Aquackery in injection administration poses a significant health risk to infants, according to child health specialists.
They emphasize that only trained professionals should give injections, as improper technique can cause irreversible nerve damage, leading to lifelong mobility issues.
Dr. Beatrice Ezenwa, a senior lecturer and consultant neonatologist, stresses that injections must be administered in specific areas of the buttocks to avoid harm.
She asserts that untrained health workers and auxiliary nurses are not qualified to give injections, highlighting the importance of proper training to ensure safe and effective injection practices.
The paediatrician explained, “There are anatomical places where you can give an injection which you learn when you are in school.
“But quacks because they see people give injections in the buttocks, they feel that any part of the buttocks can be given injections and they cause problems.
“When you are to give injections, there are particular places you can give them.
“There are particular areas for giving an injection.”
Ezenwa Emphasized that untrained health workers and auxiliary nurses who are not qualified to administer injections are the ones causing the problems.
“If somebody follows the guidelines and protocol, they are not likely to cause any problems. It is those who do not know the rules that cause problems”, the paediatrician said .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises against using the buttocks as a routine vaccination site for infants and children to prevent sciatic nerve damage.
Instead, the CDC recommends using the upper, outer quadrant of the buttocks only for large injections, avoiding the central region altogether.
Dr. Olatunde Odusote, a consultant pediatrician, echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that proper injection techniques in the buttocks can minimize harm.
However, he suggests that injecting children in the thigh is an even safer alternative, significantly reducing the risk of nerve damage.
The paediatrician said,” If you inject somebody on the nerve, it will cause irreversible damage.
“Nerves are not repairable once they are damaged. That is one way of causing the problem. So, that is an issue of quackery where somebody who is not trained to give an injection gives an injection and damages the nerve in that child especially if it was given in the buttocks.
“Usually, there is a way to give injections in the buttocks. When you want to give an injection in the buttocks, you have to divide it into four parts.
“It is the upper outer area that you will give the injection.”
Odusote, however, said, “But we also know from experience that although most nerves do not pass through that place, a few per cent of people, their nerves are in that area. That is why you find out that most vaccines in children now are given in the thigh. It is because of those findings.”
Dr. Odusote also warned that administering an injection to a child with polio who has a fever can exacerbate the condition, potentially leading to more severe consequences.
