Green Pages Where There Is No Doctor 2011 383
FOR MILD DIARRHEA:
ANTI-DIARRHEA MEDICINE
Kaolin with pectin (Kaopectate)
Name:__________________ price:________ for_ ______
Often comes as a milky mixture
This can be used to make mild diarrhea thicker
(less watery) and less troublesome. It does not
cure the cause of the diarrhea and does not help
prevent or cure dehydration. It is never necessary
in the treatment of diarrhea, and its common use is
a great waste of money. It should not be given to
persons who are very ill or to small children. WE
INCLUDE IT HERE MAINLY TO WARN AGAINST
ITS USE. For people with HIV, see the information
on cotrimoxazole (page 358).
Dosage of kaolin with pectin, for mild diarrhea only
—using a standard mixture such as Kaopectate
Give 1 dose after each stool, or 4 or 5 times
a day.
In each dose give:
adults: 2 to 8 tablespoons
children 6 to 12 years: 1 to 2 tablespoons
children under 6 years: DO NOT GIVE
FOR STUFFY NOSE
To help open a stuffy nose, often all that
is needed is to sniff water with a little salt in
it, as described on page 164. Occasionally,
decongestant drops may be used, as follows:
Nose drops with ephedrine or
phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine)
Name:__________________ price:________ for_ ______
These may be used for stuffy or ‘runny’ nose,
especially if a person has (or often gets) infection of
the inner ear.
Dosage for decongestant nose drops:
Put 1 or 2 drops in each nostril as shown on
page 164. Do this 4 times a day. Do not
use for more than 3 days or make a habit
of using these drops.
To make nose drops from ephedrine tablets,
dissolve 1 tablet in 1 teaspoon of water.
FOR COUGH
Cough is the body’s method for cleaning the
air tubes that go to the lungs and preventing
germs and mucus in these tubes from getting into
the lungs. Because cough is part of the body’s
defense, medicines that stop or calm cough
sometimes do more harm than good. These
cough-calmers (or cough suppressants) should
be used only for irritating, dry coughs that do not
let a person sleep. There are other medicines,
called cough-helpers (or expectorants), that are
supposed to make it easier to cough up the mucus.
In truth, both kinds of cough syrups (cough-
calmers and cough-helpers) are used far more than
they need to be. Most popular cough syrups do
little or no good and are a waste of money.
The best and most important cough medicine
is water. Drinking a lot of water and breathing hot
water vapors loosen mucus and help calm cough
far better than most cough syrups. For instructions,
see page 168. Also, instructions for a homemade
cough syrup are given on page 169.
Cough-calmers (cough suppressants):
codeine
Name:__________________ price:________ for_ ______
Often comes in: cough syrups or liquid. Also in
tablets of 30 mg. or 60 mg, with or without aspirin or
acetaminophen.
Codeine is a strong painkiller and also one of
the most powerful cough-calmers, but because it
is habit-forming (narcotic), it may be hard to get.
It often comes in cough syrup combinations or
in tablet form. For dosage, follow the instructions
that come with the preparation. Less is needed to
calm cough than to control pain. To calm cough
in adults, 7 to 15 mg. of codeine is usually enough.
Children should be given less, according to age
or weight (see p. 62). For severe pain, adults can
take 30 to 60 mg. of codeine every 4 hours.
WARNING: Codeine is habit-forming (narcotic). Use
only for a few days.