Slide 8
Difficulties of intravenous rehydrationThis cartoon is from Indonesia again, but you can tell the same
story for many other countries.
Q. What story does the cartoon tell? How does it affect the treatment of
diarrhoea?
Teacher's Note
This is another question that you might find useful to
stop and discuss in detail. People who trained, towns and large hospitals
in particular may need to learn the significance of this
message by discussion with people whose experience is more
rural. |
A. This is a poor family, with no transport. They have to walk a very long way
to the nearest health centre, and the District Hospital is twice as far. There
are no sophisticated facilities near their village. Both the children have diarrhoea, and
the youngest one, whom the mother is carrying, looks dehydrated. The mother has
given the children her own herb treatment for a day and a night, but they are no
better.
Q. Where can they take this younger child for intravenous treatment?
A. The health centre might have IV fluids, but they don't often put up drips
there, especially on children. Probably he will have to go to the hospital.
Perhaps he can go there tomorrow.
The delay is dangerous. The child will continue to lose body water on the
journey and when he reaches hospital he will be much more dehydrated. Then he
will probably need intravenous fluids to save his life.
Q. What else can this rural family do? There are millions of other families who
have the same problem. Can the health service arrange for IV therapy to be
available nearer to their home?
A. It is very unlikely that IV therapy could be available nearer to where they
live. It needs special equipment and those expensive sterile fluids. Putting up
drips on children needs practice, so you can only have them in a hospital or a
large health centre.
Q. Is there some other simpler treatment that you can give earlier so that the
child does not get worse on the way to hospital?
A. Yes, you could give the child oral fluids, or oral rehydration. Better still,
his mother could give him some oral fluids. For most children with diarrhoea,
oral fluids are all that they need. If a child does have to go to hospital, give
him oral fluids on the way. Then he will not be so seriously ill when he arrives
there.
