Prevention. Prevention. Prevention.

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This blog was originally posted on January 2, 2012 at http://helpnicaraguachildren.blogspot.com/. Please note, Dr Robson is not accepting donations at this time. However, he would greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions in support of his efforts.

Dad brought in his five-year-old son with fever and sore throat.  He had the typical vesicles of coxsackie virus. The throat is very red and sore, and the neck glands are enlarged. Unless the typical vesicles are noted on the tonsillar pillars, many children are treated with an antibiotic as per strep throat, but this is a virus, lasts a week, and fever control and hydration are all that is necessary.

It is never too soon to start planning for the next visit. With the next visit I will try to plan some community based preventative care clinics. Preventative care is essential everywhere in the world, whether in developed Canada or in underdeveloped Nicaragua. The key to health is preventative care.

I now have contacts in the region. Bo Fox, who I met on the last trip, and Sheyla and Jessica, who help as interpreters with this visit, live in different communities in the region. Within an hour of the clinic, there are seven communities along the dirt road to the north or south. At the next visit I will try to organize community teaching sessions on a variety of common paediatric topics.

Back in Canada I will develop a PowerPoint presentation in Spanish and on the next trip we will find community locations with electrical power, hopefully a fan, and enough room and chairs for local mothers to come. We will advertise the sessions locally for several weeks before the event. I will plan a two-hour session and cover four basic topics. After each thirty minute session, I will answer questions. We will provide water, juice, and nutritious snacks for the families. Sounds good. Hope we can do this.

The basic topics I will present will include:

1. how to disinfect well water with SODIS.

2. how to prevent worm disease.

3. the principles of good nutrition.

4. the principles of good hydration.

5. how to use oral rehydration solution for diarrhea.

6. how to treat fever.

Every Mother will be asked to bring the immunization cards for her children and we will check the immunization status and advise the mother if she needs to get caught up at the next public immunization day in her community.

Every mother who attends will be provided with:

1. Mebendazole, three day course, for worms

2. Metronidazole, three day course for parasites

3. Multivitamin for two months

4. Acetaminophen to have on hand for fever

5. Enough Oral Rehydration Solution powder to make two litres.

5. Spanish teaching handouts on worms, parasites, nutrition, hydration, fever, and diarrhea. 

Howler Monkey who watched me very carefully this morning. The loud roars of the males at dawn and dusk can be heard for miles and serve to delineate territories.