Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

Common Diseases that Affect Children

In this activity, you will:

 Discuss some common diseases that affect children

Facilitator’s notes:

In this activity, you will discuss some common diseases that children get and what their symptoms are.

Activity 3

Some common illnesses and conditions that affect children are:

 Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread by the bite of a

mosquito when it picks up malaria parasites from an infected

person and passes them on to someone who is not infected.

The first signs of malaria are usually body weakness, fever,

aching body and headache. Malaria kills large numbers of

children under five years old. Extra care should be taken to

keep mosquitoes away from young children by ensuring that they sleep under mosquito nets.

Another way to help stop malaria is to make sure that there are no stagnant pools, uncleared

surroundings or containers of water left standing where mosquitoes can breed.

 Diarrhoeal diseases

Diarrhoea is defined as the passing of three or more stools a day, with more water in the

stools than is normal for a child, making the child dehydrated (loss of fluid from the body).

Diarrhoeal diseases are common and cause many deaths in young children, especially those

under two years old. These diseases are often caused by poor water and sanitation; and by

the consumption of infected food, especially meat. The most common way that children get

diarrhoea is by not washing their hands after defecating, and then using their hands to eat

food with. Children should be taught good hygiene practices.

Frequent attacks of diarrhoea can lead to the loss of essential

nutrients, causing weight loss, undernourishment and poor

growth. Children with diarrhoea need to drink more fluids

than usual to replace the fluids they have lost, as well as

frequent small meals to help them gain strength and weight.

 Respiratory tract infections

A child with a cough and a runny nose may have a mild cold. However, a child with a

persistent cough and breathing difficulties may have pneumonia, asthma, Tuberculosis or

another serious respiratory infection and should be taken for treatment. Other signs of

lung infections are breathing that is very fast, wheezy or rasping. Children with breathing

difficulties should be taken to a clinic for better assessment and treatment. These children

should be kept warm at all times.

Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Module 3^243