

Yao Li Qin

About me
Practicing physician, graduated from the Department of Pediatrics with a bachelor's degree from university, has been working in pediatric internal medicine for twenty-five years.
Proficient in diseases
Specializes in common pediatric diseases such as colds, pneumonia, diarrhea, eczema, neonatal jaundice, infant feeding, and more.

Voices

Is infantile eczema contagious?
Pediatric eczema is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin condition that typically presents during infancy and early childhood. Some children may continue to experience symptoms into childhood and even adulthood. It is characterized by skin damage but is not infectious; thus, pediatric eczema is not contagious, which should reassure parents. The causes of pediatric eczema are complex and relate to immune dysfunction or deficiency, and nutritional disorders. External factors also play a role, such as allergies to milk, fish, shrimp, or eggs, as well as mechanical irritation or improper care, all of which can lead to eczema. However, it is not contagious. Poor care can lead to local bacterial infections of the skin, which parents must be careful to avoid.

What should I do if a child has a cold and an earache?
When a child catches a cold, it indicates that the child has an acute upper respiratory tract infection. About 90% of acute upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viral infections, and approximately 10% are caused by bacterial infections. It is important to actively deal with a child's cold. If a child experiences ear pain during the cold, it is essential to take the child to an otolaryngologist to check their ears, as acute otitis media is the most common complication after a cold. The child may develop acute serous otitis media, and if not promptly treated, it can lead to rupture or perforation of the eardrum. Therefore, it is crucial to rule out otitis media when a child with a cold experiences ear pain. If otitis media is ruled out and the child still has ear pain, it may simply be a symptom of the cold.

Why should zinc be supplemented for children with diarrhea?
Childhood diarrhea is a common gastrointestinal disease. After controlling the diarrhea in children, it is generally necessary to supplement with zinc for about ten days. During the diarrhea, the intestinal mucosa is damaged by pathogens. Zinc can promote the repair of the intestinal mucosa, while preventing the child from experiencing diarrhea again in the short term. Therefore, it is very important to supplement with zinc after childhood diarrhea. Additionally, while supplementing zinc, it is also very necessary to supplement other trace elements.

Characteristics of hand, foot, and mouth disease rash
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a rash disease caused by an intestinal virus infection, characterized by scattered maculopapular and vesicular rashes on the hands, feet, buttocks, and other areas. Typically, small vesicles appear on the oral mucosa, or they may already have ruptured into shallow ulcers, primarily located on the tongue, buccal mucosa, palate, and inner lips. Subsequently, rashes appear on the hands and feet, most commonly as maculopapules, which then develop into vesiculopapules about three to seven millimeters in size. The vesicles have a relatively thick covering and are surrounded by reddened skin, predominantly located at the extremities. Sometimes, they may extend to the arms, legs, buttocks, or perineal area. The distribution of the rash is centrifugal, with the number of lesions varying from a few to dozens. Generally, the lesions absorb on their own within two to three days without desquamation, scarring, or pigmentation. The vesicles and ulcers in the mouth mostly heal on their own within a week.

Can children with eczema drink fish soup?
Infant eczema, a common skin disease in infants and young children, is also known as atopic dermatitis. Whether children with eczema can drink fish soup needs detailed analysis. In most cases, we do not recommend giving fish soup to children because, in practical terms, fish soup can worsen eczema for many children. However, some children may not be so sensitive to fish soup, and in such cases, they can drink a little. It is essential for children with eczema to maintain a daily life diary, noting which items they have been in contact with and which foods they have consumed that may exacerbate the condition. If the eczema worsens, it is typically best to avoid these foods and items as much as possible.

Can olive oil be used for infant eczema?
It is not recommended to apply olive oil for baby eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis. The treatment of eczema includes two aspects. The first is localized moisturizing, and the second is the use of mild corticosteroid creams under the guidance of a doctor. Olive oil, being an oily substance, is not suitable for eczema. Moisturizing for eczema should be done with a baby-specific moisturizer, which can effectively alleviate the dryness of the skin. Additionally, if olive oil is used, it can make the skin particularly greasy and impede skin breathability, hence it is not advised for use on children. It is very important to use a baby moisturizer.

How to treat infantile colic?
If an infant suffers from colic, it is mostly considered to be physiological colic caused by intestinal gas accumulation. The treatment methods include holding the child upright or in an airplane hold, which can alleviate the symptoms of colic to varying degrees. Regularly massaging the child's abdomen in a clockwise direction and performing gas-relief exercises can also help ease the colic. For more severe cases of colic, if the aforementioned methods do not have a noticeable effect, simethicone can be administered to the child, generally achieving satisfactory results. (Please use medication under the guidance of a doctor)

Can calcined gypsum be used for infant eczema?
If a child has eczema, in principle, we do not recommend the routine use of calamine. Calamine has an antipruritic effect, but after use, the local skin becomes particularly dry, which can exacerbate eczema. Therefore, when a child has eczema, the first thing we must do is to maintain the local skin's moisture. Apply a thick layer of moisturizer, and on top of that, under the guidance of a hospital doctor, use some mild corticosteroid creams. Although calamine can relieve the local skin itching symptoms caused by eczema, it ultimately has no therapeutic effect on eczema, so we do not consider calamine as a common medication for treating eczema. (The use of medications should be carried out under the guidance of a professional doctor.)

How to treat infant eczema?
Infant eczema is a common skin problem in infants and toddlers, also known as atopic dermatitis. The first thing to pay attention to when a child has eczema is to moisturize the affected skin. Eczema is caused by dry skin, so moisturizing is particularly important. On top of moisturizing, under the guidance of a doctor at the hospital, we can use some mild corticosteroid creams. Through such measures, eczema can generally be well controlled. However, the biggest characteristic of eczema is that it is particularly prone to recurrence, so for children, we must treat it through diet and allergens. For children who drink formula, depending on the severity of the eczema, the child should be fed amino acid formula or hydrolyzed protein formula. For breastfed children, the diet of the nursing mother needs to be controlled – beef, lamb, nuts, seafood, and foods containing distiller's grains should be avoided. (The use of medications should be conducted under the guidance of a professional doctor.)

Can babies with eczema not take baths?
It is very clear that infants with eczema can take baths. If a baby has eczema, it indicates that the child has a specific type of dermatitis, which may include exudative skin damage locally, and in severe cases, even lichenoid lesions. Therefore, moisturizing plays a very important role in the treatment of pediatric eczema. After bathing the baby, it is crucial to apply a thick layer of baby moisturizing cream on the areas affected by eczema. For severe eczema, it is necessary to use mild corticosteroid ointments under the guidance of a doctor. If the child is on formula, depending on the severity of the eczema, it is advised to choose amino acid formula or extensively hydrolyzed protein formula. With active treatment, eczema can be well-managed.