Where There Is No Doctor 2011 69
This child was injected with a needle that
was not sterile (boiled and completely free of
germs).
The dirty needle caused an infection that
produced a large, painful abscess (pocket of
pus) and gave the child a fever. Finally, the
abscess burst as shown in the picture below.
This child was injected for a cold. It would
have been far better to give him no medicine
at all. Rather than doing good, the injection
caused the child suffering and harm.
CAUTION: If possible, always give
medicine by mouth instead of by
injection especially to children.
To avoid problems like these:
Inject only when absolutely
necessary.
♦ Boil the syringe and needle
just before giving the injection
and be very careful to keep
them completely clean.
♦ Use only the medicine
recommended for the disease
and be sure it is still in good
condition and not spoiled.
♦ Inject in the correct place.
Do not inject infants and
small children in the buttock.
Instead, inject them in the
upper, outer part of the
thigh. (Notice that this child
was injected too low on the
buttock, where it is possible to
damage the nerve.)