Stop taking suggestions from inexperienced people to treat children ― Paediatric Neurologist

A Paediatric Neurologist, Dr Okunola Olusola, on Friday advised mothers to cultivate the habit of going to the hospital for answers to questions bothering their children’s health and well-being.

Olusola of Paediatrics Department, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He said that it was very wrong to get suggestion from inexperienced people to treat children when hospitals were near, saying that doing so would worsen the child’s condition.

According to him, the mental state of a mother is important to the upbringing of her children.

“I have had so much experience with the “so-called graduates’’ who cannot go to the right place to find answers to questions.

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“The level of competence of many young mothers raises a lot of question and it doesn’t matter their degree or qualification. The graduates behave exactly like the illiterates when it comes to that.

“This has caused the Nigerian children to face a lot of challenges from the parents who don’t have the right and appropriate health-seeking behaviour.

“This is where health education really needs to be directed,’’ he said.

According to him, take the responsibility and go to the hospital for answers to questions concerning the health condition of your children.

“That your mother is suggesting something to you does not mean she is right.

“Your mother didn’t study children. She only had children and even if she had 25 children, she doesn’t have enough experience in children’s health,’’ he said.

The paediatric neurologist also advised against patronising quacks or indulging in self-medication, saying doing so would be expensive.

The expert urged mothers to consult a doctor early enough whenever their children fall sick, for proper assessment.

“I had seen cases of children that had been taken to only God knows where, for treatment and after their conditions were messed up, they were then brought to the hospital.

“By the time I am seeing some children; their brain is damaged beyond repair. Some are in shock and all kinds of things had happened to them.

“So a lot of the counsel that people get is wrong and by the time they are presenting, they present late,’’ Olusola said.

He said it was cheaper to see a doctor than to patronise a quack.