Guidelines for maintaining the health of children with congenital heart disease

For parents with children who have congenital heart disease, maintaining the health of their little one needs to be more careful. You must always consult a doctor and live a healthy lifestyle. Check out the following guidelines for maintaining the health of children with congenital heart disease.

Tips for maintaining the health of children with congenital heart disease

Children with congenital heart disease have abnormalities in the function and structure of the heart. In fact, the heart is needed to pump oxygen-rich and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body.

This condition makes your little one experience symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling in the body, to fainting. Without proper treatment, heart defects can lead to life-threatening complications.

Therefore, it takes extra attention from parents so that they are always healthy and their quality of life is better.

Well, you need to understand that caring for children with congenital heart disease is not the same as normal, healthy children. You need to do further consultation on this matter with heart specialists, nutritionists, and psychologists who treat children's conditions.

In addition, you can also apply the following tips to maintain the health of children with congenital heart disease.

1. Follow the treatment recommended by the doctor

Children who have heart defects really need to get medical treatment. Not only to prevent fatal complications such as congestive heart failure, doctor medication also keeps your health under control.

These treatments include the use of drugs to medical procedures, such as cardiac catheterization to heart transplants.

The role of parents in supporting the health of children with congenital heart disease in this regard is to make appointments with doctors, accompany their little ones to undergo treatment, and supervise the use of medicines prescribed by doctors.

Remember, children with this disease must follow routine congenital heart disease treatment. That means, you and your partner need to take the time to accompany him to follow-up care and regular health checks.

You also need to deepen self-insight about the types of congenital heart disease that children have. That way, you will know how to better maintain the health of children with congenital heart disease and at the same time better understand their condition.

2. Ensure adequate nutritional intake

Children with congenital heart disease are often underweight. The cause is a low appetite and this can affect the overall health of the body and its future growth.

Lack of nutritional intake can also make it easier for your little one to get sick and tired. That is why parents really need to apply a special diet for congenital heart disease.

You must continue to breastfeed and provide breast milk for your little one until the age of 1-2 years or as recommended by your doctor. Breast milk is very important for little ones who are still babies because it provides food, fluids, as well as components that strengthen their body's immunity.

Breast milk can be given as much as 8 to 12 times a day if the baby is healthy enough. Breastfeeding through the nipple is known to make it easier for babies to learn to suck and swallow breast milk, as well as to be heavier than babies who are fed formula milk.

In certain conditions, babies need a nasogastric tube to get additional food. This feeding procedure is performed by medical experts in the hospital.

Reporting from the National Health Service website, children with this condition are prohibited from eating foods high in salt, sugar and fat. They are also discouraged from consuming processed foods, such as sausages, nuggets, or bacon.

This row of foods can increase blood pressure and worsen the work of the heart so that it is at risk of triggering more damage to the heart organ.

Well, food choices that can maintain the health of children with congenital heart disease include:

• Cereals for breakfast, for example bread, steamed or baked potatoes, oatmeal, and pasta.
• Fruits and vegetables, can be eaten directly, added to cooking menus, or made juice.
• Low-fat dairy products, including cheese or milk and plain yogurt.
• Lean meats and fish rich in omega 3, such as tuna or salmon.

3. Keep your teeth clean

Maintaining dental hygiene is one of the tips for maintaining a healthy body. Especially in children who have heart defects.

The reason is because at this age various oral and dental problems are prone to occur, one of which is cavities. If left untreated, the infection can spread allowing infectious bacteria to reach the heart and eventually cause endocarditis.

Endocarditis, a type of heart disease, is very common in people with congenital heart disease, which can damage heart valves, leading to heart failure.

In order to maintain healthy teeth for children with congenital heart disease, teach them to be diligent in brushing their teeth. Use toothpaste that contains fluoride and do it 2 times a day; in the morning and at night before going to bed.

Don't forget, to take him to the dentist at least every 6 months. Every now and then you can give your little one sweet foods. However, remember you still have to limit your intake of sweet foods so that your teeth are not damaged.

4. Encourage children to move actively according to their ability

Physical activity, such as exercise, can help your child strengthen muscles and keep them healthy. Including for children who have congenital heart disease. It's just that the choice of the type of exercise must be appropriate and the intensity must not be excessive. Why?

Although healthy, exercise involves the performance of the heart because the amount of oxygen needed is more. The more oxygen the body needs, the heart must pump stronger and faster.

That is why children who have heart problems must be careful when exercising. If not, the heart can be irregular (arrhythmia), shortness of breath, and even fainting. Talk to your doctor about sports that are safe for your little one's heart, as well as the duration.

If exercise is not possible, make sure your little one is still active but not too much. Especially, for children who are undergoing surgery or are in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

In order to maintain the health of children with congenital heart disease, health experts recommend 60 minutes of physical activity. You can set this to 4-5 physical activities lasting 10-15 minutes per day.

5. Make sure the child gets enough sleep

Apart from making sure your little one is following activities well, you also need to maintain the quality of his sleep. Getting enough sleep is one way to maintain overall body health in children with congenital heart disease. While sleeping, the body is given time to rest so that it can return to normal work the next day.

Avoid your little one from various things that interfere with his sleep, such as reading a book or watching his favorite TV. Set the time for doing these activities not close to bedtime.

If your little one has trouble sleeping because he has sleep disorders, consult your doctor. The doctor will help you deal with sleep disorders appropriately. Don't let this happen, because it can make the body weak and get sick easily.

6. Make sure the child is happy and stress free

Apart from physical health, another challenge for parents in caring for children with heart defects is managing emotions. The Mayo Clinic health website states that children will continue to experience this difficulty until they reach school age.

These emotional difficulties need to be a concern of parents. The reason is, this will make your little one easily stressed, anxious, and insecure. This type of emotion is not good for the health of the body and heart.

So, to maintain the health of a child with congenital heart disease you need to help him get rid of anxiety, loneliness, fear, and stress. On the other hand, make your little one feel safe and happy.

Try to calm your little one down when he starts feeling anxious and afraid. The trick, calm down with words that can make him feel better and give a hug. This physical contact and communication helps your little one deal with his emotions.

The next way is to invite children's friends to play or do activities together at home. This can reduce feelings of loneliness. Then, join the community of children with the same conditions. With this, the child can make friends with other children in the same condition.

You can also exchange information and complain about caring for children at the same time with parents who are members of the community. This will make you broader insight in dealing with your little one.

7. Give the flu shot

Vaccines are one way to prevent children from developing certain diseases. This makes the body more immune or even if it is exposed, the symptoms do not get worse and the body recovers quickly.

Vaccines are also an important way to maintain the health of children with congenital heart disease. One of them is the influenza vaccine, which is a very contagious disease.

Given that the child has heart problems, the flu that the child experiences can be even worse. Therefore, this vaccine is highly recommended.

Most children are allowed to inject influenza vaccine at the age of 6 months to 2 years. Meanwhile, the vaccine in the form of a nasal spray can be given to children aged 2 to 17 years. This vaccine is generally carried out once a year.

8. Help children understand the condition of their heart

Maintaining the health of children with congenital heart disease is not only a task for you and your partner. This is also a special task for your little one who is getting bigger. The goal is to help children adapt to the condition of their body and the environment around them.

This starts with helping your little one understand the condition of their heart. You can explain what the disease is like, what things must be done to keep him healthy, what things should be avoided, and what the dangers are if he violates these things.

As he grows older, it makes it easier for you to provide information about his disease. You can do this through daily chats, reading books, or inviting him to visit the community. If you have trouble, don't hesitate to consult a doctor or psychologist.

9. Adapt care as the child grows up

When he was a child, a specialist doctor or hospital treating his condition was intended for children. However, after the child grows up, child care must be adjusted according to his age.

You can move child health services to adult health services. This transition can be done when the child is 12 years old, until he is really an adult. Tailoring these treatments helps make it easier for your child to get the appropriate treatment for heart defects.

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