How to care for a child with high blood pressure

In order to care for the child with high blood pressure, it is important to evaluate the blood pressure at least once a month in the pharmacy, in consultation with the pediatrician or at home, with a pressure device with the child cuff.

Generally, children who are more likely to develop high blood pressure have a sedentary lifestyle and are overweight, so they should do a dietary re-education with a nutritionist and practice some physical exercise, such as swimming.

Typically, symptoms of high blood pressure in children are rare, with constant headache, blurred vision, or dizziness occurring only in more advanced cases. Therefore, parents should evaluate the child's blood pressure in order to keep it below the recommended maximum values ​​for each age, as shown by some examples in the table:

In the child, each age has a different value for the ideal blood pressure and the pediatrician has more complete tables, so it is recommended to have regular appointments, especially if the child is overweight ideal for age or if you complain about any of the symptoms related to high blood pressure.

Find out if your child is within ideal weight at: How to Calculate Infant BMI.

What to do to control high blood pressure in children

To control high blood pressure in children, parents should encourage a balanced diet so that the child has a weight appropriate to age and height. So it's important:

• Remove the salt shaker from the table and reduce the amount of salt in the meals, replacing it with herbs such as pepper, parsley, oregano, basil or thyme, for example;
• Avoid offering fried foods, soft drinks or industrialized foods, such as canned or sausage;
• Replace treats, cakes and other types of sweets by season fruit or fruit salad.

In addition to feeding for high blood pressure, regular exercise, such as riding a bicycle, hiking or swimming, is part of the treatment for controlling your child's blood pressure, encouraging him to participate in activities that he enjoys and avoiding getting too much time on the computer or playing video games

How to treat blood pressure in children

For example, medicines to treat high blood pressure in children, such as Furosemide or Hydrochlorothiazide, should only be used with a prescription, which usually happens when the pressure does not regulate after three months of food and exercise.

However, balanced eating and regular physical activity should be maintained even after achieving the desired results because it is related to good physical and mental development.

Also see how to care for the child with diabetes in: 9 tips for caring for the child with diabetes.