[Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

Fri May 22 01:11:55 UTC 2015

Hi Chris. There's another list on NFBNet called BlParent. You may want
to post your questions there for feedback from blind parents and
caregivers. For the oral med, if the child is cooperative, you could
perhaps fill the spoon and hand it to her to swallow the contents,
then have her hand the spoon back to you so you can verify she took
the med. Or scoop into a cup as was suggested. As for injections, I
don't know what alternative techniques blind people use to find the
injection site. I know blind people give themselves shots so I imagine
it is doable. However, I don't think giving a shot is part of the
typical duties for babysitting, and if it makes you anxious, then I
think it is perfectly reasonable to tell the mom you aren't
comfortable. It has nothing to do with blindness but with your comfort
around needles. I am needle phobic myself and would probably not be
willing to give a shot to myself or someone else unless there was no
other option. Especially not to a squirming screaming child.
Arielle

On 5/21/15, Diane Vlasoff via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I raised 3children as My vision deteriorated.  As to the first question,  I
> got a teaspoon sized eyedropper from the pharmacist.  No spills and a full
> dose of med.  I have never given a shot but my aunts were both RNs.  I
> remember one of them telling me they first learned by injecting water into
> oranges.  Practice seems a good thing.  Then I am sure they used normal
> saliene and used each other as guinea pigs.  Good luck!
>
> Diane Vlasoff
>
> On May 21, 2015, at 5:19 PM, Christopher-Mark Gilland via blindtlk
> <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> I have two questions.  Again, now, I'm the one who probably is askking
> admittedly a very valid question, but yet a somewhat awquard question.
>
> I often have to babysit a little girl.  She's the  sweetest little thing at
> 4 years old, but blesser heart, she has two medications she has to take on a
> regular basis.  Usually, her mom gives them to her before leaving her for
> the evening in my care, but the mom has expressed that she really would like
> for me to learn to do this myself for her.  It's not a matter of her being
> lazy and not wanting to take care of her child.  Don't even go there!  It's
> just she is in her words, trying to prove to me that I can! do this, and
> that just because I am blind, doesn't mean anything in context of the action
> at hand.
>
> So, here's more specifically the deal.  She has to be given a kitchen spoon
> sized doce of liquid medicine.  I know it's usually the same principle as
> putting liquid on a spoon when cooking then putting it in your mixing bowl
> or whatever, but I cannot for the life of me find an easy way to do this.
> I'm always so frightened that I'm gonna miss and hit her eye, or bopper on
> the nose or worse when trying to get it in her mouth.  She usually does open
> up, which is a plus.  I don't think she really minds the taste, but it's
> just very hard for me, as I get really nurvous, and my hands start
> trembling.  I'm not so much scared of getting it in her mouth, as I am of
> spilling it off the spoon.  Yeah, I could pour it in a little cup then just
> have her drink it that way, but then it makes it really really hard to
> measure out the correct amount, and I'd be scared I'd give her too much, or
> too little.
>
> The other med she has to take is much, and I do mean much much much much!
> more difficult.  I do want some hints on the above, but here's the one I'm
> r'r'r'r'really! struggling with that I desperetly! could use some blind tips
> on.  She also has to take a medication which is injected as a shot.  Poor
> baby!  And what makes it worse is, she's not exactly a very good sport about
> it either.  To say she's really brave is bigger than the state of Texas of a
> lie.  LOL!  Let's just say, you'd better be wearing ear plugs or cotton
> balls if you have sensitive ears, as it's ear screeching!  Anyway, the thing
> is, I don't just get scared the few times I've been asked to give it to her,
> but I just about pannick myself.  I know, one would say to me, there's my
> first problem right there!  Don't? pannick!  The first time I start that,
> I'll make it more scarey for her, plus, I'll start doing dumb things.  The
> mom has said for me to start by just taking a deep breath before I do it,
> but my biggest concern is, I can't feel  the point of the needle when it
> goes in.  Oh yeah, she screams bloody murder, which is usually an indication
> that I'm in, at which point, I push the plunger until it clicks, but my
> thing is, I can't see it go in, and being it's so sharp, I have naturally a
> really really heavy hand.  I'm scared I'll jabber!  Actually, a few times, I
> have made about a half inch cut on her arm where she wenced back flinching
> in pain, and therefore my hand slipped.  I don't wanna grab her little arm
> too hard, as it's gonna hurt her already escrutiatingly as is, but then, you
> add my tight grip on top a that?  No? thank you!  We've tried having her lie
> down on her bed on her back, so that she can only resist but so much, but it
> still is very difficult.  Further, I'm even just as much scared that if I
> feel where I'm about to stick her, for one, it won't be staril, and for 2,
> I'm just as much, if not more, frightened that I'll wind up accidentally
> sticking myself.  Granted, I've not hit the plunger, so it's not like I'd
> get any of the medication, God forbid, but it still would hurt like a son of
> a gun!
>
> So, if any of you who're blind with absolutely no vision at all like shapes,
> colors, etc. have given an injection, especially even more so if it was to a
> little rugrat, how do you safely do this?  The mom is really insistant on,
> you can do this, you just need to relax, and calm down.  I just feel I'm
> always so tense, and hurky jerky when I do it.  There's gotta be a way!
>
> Chris.
>
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