The right milk makes difference to babies

Dear Dr. Donya,

I have a son who is two-and-a-half months old. He was being breast-fed and having his feedings topped up with bottled milk. Recently, however, he prefers his mother's milk only. Ever since then, he does not have a bowel movement for three to four days at a time. I was wondering if this is normal? Please advise.

-- Paul

Dear Paul,

Children respond to cow's milk differently. If the milk you introduced causes him discomfort in terms of bowel movement, then this milk is unsuitable.

Constipation means the consistency of the stools more than the frequency they are passed. So if he has very hard stools and it is difficult to pass the stools, or he has a hard time to go to the toilet, then he has constipation. But if he has normal soft stools, no distention of the abdomen and his bowel movements do not disturb his daily activities, then he is fine.

-- Dr. Donya

Dear Dr. Donya,

After reading your informative article on toenail fungus in The Jakarta Post, I have been meaning to purchase medicine for it. I have some that is made locally, but I wanted to check with you whether there is a specific type needed for the toenail problems described in your article, or are different ones for different fungi.

Thanks for the information and your assistance.

-- W.

Dear W.,

Thank you for your question.

After searching for the medicine's name, I found that it is a brand name of fluocinolone, which is a corticosteroid cream. If you actually have a fungal nail infection, you should take the oral form of itraconazole, or use Canesten, which is an antifungal cream, depending on what type of lesion you have.

-- Dr. Donya