Essex child health app
Video
NHS Essex child health app
Many illnesses can now be treated at home with lots of rest and over the counter medicines. The NHS Essex child health app offers handy advice on some of these most common childhood illnesses, as well as helping you to understand when it’s better to chat to your school nurse, visit a local community pharmacist or GP, or to call NHS 111.
Health conditions covered within the app include:
- Coughs, colds and flu
- Diarrhoea and vomiting
- Chicken pox and measles
- Ear ache and tonsillitis
- Wheezing and breathing difficulties including bronchiolitis and asthma
- Headlice and threadworms
- Bumps, bruises and accidents
Information on mental health and wellbeing, healthy lifestyles and advice on some more serious conditions like meningitis and sepsis are also covered. And there’s a handy section on when you might want to consider keeping your child home from school.
The app is free to download for both Android and Apple. Just search for “NHS Essex child health”.
Your home health kit essentials and medicine cabinet
What to include:
- Thermometer- to check temperatures
- Child’s paracetamol- for headaches and temperatures
- Antiseptic cream- to keep germs out of cuts
- Plasters- to protect cuts and scratches
- Olive oil- to use as ear drops for earache
- Antihistamines- for hayfever, allergies and insect bites
As well as your home health kit essentials, having a well stocked medicine cabinet at home will help you treat common children’s illnesses.
Community Pharmacist, Mary Oaiya talks about what medicine everyone should have at home to help tackle common childhood health problems.
Local maternity services
There are a number of maternity services across mid and south Essex designed to help women through their pregnancy, including apps, counselling support and advice of eating better and staying well during your pregnancy.
If you think you may be pregnant visit the NHS website for information on signs and symptoms of pregnancy. If you are pregnant then make an appointment at your GP or maternity unit as soon as possible, where a midwife or GP will discuss your care choices.
Maternity services in Essex
Our hospitals deliver thousands of babies every year in modern, well equipped maternity units. Our maternity staff across our mid and south Essex hospitals are committed to providing high quality maternity care for women and their families during pregnancy, labour and after the birth of their baby.
If you have a positive pregnancy test and wish to have your baby under the care of Mid and South Essex maternity services, you can contact us directly by completing the antenatal self-referral form without the need to see your GP first.
Website
www.mse.nhs.uk/maternity-services
Perinatal mental health service
The perinatal mental health service provides community-based treatment and support for mums, mums to be and their families. The service is available to women during the perinatal period (during pregnancy and up to baby’s first birthday) who are experiencing, or are likely to experience mental health difficulties. Our team aims to help Mums and their families to have safe, healthy pregnancies, and supportive postnatal experiences by promoting wellbeing and preventing relapse.
Website
Perinatal Mental Health Service, Rochford
Maternity direct app
A new app, maternity direct, will mean mums to be across Mid and South Essex will have greater peace of mind in between their scheduled midwife appointments.
Basildon Hospital has launched maternity direct, a free, secure, web-based app that connects mums to be with an NHS midwife. This is the first app to interactively connect registered NHS midwives with pregnant women for secure instant messaging chats.
Website
Maternity Direct