Q: My son is 2.5 years old. He is very active. Nowadays he is not showing any interest in food. Earlier he used to eat well. Now he can't stand the sight of food. He vomits many while taking food or after having milk. We are afraid to force feed him as he may vomit. After he recovers from fever or any illness, his head sweats excessively as if he had taken a bath. Doctor said that this could be due to weakness. Now he doesn't have fever or any illness but his head sweats a lot. Is it weakness or any other symptom? Do we have to get him tested? He weighs 14 kg. He also has pale white spots on his face and some indigestion problem. We are using homeopathic medicine for worms. If we give him heavy food, he suffers from indigestion. Why does he suffer from indigestion so often? What can we do to improve his digestion capacity?

A:Excessive sweating, especially around the head is a common symptom in normal children. The cause is ill-understood. Excessive sweating can however occur in association with a variety of diseases including cardiac failure, cystic fibrosis, and may rarely be secondary to drugs. These are unusual. A cursory check by a paediatrician can rule out most of these illnesses. Your child seems to be eating enough for his age and there appears to be no indication of indigestion or malabsorption as he is growing well with normal weight for age. Still you can discuss the issues with a local paediatrician and dietician, and try to make some changes in his diet to avoid monotony.