Which children’s health niggles do you wish you were told about before you became a parent? Tell MolluDab for a chance to win a £150 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[KathrynMumsnet]

MolluDab have asked us to find out which children’s health niggles Mumsnetters wish they’d know about before they became a parent.

Here’s what MolluDab say, “Becoming a parent throws up many challenges none more so than the countless, often highly contagious, health niggles your children can pick up. One of which is Molluscum contagiosum. Molluscum contagiosum or ‘water warts’ is a common and relatively harmless (but highly contagious) viral infection of the skin. The spots are easily recognised, and are small dome-like shiny pimples often grouped together. Molluscum contagiosum occurs most frequently in children and young adults, most frequently pre-schoolers aged 1-4 years. The condition usually clears within 12-18 months without treatment but can last longer and causes those affected much embarrassment and self-consciousness. MolluDab is a new and proven treatment for Molluscum Contagiosum, available on prescription or from the pharmacist.”

So, which children’s health niggles had you not heard of before becoming a parent that you wish you had? What advice or information would you pass on about children’s health niggles to other Mumsnetters? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who posts below will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £150 voucher for Jojo Maman Bebe.

The comments on this thread may be used (anonymously) by MolluDab in future marketing material, so please only post if you’re happy with this.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

That childrens coughs seem to last forever and whilst they can be fine in the daytime they can be up all night coughing! Work out which medicines can help and alternate through the night.

Mesenteric adrenitis - I think doctors and parents should know about it. It took four trips to doctor to get a diagnosis, while feeling terrified of appendicitis.

And worms - who knew? !!

Molluscum contagiosum!! I'd never heard of it and when the GP told me, to be honest I thought he was joking (Harry Potter was very much around at the time). However I would not have used Molludab - the GP recommended we do nothing, we did nothing and nothing happened. DC was not embarrassed about it, had no discomfort from it and has no lasting scars.

The other one was irritable hip.

Definitely constipation- we've been in movicol hell with dd2 for years. There comes a point where it is more psychological than physical, I think.

Worms are horrible, and so common, but never talked about.

And that nighttime bed wetting is something that cannot be helped in older children- that it is a chemical reaction thing, and unfortunately some dcs are going to be getting treatment for years before it gets better. Ds is now 12- he has had various medication and we have been told there is a percentage of children for whom the problem never goes away and it's not because I'm a crap mother.

We have thankfully avoided nits- no idea how!

Hand foot and mouth. Thought DS had chicks pox at first when he got spots on his face around his mouth. Only through mentioning to others and because the whole family got very sore tongues did we realise what it was. I agree - a brief guide to childhood illnesses would be very useful. Including typical symptoms/timescales, what to look out for that means medical advice required, whether contagious, best treatment etc

It was eczema..it is a nightmare when your baby has eczema..my little girl still scratches her legs at night and whenever I dress her up!

Hand, foot and mouth. Luckily my twins never caught it but I'd never heard of it until a friends baby was poorly with it. Felt so sorry for him!
I also wish I'd known how many times my children would get ill. Seems like one or both of them always has a cold/virus or tummy bug!!

Hand, foot and mouth. Luckily my twins never caught it but I'd never heard of it until a friends baby was poorly with it. Felt so sorry for him!
I also wish I'd known how many times my children would get ill. Seems like one or both of them always has a cold/virus or tummy bug!!

Hand, foot and mouth. Luckily my twins never caught it but I'd never heard of it until a friends baby was poorly with it. Felt so sorry for him!
I also wish I'd known how many times my children would get ill. Seems like one or both of them always has a cold/virus or tummy bug!!

I wish someone had warned me what croup sounded like. Such a scary time and the longest night of my life. The noise of my boys cough will stay with me. He was fine within 24 hours but I'd aged ten years.

Firstly when they are newborn I was never warned of the risk of Strep b being passed to my children, I luckily found out I was a carrier before having my second child as I had extra tests taken - it wasn't something the nhs tested for as a matter of course. It is so dangerous for babies, all pregnant women should be tested.

Also ear infections, lactose intolerance and anything to do with lice or nits!

The horrors of teething. The distress, sleepless nights, flushed faces, nappy rash. Pleased it will be over soon.

gosh an.endless list to choose from

croup,definitely

impetigo

viral rashes

night terrors

Type 1 diabetes. Not exactly a "niggle" but more children die of it than meningitis and we aren't told what to watch out for.

The symptoms are - Toilet, Tired, Thirsty, Thin. Drinking, weeing and sleeping loads and losing weight. It can start suddenly at any age (babies too) to anyone and be serious (ICU serious) in days.

I wish I had known how many bugs and germs they bring home from nursery / school. When my son first started nursery we all kept going down with horrible bugs until our immunity improved!

Hand Foot & Mouth - had no idea how contagious it was and no idea how dreadful adults feel when they catch it!

I can't think of anything I would have wanted to know about before becoming a parent. What is the point of knowing before you even have children? Apart from worrying about stuff you might never have to ever worry about?

It's good to know the symptoms of meningitis but apart from that need to know basis I say - deal with stuff as it arises, rather than worrying about it in advance.

It's not as if information is hard to come by these days - we are all supported by GP's, pharmacists, not to mention the internet and MN.

Impetigo - I suspect from the swimming baths - highly contagious and just an absolute nuisance even though its easily curable. Trying to get a toddler to understand the reasons why they shouldn't touch something that is irritating them is extremely difficult.

I wish someone had told me about constipation in toddlers/babies! I never knew that this was a pretty common problem...and that you have to encourage them to drink liquids / go to the potty to avoid it!

Hand foot and Mouth for kids. I wasn't aware that kids could get it and exactly how painful it can be. By the time I worked out that my daughter had it we had had three days of high temps and crying.

I wish I knew how quickly kids can get ill and also get better. Croup I knew nothing about but a frequent visitor here also snot, how much kids can produce!

Migraines - I had no idea that young children could suffer so severely and from such a young age.

I wouldn't have wanted to have known about nits and worms as my DC might not be here now

Colds and snotty noses. Not life-threatening or anything, but I just didn't realise how many colds would travel round the family, even to the grandparents, who would come to help, and go home with an unexpected and unwanted extra gift.

This might sound really PFB, but when my DD got her first cold at a few months old I did not know what to do, I would have liked some advice on what to do with her snotty nose, what I could do to relieve it. I found out most of the information that I needed off the internet,.

Teething - just to be prepared for how that was going to throw everything up in the air! Just as I was getting used to having a baby etc, then that came along!

My DD also always suffered with colic, and this was really difficult as I felt so unprepared for this! I would really really have liked proper advice on this, what to take, and just that what I was experiencing was part of the indigestion. Once again being part of a forum was where I gained most information (and empathy!)

I have to add with the others, worms, nits as they have got older .....

Aha!! Now I know what those weird spots on dd2s elbow crease are!!