Negros occidental posing to be the renweable energy captial of the philippines
Negros, Philippines February 2017 Dr John Pearman...Negros, Philippines February 2017 Dr John...
Transcript of Negros, Philippines February 2017 Dr John Pearman...Negros, Philippines February 2017 Dr John...
Negros,Philippines February2017
DrJohnPearman Thereisaworld–widehealthcrisisoccurring.Itisinsidiousand“fallsbelowtheradar”mostofthetime,butitiscausingmassivehealthproblemsonahugescale.Sugar,eighttimesmoreaddictivethancocaine,iscausingnotonlyproblemsoframpantdecay,butbringinginfection,pain,andlossoffunctiontochildrenandadultsalike,butalsogeneralhealthproblemsonafrighteningscale.Over14daysinFebruaryourteamexaminedandtreatedsomeofthepoorestsections
ofthelargepopulationontheislandofNegros,Philippines. WeassessedandtreatedpatientsinBacolodCityandintheregionofSipalay150kms.westofBacolod.Thecombinationofpoverty,lackofeducationonoralhygieneandpoordiet,coupledwithanoverabundanceofsugar,ishavinga
devastatingeffectontheoralhealthandconsequentlythegeneralhealthofallthecommunitieswetreated,themostevidentbeingshowninthehealthofthechildren.Thedietofallcommunitieswevisitedwasheavilybasedonsugar….Everythingissweet.Thebread,eventhespaghetti.Wewitnessedkidsof5,6and7snackingonsweetenedcoffeecreamerinsachets. TwoAustraliandentists,2Australianphysicians,6nursesandsomeverywillingvolunteerstravelledtoNegrosonaRAWCS(RotaryInternational)inspiredmedical/dentalmission.Themissionwaswellorganizedandweworkedwithlocalphysiciansanddentiststoprovidesomeveryneededtreatmentforseveraldisabledcommunities…..thepoorestofthepoorwasinBacolodand
Sipalay.Foradentistwhohaspracticedfornearly40yearsinouraffluentsocietytoseean8yroldwithbothlowerfirstpermanentmolarsdecayedtogumlevelwithdrainingabscessesisconfrontingtosaytheleast. Patientswereassessedandtriagedbyregisterednursesandsenttothedentistsorphysiciansforfurtherassessmentandtreatment.Allpatientswereassessedforphysicalsuitabilitytotoleratedentalextractionspriortohavingtreatment.Duringthistime600patientswereassessedand200proceededtohavedentalextractions.Initiallywehadhopedtoinstigateapreventivebasedprogramwiththeuseoffissuresealantsinappropriatesituations.Theuseoftopicalfluorideswasalsoconsidered.However,thesepreventivemeasureswerequicklyabandonedwhenthescopeoftheproblemwasrealized.InthepoorercommunitiesofSipalay,childrenof8,9and10routinelypresentedwith
rampantcarieswithmanyteethinurgentneedofremoval.Everyonetreatedwasgivenatoothbrush/toothpastepackwithappropriateoralhealthinstructionanda“brochure”showingbasicoralhygiene.Inall,2,500oralhealthpacksweredistributed.
Intheareaswevisited,manyofthe“homes”didnothavecleanrunningwater.Onevillagewassoincrediblyheartwrenching.ItwasavillagelocatedinMansilinganthatwaspopulatedbypeople,placedinthisvillagebythegovernment,whoweresightaffected,sometotallyblind.Becausethereisnogovernmentsubsidiesforthesepeopletheyareperiodicallygivenabagofrice,thrownoverthefencetokeepthemfromstarving. Inthepoorerareasitbecamemanifestlyevidentthatitisthroughtheschoolsthatthemaximumeffortoforalandgeneralhealtheducationneedstobefocused.LocalPhilippineRotaryClubshaveaddressedtheproblemoframpantcariesinyoungchildrenandhaveprovidedrunningwaterinsomeofthepoorerschools,whichenablestheyoungchildrento,atleast,washtheirhandsandbrushtheirteethwhileatschool.The
provisionofpotablerunningwaterwillhavefarreachingpositiveeffectsontheoralhealthandindeedthegeneralhealthoftheschoolchildren,andthereforetheRotaryClubsinvolvedaretobecommendedfortheirforesightandeffortstoimprovethelivingstandardsoftheseimpoverishedcommunities.
ItisindeedfortunatethatourAustralianRotaryClubs,IllawarraSunriseandGlenhaven,whoprovidedprofessionalandnonprofessionalsupportforthemission,hasaverycloseliaisonwiththeRotaryClubofMetro-Bacolod. ThisverydedicatedlocalRotarygroupprovidedinvaluablelogisticsupport,andprovidedmuchneededlocalknowledge,whichaddedtotheeffectivenessofthe effortsofthemedical/dentalteam. Duringour14dayexpeditionwehadthegreatfortunetohelpmanymanypeople.Belowisanaccountofsomeofourobservations • Allpatientswereverystoicandgratefulforthesmallamountofrelief
afforded. • A“blind”villageof500peoplemanyofwhomhadnotseenadentist
beforeweretreatedmedicallyanddentally.• Thelackoforalhygienewasevenmoreevidenthereinavillageof
70,000.• Routineremovalofinfectedanddecayedrootsbecamethenorm.• Everypatientwasprescribedantibioticsandappropriateanalgesia.• ThesecondweekofthemissionwasinSipalay,150kms.southwestofBacolodCity.Anopenairbasketballstadiumwasthevenuechosenandthe
samesystemwasputintoaction….(TriagebyRN’swherevitalsignsandpresentingsymptomsassessedandthenreferraltophysiciansordentists).
• Lackofcleanpotablewater,lackofbasicsanitationandhygienecombinedwithanoverabundanceofhighsugarcontentdietmadeforsomecatastrophicpresentationstophysiciansanddentists:thiswasparticularlyevidentinthechildren.
• Thelackofanyradiographicaidtodiagnosiscombinedwithnofacilityforsurgicalretrievalofcariousorinfectedrootssometimesmeantanalgesic/antibiotictherapytheonlytreatmentprovided.
• Anythoughtofpreventionthroughplacementoffissuresealantswasabandonedwiththeroutinepresentationofgrosslydecayedandinfectedteeth.
• ThefissuresealantsandfluoridematerialsbroughtfromAustraliawasgiventolocalgovernmentdentistsalongwitha3Mcuringlight.Thisgiftwasgreatlyappreciated.
Iwouldliketothankallwhocontributedtomakethemissionasuccess. WehavebeenpromisedbytheProvenceGovernortheuseofanair-conditioneddentalbus,equippedwith2fullyoperationaldentalchairsforournextplannedtrip. Beatsaplastickitchenchair.
I’min!!!