Nutrition in Infancy - Essay Example

Nutrition in Infancy Case Study al Affiliation Further History I would love to know the kind of relationship that exists among the extended family members, whether they live together happily as friends or they differ regularly and break into family violence. Again, it would help a great deal in diagnosis if the grandmother reveals to me about the financial background and especially their source of income and whether or not the income can cater for their basic needs. Perhaps the grandmother would reveal how many meals the family can afford per day and this would benefit my diagnosis. I would also like to know from the infants grandmother how often the mother of the child stays with it, whether after school the mother takes time to babysit the child or just leaves the child for the care of the grandparents. The grandmother should also reveal to me whether the mother breastfeeds the child and probably how many times a day the infant is breastfed if at all this happens. This is essential for purposes of better diagnosis concerning proper feeding and dietary conditions. Review of Systems Questions I would enquire from the grandmother on the conditions of the infants skin and lymph, whether the skin becomes dry, any incidences of itching, and change of the skin colour, tendency of the skin to bruise or cases of swollen glands. Moreover, I would ask about the condition of the hair and nails, whether the infant has had cases of hair loss or abnormal hair colour, and also any cases of abnormal growth of nails. I would also go ahead to ask if the infant has had incidences of fever associated with headaches or any problems of the eyes such as reddening, rubbing due to itching or even swollen eyelids. I would go further to enquire about hearing conditions and enquire whether the infant has had discharges from the ears or does not respond to loud noise, inferring that the infant might be having hearing problems (Langellier, Chaparro, Wang, Koleilat, & Whaley, 2014). Further, I would enquire about nose and sinuses and see whether the infant snores while sleeping or experiences nose bleeding. This would lead me to the mouth and throat whereby I would ask whether the infant has had incidences of breathing via the mouth or has mouth odours or infections in the mouth. About the cardiac and hematologic systems, I would enquire whether the infant has had cases of oedema or showed any signs of pain in the chest, including cyanosis and heart murmur. An enquiry to ascertain the fitness of the respiratory system would be associated with sounds produced during breathing, whether wheezing or coughing regularly. For gastrointestinal purposes, I would enquire about bowel movements and their frequency and consistency, any incidences of diarrhoea, bleeding from the rectum and flatulence. Any urinary conditions would be ascertained by answers concerning the frequency of urination while any musculoskeletal injuries would be illustrated by poor coordination of the infants movements of limbs, swelling or redness of joints. The grandmother can also respond to any incidences of bone injuries. Finally, I would enquire from the grandmother whether the infant has had head injuries or seizures to ensure that the child does not have any neurologic conditions (Langellier, Chaparro, Wang, Koleilat, & Whaley, 2014). Further Physical Assessment Following the findings received from the grandmother regarding the infant, I would proceed to assess the infant by myself. I would feel the temperature of the infant by simply placing my hands on its forehead and record the findings. Moreover, I would look at the infants colour of the eyes to confirm whether there is any redness and proceed to look at the ears to ensure that there are no abnormal discharges. I would then uncover the infant and try to locate any skin rashes or redness of the skin which would add to my diagnosis. Further, I would change the concentration of the child and see if the child would follow actions that I do, including following my moves with its eyes, just to confirm the infants alertness. Finally, I would try to raise the infants appendages to see if they are of the same size just to be sure that the infant does not have any musculoskeletal deformities. Summary of Assessment, Probable Diagnoses and Plan of Care From the assessment that I did, was able to establish that this child is underweight since a child of nine months cannot be having 6.6 Kg if the child is normal. A normal child at nine months would have approximately 9 Kg, which implies that the infant is far much lighter than the normal expected weight. The child also had some skin rashes despite the fact that its temperature was quite normal and from what the mother revealed about hair conditions, the hair took abnormally long time to grow and when it did, it had a brown colour as opposed to the normal black colour of normal hair. This is a true evidence that the child may have malnutrition that is as a result of under-nutrition or even failure to provide a balanced diet for the infant (Langellier, Chaparro, Wang, Koleilat, & Whaley, 2014). Ideally, a child at the age of nine is supposed to be able to follow eye movements and also show some interest in baby plays as opposed to the case exemplified by this nine-year-old male infant. It is thus evident that the infant has some developmental delays and general development complications. Such signs and symptoms are a true reflection of autism that should better be identified and dealt with as early as his. I would advise the grandmother not to wait any further to see the progress of the condition as it would be best if it is handled at this time in age to avoid further complications in the future, especially problems related to difficulties in learning. Concerning the fear of this condition, I would advise the grandmother to ensure that the infant gets to visit a medical doctor for regular vaccination according to the advice of the doctor. This infant may also be suffering from stunted growth since at this age the child should be making some relevant movements, implying that growth is normal. Moreover, the child is only 68 cm in height which is not a suitable height for an infant of nine months and this is a true confirmation that the child has an abnormal growth rate that may have detrimental effects on the child in the future. Therefore, the infant requires immediate attention of a paediatric specialist who would advise on the specific food supplements that the infant requires for the restoration of normal growth progress (Langellier, Chaparro, Wang, Koleilat, & Whaley, 2014). Conclusion The grandmother should try as much as possible to convince the mother of the child to create some time to breastfeed her infant in an attempt to balance the childs diet. More of the family finance should also be directed towards the health of the infant, including isolating some funds that would be used to buy supplements for the infant in addition to catering for the infants medical bills. I would also advise the grandmother to ensure that the infant visits a paediatrics expert who would advise on the best supplements for the infant. It is possible that the infants condition can be reversed if these steps are followed without unnecessary delays. References Langellier, B. A., Chaparro, M. P., Wang, M. C., Koleilat, M., & Whaley, S. E. (2014). The new food package and breastfeeding outcomes among women, infants, and children participants in Los Angeles County. American Journal of Public Health, 104(1), 1-21. Read More