone who posts a question will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £150 Love2Shop voucher. A link to her responses will be posted by 4 January.

Please note, Dr. Pixie is here to give advice but cannot mention, discuss or endorse any brands or products.

This Q&A is sponsored by Nurofen for Children. Nurofen for Children 3 months- 9 years. Contains Ibuprofen. Always Read the label

UK/NfC/1016/0053

Thanks,

MNHQ.

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[NauticalDisaster]

Is there any way to help prevent a child developing sticky ear or glue ear when they get a cold? My youngest is 3 and I thought he would gave grown out of it by now but it looks like he has another sticky ear.

[Rosehips]

What's the best way to prevent kids bringing germs home from school?

[ILostItInTheEarlyNineties]

My mum advises me to give the children a lot of fluids when they have colds to "flush it out". Is this correct?
And is there any truth in the saying, Feed a cold, starve a fever?

[WuTangFlan]

What's the best way to look after kids' skin in winter, to stop it getting dry and sore? DD (age 7) in particular suffers on her hands and around her mouth - when she has a cold and runny nose, it gets much worse too.

[Quills]

Have you got any tips to help children sleep at night when they're struggling with a chesty cough?

[Yummum19]

When does a bad cough warrant a trip to the GP to check it's not a chest infection?

[Realitea]

As the whooping cough vaccine starts to wear off at around the age of 10-12 why is a booster not given in this country?

[Belmo]

Anything to be done about the constant constant colds?!

[CopperPan]

Mine are always suffering from throat infections in winter. What is the best way to improve their long term immunity from this?

[LittleMoonbuggy]

What's the best way to prevent children from catching constant colds during winter?

[peaceloveandbiscuits]

Any tips for encouraging a toddler/older baby to take an inhaler?

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

My DD is unwell from the beginning of Autumn to the beginning of Spring every year.

If it's not a stinking cold it's a nasty cough, impetigo, recurrent ear infections, glue ear, conjunctivitis- you name it, she gets it! My younger daughter looks set to be the same and it really is one thing after another with at most a few days of being well in between.

The GP has told me this is perfectly normal but my son was never like this. She has a bunch of social and emotional problems and has been absolutely miserable every autumn/winter of her life. She's only 4 and I hate to see her suffer this way.

Is it really that common to be unwell so much? And is there anything I can do to prepare for these seasons other than vaccinations and vitamins?

[WishIWasSleeping]

My little one has had a cough since the beginning of September. It's showing no signs of getting better. We visited the GP after a couple of weeks who said it was viral. She coughs so much (mainly during sleep time) that she has episodes of struggling to catch her breath and scares herself, which makes her cry. It's disruptive to everyone's sleep pattern - is it really just a cold to go on for this long? I'm at a bit of a loss. She drinks and eats well most of the time. What else can I do to help soothe her throat? We are also teething which gives her a fever for every new tooth breaking through!
She's currently 10.5months old. (All mum advice appreciated!)
Thanks.

[Cherubneddy1]

When should you consult a dr when a child has ear ache? I was told once by a GP that it's when they also have a temperature, but another dr told me that wasn't the case!

[EstelleRoberts]

What can be done about horrendous motion sickness in a 16 month old? By horrendous, I mean full-on projectile vomiting within, literally, less than 5 minutes in the car, or less than 3 stops on a London bus?

[KevinMcCallister]

Hi Pixie, What's your advice for chilblains?

[IncaAztec]

Any tips to avoid (or even treat) conjunctivitis? Seems to be a Winter treat my gang come down with after a heavy cold.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Are growing pains a real thing? My 4 year old often wakes at night with pains in his legs. He usually settles back down quickly but is definitely in pain. No problems during the day

[purplepandas]

any tips for stopping dry chapped lips? Vaseline does not stay on.

[EasterRobin]

My daughter is nearly two and has just missed out on getting free meningitis vaccinations so we're getting it done privately. I've heard other mums talking about having other vaccinations (eg chicken pox, flu) done privately... Would you recommend getting additional vaccines done beyond the standard NHS ones?

[PinkSwimGoggles]

my 10yo is a worrier which sometimes causes problems falling asleep.
what can we do to help?

[FeelingSmurfy]

What are the signs to look out for that indicate it's gone past a viral infection and should be seen by a Dr

You don't want to take them for every sniffle, especially as there is no real treatment for viral infections, but it's worrying not knowing when to say enough is enough and get medical advise

[foxessocks]

I have an 12 week old who is constantly catching colds from his big sister. At what point is a trip to the GP needed with such a young baby?

[LapinR0se]

What can be done about horrendous motion sickness in a 16 month old? By horrendous, I mean full-on projectile vomiting within, literally, less than 5 minutes in the car, or less than 3 stops on a London bus?

Unfortunately I have the same question. This is totally limiting our lives right now as I just cannot face any sort of journey with my 2-year old. Ours is ok for 15 mins but then starts to vomit and doesn't stop until the journey is over. On journeys of 2 hrs + she gets so sick that she goes floppy and becomes dehydrated.

I have tried alternative therapies such as ginger, acupressure bands, newspaper under the car seat, window open, CD of songs on, eating dry crackers, not eating before journeys, eating before journeys, driving at nap time...at this point I think we need some medication if anything is available. Would love your advice on that please.

[EstelleRoberts]

Lapin we are really restricted too. It's so frustrating, and frankly unhealthy for all concerned to never go anywhere other than on foot. But the suffering is so bad I won't put my DD through it unless it's really necessary. I have found Piriton helps, but it makes my DD really drowsy for 3-4 hours. So no good at all for short journeys. If we wanted to take her to the zoo she would just sleep all the way round and not see anything.