All-round first-class care for all ages

Diet plan for flatulence

Flatulence is caused by swallowed air and gas during digestion, which leads to a bloated and tense stomach and causes cramp-like pain.

Many babies struggle with flatulence in the first few weeks and months (three-month colic).

Clockwise abdominal massages or moving the bent legs in the direction of the abdomen can help to provide relief. Warmth from warmed cloths or a fruit stone cushion can also alleviate discomfort and calm the child – however, rubber hot water bottles should be avoided.

Burping after feeding reduces the air in the intestines and can thus alleviate discomfort.

There are medicines for babies that can dissolve gas bubbles in the intestines and relieve cramps and colic.

If you are breastfeeding, it is advisable to avoid flatulent foods. These include cabbage vegetables (such as broccoli, sauerkraut, coleslaw), allium plants (such as onions, chives, garlic), pulses (such as beans, lentils) and stone fruit (such as plums, cherries). Alternatively, you can consider courgettes, aubergines, lettuce, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and spinach.

Breastfeeding teas can also help breastfeeding mothers.

If your child receives bottle milk, you can prepare it with breastfeeding tea instead of water.

Caraway suppositories or aqua carminativa can also provide relief.

To minimise air swallowing during feeding, avoid foam residue and make sure the teat is the right size.

Nutrition plan for iron deficiency

Iron plays a decisive role in the formation of haemoglobin, the red blood pigment, and is therefore essential for the oxygen supply in the body.

Although breast milk does not contain an excessive amount of iron, the iron it does contain is easily utilised.

Infant formula contains the required amount of iron.

Iron-rich foods are:

• Meat
• Giblets
• Egg yolk
• Fish
• Soya flour, millet, oats
• Lenses
• Beans
• Dried fruit
• Broccoli, green pepper
• Green leafy vegetables such as chard, fennel, beetroot, kohlrabi
• Vegetable and fruit juices (e.g. apricots, red grapes, currants)

About 5% of the iron from plant food and about 20% from animal sources is absorbed by the body. The absorption of iron from food can be increased if vitamin C is taken at the same time. This is found in citrus fruits, berries, kiwis, peppers and potatoes, for example.

Diet plan for gastrointestinal infections (gastroenteritis)

In most cases, a gastrointestinal infection is caused by viruses, accompanied by fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.

The key to treatment lies in equalising fluid loss.

In the first 6-8 hours it is important to drink enough fluids. Only afterwards, when the severe vomiting has subsided, should food be carefully reintroduced.

To balance the electrolyte balance, you can dissolve one sachet of Normolyt in 200 ml of water or tea and give this solution in sips when cooled (with a spoon, straw, bottle or glass) – this corresponds to the WHO drinking solution for diarrhoea.

Alternatively, you can easily make the following drink yourself:

• 8 non-heaped teaspoons of sugar
• ¾ teaspoon of cooking salt
• ½ litre orange juice
• ½ litre mineral water

Rusks, white bread, mashed banana, apple sauce, stewed apples, vegetable soup, pasta, rice, carrots and potatoes are recommended for about a day.

Over the next 2-3 days, lean dairy products (yoghurt 1% or 3.6%, curd cheese), lean boiled or steamed meat, easily digestible vegetables such as carrots, spinach, courgettes, pumpkin and lightly sweetened foods such as apple rice can be added.

If food is retained and the condition improves, a change to an age-appropriate diet with frequent small meals should be made quickly, which is important for the regeneration of the bowel.

To support healthy intestinal flora, one sachet of Antibiophilus can be given daily throughout the day.

No anti-vomiting medication is available for small children.

If vomiting is mild, you should continue to eat, but in small portions throughout the day.

Cold drinks or food are better tolerated than warm ones, as they are less irritating to the sensitive stomach and therefore less likely to trigger vomiting

Introduction of complementary foods

From the 5th month of life (17th week) the introduction of complementary foods begins:

• 3 to 4 milk meals
• 1 to 2 porridge meals (approx. 150-200 g or ml)

It is recommended to start with vegetables at lunchtime (carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, courgettes, potatoes) and to introduce no more than two new products per week. Meat (beef, veal, chicken, turkey) can then be added 3 to 4 times a week. If lunch is well tolerated, a milk meal in the afternoon can be replaced by fruit porridge (apple, pear, banana).

As soon as porridge meals replace milk meals, boiled water or unsweetened tea should also be offered as required (1 spoonful of porridge > 1 spoonful of water).

From the 7th month of life, eating and drinking are separated:

• 2 to 3 milk meals
• 2 to 3 porridge meals: vegetable or meat porridge at lunchtime, fruit porridge in the afternoon

In the evening, the milk meal can be replaced by cereal porridge.

Bread, croissants, sugar-free biscuits, pasta, etc. can now also be offered.

Family food from 13 months of age

Nutrition for constipation

Causes of constipation:

• Irregular bowel movements due to lack of time
• Fear of pain during bowel movements
• Lack of physical activity
• Incorrect eating habits
• Fast food
• Large, hard-to-digest evening meals
• Insufficient fluid intake

Recommended behavioural and nutritional changes:

• Get up early for a balanced breakfast
• Drink a glass of cold water in the morning on an empty stomach
• Regular toilet training at the same time every day
• Eat fresh fruit and vegetables raw or steamed every day
• Consume acidified dairy products such as yoghurt, sour cream and curd cheese
• Drink enough, preferably water, tea or highly diluted fruit juices
• Sufficient exercise, such as cycling or swimming, as well as walking more in everyday life

Food selection examples:

Good:

Wheat and rye bread, wholemeal bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, millet, polenta, pulses, fruit such as plums, apricots, grapes, berries, compotes (except bananas), raw vegetables such as carrots, kohlrabi, salads, cucumbers, tomatoes, dried fruit (soaked overnight), water, tea, highly diluted juices, naturally cloudy juices

Bad:

White bread, rolls, Striezel, croissants, toast, polished rice, chocolate, cocoa, sweets, highly salted foods such as crisps, iced tea, cocoa, milk

Caries

Dental care begins with the first tooth, because even the milk teeth influence the second teeth. Caries bacteria can pass from the milk teeth to the permanent teeth, especially in the upper incisors.

How does this happen and how can you prevent it?

Caries bacteria love sugar, which feeds them. Every sugary meal or drink provides them with food. Children who suck on bottles rinse their teeth and bacteria more intensively than when drinking from cups. These sweet drinks can cause considerable damage to the upper incisors.

Therefore, bottles should only contain milk, water or unsweetened tea, and it would be ideal to reduce the use of bottles from the age of two.

But even without a bottle, it is important to supply the caries bacteria with as little sugar as possible. Sugar has an addictive effect.

The later your child gets sugar, the better. If your child wants to drink juice, dilute it heavily with water.

You are the one who prepares the drinks for your child.

A tip about orange juice: in addition to sugar, it also contains a lot of acid, which can damage tooth enamel. Diluting with water also helps here.

Of course, sugar is not only found in drinks, but also in many other foods. In the early years, you decide how much sweets your child eats.

Sugar is part of our lives, so it is important to look after our teeth right from the start.

Many children soon want to clean on their own – that’s great. But in the first eight years it is important that adults brush at least once a day.

A special baby toothpaste with 500 ppm fluoride should be used from the first milk tooth, and a children’s toothpaste with 1,000 ppm fluoride from the 2nd birthday.

Procedure after tick bite

Tick bites in unvaccinated persons or within 2 weeks of the first partial vaccination require a waiting period of 4 weeks before vaccination.

If the tick bite occurs more than 14 days after the first vaccination, a second partial vaccination is possible within 48 hours. If you miss this deadline, you will have to wait another 4 weeks.

After the second partial vaccination, protection is almost 100%, so no additional vaccination is given even after a tick bite at the prescribed interval.

Borreliose

In addition to the tick-borne tick-borne encephalitis pathogen, ticks also transmit bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

The probability of transmission increases with the length of time the tick sucks.

It is therefore crucial to remove ticks quickly, preferably with tweezers or a wet shaver.

Observe the puncture site 3 weeks after the tick bite for possible ring-shaped reddening.

Symptoms of an infection can include swollen lymph nodes, fever and joint pain.

Lyme disease is easily treatable with antibiotics, especially if recognised early with few consequences.

However, the TBE vaccination offers no protection against Lyme disease!