Perceived Causes and Management of Diarrhoea in Young Children by Market Women in Enugu State, Nigeria (Survey‪)‬

INTRODUCTION There are several perceptions regarding the causes and management of diarrhoea among mothers in the rural Igbo communities in Nigeria and in other parts of Africa (1-5). For example, teething, bad breastmilk, eating of fresh vegetables, beans (Vigna unguiculata), and sweetened foods are all often blamed for causing diarrhoea. These misconceptions have given rise to mismanagement of diarrhoea, i.e. feeding diarrhoea cases with solid foods, such as roasted yam and cassava foo-foo (cassava paste, steamed), with a belief that these foods would help thicken watery diarrhoeal stools (1-3). These misconceptions are prevalent among women who take care of the health of the family; it may influence the important child-survival technologies, including immunization, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and breast-feeding (6). The levels of misconception about the aetiology and management of diarrhoeal diseases would vary with the levels of acculturation of education of ethnic groups (4) and socioeconomic status of mothers.