74 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
HOW INJECTIONS CAN DISABLE CHILDREN
When used correctly, certain injected medicines, such as vaccinations, are
important to protect a child’s health and prevent disability. But if injections are given
with needles or syringes that are not sterilized, the injections may cause a serious
infection. Unclean needles and syringes can spread germs that cause HIV or other
serious diseases, such as hepatitis, from one person to another. Dirty needles and
syringes can also cause infections that lead to paralysis or death. Never inject more
than 1 person with the same needle or syringe without disinfecting it first.
Some injected medicines can cause dangerous allergic reactions, poisoning,
deafness, or other harmful effects. For example, pregnant women are often given
hormone injections to speed up childbirth and ‘give strength’—but these injections are
dangerous for the mother and can cause brain damage or death of the baby.
For more information on how injections disable children, see Disabled Village
Children, Chapter 3.
For ideas on teaching people about the danger of unnecessary injections, see
Helping Health Workers Learn, Chapters 18, 19, and 27.
HOW TO CLEAN (STERILIZE) EQUIPMENT
Many infectious diseases, such as HIV (see p. 399), hepatitis (see p. 172), and
tetanus (see p. 182), can spread from a sick person to a healthy person through the
use of syringes, needles, and other instruments that are not sterile (this includes the
instruments used for piercing ears, acupuncture, tattoos, or circumcision). Many skin
infections and abscesses also start because of this. Any time the skin is cut or
pierced, it should be done only with equipment that has been sterilized.
Here are some ways to sterilize equipment:
• Boil for 30 minutes. (If you do not have a clock,
add 1 or 2 grains of rice to the water. When the rice is
cooked, the equipment will be sterile.)
• Or use pressure steaming for 30 minutes in
a pressure cooker (or an autoclave).
• Or soak for 20 minutes in a solution of 1 part chlorine bleach to 7 parts water, or
in a solution of 70% ethanol alcohol. If possible, prepare these solutions fresh
each day, because they lose their strength. (Be sure to sterilize the inside of a
syringe by pulling some solution inside and then squirting it out.)
When you are helping someone who has an infectious disease, wash your hands
often with soap and water.