HEALTH TIPS
It has become expedient for me to put these health tips in blog-format for easy accessibility especially for parents who have children who are still under the age of 5.If you are still single or yet to have babies,you can as well read this piece to acquire more knowledge.
More importantly,this article can be used to convince and educate the grandmas who come around when their wards give birth.I have noticed that many mothers know the right things to do but they are usually afraid to convince their mothers-in-law who say something like this:
“These are the things I used to take care of your husband when he was small.Are you telling me that I didn’t take good care of him? Please abeg,give my grandchild this herbal concoction I specially prepare for him”.
Here are the tips you need to note:
Do you know that rubbing substances like camphor, Robb, mentholatum and methylated dusting powder on newborn babies can cause yellowness of the eyes(jaundice)?
Jaundice in the newborn can be detected by checking if the white part of the eye(sclera) is yellow.Furthermore it can be detected if slight pinch of the nose or a gentle press of the forehead/chest makes the skin yellow when the pressure is released.If you are not sure if the skin is yellow,then see your doctor ASAP!
Has it occurred to you that the treatment of jaundice is not giving a baby pawpaw juice /glucose water to drink or putting babies under early morning sunlight? None of these is effective in treating jaundice.
When a newborn baby has yellowness of the eyes it is either treated via photo therapy or exchanged blood transfusion if the jaundice is severe.These are effective modes of treatment of neonatal jaundice.
If jaundice is not treated on time it can lead to permanent brain damage or death of the baby.Don’t joke with yellowness of the eyes especially in newborn babies!
Have you heard that administration of “Ororo Ogiri”,Nospamin and Gripe water can cause abdominal distension in newborn babies? Many babies have developed necrotizing enterocolitis(infection along the bowel)in the process and end up on theatre table or die in the process!
Mothers be guided… I want you to even try and taste the Nospamine drops yourself,I can assure you,you won’t give your babies again! It has a very bitter taste!
Do you know that if a baby is delivered and does not cry in the first 5-10 minutes of life,such baby might have suffered some insults in the brain?Do you know this may cause delay in the development of the baby and lead to cerebral palsy? Such babies may yet to achieve neck control at 9months and yet to sit without support at 1 year old! It can be demoralizing to parents.
When a child is hot(having fever) and having seizures(convulsing) you don’t need to forcefully put spoon to separate the teeth of the child.The teeth may get loose! Don’t force the mouth open!The child may bite and cut the tongue in the process.Don’t put the soles of a child convulsing inside fire! The child may sustain burns! None of these is the treatment for seizures! By the time the seizures self-abort or are controlled,the parents end up spending money on treating these complications.
Never allow anybody to give a convulsing child cow urine!
COW URINE DOES NOT STOP SEIZURES!
In fact it causes more complications.Don’t give your child cow urine to drink!
When a child convulses, be calm and call for help.Remove any thing around that can harm him,maybe broken bottles,chairs etc.Just make sure he does not hit his head or any part of his body on any harmful thing.Get ways of transporting the child to the hospital as soon as possible.That is all you need to do! It appears simple but it is safer.
Do you know that cough syrups are not good for children that cannot bring out sputum from their mouth? I have seen many children under the age of 2 being given cough suppressants and they later develop pneumonia.Let me explain what cough syrup does to these babies:
Imagine when a house is on fire and the firefighters are called upon.By the time they get to the scene,they start to use thick cloth to prevent/suppress the smoke of the fire from spreading instead of quenching the source of the fire!
How will you describe these firefighters?
That is what happens when you give cough syrup to a child that cannot expectorate(bring out the mucus).It suppresses the cough,the same way the firefighters try to contain the smoke! Granted,the cough may appear to have gone after you give the cough syrup,but the source of the cough has been left unattended to.This is why many of these children may come down with pneumonia and even heart failure after some days!
Treat the cause of the cough.Don’t suppress the cough!
Stay healthy…