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Contents

Brown Pages

WORDS TO THE VILLAGE HEALTH WORKER

Health Needs and Human Needs

Many Things Relate to Health Care

Take a Good Look at Your Community

Using Local Resources to Meet Needs

Deciding What to Do and Where to Begin

Trying a New Idea

Balance Between People and Land

Balance Between Prevention and Treatment

Sensible and Limited Use of Medicines

Finding Out What Progress Has Been Made

Teaching and Learning Together

Tools for Teaching

Making the Best Use of This Book


Chapter 1 {:.chap_title}

Home Cures That Help

Beliefs That Can Make People Well

Beliefs That Can Make People Sick

Witchcraft, Black Magic, and the Evil Eye

Questions and Answers

Sunken Fontanel or Soft Spot

Ways to Tell Whether a Home Remedy Works or Not

Medicinal Plants

Homemade Casts, for Broken Bones

Enemas, Laxatives, and Purges


Chapter 2

SICKNESSES THAT ARE OFTEN CONFUSED

What Causes Sickness?

Different Kinds of Sicknesses and Their Causes

Non-infectious Diseases

Infectious Diseases

Sicknesses That Are Hard to Tell Apart

Example of Local Names for Sicknesses

Misunderstanding Due to Confusion of Names

Confusion between Different Illnesses That Cause Fever


Chapter 3

HOW TO EXAMINE A SICK PERSON

Questions

General Condition of Health

Temperature

Thermometer: How to Use

Breathing (Respiration)

Pulse (Heartbeat)

Eyes

Ears

Skin

Belly (Abdomen)

Muscles and Nerves


Chapter 4

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A SICK PERSON

The Comfort of the Sick Person

Special Care for a Person Who Is Very Ill

Liquids

Food

Cleanliness and Changing Position in Bed

Watching for Changes

Signs of Dangerous Illness

When and How to Look for Medical Help

What to Tell the Health Worker

Patient Report


Chapter 5

HEALING WITHOUT MEDICINES

Healing with Water

When Water Is Better than Medicines


Chapter 6

RIGHT AND WRONG USE OF MODERN MEDICINES

Guidelines for the Use of Medicine

When Should Medicine Not Be Taken?

Misuse of Medicines: The Most Dangerous


Chapter 7

ANTIBIOTICS: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM

Guidelines for the Use of Antibiotics

What to Do if an Antibiotic Does Not Seem to Help

Importance of Limited Use of Antibiotics


Chapter 8

HOW TO MEASURE AND GIVE MEDICINE

Medicine in Liquid Form

Dosage Instructions for Persons Who How to Give Medicines to Small Children

Cannot Read

How to Take Medicines


Chapter 9

INSTRUCTIONS AND PRECAUTIONS FOR INJECTIONS

When to Inject and When Not To

Emergencies When It Is Important to Give Injections

Medicines Not to Inject

Risks and Precautions

Dangerous Reactions From Injecting Certain Medicines

Avoiding Serious Reactions to Penicillin

How to Prepare a Syringe for Injection

How to Inject

How Injections Can Disable Children

How to Sterilize Equipment


Chapter 10

FIRST AID

Basic Cleanliness and Protection

Fever

Shock

Loss of Consciousness

When Something Gets Stuck in the Throat

Drowning

When Breathing Stops: Mouth-to-Mouth Breathing

Emergencies Caused by Heat

How to Control Bleeding from a Wound

How to Stop Nosebleeds

Cuts, Scrapes, and Small Wounds

Large Cuts: How to Close Them

Bandages

Infected Wounds

Bullet, Knife, and Other Serious Wounds

Emergency Problems of the Gut (Acute Abdomen)

Appendicitis, Peritonitis

Burns

Broken Bones (Fractures)

How to Move a Badly Injured Person

Dislocations (Bones Out of Place at a Joint)

Strains and Sprains

Poisoning

Snakebite

Other Poisonous Bites and Stings


Chapter 11

NUTRITION: WHAT TO EAT TO BE HEALTHY

Sicknesses Caused by Not Eating Well

Why It Is Important to Eat Right

Preventing Malnutrition

Main Foods and Helper Foods

Eating Right to Stay Healthy

How to Recognize Malnutrition

Eating Better When You Do Not Have Much Money or Land

Where to Get Vitamins: In Pills or in Foods?

Things to Avoid in Our Diet

Diet for Small Children

Harmful Ideas about Diet

Special Diets for Specific Health Problems

Anemia

Rickets

High Blood Pressure

People Who Are Too Heavy

Constipation

Diabetes

Acid Indigestion, Heartburn, and Stomach Ulcers

Goiter (A Swelling or Lump on the Throat)


Chapter 12

PREVENTION: HOW TO AVOID MANY SICKNESSES

Cleanliness, and Problems from Lack of Cleanliness

Basic Guidelines of Cleanliness

Sanitation and Latrines

Worms and Other Intestinal Parasites

Roundworm (Ascaris)

Pinworm (Threadworm, Enterobius)

Whipworm (Trichuris)

Hookworm

Tapeworm

Trichinosis

Amebas

Giardia

Blood Flukes (Schistosomiasis, Bilharzia)

Vaccinations (lmmunizations), Simple, Sure Protection

Other Ways to Prevent Sickness and Injury

Habits That Affect Health


chapter 13

SOME VERY COMMON SICKNESSES

Dehydration

Diarrhea and Dysentery

The Care of a Person with Acute Diarrhea

Vomiting

Headaches and Migraines

Colds and the Flu

Stuffy and Runny Noses

Sinus Trouble (Sinusitis)

Hay Fever (Allergic Rhinitis)

Allergic Reactions

Asthma

Cough

Bronchitis

Pneumonia

Hepatitis

Arthritis (Painful, Inflamed Joints)

Back Pain

Varicose Veins

Piles (Hemorrhoids)

Swelling of the Feet and Other Parts of the Body

Hernia (Rupture)

Seizures (Fits, Convulsions)


chapter 14

SERIOUS ILLNESSES THAT NEED SPECIAL MEDICAL ATTENTION

Tuberculosis (TB, Consumption)

Rabies

Tetanus (Lockjaw)

Meningitis

Malaria

Dengue (Breakbone Fever, Dandy Fever)

Brucellosis (Undulant Fever, Malta Fever)

Typhoid Fever

Typhus

Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease)


chapter 15

SKIN PROBLEMS

General Rules for Treating Skin Problems

Instructions for Using Hot Compresses

Identifying Skin Problems

Scabies

Lice

Bedbugs

Ticks and Chiggers

Small Sores with Pus

Impetigo

Boils and Abscesses

Itching Rash, Welts, or Hives

Things That Cause Itching or Burning of the Skin

Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

Ringworm, Tinea (Fungus Infections)

White Spots on the Face and Body

Mask of Pregnancy

Pellagra and Other Skin Problems Due to Malnutrition

Warts (Verrucae)

Corns

Pimples and Blackheads (Acne)

Cancer of the Skin

Tuberculosis of the Skin or Lymph Nodes

Erysipelas and Cellulitis

Gangrene (Gas Gangrene)

Ulcers of the Skin Caused by Poor Circulation

Bed Sores

Skin Problems of Babies

Eczema (Red Patches with Little Blisters)

Psoriasis


chapter 16

THE EYES

Danger Signs

Injuries to the Eye

How to Remove a Speck of Dirt from the Eye

Chemical Burns of the Eye

Red, Painful Eyes, Different Causes

‘Pink Eye’ (Conjunctivitis)

Trachoma

Infected Eyes in Newborn Babies (Neonatal Conjunctivitis)

Iritis (Inflammation of the Iris)

Glaucoma

Infection of the Tear Sac (Dacryocystitis)

Trouble Seeing Clearly

Cross-Eyes and Wandering Eyes

Sty (Hordeolum)

Pterygium

Scrape, Ulcer, or Scar on the Cornea

Bleeding in the White of the Eye

Bleeding Behind the Cornea (Hyphema)

Pus Behind the Cornea (Hypopyon)

Cataract

Night Blindness and Xerophthalmia

Spots or ‘Floaters’ Before the Eyes

Double Vision

River Blindness (Onchocerciasis)


chapter 17

THE TEETH, GUMS, AND MOUTH

Care of Teeth and Gums

If You Do Not Have a Toothbrush

Toothaches and Abscesses

Pyorrhea, a Disease of the Gums

Sores or Cracks at the Corners of the Mouth

White Patches or Spots in the Mouth

Cold Sores and Fever Blisters


chapter 18

THE URINARY SYSTEM AND THE GENITALS

Urinary Tract Infections

Kidney or Bladder Stones

Enlarged Prostate Gland

Diseases Spread by Sexual Contact (Sexually Transmitted Infections, STDs)

Gonorrhea (Clap, VD, the Drip) and Chlamydia

Syphilis

Bubos: Bursting Lymph Nodes in the Groin

Use of a Catheter to Drain Urine

Problems of Women

Vaginal Discharge

How a Woman Can Avoid Many Infections

Pain or Discomfort in a Woman’s Belly

Infertility: Men and Women Who Cannot Have Children


chapter 19

INFORMATION FOR MOTHERS AND MIDWIVES

The Menstrual Period (Monthly Bleeding in Women)

The Menopause (When Women Stop Having Periods)

Pregnancy

How to Stay Healthy during Pregnancy

Minor Problems during Pregnancy

Danger Signs in Pregnancy

Check-ups during Pregnancy (Prenatal Care)

Record of Prenatal Care

Things to Have Ready before the Birth

Preparing for Birth

Signs That Show Labor Is Near

The Stages of Labor

Care of the Baby at Birth

Care of the Cut Cord (Navel)

The Delivery of the Placenta (Afterbirth)

Hemorrhaging (Heavy Bleeding)

Medicines to Control Bleeding After Birth or Miscarriage: Oxytocin, Misoprostol, Ergometrine

Difficult Births

Tearing of the Birth Opening

Care of the Newborn Baby

Illnesses of the Newborn

The Mothers Health after Childbirth

Childbirth Fever (Infection after Giving Birth)

Care of the Breasts

Lumps or Growths in the Lower Part of the Belly

Miscarriage (Spontaneous Abortion)

High Risk Mothers and Babies


chapter 20

FAMILY PLANNING, HAVING THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN YOU WANT

Family Planning

How Women Become Pregnant

Family Planning Methods

Other Methods of Family Planning

Natural Methods of Family Planning

These Methods Do Not Prevent Pregnancy

Methods for Those Who Never Want to Have More Children


chapter 21

HEALTH AND SICKNESSES OF CHILDREN

Condoms

Birth Control Pills (Oral Contraceptives)

What to Do to Protect Children’s Health

Children’s Growth, and the ‘Road to Health’

Child Health Chart

Review of Children’s Health Problems Discussed in Other Chapters

Health Problems of Children Not Discussed in Other Chapters

Earache and Ear Infections

Sore Throat and Inflamed Tonsils

Rheumatic Fever

Infectious Diseases of Childhood

Chickenpox

Measles (Rubeola)

German Measles (Rubella)

Mumps

Whooping Cough

Diphtheria

Infantile Paralysis (Polio)

How to Make Simple Crutches

Problems Children Are Born With

Dislocated Hip

Umbilical Hernia (Belly Button that Sticks Out)

Swollen Testicle (Hydrocele or Hernia)

Mentally Slow, Deaf, or Deformed Children

Spastic Child (Cerebral Palsy)

Slow Development in the First Months of Life

Sickle Cell Disease

Helping Children Learn


chapter 22

HEALTH AND SICKNESSES OF OLDER PEOPLE

Summary of Health Problems Discussed in Other Chapters

Other Important Illnesses of Old Age

Heart Trouble

Words to Younger Persons Who Want to Stay Healthy When Older

Stroke (Apoplexy, Cerebro-Vascular Accident, CVA)

Deafness

Loss of Sleep (Insomnia)

Diseases Found More Often in People over Forty

Cirrhosis of the Liver

Gallbladder Problems

Accepting Death


chapter 23

THE MEDICINE KIT

How to Care for Your Medicine Kit

Buying Supplies for the Medicine Kit

Home Medicine Kit

Village Medicine Kit

Words to the Village Storekeeper (or Pharmacist)


THE GREEN PAGES

THE USES, DOSAGE, AND PRECAUTIONS FOR MEDICINES

List of Medicines in the Green Pages

Index of Medicines in the Green Pages

Information on Medicines


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

HIV and AIDS

Sores on the Genitals

Circumcision and Excision

Special Care for Small, Early, and Underweight Babies

Ear Wax

Leishmaniasis

Guinea Worm

Emergencies Caused by Cold

Blood Pressure: How to Measure

Poisoning from Pesticides

Complications from Abortion

Drug Abuse and Addiction

VOCABULARY, Explaining Difficult Words

ADDRESSES FOR TEACHING MATERIALS

INDEX (Yellow Pages)