Special care imperative for protecting children from diseases in winter

Elian, aged 5, a resident of Mirpur-13 in the capital, had suffered from common cold and fever in the winter season last year. Her parent took her to the outdoor section of Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in city’s Mirpur-13.

Senior Medical Officer of the outdoor section Dr. Md. Shazzadul Alam after checking the minor girl found that she was suffering from cold with fever, which is common in the winter.
 
Dr. Sazzadul asked the parent to feed their child with one and half teaspoons of mixture of ginger juice, lemon juice and honey thrice daily.
 
He said it would cure the disease along with enhancing immunity during the cold season.
 
He said that a number of minor children with cold related complications were coming to the hospital every day with the onset of the winter.
 
Children, especially those aged between one and five, fall to diseases such as cold, cough, fever, pneumonia, influenza, breathing problem, sore throat and diarrhea in cold weather. Severity of sickness among children increases at the outset and at the end of winter when they fall to diseases such as bronchiolitis, bronchial asthma, and different allergy related diseases or infections in skin.
 
Dr. M Monir Hossain, Professor, Bangladesh Institute of Child Health and Dhaka Shishu Hospital, advised the parents to provide more nutritious foods to their children to prevent diseases which break out generally in the cold season.
 
 He said malnourished children easily are easily affected by diseases and they suffer the most. He said that children can be protected from many of the diseases and in some cases preventive measures can be taken so that children don’t become weak after suffering from diseases. Children should be given vaccinations for prevention of diseases.
 
Pneumonia is one of the main causes of death of the children aged under five in Bangladesh.
 
According to a report of UNICEF titled ‘Fighting for Breath in Bangladesh’, over 12,000 children died of pneumonia in the country in 2018, though the disease is curable and preventable.
 
Doctors said it is possible to prevent pneumonia through certain activities like regular vaccination, continuing breastfeeding for babies till six months and keeping living places clean.
 
The children aged below two years, suffering from malnutrition, deprived of breastfeeding, deprived of vaccination against measles, TB, diphtheria and pneumonia, stay indoor and live in populated and polluted areas and those inhale smokes from smokers’ cigarette generally fall victim to pneumonia.
 
Dr. Monir suggested the following steps for prevention of pneumonia. Colostrums (shal-dud) should be given to children one hour after birth and breastfeeding should continue for six months. Mothers should wash their hands well before taking their children on their lap.
 
He suggested the following measures for keeping children well in the winter. These are: care should be taken so that children are not kept in cold weather early in the morning or in the evening.
 
Babies should not be kept in cold for a long time and cold foods should not be served early in the morning and at night. They should be taken inside from open space before evening. Necessary clothes should be used if there is cold inside the room. Baby’s clothes should be kept in sunlight for keeping it warm. Babies should be kept off air of fan.
 
Sometimes parents go out for long journey along with their minor children. Such journeys should be avoided. Infection is generally caused in respiratory system after such a journey.
 
Congested places are not safe for children because skin diseases may spread fast if they stay in such places. Parents should play a responsible role when their children are affected by diseases. Preventive measures should be taken beforehand so that children don’t fall victim to diseases.