Whooping cough is a common bacterial infection that affects the airways and lungs, usually in toddlers and children. It’s spread from one child to another by coughs and sneezes and is highly contagious. There are many different types of coughs in children, so it is important to be able to differentiate. It causes a persistent cough that can last for several months. For this reason, it is also referred to as the 100-day cough. As doctors, we call it pertussis. Hand hygiene, coughing and sneezing into tissues which are immediately disposed of, and staying away from others while they are infectious are paramount to reduce the spread. It forms one part of the usual childhood immunisations.

Tonsillitis occurs when a viral or bacterial infection causes the tonsils – immune-fighting glands at the back of the mouth – to become inflamed. You get a sore throat causing pain on swallowing and possibly earache, and you may be able to see or feel that one side of the throat is larger from the outside. Your tonsils will likely look red, possibly with some white dots (pus) on them. You might have a high temperature and headache and feel generally pretty unwell. Children and young adults are more likely to suffer tonsilitis. Most infections are viral and therefore don’t respond to antibiotics – they get better on their own after about a week. Viral tonsilitis can often go with general symptoms of a cold, such as a runny or blocked nose and a cough. Some things make a sore throat or tonsillitis more likely to be bacterial, which may need antibiotics to help your body recover. If you have no symptoms of a cold such as a cough, if you have a fever higher than 38 degrees, swollen lymph nodes in your neck, white spots on a very large tonsil, or symptoms have developed quickly, within 24 hours, this makes a bacterial infection more likely. When your doctor is deciding whether the cause is viral or bacterial, they will sometimes use evidence-based scores that help to decide the likelihood of bacterial infections. If the cause is likely viral, antibiotics won’t help - the infection will get better on its own. The majority of tonsillitis cases will improve on their own however it is important to stay hydrated and rest to help your body fight the infection. You can take over-the-counter pain relief to help with any pain and your pharmacist can advise you on this. Your pharmacist can also advise you on lozenges and throat sprays to help with a sore throat.

A frenulum is a piece of tissue in the baby’s mouth attaching the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. They occur elsewhere in the mouth and body, but this one is called the lingual frenulum. It's usually loose enough to allow the tongue to move freely, but some babies are born with a tight attachment. This can restrict movement of the tongue, and is graded according to severity. This can have a knock-on effect on a good latch and good feeding, and later on with speech, if very tight and left uncorrected. A minor surgical operation is sometimes recommended to release the frenulum and this corrects the tongue-tie.

Toddler’s diarrhoea is a common condition that doesn’t usually mean anything serious, so long as your child is growing well, keeping up with their developmental milestones and doesn’t have other symptoms. As the name implies, it affects those aged 1 to 5. Children usually pass loose stool at least twice a day, but sometimes up to 10 times, and it might appear a bit paler and more smelly than usual, possibly with some undigested food. It's thought to be a combination of their developing gut and a less-than-ideal diet. It's more common in boys, although it's not clear why.

Thrush is caused by a fungal infection called candida, which can enter and affect the breast and nipple area in breastfeeding women. This can happen when breastfeeding causes the nipples to become cracked or sore if the latch or position is incorrect. Thrush can develop after a course of antibiotics, as antibiotics can reduce the number of good bacteria that help fight away infections like fungus. Thrush on the breast can cause breastfed babies to develop thrush in their mouths also.

Most sore throats are caused by viruses, and will not respond to antibiotics. They need good self-care, pain relief, fluids and time to get better. Some sore throats are caused by bacteria, and these will tend to need a course of antibiotics to get better. ‘Strep throat’ is a colloquial term used to describe a bacterial throat infection caused by streptococcus bacteria. Group A Streptococcus (Strep A is one of the causes of bacterial sore throat, and it usually produces more severe symptoms than a viral sore throat. You may have severe pain, fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, an absence of other viral symptoms such as cough, and symptoms that last longer than a viral infection would be expected to last. If your doctor suspects a bacterial throat infection, they may take a swab to check the bacteria. Or if they are confident, may start a course of antibiotics immediately.

Parents are understandably anxious about the rise in Group A strep cases currently. Streptococcus A is a very common bacterial infection affecting those from 4 to 14 years old, and it usually causes a mild sore throat and fever. Concerns had been raised in late 2022 that cases are higher than usual at this time of year, with reports of deaths causing parents and teachers alarm. Although rare, some children contract an invasive form of Group A Streptococcus (iGAS), leading to severe illness requiring hospital treatment and possible threat to life. Advice from the public health bodies has emphasised presenting your child when they appear very unwell, but what does this mean? Let’s talk you through how to recognise the signs, when to seek help and when to worry.

If you’ve ever run a hand over your baby’s head and found sunken bits that feel soft against parts of the skull, you are not alone. These are called fontanelles, and there are several, but the two most defined are at the front of the top of the head (the anterior fontanelle) and at the back of the top of the head (posterior fontanelle). In newborns, the skull is composed of fairly soft bone plates that can squish together and overlap to get the head through the birth canal during labour. They are flexible for the skull to expand for the developing brain. Given time, these skull plates will fuse, eventually forming the hard protective shell that we know as the skull in adults. Before then, fontanelles are little gaps between the skull plates. They are soft because they are made up of membranes rather than bone. They are entirely normal, and can be helpful on occasion in our medical assessment.

Scarlet fever is the name given to a distinctive collection of symptoms caused by the Group A Streptococcus bacteria, often called Strep A. This bacteria is active every year and usually causes fever and a sore throat in children. Strep throat usually requires antibiotics. It mainly affects children aged 4 to 14 and appears in late winter/early spring. In late 2022, an outbreak caused great alarm as cases quickly rose, and with this, a small proportion of children became very unwell or died. The welcome news is that this is not a new strain and should respond to the usual antibiotics. Public health authorities have sought to reassure that most cases are mild and easily treated but warn to be alert to signs that any child may be becoming unwell. Let's talk you through what signs and symptoms to look for and when there is reason to worry.

Roseola is a very common illness that affects babies and young children. It is caused by two strains of the herpes virus (6 and 7). There is a full range of signs and symptoms affecting children to varying degrees but for the majority, it isn’t usually serious and most people get it only once. Adults can become infected with the disease if they have never been exposed to it as a child but unlike the chickenpox infection, it is usually milder in healthy adults.

Neonatal jaundice is when newborn babies develop a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. It is a harmless condition and fairly common, affecting around 6 out of 10 babies. Oxygen is carried by red blood cells in the body, and when these red blood cells break down they create bilirubin. Bilirubin is then cleared from the body by the liver. However, neonatal jaundice occurs when there is excess bilirubin in the blood. A newborn baby’s liver is still developing and has not perfected the art of removing bilirubin from the blood by the time they are born. For this reason, it occurs more commonly in babies born prematurely. You may notice jaundice on their skin, although in darker skin babies this might be harder to pick up. Yellowing can also be seen in the whites of the eyes, on the palms and soles, and in the mouth. The poo may be very pale and the pee may be very dark. Your baby may also be sleepy and not feed very well. The symptoms tend to develop 2 to 3 days after birth and get better after a few weeks on their own, once the liver is more developed. Some cases may require treatment if the bilirubin level is very high.

Nappy rash is a really common skin infection that occurs in young children as a reaction to urine or poo. A fungal infection called candida is often involved in the inflamed skin, leaving a very bright red notable rash around the genitals. The skin can also become hot, sore and blister-filled. Rarely, it is caused by other skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.