So you are a medical technology student? And you don’t know much? Or so you thought….
How can you do your bit for society????
Gangrene
Our grannies and grandpas love walking in the fields, doing a bit of gardening . tell them to wear shoes!
The organism that causes gangrene lives in the environment, on grasses, etc. old people usually have diabetes and hypertension. Diabetic patients usually suffer a loss of sensation, i.e. no feeling, in their fingers and toes. If they walk barefoot and get cut, the organism could enter their feet. They could end up with gangrene. They will not feel the cut, and when they do realize that they have a wound, it is quite severe. Tell them to check their feet carefully for cuts and wounds every night, or you do it for them. Another side effect of diabetes is slow healing of wounds. The high percentage of sugar or glucose in the bloodstream hinders the immune response. Exactly the reason why students who are cramming late night and eating sweets, chocolate and drinking coke, are sniffing, sneezing and coughing in the exam room. Go figure…….
Cholera
Contrary to popular belief, one doesn’t have to rush a cholera patient to the doctor for immediate medical attention. You and I could help save a life. These patients die from loss of electrolytes and dehydration. So we must replenish water together with some electrolytes. How, you ask? Silly really, just give boiled cooled water in which you dissolve a teaspoon of sugar and a of salt. And tell them not to use rivers as toilets.
Tetanus
The classic sign of tetanus is the backward arching of the body, very similar to that exhibited by the female lead in the exorcism of Emily Rose. Unfortunately by the time this is seen, it is usually fatal. Prevent tetanus by having a tetanus injection when you get cut with any sort of metal or implement. The organism responsible for tetanus is found in the environment, and needs the cut to enter your body. The effects don’t last long unlike vaccinations. Go on……teach someone
Handwashing
Good old soap and water is what we need. Soaps by nature are alkaline, they rely on anionic action to reduce surface tension to loosen dirt which is washed away by the water. Germs is just a fancy word for bacteria. We get all kinds of bacteria, like people; the bad kind and the good kind. There are millions of bacteria on the surface of our skin. They are serving a purpose there. By occupying space, they are not allowing harmful bacteria to get in. if we use antibacterial soaps, we kill the good guys and say a warm hello to all kinds of nasties. Do you want that? Go on……teach someone
Antibiotics
We all have them or know someone who does. The mother who insists you see a doctor for the flu, and as if that’s not enough, she insists that you insist on having antibiotics prescribed. Why on earth would you want antibiotics for a viral infection, cos that is what the flu is. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections, and therefore not effective against b=viruses. Well when we get the flu, our immune systems can get compromised. Then we would get a secondary bacterial infection. This would give us the yellowish phlegm, sore throat, cough, etc. the problem with antibiotics is that the doctor does not have the time to determine the best antibiotic for the cause of the bacterial infection. He just prescribes a broad spectrum antibiotic, one that would kill all or most of the bacteria. We have many friendly bacteria within us, no harm to us and we need them. Kill them and we pay the price. Wave them goodbye, cos you just killed them. A good doctor worth his title would tell you to take a live culture tablet or yoghurt with the antibiotic, to replenish the good bacteria. Many people don’t complete the course of antibiotics; they stop taking them when they start to feel better. The problem with this is that you may have killed 90% of the bacteria; the remaining 10% gets resistant to the antibiotic. If the infection doesn’t resolve, and if you go back to the doctor, you would need stronger antibiotics. And stronger antibiotics have worse side effects. Go on….. teach someone.
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