What would you do if by 12am one night, your little child drinks some
household poison like shampoo thinking its juice? Or you have just gone
to toilet for the fourteenth time and you are feeling like you are about
to pass out.
Of course, you will go to the hospital but before
you are able to go to Hospital, do you know that your actions (or
inactions) might even determine if you make it to the hospital, or if
the hospital will be able to save you?
Are you prepared for any eventuality? Life-threatening situations require that you have something to use at home, just in case.
The must-have Items are:
1.Activated Charcoal-
This has to be the best poison-absorbing substance known to man.
(Forget Palm oil) It is sold in pharmacies everywhere and you don’t need
a prescription to buy it. If your child (or you) accidentally swallows
poison, you would regret not having this at home. To demonstrate how
effective, it is, a professor once swallowed some poison intentionally,
along with activated charcoal. The poison was in quantities that would
have summarily killed him, but he was unharmed. He swallowed it to
demonstrate to his colleagues how effective Activated charcoal is in
absorbing poison. The professor’s name is Professor Touery.
2.ORT Sachets:
You don’t want to be caught dead without this in your home. (no pun
intended) If someone stools frequently as in diarrhoea etc. and the
person doesn’t get two things urgently, the person might die. The two
things are, hydration and electrolyte balance. When you hear someone
died from diarrhoea, it usually isn’t the diarrhoea that killed the
person but the loss of water and electrolytes. If the person is a child,
amplify your alert times 10 because of their tender bodies. I would
have said sugar and salt as an alternative but it can be cumbersome
doing the mixing and getting the ratio right, so I choose this
convenient, ready-mixed pack sold cheap at every pharmacy I know. Just
add a litre of water and you are good to go.
3. Low dose Aspirin (75 mg): Warning- NEVER EVER GIVE ASPIRIN TO A CHILD BELOW 16 YEARS OF AGE- EVER. I will discuss the dangers in another post.
Now
that we have that out of the way, this wonder-drug does erm… wonders.
It is different from the aspirin widely used for pain, hence the
“low-dose” name. It can be used to prevent a blood-clot; it might save
your granny if you notice she’s having signs of a stroke probably caused
by a blood clot. Daily use of this is said to prevent some cancers and
in fact, by some, you should be taking this daily. Please talk to your
doctor to know if this is for you.
4.Aloe-vera plant:
This thorny plant has so many beneficial uses but the one I am
recommending it for is for burns and scalds. If for example you spill
hot water on your hands you can quickly go and cut its leaves, apply the
gel sparingly all over the affected area and leave it. What it
seemingly does is that when the burns heal, it leaves as little mark as
possible and if it is just a minor scald, you might not notice anything
when it heals.
5.Baking Powder: Baking powder is made of
sodium bicarbonate a bit different from baking powder. It has so many
uses but I will mention just the 2 that pertain to this article. 1. For
ulcer. 2. For scorpion stings and bug bites.
Because of the way
it interacts with acids by neutralizing it, baking soda is very good for
stomach ulcers. Just drink a glass of water with 1-2 teaspoons to
relieve symptoms.
To use for scorpion stings, put a paste of baking
powder and water over the stung area, be it wasp, bee or scorpion
stings. While most scorpion stings are not deadly, some, like the
Deathstalker can be fatal. So, try and kill the scorpion and take it
with you to hospital for the doctor to see.
