Dr Harry Acquah, a paediatrician at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, has debunked some folk remedies thought to treat infant jaundice.
He defined neonatal jaundice as the yellowing of the skin and eyes that occurs within the first 28 days of a child’s life as a result of a breakdown in the red blood cells.
Dr Acquah listed some traditional treatments for infant jaundice that have not been supported by science.
“Some people advocate that once you have a child with jaundice, just put a few drops of breast milk in the eye and it’s going clear…there are others who believe that putting a child in sunlight cures jaundice but then, it’s not proven to help anyone. In fact, they have come out worse off”, Dr Acquah revealed.
Mothers are called to be proactive in spot-checking for early diagnosis of jaundice to save the child from the long-term effects of jaundice.
