A report written in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine said that the cultural practice of giving children mineral or vegetable oil (as well as other oil) puts them at risk for lipoid pneumonia. This type of pneumonia occurs when fatty substances make their way into the lung area.
The oils are used as a remedy for stomach aches, constipation and stuffy noses. According to Dr. Lucas R. Hoffman, a lead author of the report, doctors often miss the role of traditional therapies in a patients symptoms, which can make the cause of the lipoid pneumonia hard to diagnose.
Hoffman, who is an assistant professor of pediatric pulmonology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, says that in a survey of Spanish-speaking patients at his clinic, he found that most were familiar with the tradition of giving oil to their children to cure ailments. However, they were unaware of the potentially harmful effects.
