A SPECIALIST paediatrician and pulmonologist has launched a campaign against a common practice by mothers and caregivers of using cooking oil to treat stomach ailments in babies, saying this can cause lipoid pneumonia.
Lipoid pneumonia is a rare form of lung disease due to aspiration or inhalation of exogenous or endogenous lipid-containing products.
It is also known as an inflammatory lung condition caused by the accumulation of oils in the lungs.
Norbertta Makumbe, in partnership with Paediatric Association of Zimbabwe, recently launched the campaign through a health advocacy video featuring other doctors from South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
In most cases, Zimbabwean babies are given one to three teaspoons of oil daily to deal with stomach cramps, constipation and also for religious purposes.
“As you give the child that oil everyday, little by little, it accumulates and forms a thick layer around the lungs,” Makumbe said.
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She said that lead to the child suffering from low oxygen supply and struggling to breathe, adding that the amount or type of oil did not make a difference.
“It does not matter whether you boil it, whether it is olive or coconut oil or whether it is one teaspoon a day,” Makumbe said.
“Eventually, the child will need to be operated on because the cases are not easy to deal with. When the damage is done, even medicine will not make a difference.”