Besides being a priest, Father Orthoduck is a published medical professional. (No, he is not a physician.) So, he is quite aware of how often people do not pay attention to medical warnings or medical directions. For instance, there is a regular problem with people returning with an infection that has not been cured. Often, a physician will simply prescribe another antibiotic, and the infection will finally be cured. But, a smart physician will question the patient closely because many people do not follow the medication directions. Many of you are aware of antibiotics that would need to be taken twice a day for seven to ten days. You would be surprised at how often people would take them for five days, feel better, and then quit taking them. Needless to say, not only does the infection often return, but those bugs that had survived were the ones most resistant to that antibiotic. They would have died at the end of the full regimen, but they were able to resist just enough to make it to five days. Of course, the bugs that live to grow, give birth to a new generation of bugs that can now last five days. So, when the patient returns, not only is his/her infection back, but the infection now has stronger and more resistant bugs in place. And next thing you know, a zombie bug has developed.
So, over the years, better methods of convincing people to follow medical advice have developed. For instance, now many antibiotics are available in one pill a day doses that you take for only five days. Or, they “load you up” with antibiotic by having you take three pills on the first day, two on the second, and one on the third through fifth day, or some such combination, in order to kill what is eating you before your patience gives out, or you turn into a zombie. Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) have also become more creative in trying to communicate data in ways that will entice you to listen, understand, and act before a zombie apocalypse gets you.
So now you are asking, “Wait, WHAT ZOMBIES?” Heh heh, Father Orthoduck got your attention, did he not?
In one of the most creative Public Service Announcement campaigns that Father Orthoduck has seen, the CDC (The Centers for Disease Control) is now publishing advice on how to survive a zombie apocalypse. If you click on the underlined phrase, you will be taken to their website. The campaign has so far been so successful that their server has been unavailable, and nearly crashed, several times since that PSA was released. It turns out that surviving a zombie apocalypse requires some of the same foresight and planning as surviving a hurricane or a pandemic. What should you do? Well, you need to have an emergency kit and an emergency plan. Please do go over to their website and read the full article. Those of us in Alabama can certainly tell you that emergencies can strike suddenly and unexpectedly. So, what kit should you have?
- Water (1 gallon per person per day)
- Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
- Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
- Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
- Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
- Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
- Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
- First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)
Some people may wish to add additional items. But, remember, the kit needs to be mostly prepared and portable. Assume the worst, it happened in Alabama, and have stuff ready that you can grab in order to leave your house within a very few minutes. But, please do go over to the CDC page to read the full article. You will enjoy their creativity and ability to finally get a massive amount of people to actually read their disaster advice. Congratulations CDC!
Padre, I hang out with medical people for two weeks each year, on a medical mission to Ecuador. I’m one of the translators, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve explaind to take ALL THE MEDICATION even though the patient may feel better. It goes something like this, and please correct as needed: “Es muy importante tomar todas las pastillas hasta se acaba, aunque se sienta mejor.”
I think education is of the utmost importance, both here in the USA and in the third world. A lot people, especially in poor countries, will stop taking the meds once they start feeling better, saving it for another time or for another family member. It’s a real concern that super-resistant strains are taking over.
I encourage people to read Tracy Kidder’s book Mountains Beyond Mountains about Paul Farmer’s clinic in Haiti, Partners in Health. Dr. Farmer has been working with AIDS and drug-resistant tuberculosis in various countries (including your beloved Perú) and he insists that unless a patient is provided with TB medication for the whole course (and it can take months) and that it can be enforced that the patient take it, it would be better not to treat at all and risk the patient and his family dying. It’s that important not to make these strains super-resistant. And a good take-away quote from Dr. Farmer is that there are no non-compliant patients, only non-compliant physicians.
Most of the doctors I’ve worked with, from the USA and Canada, are great at teaching the patients what is going on, but we’ve noticed that the Ecuadorian docs don’t teach so much. They simply give a prescription without much explanation, and the patient buys it at a corner farmacia and maybe gets instructions there. Or maybe not, if you’ve shopped in the farmacias.
Some of the docs I’ve worked with also recommend a strong short course of antibiotics to knock the problem out ASAP, and for some of the reasons you’ve mentioned in the “loading up” method. First, it kills as much as possible up front, and second, there is less chance of the patient forgetting or hoarding for later.
Keep up the good work. And we always need translators, so you’re invited.