This health awareness session was held on 28th of November. It was a very special camp for us as a lot of friends from outside Ziauddin were present in the session. This best example of a human being, my friend Sukaina who has been involved with multiple social works over the years was finally in Karachi. She is a Chemical Engineer by profession and currently she mostly volunteers with Rotract Club in Islamabad. She had heard about our work in Sikanderabad and we were so glad to finally have her with us. We also invited three very eager medical students from Bahria University, Eeshal, Ibtesam and Namra. They too had heard about our work and wanted to check it out for themselves and we are hoping that they can become our permanent members for the sessions. It was a new environment for all our guests but they were welcomed by all the women and soon they were all talking like old friends. The thing about the women in Sikanderabad is that they usually mingle with the other women in Sikanderabad only or the families they go to work for. When outsiders come to meet them they are shy at first but they soon warm up and feel amazing that someone cares for their well-being.
We also had our usual Ziauddin students and this time there were six of them present. We are planning more activities for the future so we will be recruiting even more volunteers.
I started the session by teaching the women about some basic breathing exercises. As I have mentioned in my previous posts a lot of them complain of psychosomatic pains and are trapped in the rut of excessive negative thoughts which present with physical symptoms that leads to health burden for their already poor families. Breathing exercises were such a foreign concept to them and they were all were exchanging confused looks with other audience members and eventually started giggling. I aimed to bring them at ease before the main medical talk so that was already achieved but I will be repeating these exercises each time now so they can do them to instantly feel better and change perspectives about the events in their lives.
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| Permanent junior members of the sessions |
I then asked them about gratitude which was our topic at the last session. I made them to quote examples of how they practiced gratitude. One of them said I thanked my sister for being there for me when I need to vent, another one said I was thankful to the garbage collector in my lane. The funniest was when one of them said I thanked my husband for providing for the family and buying me new clothes which made him so happy that he gave me extra money for myself.
We discussed breast exam in the last session too so I asked how many of them performed it and what steps they followed. I reviewed the steps and will ask the other women next time if they performed the exam on themselves.
The main topic of this day's talk was flu and asthma prevention. Flu vaccine is a new concept for them although they are very keen on getting all the other vaccines. I first told them what exactly flu is and how it is transmitted. I then went over the list of ways to prevent it. This is such a common disease which is prevalent in all their homes and they listened very attentively on how to avoid getting sick. I then talked about what asthma is and how it is spread. We then covered the preventative steps together. I asked if anyone in the audience used inhalers and one of them stood up with an inhaler in her hand. I wanted to check if they knew the proper technique to use it. Thankfully she did and she even demonstrated the proper technique to others. Turns out there is a weekly asthma clinic at PHC and that woman was one of their very compliant patients.
This is a small clip of me discussing how to cover up the sneeze and then Shehla Baji stepping in and reinforcing the message in Pushto. The sessions have become funner now as the women are not as shy anymore and specially with the guests present, they were all in really good spirits throughout.
After the session I asked Shehla Baji to give our guests a tour of the area as they had never seen the poverty and simplicity of the people of Sikanderabad before. We went to a very long lane that was all dug up because of sewage problems. The officials concerned were working on snail pace and there were huge black dumps of soil soaked in sewage. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this is a very neglected area of the city. Each pile was about 5 feet tall and there were more than ten of them in that lane alone and Shehla Baji informed us it had been like this for days. The stench was unbearable, imagine having to live with that in-front of your house for days and walking through it. This could be a nidus for so many new diseases for these people.
First Shehla Baji took us to her sister's house who had opened a mini beauty parlor in her house. It was really inspiring that she was running such an organized place and was earning for herself. We then went to a woman's house who sells water to the other residents. She purchases it from the water hydrant in-charges and then sells it from her house. She was also selling clothes in her house too. It is very nice to see how they are starting small businesses to support their families. The third house we went to was the house of one of our old patients, back then as KaraHealth we had payed for her entire hysterectomy surgery. Then we went to a nurse's house who works at PHC. Most of my friends had never been to 1-2 bedroom houses specially in sewage infested areas before. They were absolutely in awe of the people though who were so welcoming and genuinely happy to have them as guests. They were moved by their spirit and are working towards helping them somehow. Sukaina has already begun fundraising for them and Eeshal and her friends cannot wait for next awareness camps.
This is what I discussed during the session:
"How does flu spread?
It spreads through droplets when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. It spreads when they touch something with those droplets and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. It starts to spread 1 day before the onset of symptoms and 5-7 days after being sick.
How to prevent flu?
1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, avoid close contact with others.
2. If possible stay at home to prevent infecting others.
3. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze/cough.
4. Clean your hands thoroughly after sneezing/coughing.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
6. Regularly clean frequently touched objects and surfaces, including doorknobs, switches and phones.
7. Do not share handkerchiefs (This was specially for this population)
8. Specially prevent the elderly, the very young, people with chronic conditions and pregnant women from developing flu.
9. If you have flu, have a good sleep, drink plenty of fluids and eat healthy foods.
How does asthma present?
Wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and cough.
Asthma triggers:
1. Tobacco smoke.
2. Dust mites: wash clothes, bed sheets, pillow cases with warm water every week.
3. Air pollen; wear masks.
4. Cats, dogs, other pets.
5. Mold; fix water leaks.
6. Smoke from burning wood (Again very applicable for this population)
7. Bad weather, cold air.
8. Intense emotional state.
9. Cockroaches
10. Food coloring
11. Air freshners, perfumes
How to prevent asthma?
1. Get flu and pneumonia shots
2. Monitor breathing
3. Identify attack before it gets worse
4. Use prescribed medicines correctly
5. Use inhalers appropriately
How to use an inhaler correctly?
Take off the cap, make sure it is clean. Shake 10-15 times. Without the inhaler, take a breath and breath out all the way. Put inhaler in the mouth, seal lips around it, breath in slowly and press down. Keep breathing in. Hold breath for 5-10s. Open your mouth and breath out slowly."
This information was taken from cdc.gov
By Zainab Faiza
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