Pregnant women urged to avoid self-medication

Kumasi, Nov. 13, GNA - Pregnant women have been cautioned to refrain from self-medication since that could have harmful effects on their unborn babies. Dr Joseph Opoku Buabeng, Head of the Dental, Ear, Eye, Nose and Throat Directorate of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) said they should also ensure that they vaccinated their kids against measles, meningitis and other diseases. Avoiding the urge to self-medicate, he noted, would significantly assist in reducing the incidence of deafness among children. Dr Buabeng gave the advice at the start of a two-day free health screening for children with hearing defects at the Jamasi School for the Deaf in the Sekyere South District. KATH and the Starkey Foundation, a United States (US)-based NGO, jointly carried out the exercise where about 960 children were expected to benefit. The goal of the exercise was to identify those, who could be assisted with hearing aids. Mr William F. Austin, Founder of the Starkey Foundation, said most of the cases of deafness were the result of the inappropriate use of drugs. He said it was important to be careful about the drugs they take, especially for the treatment of malaria and underlined the need for decisive action to tackle noise nuisance and early treatment of ear infections.       GNA ... Read Full Story