Our body has a system called the immune system. The immune system is the army of our body: it is made up of cells, tissues, organs and chemical substances that work together to defend our body against disease-causing microorganisms and other foreign agents that have the potential of harming the body.

This immune system becomes better and stronger as one grows from a child into adulthood. This means the immune system is not that strong enough in childhood, especially in children who are less than 5 years of age with the immune system being the most fragile in the first one year. As a result, children who are less than 5 years old can easily come down with certain diseases when exposed to the microorganisms causing them, unlike an adult whose body may resist the microorganisms for a longer time before breaking down. Moreover, some of these diseases can easily kill children less than 5 years if immediate and appropriate medical treatment is not provided compared to an adult

In Nigeria, there are 5 disease conditions which have been found to be the most common causes of death in children less than 5 years of age if appropriate medical care is not administered to the affected child in the shortest possible time. The 5 disease conditions are:

1. Diarrhoea

If a child starts passing loose or watery stool (that is the stool or faeces is watery enough to take the shape of a container) about 3 times or more in 24 hours, then that child has diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea in children can be treated at home with ORS, zinc tablet and vitamin A. However, if the child continues stooling, especially stooling more times with each day that passes by, despite doing these home remedies, the mother should take the child to a hospital to see a doctor.

Failure to do so will likely lead to the child’s death as he or she will keep losing water and important mineral salts from the watery stool. In addition, the child will likely not have the appetite for any food and over time become malnourished, which contributes to the death of children with diarrhoea.

2. Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of the tissues of the lungs which are in the chest. In children, pneumonia may manifest as fever and cough with an increased rate of breathing or difficulty with breathing in which the child will be gasping for breath; the child may also become breathless and the lips and tongue become dark at this point.

If your child, who is less than 5 years old, starts having fever or a cough or both of them and you give the normal paracetamol syrup, cough syrup and maybe an anti-malarial drug without any improvement in 2 days, please make sure you take the child to see a medical doctor in a hospital for proper evaluation. It could be that the child has pneumonia.

Many mothers make the mistake of continuing giving the medications for another few days with the hope that it is an ordinary cough or maybe malaria which will resolve until the child becomes worse. The child may become breathless or starts breathing too fast with time as the tissues of the lungs get damaged the more. Some children become unconscious. It is usually too late by the time the child is rushed to the hospital after wasting many days or a few weeks at home: the child dies at home, on the way to the hospital or in the hospital

3. Measles

Measles is a viral infection that easily kills children less than 5 years. This is because many parents still fail to bring their children for immunization against the measles virus when they are 9 months old.
immunization in children
Measles can affect the lungs of the child, the stomach and intestine, the brain, the eyes all of which can either kill the child or cause some serious long-term problems like blindness.

The most effective way to prevent measles in children less than 5 years is to make them available for immunization at exactly 9 months. Most children who receive the measles vaccine at 9 months develop immunity against the virus and will not come down with the infection even if they are exposed. And the vaccine is free of charge.

4. Malnutrition

In simple terms, malnutrition is a condition in which a child does not receive the minimum nutrients (adequate and quality food) needed for growth and development over a long period of time. When this happens it begins to manifest in the child’s weight and height and appearance.
malnourished child, child with diarrhoea
Because nutrients from quality food are necessary for life, long-term deprivation leads to poor growth and development. Malnourished children have low immunity (like someone with HIV) and can easily get infections, have low blood volume and other problems all of which lead to the death of most affected children if an immediate medical intervention is provided.

5. Malaria

It may sound funny or untrue, but malaria, if not treated at all or treated poorly, can easily lead to death in a child that is less than 5 years. Many parents buy anti-malarial drugs and give to their children whenever they have a fever and they feel it is malaria.
what happens to a child with malaria if he is not treated
In most cases, these parents give the drugs without knowing the right dose for that child’s age and weight even though most of the anti-malarial drugs contain the dosage information on their leaflets. Also, many mothers stop giving the drug once the fever stops: they don’t bother to complete the full course of the drug. Sometimes, the child may continue to have fever even after completing the drug at the right dosage. This means the malaria parasite load in the blood is very high.

Once a child less than 5 years starts having a fever, feels weak and still does not improve after 3 days of giving an anti-malarial drug, the mother should take him or her to the hospital to see a medical treatment for expert treatment. Failure to do this may cause rapid destruction of red blood cells, rapid reduction in blood sugar level, convulsion, very high fever, vomiting and coma in the child which can go on to kill the child.

If you have a child who is still less than 5 years, his or her health should be guarded with care. The food and water the child takes should be hygienically prepared; the child should sleep under an insecticide-treated mosquito net; he or she should be fed with locally available foods that are rich in protein and carbohydrates and other nutrients and the child should drink enough water always; mothers should endeavour to do exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months. Once the child starts coughing, has a fever, is vomiting or stooling and does not get better one or two days of giving drugs at home, take him or her to see a medical doctor in a hospital.

Don’t forget you can conveniently book that lab test your doctor requested for with any of our partner labs closest to you. Just click on Swift Checkup to schedule the medical test with a lab.

We are currently testing our new Android mobile app that allows you to consult verified medical doctors on any health issues from the comfort of your mobile phone. Click on this link here to download our mobile app, register and start asking our doctors questions on those health issues bothering you.

Written by Dr. Okechukwu Amako, MB;BS (Ibadan)

Tags: child with diarrhoea, convulsion, cough syrup, exclusive breastfeeding, fever, immunization, malaria, malaria drug, malaria injection, malnutrition, measles, ORS, pneumonia in children, vomiting

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very interesting topic