We started the session off with me conducing breathing exercises as usual. They still giggle and smile while doing it but at least they are doing it with me and one of them made me so happy by telling everyone that she does it every morning when she wakes up. I then questioned them about what I taught them regarding gratitude in one of our previous sessions and they shared their beautiful experiences again. The lady who told me about thanking her husband the last time said this time he thanked me and we are much happier now. I then questioned them about what they remembered from my last talk on flu and asthma prevention and they listed the preventative measures and if they performed any.
At the beginning of the blog I said it was a fun session as this time after discussing the disease prevention stuff I talked about Self Love. They were all more confused than ever when I brought up this topic. As I have mentioned before theses breathing exercises, gratitude, self love are insanely new and super weird concepts for them. They have all followed a set pattern of life where since they are women they are expected to care about others and let go of things that bother them. I took this list from a picture on Pinterest. I translated it into Urdu, read each sentence loudly and made them repeat after me. They were intrigued as to what all I was saying but they were beaming with joy as they repeated it after me. Never before had someone talked to them about believing in themselves and accepting themselves as they were. When they were all saying it together the place resonated with such hope and beauty that I cannot put the feeling in words. Can't wait to see what the future holds for them.
Photo submitted by one of the audience members.
Chikungnya:
-Spread by the bite of mosquitoes.
-Abrupt onset of fever, usually with joint pain. Can also present with muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash
-Fever lasts for a few days, may even last a few weeks.
- Most patients recover fully, in some cases pain may persist for several months or even years.
-Eyes, heart, GI, neurological complications are rare.
-Can present with low white blood cells and platelets.
-Persons at risk of severe disease include neonates exposed in utero, >65y olds, patients with underlying medical conditions including DM, HTN, CVD.
-May give rise to latent Rheumatoid Arthritis.
-Mosquitoes can be found biting throughout daylight hours, there may be peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon.
-Onset of illness between 4-8 days after bite, can also take 2-12 days.
-Joint symptoms are usually symmetric and often occur in hands and feet.
-Same mosquitoes which also spread Dengue.
-Patients can present with both infections together.
-Aspirin and other NSAIDs can increase the risk of hemorrhage in patients with dengue.
-If patients have Dengue, no aspirin or NSAIDs until after >48h of being afebrile.
-Treatment: Joint pain analgesia, antipyrestics, physiotherapy for persistent joint pain
-Prevention:
*Water filled containers should be covered at all times.
*Insecticide sprays.
*Mosquito repellents
*Coils
*Mosquito nets.
-People suspected to have Chikungunya or Dengue should be protected from further mosquito exposure during the first week of illness to reduce the risk of further transmission.
Diarrhea:
-Second leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age. 52,500 children die each year from diarrhea.
-Can last several days and leave the body without water and salts needed for survival.
-3 or more loose stools in a day.
-Inflammation of intestinal tract caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
-Spreads through food, water and person to person.
-ORS + zinc is the mainstay of management.
-Persistent diarrhea is that which lasts for more than 14 days. If there is blood in your stool, go to the hospital immediately.
-Malnourished children are at an increased risk of dying from diarrhea.
-Always boil water before drinking.
-Cover it properly.
-Do not dip dirty dishes in the clean water.
-Wash hands for about 20 seconds.
-Flush, each time.
-Exclusive breastfeeding for first 6 months of life.
-Wash the meat and vegetables properly, cook in clean pots.
-Refrigerate food, do not leave it out for long.
-Get your children vaccinated against Rota Virus.
-During diarrhea consume yogurt, bananas and Kichri (local dish where rice and lentil are boiled together ill they are soft)
-Wash infant feeding bottles carefully.
-Prevent bees from sitting on your food, bottles, glasses.
-Do not eat antibiotics, antimicrobials for diarrhea unless prescribed by your doctor (here all medicines are available over the counter)
-ORS: One sachet dissolved in four glasses of water.
-Go to the hospital if you cannot drink or eat.
-Do not give tea, coke, juice to patients as these can cause more dehydration.
-Check for dehydration in children:
*Alert/irritable/floppy
*Eyes: Are their tears
*Mouth/ Tongue: Is it dry?
*Skin pinch
*Anterior fonanelle
*Pulse
*Breathing
- For children <2 y give 1/4 to 1/2 cup ORS after every stool
-For children >2 y give 1/2 to 1 cup of ORS after every stool
-If ORS packet is not available then use 6 leveled teaspoons of sugar and half leveled teaspoon of salt in one liter of boiled water.
Self Love:
1.I shall lovingly accept myself as I am right now.
2. I shall appreciate all the beauty that makes me who I am.
3. I shall regularly give thanks for all my blessings.
4. I shall trust in my ability to take care of myself.
5. I shall not criticize myself.
6. I shall not criticize others.
7. I shall forgive myself when I make a mistake.
8. I shall be kind to others without sacrificing my own needs.
9. I shall take the responsibility for my life.
10. I shall love myself to the best of my ability.
By Zainab Faiza
No comments:
Post a Comment