Parents urged to take extra care of newborns

LAHORE:Post Graduate Medical Institute & Lahore General Hospital Principal Prof Dr Al-Fareed Zafar has said that there is no doubt that children are special blessings of Allah Almighty and proper upbringing and their protection from diseases should be the first priority of the parents. He added that newborns cannot describe their suffering so it is the responsibility of the parents to take special care of their health especially safe from them pneumonia.

Prof Al-Fareed Zafar expressed these views while talking in the awareness walk organized by the Department of Pediatrics on World Pneumonia Day at Lahore General Hospital. On this occasion pamphlets was distributed among participants, patients, citizens and media persons to ensure awareness. HoD Pediatrics Prof M Shahid, MS Dr Frayad Hussain, Prof Faheem Afzal, Dr M Usman Ashraf, Dr Hasan Salman, Dr Rizwan Gohar, Dr Javed Magsi, Dr Abdul Aziz, Dr Nadia Arshad and other medical experts were also present.

Principal AMC highlighted that according to the estimate, more than 1.5 million children and people who have weak immunity worldwide die of dangerous diseases like pneumonia every year. He said that every year in Pakistan, hundreds of newborn babies are caught off to this disease so it is the responsibility of parents to ensure special measures of their kids while govt also extends immunization for newborns. He added that children up to two years of age are more affected by this disease but Pneumonia can occur at any age and the risk of spreading this disease increases in cold weather and air pollution. He stated that the present conditions of smog in Pakistan have increased the chances of respiratory diseases, lung infections and pneumonia among children and the elderly. He said, “At present a large number of people are admitted to the hospitals with complaints of respiratory infections and difficulty in breathing.”

Prof M Shahid, Prof Faheem Afzal and MS Dr Faryad Hussain highlighted the symptoms and precautions of Pneumonia, said that coughs with phlegm, high fever, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, excessive sweating, stomach or abdominal pain, crackling in the lungs ultimately turn into pneumonia. Moreover, hoarseness, loss of appetite, vomiting due to coughing or swallowing phlegm, extreme fatigue, mental, physical and emotional distress are the main symptoms as well. Regarding the treatment of Pneumonia, they told the participants that according to the SOPs of the Punjab Govt, kids should be vaccinated on time, clean environment should be provided, mother's milk be taken as baby feed.