Folk remedy oils can cause infant pneumonia

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The traditional practice of
using vegetable or other oils to soothe infants’ stomachs and
stuffy noses can put them at risk of a form of pneumonia,
according to doctors.

Writing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine, they describe the cases of two Mexican-American
infants who developed lipoid pneumonia after their parents gave
them oils — a traditional remedy commonly given to children in
Mexico and other cultures.

Pneumonia refers to any inflammation of the lungs, which
causes symptoms such as breathing difficulty and coughing.
Lipoid pneumonia arises when fatty substances, such oils, get
into the lungs. Giving children mineral oil, as a laxative or
in the form of nose drops for nasal symptoms, has long been
recognized as a risk for lipoid pneumonia.

Still, various oils and animal fats are commonly used in
some cultures as a remedy for childhood ills like stomach
irritation, constipation and stuffy noses.

In one of the two cases in the current report, the parents
began feeding their week-old infant a capful of olive oil per
day to ease his “fussiness.” He soon developed an abnormally
rapid breathing pattern and a cough.

The baby was taken to the hospital several times, showing
abnormal breathing, poor oxygen circulation and high levels of
carbon dioxide in his blood. Despite chest X-rays and other
tests, as well as questions about any medications the baby may
have been given, the cause of his symptoms was not discovered
until the doctors asked specifically about oils.

The mother then revealed that, on the advice of her family,
she’d been giving her son a capful of olive oil each day to
soothe his stomach.

The situation was similar with the second child, a
4-month-old boy with persistent breathing difficulty and poor
growth. His mother had been giving him oil in the form of nasal
drops to help his runny nose.

In both cases, the diagnosis of lipoid pneumonia was
delayed, in part because the parents had not considered the oil
to be “medicine,” and so did not mention it when asked about
medication.

Since doctors so often ask specifically about medications,
it may be easy to miss the possible role of traditional
therapies, like olive oil, in a child’s symptoms, according to
Dr. Lucas R. Hoffman, the lead author of the report.

As in these two cases, it may take a very specific question
to get to the root of the problem, noted Hoffman, an assistant
professor of pediatric pulmonology at the University of
Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

In a brief survey of Spanish-speaking parents at their
clinic, Hoffman and his colleagues found that the majority were
familiar with the practice of giving oils to babies and
children for common ailments. Of these parents, 88 percent
thought the practice was beneficial, and only a few thought it
could be harmful.

The risk of lipoid pneumonia from oils does seem to be low,
Hoffman told Reuters Health, given that oils are widely used
but relatively few babies fall ill.

Still, he said, it’s always best to ask a doctor or nurse
about what’s safe to feed or give to an infant, particularly if
the baby has any health problems.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,
November 2005.