From pediatric questions to general medical queries, our panel of experts is here to answer your questions….
CLOUDY EYES
Question: What is cloudiness in the eyes? I have this quite often in my left eye and am worried it may be detrimental to my vision.
Dr. Pankaj Lamba, Ophthalmologist responds: “I understand by cloudiness of the eyes you mean that you see something white in your eyes when look at yourself in the mirror or someone tells you that there is something
white in your eye. Cloudiness in the eyes could be because of many reasons such as infections like corneal ulcer or corneal opacity and may affect vision. Cloudiness in vision can be because of other problems also such as the need for glasses or due to an eye disease. It is important that you get examined by an ophthalmologist.”
ERRATIC SLEEPING HABITS
Question: My 11-month old baby has still not been able to sleep in the night. I have tried everything and her sleeping habits are erratic and it’s driving all of us crazy. Can you please advise how to create a practical sleeping schedule for her?
Dr. Mohamed Embabi, Specialist in General Pediatrics responds: “Usually 11-month old babies can sleep throughout the entire night for around 11 to 12 hours without a feeding. This entails 2 naps during the day for a total of around 2 hours. At this age specifically, some babies switch over to 1 nap. I am not sure how many hours your baby naps per day, but it could be that she naps 3 or more hours during the day. In this case, you will need to reduce it to only 2 or 2.5 hours. Below is a schedule which may help you regulate your baby’s sleeping time.”
7 a.m. Wake up and feed breast milk or formula milk
9 a.m. Breakfast
10 a.m. Morning nap (1 hour at least)
11 a.m. Breast milk or formula milk + snack
1 p.m. Lunch
2 p.m. Afternoon nap (1 hour at least)
3 p.m. Breast milk or formula milk + snack
5 p.m. Dinner
6:15 p.m. Prepare baby for bedtime
7 p.m. Breast milk or formula milk and bedtime
TEENAGER WITH EXCESS FACIAL HAIR
Question: My 16-year-old daughter has excessive hair on her hairline and as a result, is getting lots of small pimples in that area. How safe is laser hair removal and can it be done on a person this young?
Natasha Bennett, Laser Specialist responds: “Laser hair removal is a faster, less painful (especially with the Soprano ICE machine) and a more effective solution for treating excessive hair growth on the face or body. It can be beneficial for both male and female patients, and there are no further risks for a teenager than an adult.” “For teenagers, if parental consent is given, then treatment may commence with patient’s consent as well. The patient must be mature, willing, comfortable, and fully compliant with the procedure, and must follow aftercare instructions regardless of age. If a patient has pimples, it is extremely important for the practitioner/ dermatologist to first check the patient to decide if it is safe to do laser hair removal. Doing laser hair removal without treating the skin problems could potentially make them worse.”
