A Paediatric Neurologist, Okunola Olusola, on Sunday cautioned parents against administering antimalaria medication to children who had not been diagnosed with malaria.
Mr 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 give children antimalaria drugs when they did not have malaria, adding that doing so would not prevent them from the ailment.
“It is drug abuse and there is a greater chance of the parasite developing resistance to the drugs if it is done regularly.
“So, the best thing for a mother to do is when a child has a fever, the mother should take the child to an appropriate health facility where the child would be properly screened for malaria.
“There are Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDTS) for malaria that will give the result within 10 minutes.
“RDTs assist in the diagnosis of malaria by providing evidence of the presence of malaria parasites in human blood,’’ he said.
The paediatrician said there was nothing wrong for a mother to move around with antimalaria drugs anywhere she went but in administering it, malaria must be proven to be present in the child.
Mr Olusola urged mothers to understand that not all fevers were caused by malaria, stressing that some could be symptoms of teething, catarrh and so on. (NAN)
You may be interested
Iwobi Surpasses Mikel’s Premier League Appearance Record
Webby - April 28, 2024Alex Iwobi has moved ahead of John Mikel Obi on the list of highest capped Nigerian players in the Premier…
Ex-Chelsea Boss Elected FC Porto’s New President
Webby - April 28, 2024Former Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas was elected the new president of Portuguese giant FC Porto on Saturday night.Porto announced Villas-Boas…
Inter Milan vs Torino 28/04/24: Free Online Live Stream
Webby - April 28, 2024Inter Milan, having secured the Serie A title with five matches remaining, will extend their championship festivities as they host…