RLO : Home Hazards : Glossary

Glossary

Co sleeping: Co sleeping is not advised as a general rule, but is obviously a matter of personal choice. As health workers, we need to be aware of and offer guidance to families about the risks involved in this activity.

Current advice is that parents/carers should not share a bed with a baby of less than eight weeks of age; if parents/carers smoke or are under the influence of drugs, if parents/carers have been drinking or if parents/carers feel very tired.

Babies should never be slept with on a sofa or in a chair.

Other risk factors you might want to discuss with a family should include the impact of a previous cot death, prematurity, a baby who has a temperature or is unwell, parent/carer obesity, and bottle feeding. This is because parents/carers who bottle feed don't naturally assume a protective C shape when sleeping.

In this case, advice should also include how to make the current sleeping arrangements safer, such as the use of an alternative place to sleep, bed positioning, bedding, the use of pillows, pets, and the supervision of a sleeping infant.

Microbes: Microbes are small germs which enter the body and cause infection. They can be bacterial, viral or fungal. For more information, see the RLO on bacterial/viral structure listed on the Resources page.

Oral thrush: Oral thrush is caused by a fungus, Candida albicans. It is treated by the use of an oral anti fungal such as nystatin or miconazole.

Significant harm: Concept introduced under Section 47 of the Children's Act, 1989. It determines the threshold at which the local authority must make enquiries, or cause enquiries to be made, where it has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. Categories for referral include sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse and neglect.

Tuberculosis: Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It can attack any part of the body, but is most often associated with the lungs.