(Handout for health workshop at ECWA Bible College, Kufai-Billiri, 21-23 January 1997)
 | Importance of controlling mosquitoes. Clear away brush. Remove or cover any standing water. Netting for young children. Eliminate hiding places in houses. |
| Pregnant women and people with sickle cell disease should all take medicine to prevent malaria, usually 2 tablets of chloroquine every week. |
| All young children (0?5 years) with fever should be treated for malaria. |
| Chloroquine by mouth is better than by injection. Giving injections to children with fever can cause them to become paralysed! (Proper immunisation for polio will prevent this from happening). |
| Encourage children with malaria to take plenty of fluids and food during the fever and for two weeks afterward. |
| If the fever continues, other medicine may be needed. Take the child to a health center with good care. |
| Medicine usually isn't needed for watery diarrhea and can be dangerous. Don't waste your money! |
| The real danger is not the diarrhoea but dehydration and malnutrition. |
| Oral rehydration solution (ORS), sugar salt solution (SSS), and other liquids will protect against dehydration and death. They will not always cure the diarrhea rapidly. Breast-milk, thin pap, rice water, fresh fruit juices, coconut milk, weak teas can all be used. |
| How to make SSS: This recipe uses less salt and sugar than some recipes. Too much sugar and salt can make the diarrhea worse and are more expensive, so this formula is better for home use. |
| How to give ORS or SSS |
| After every watery stool and whenever the child or adult is thirsty |
| By cup or spoon |
| Between a quarter and a half of a large cup for a child under the age of two. Between half of a large cup and a whole large cup for older children; a whole cup for adults. |
| Give other fluids also. |
Continue giving ORS, SSS and other liquids until the diarrhoea has stopped, usually 3-7 days.
| A child with diarrhoea needs food! Continue breast-feeding. For children older than six months, give good foods such as groundnut pap, bits of meat, egg, fish, rice or tuwo for older children. Add one or two small spoons of oil to the food. Yoghurt (like Fulani nono) is also very good. |
A child recovering from diarrhoea needs an extra meal every day for at least two weeks. Breast-feed your child more often than usual, also.
| Danger signs. Parents should get help from a health worker at once if the child |
| has a fever |
| is extremely thirsty |
| will not eat or drink normally |
| vomits frequently |
| passes several watery stools in one or two hours |
| passes blood in the stools |
| has diarrhoea for more than two weeks |
| You can prevent diarrhoea by breast-feeding, immunizing children against measles, using latrines, keeping flies down, keeping food and water clean, storing and cooking food properly, washing your hands before touching food, giving nutritious foods regularly, and giving vitamin A every 6 months. |
| Danger signs: |
| A person is breathing much more rapidly than normal (more than 50 times a minute) |
| There is high fever |
| The lower part of the chest goes in as the person breathes in |
| The person is unable to drink anything |
| If any of these signs are present, you must take the child to the clinic or health worker. |
| If a person is breathing normally, coughs and colds and catarrh can be treated at home without any drugs. Most medicines sold for coughs and colds are useless or harmful. |
| Continue feeding |
| Give plenty of fluids |
| Keep person warm but not too hot |
| Help children clear their noses to let them breathe |
| Clean air (no smoke) |
| Becoming pregnant before the age of 18, or after the age of 35, is more dangerous for both the mother and the child. |
| Just as we must space seeds and plants like yams when we are farming, children must be spaced properly to survive and grow well. When one child is born less than two years after another |
| the mother is more likely to become ill or die |
| the new baby is 50% more likely to die |
| the older child is more likely to die |
| There are many safe and acceptable ways of avoiding pregnancy. The health worker or family planning clinic can help each couple decide which method is best for them. |
| Each pregnant woman needs to visit the clinic regularly during pregnancy |
| A trained person should assist at every birth |
| All pregnant women need more rest and food than usual. A pregnant woman needs to eat the best food available to the family. |
| Warning signs: (should get help from health worker soon) |
| failure to gain weight (at least 6 kilos during pregnancy) |
| being pale (inside eyelids, under nails) |
| unusual swelling of legs, arms, or face |
| burning when passing urine |
| Danger signs: (need to get help immediately) |
| bleeding from the vagina during pregnancy |
| serious headache (a sign of high blood pressure) |
| serious vomiting |
| high fever |
