By Laudia Sawer
Tema, April 16, GNA – Every home must have first aid kits for emergency purposes Dr. Barbara Ayesha Anawana Karbo, Emergency Medicine Physician and Head of the Accident and Emergency Department at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH), has advocated.
She explained that for every home with children aged below 12 years, it must be necessary to have first aid which should include syrup and suppository paracetamol.
She also encouraged the public to learn some first aid tips, and basic life support practices to help save their lives and the lives of their family and friends.
Dr. Karbo noted that 60 percent of people who received some form of support in an emergency before reaching the hospital survive.
Dr. Karbo gave the advice at the weekly “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related topics and setting the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.
“Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! is a public health advocacy platform initiated by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting.
Speaking on the topic of “First aid at home and basic life support,” Dr. Karbo advised parents not to pour cold water on children with a high temperature explaining that using cold water could lead to shocks in the children and therefore advised that tepid water (lukewarm) should instead be used.
Dr. Karbo advised that sponging a child should be done either from the feet or the legs and not from the head, as that could also lead to shocks and seizures.
The IMaH Accident and Emergency Specialist explained that the nerves in the head were more sensitive than those in the body and therefore could cause convulsions, which could also be dangerous to the child’s health.
Dr Karbo added that even after reducing the temperature and giving paracetamol, the child must be sent to the hospital for medical evaluation to diagnose the cause and receive appropriate treatment.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency Tema, explained that “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility is part of a collaborative effort to establish a means for disseminating health information to influence individual health decisions by increasing health literacy.
Mr Ameyibor stated that the health of parents should be a concern for children, and vice versa, as should the health of employees and employers, as well as the public and health experts.
He observed that to establish a healthy society, everyone must be involved.
Mr. Ameyibor observed that to establish a healthy society, everyone must be concerned about the well-being of others.
According to Mr. Ameyibor, the weekly health dialogue platform will also be used as a helpful channel of communication for health experts to educate the public on healthy habits and other general health challenges.
GNA