KAYODE Valentine, a Consultant Paediatrician with Holy Family Paediatric Hospital, Osogbo in Osun, has warned that using Ampiclox drop, pawpaw water and putting babies under the sun are not antidotes to jaundice.

Valentine gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Wednesday

He said that jaundice in babies required appropriate treatment by qualified doctors.

The paediatrician said that mild jaundice would usually be resolved on its own as a baby’s liver began to mature.

He, however, said that only the Paediatrician or an appropriately-supervised medical doctor could say “if a jaundice is mild or not’’.

In the case of severe jaundice, Valentine said the use of phototherapy, which helped in breaking down bilirubin in the baby’s body might be required.

He said that in very severe cases, transfusion of blood might be necessary in which a baby received small amount of blood from a compatible donor or a blood bank.

The medical expert described jaundice in newborn as yellowing of baby’s skin,  eyes and mucous membranes (outer lining of the body’s orifices).

According to him, the yellowing may begin within two to four days after birth and may start in the face before spreading down across the body.

Valentine said that in most cases, jaundice would appear from second to third day of life and might disappear within two to three weeks, depending on the cause of the specific jaundice with or without treatment.

He said incompatibility of mother and the baby; infant of rhesus negative mothers;  sepsis, G6PD deficiency, among others, might increase the chances of babies developing jaundice.

Valentine said if jaundice was not well treated, it could cause death of the babies or make them to be handicapped due to brain damage from excess bilirubin that entered the baby’s brain.

He said: “Jaundice appearing on the first day of life is a very serious jaundice and requires urgent Paediatrician review.

“Because it means the breaking down of the red blood cells had started before the baby was born.

“It is an emergency in such scenario because the jaundice may get worse if no appropriate intervention is done.’’

Valentine, however, urged mothers to always be on the look-out for the symptoms of jaundice after delivery and report back to the hospital for proper treatment.

-NAN

BE

– Nov. 14, 2018 @ 13:10 GMT |