Environmental Factors Affecting the Health of Infants

Infants are not able to adapt to the changes in the ecological conditions. The changes directly affect the health of the infants, whose parents and caregivers tend to ignore. The fact which the parents and caregivers need to understand is that their infants have a delicate body. For this reason, they are likely to face severe problems arising from changes in the environment in which they live. For instance, if the climate changes from a dry spell to a rainy season, then there would be occurrences of stagnating waters in the surrounding. In addition to that, the ground will produce more of the wild plants because of the favorable climatic conditions. Parents and caregivers need to be vigilant on these changes and be aware of the possible effects that they have on the health of the infant children. They need not underrate the effect of the stagnated water. It creates favorable conditions for the breeding and survival of mosquitoes. It means, therefore, that the infants are at increased risk of contracting illnesses such as malaria.

The stagnant water may also provide a breeding ground for water snail, which causes dangerous illnesses such as bilharzia (In Edelman et al. 2014). It is necessary that the adults who take care of the children take steps to manage the environment, which will help in saving the infants from the possible health hazards. They should not wait until the kids develop signs of illnesses. They should take to account the fact that the kids are at a higher risk of falling sick, as opposed to the adults. It is their responsibility to ensure that they prevent them from any possible harm.

Flooding, the environmental factor under analysis has more effects other than the breeding of mosquitoes. It is vital for the progenitors and caregivers to understand that flu viruses are contagious (In Edelman et al. 2014). As such, they spread with ease during the rainy season and at the time when floods occur. For this reason, floods are detrimental to the health of the infants; they ease the spread of flu viruses. The rate of transmission of the viruses from one person to the other is higher during the flood season. Due to the delicate state of the infants, their immune system gets weaker during the rainy season. They end up contracting the various types of flu at a faster rate as opposed to adults. The caregivers and parents need to take note of this point and keep in touch with the welfare of their kids. For instance, children are fond of playing with water. If in any case one of the kids comes to contact with the infection, he or she will infect the other comrades at a faster rate. Apart from that, it is worth noting that some of the pathogens that live in the soil and other habitations may find it nice to breed in the flooded areas. Some of them breed highly in the floods, thus increasing the chances of infecting as many kids as possible. For this reason, it is possible to have an outbreak of a certain illness. Caregivers, as well as parents, have to ensure that the kids do not go to play in stagnated and flooded areas. In so doing, the rate of infection will drop significantly.

The infants may be dwelling in a habitat that has ditches that facilitate drainage. It happens that during the floods, the ditches are always overflowing. At the same time, streams and rivers swell, posing a possible risk of accidents to the infants. In an occurrence of an accident, possibilities are that the child may either die or develop health complications (Health people.gov, 2013). It is possible for the parents and caregivers to prevent the mishaps. Firstly, they need to ensure that the ditches and streams, as well as rivers, have strong bridges. These structures will facilitate the crossing of both the adults and the children. By using the facilities, it will be possible to prevent the kids from falling into the waterways. During the floods, some sections of the ground develop hollows. These empty places are risky to the wellbeing of the infants. It is advisable that the adults fill the hollow places with gravel and hardcore during the dry spell. Doing so will prevent accidents which may culminate in limbs breakages. The same thing should happen to the erosion control facilities that are privy to the homesteads.

In addition to that, parents should check their lifestyle habits. Some of them engage in smoking, which threatens the health of the infants due to the contamination of the air by the smoke (Ackley & Ludwig, 2010). The chances are that the infant whose parents smoke are at an increased risk of getting respiratory problems. There is the need for the adults to avoid causing health hazards to the babies from the things they use. The second smoke, for instance, is likely to cause a lot of damage to the child, especially to the breathing system. In conclusion, therefore, the caregivers and parents have a role to play in the healthy development of the infants. The information in this pamphlet will assist them to understand the effects of environmental factors on the infants'health.

References

Ackley, B. J., & Ludwig, G. B. (2010). Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: An Evidence-Based Guide to Planning Care. London: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Health people.gov (2013) Environmental quality retrieved on 17/4/2013 from

In Edelman, C., In Mandle, C. L., & In Kudzma, E. C. (2014). Health promotion throughout the life span. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.

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