Sunday, October 4, 2009

Health Concerns

There have been very few health problems that we had to encounter with Abeba. We were told by our agency that she was a healthy little girl with no known health concerns. We took the lice and scabies medications with us when we went to Ethiopia just in case this was an issue, but thankfully that was not a problem. Abeba did have what seemed to be abnormal bowel problems though. I knew something was up there when I changed more than several dirty diapers in a day. We did find out after testing her here in the states that she did have giardia, a HIGHLY contagious parasite that is transmitted through feces and water. After two different rounds of medication, that problem was solved. It took several weeks for her little system to be normal. We could tell that she felt a whole lot better!

Another problem Abeba had was ringworm. She had this on her scalp. When we got her, I noticed she itched her head a lot. She had a large dry patch on the back of her head along with pus filled, pimple like bumps along her hair line and on the back of her head. Abeba was not blessed with a lot of hair yet and what hair she had was very patchy. We found out that this was caused by ringworm. Abeba was on oral meds for this problem for 10 weeks. That was a long time to get medicine down an 18month old, but we managed with a lot of bubble blowing for distraction! Abeba still struggles with ringworm once in awhile, but I put on a little anti fungal cream on the spot for a couple of days and it seems to go away. Her hair is still a little patchy and the doctor said it may never grow back in totally. Once her hair is longer I don't believe we'll even notice.

Skin and Hair care have been the most challenging things to overcome with adopting a toddler from Ethiopia. Their skin dries out quickly (especially in the cold, dry Indiana winter air) so I put on Aquaphor by Eucerin twice a day during the winter to help this out. You can tell she needs "greased up" because her skin becomes very ashy in appearance.

Hair is something that I am still learning about. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever learn it all! I have found a web site that is super helpful. It is http://www.sistasplace.com/. I have used a few of their hair products and they are wonderful! I have used the curly q custard, the Blended Beauty Curl Styling Butter, the Blended Cutie Tug me not Conditioner and the Blended Beauty Silky Swirls Shampoo. I love all these products and they smell heavenly! They do not leave a greasy residue like some products I have bought. We have learned that black hair care is not cheap so you must budget for it if you are wanting a good, healthy head of curls for your little one.

We are thankful that Abeba only had to deal with small, minor health issues. God has blessed us again with a healthy child.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would appreciate it if you could tell me what medication they gave you for the giardia. We are still struggling with Diarrhea and have already had two full treatments of medicine and also medicine for some kind of intestinal yeast infection, but still having some problems!!! Any help would be appreciated. My email is joejenaz@yahoo.coma

Anonymous said...

I will def. have to show your recommended haircare website to my mom. I have an adopted sister, who my parents adopted through foster care. She is 3/4 black and 1/4 white. Her hair is crazy curly and very hard to keep soft and moisturized! Thanks for the hair tips!