Don’t play in the rain; You can fall sick
Children who play in the rain run the risk of suffering from hypothermia which is a drop in body temperature and that could be fatal.
The Medical Officer at the Deseret Hospital in Accra, Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic, said when a child stayed in the rain for a long time, he or she might also have fever or chills as a result of the cold water.
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He, therefore, asked children to desist from playingor walking in the rain.
Dr Kissi said rains were usually accompanied by lightning and when a child became wet in the rain, there was the risk of electrocution.
"So parents who usually ask their children to fetch rain water when there is a heavy downpour are putting the lives and health of these children at risk," he added
He explained that rain water was typically hard water so if a child had an allergy and was in the rain, he or she might have an itchy skin.
“Children who go through this ordeal are usually not comfortable at all, ” he indicated.
The medical officer said there was a family of parasites in the soil which were usually exposed during a downpour so when a child stood or played in the rain barefooted, the likelihood of the child being exposed to ringworm, hookworm, among others was very high.
He cautioned children who drank rain water, particularly from the ones coming from rooftops of houses to stop because apart from the water being hard, it could also be contaminated.
Dr Kissi also advised children who bathed with rain water to boil it in order to kill the germs to prevent infections.