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.
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.
