Dr Anthony Enimil, a paediatrician at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), has called for parents and care givers to do everything to protect children from domestic accidents during the yuletide.

He described as worrying the high incidence of accidents involving children during the Christmas festivities.

The hospital had over the last four years seen a total of 235 such cases.

These mainly had to do with burns, food poisoning, kerosene and caustic soda solution ingestion by kids.

Dr Enimil told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi that the victims normally tended to be aged between 12 months and three years.

He said children between 12 and 24 months were most susceptible to domestic accidents and that was why they needed to be adequately protected.

The long term effect of these accidents could be grim and might involve difficulty in swallowing, permanent scars and cancer of the throat. Occasionally, they could result in deaths.

The paediatrician advised against the practice of administering palm oil to dilute poisonous substances drank by children and warned that if not properly done, it could have serious repercussions.

He said the right thing to do under any such circumstance was to seek immediate medical treatment at the nearest health facility, taking along what was left of to be swallowed.

In the case of burns, shea-butter or any petroleum jelly could be applied before going to the hospital.

He counseled that chemicals, drugs and other poisonous substances must be kept away from the reach of the children.

They must also be closely watched whilst playing with toys, balloons, and other items, which could suffocate them.