18-10
Learning to look up medicine dosages
In Where There Is No Doctor it is easy to find the uses,
dosage, and precautions for most basic medicines. Look in
the Green Pages.
To find the medicine you are looking for, check the List of
Medicines (WTND, p. 341) or the Index of Medicines (WTND, p.
344). These lists show which pages have information about each
medicine.
For example, pretend that Mrs. Babalama has asked you
about the correct dosage of aspirin for her 4-year-old son,
Edafi. He has a headache and fever from a cold.
You will find that the information about aspirin begins on
page 378 and continues on page 379.
Before prescribing any medicine, read all about it. Find
out its strength, its cost, what it is used for, its risks and
precautions.
}GENERIC
NAME OF
MEDICINE
}STRENGTH
AND COST
}WHAT IT
IS USED
FOR
}RISKS AND
PRECAUTIONS
If you think that aspirin is the right medicine for the
problem, that Edafi’s family can afford it, and that the
probable benefits are greater than the risks, then look for
the correct dosage.
Make sure that the dosage listed is for the problem you
want to treat. (Some medicines have more than one use, and
different dosages for different uses. For example, see the
dosage of aspirin for severe arthritis or rheumatic fever.)
Now check the strength of the aspirin you have.
If you have 300 mg. (5 grain) tablets, read here.
How often the boy should take the medicine.
How much he should take each time.
½ tablet
If you have 75 mg. ‘children’s aspirin’, read here.
How often he should take the medicine.
How much he should take each time.
2 tablets