Common Sense
In the emergency room of the local hospital last night, where Danny had taken me for a moderately severe asthma attack in conjunction with bronchitis, we overheard the doctor discussing the status of a young patient who had been brought in by her parents. No more than 2 years old, this girl had suffered a severe allergic reaction, necessitating medical intervention to prevent suffocation.
The parents knew that this toddler was allergic to fish; they had taken her to be tested some time ago. Someone, whom they claimed to be a doctor, advised them to feed the child small amounts of fish, to increase her resistance to the allergy. As a result, life of their child was endangered that night, necessitating a trip to the ER.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against herbal or historical cultural medicine. If a treatment is safe, and makes the patient feel better, then I am all for it. But by blindly following the advice of this quack, who was absolutely not a medical doctor, the parents placed their child in grave danger. No medical doctor would advocate this. They had followed the advice of someone who was not trained to give such direction.
What is wrong with people ? What ever happened to common sense ? The child was allergic to fish. The parents had to know that feeding it to her would cause a reaction, but they fed it to her anyway. Regardless of who gives advice, it is up to the parents to apply common sense when dealing with the health of their dependent child.
Danny and I simply looked at each other in disbelief as we heard this conversation through the curtained walls of my hospital bed. All we could say was, "How could they be so stupid ?" The doctor set them straight with the instruction to never feed the child fish again, and to only take medical advice from a certified doctor. They were fortunate to be taking her home that night.
As I read on CNN today, there is a study being done that preliminarily shows that kids may be able to build up a tolerance towards allergens. This article discusses the details, but is very clear in stating that this should not be attempted by anyone not a part of the study. During the experiment, children are given allergenic substances in specific amounts, in a controlled environment, with medical standby in case of a severe reaction.
Perhaps there is hope to increase kids' tolerance to allergies. But an answer can be 5 or more years away; and even so, should never be attempted by anyone in their homes.
Young children are precious, and completely dependent on their parents to provide a safe and healthy environment to them.
I can only hope that the couple in the curtained room next door learned their lesson.
The parents knew that this toddler was allergic to fish; they had taken her to be tested some time ago. Someone, whom they claimed to be a doctor, advised them to feed the child small amounts of fish, to increase her resistance to the allergy. As a result, life of their child was endangered that night, necessitating a trip to the ER.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against herbal or historical cultural medicine. If a treatment is safe, and makes the patient feel better, then I am all for it. But by blindly following the advice of this quack, who was absolutely not a medical doctor, the parents placed their child in grave danger. No medical doctor would advocate this. They had followed the advice of someone who was not trained to give such direction.
What is wrong with people ? What ever happened to common sense ? The child was allergic to fish. The parents had to know that feeding it to her would cause a reaction, but they fed it to her anyway. Regardless of who gives advice, it is up to the parents to apply common sense when dealing with the health of their dependent child.
Danny and I simply looked at each other in disbelief as we heard this conversation through the curtained walls of my hospital bed. All we could say was, "How could they be so stupid ?" The doctor set them straight with the instruction to never feed the child fish again, and to only take medical advice from a certified doctor. They were fortunate to be taking her home that night.
As I read on CNN today, there is a study being done that preliminarily shows that kids may be able to build up a tolerance towards allergens. This article discusses the details, but is very clear in stating that this should not be attempted by anyone not a part of the study. During the experiment, children are given allergenic substances in specific amounts, in a controlled environment, with medical standby in case of a severe reaction.
Perhaps there is hope to increase kids' tolerance to allergies. But an answer can be 5 or more years away; and even so, should never be attempted by anyone in their homes.
Young children are precious, and completely dependent on their parents to provide a safe and healthy environment to them.
I can only hope that the couple in the curtained room next door learned their lesson.
posted by Andrea at 19:11
3 comments
