Don’t expose babies to camphor since it may give Jaundice
Parents who use camphor, otherwise known as napthalene balls, to provide nice fragrance in their babies’ clothes, as well as keep insects away might be exposing their children to jaundice, Dr Kokou H. Amegan-Aho, a Pediatric Resident at the Department of Child Health of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, has revealed.
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He explained that this was because some new born babies lacked a chemical in their blood known as G6PD (this provides energy to the red blood cells).
According to Dr Amegan-Aho, when these babies are exposed to camphors and certain medications, they could be jaundiced.
“Once the baby lacks that chemical, even later on in life, if they are exposed to camphors and certain drugs, they can develop jaundice,” he noted.
He has, therefore, advised mothers not to use camphors unless they were told by a health worker that it may not be harmful to their babies.
He added that parents should also administer only prescribed drugs to their babies because they might not know of those that could cause harm to their babies.
Dr Amegan-Aho, who disclosed this in an interview, mentioned other causes of neonatal jaundice to be infections from the babies environment or transmission from mother to the baby; disparity between the babies blood and that of the mother and when a baby is born premature.
Jaundice is a condition that gives the eyes and skin a yellow colour and when it affects children below one month old, it is known as neonatal jaundice.
He explained that the yellow colour of the eyes and skin associated with jaundice is due to the production in large quantities of bilirubin, a chemical which comes from the breaking down of the red blood cells.
Dr Amegan-Aho said majority of jaundice cases in newborns were normal and, therefore, would not create any problem but need to be assessed by a health worker before the baby is declared normal.
However, he pointed out that there were a few that were abnormal and, therefore, required early treatment.
“If treatment of jaundice is delayed, even for a few hours, the condition can spread and this can make the baby develop brain damage which is irreversible. Neonatal jaundice can also be due to liver problems,” he emphasised.
He said in complicated jaundice cases, the baby developed fever, pulled his or her head back (that is jerking of the head and neck), became weak and cried abnormally.
“Approximately, three quarters of babies with those complications die and among those who survive, majority will have brain damage,” he added.
He disclosed that one third of babies admitted to the emergency unit of the Child Health Department at Korle Bu in 2012 was as a result of jaundice.
Dr Amegan-Aho advised mothers and adults, who take care of babies, to rush them to the hospital as soon as they notice their eyes and skin had turned yellow.