[Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

Fri May 22 01:17:07 UTC 2015

For the liquid medication, use an oral syringe.  It's like a regular 
syringe, but without a needle.  You use a knife or scissors to mark the 
plunger, so when it's pulled out  to the tactile mark the correct amount of 
liquid will be in the syringe.  Fill it by putting the tip into the liquid 
and pulling back the plunger.  You can usually hear or feel if you are 
pulling in air, but a few practice runs should clear up any concerns.  The 
medication won't spill or even drip until you press the plunger.  You can 
squirt it into her mouth.

For the needle syringe question...I have given injections to dogs.  I held 
the dog's leg with my left hand, with my thumb next to where I was aiming. 
Then I'd put the needle in right next to my thumb so I could use it as a 
reference point for how far it was going in.  I could feel the resistance 
though, which also helped in knowing how far into the muscle I was.  Are you 
injecting into a muscle, just under the skin or into fat?  There's a 
different technique for subcutaneous injections.

Honestly though, I think most of your concerns are not about blindness, but 
about your fear of causing the girl pain.   That's understandable and it's 
something you'll need to sort out.  Sometimes though, I think we attribute 
too many things to blindness, when they are just ordinary life concerns.  My 
question about ketchup bottles is in this category.  Really it isn't so much 
about blindness as it is general frustration with a common struggle for 
everyone.  I have witnessed sighted folks trying to get the ketchup to come 
out of the bottle, shaking, thumping, using their butter knife and swearing 
profusely.  BTW swearing seems to work just as well as the other techniques!

I hope you find success in your babysitting endeavors,
Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Christopher-Mark Gilland via blindtlk
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 7:19 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Christopher-Mark Gilland
Subject: [Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

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.

_______________________________________________
blindtlk mailing list
blindtlk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
blindtlk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/julielj%40neb.rr.com

-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2250 / Virus Database: 4311/9330 - Release Date: 05/21/15 