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Apaediatrician, Dr. Solomon Adeleke, on Wednesday said that forced feeding of babies, common among mothers could lower the strength of the lungs causing pneumonia in the child.
Adeleke of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the food could enter the lungs and decay to cause pneumonia.
According to him, pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that is caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. It is characterised primarily by inflammation of the lungs’ tissues.
“It is a very serious condition, pneumonia can make a person very sick or even cause death; the disease can occur in young and healthy people.
“It is more dangerous for older adults, babies, and people with other diseases or impaired immune systems.
“But adults have a way of fighting against it unlike babies, who do not have much strength, hence more care should be taken while nursing them,” he said.
Adeleke said that cold, which was always attributed to pneumonia, was not the major cause, though it could predispose one to pneumonia.
“This is because the presence of cold might affect the movement of cilia, which fight against bacteria from entering the lungs, not to function effectively.
“Cilia act as brush, collecting all the large foreign particles that are inhaled.
“They move everything that they collect back up the throat toward the back of the mouth, so that the foreign particles can be expelled or swallowed,” he added.
Adeleke cautioned adults who were in the habit of spiting saliva carelessly, saying that pneumonia was infectious as children might be infected through that means.
According to him, some children may have congenital pneumonia; unusual condition present at birth or acquired one, which may be contracted through organisms buried in saliva.
The paediatrician also advised that babies should be kept warm and indoors to prevent them from contracting pneumonia as a result of dirty environment.
He also urged mothers take their babies to the hospital early enough for proper diagnosis and treatment, adding that early detection would enhance proper treatment.
