[Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

Fri Feb 5 20:22:48 UTC 2016

There are plenty of ways you can give her medications, the same way we do
it, there are measuring spoons that are marked for the blind you can use, or
measuring cups etc.

It all depends on the dosages. If they are pills, every pill feels
differently. If you are giving her pills, have her use the Scripttalk
program, where you can get them almost free at the pharmacy, we have a link
to in on the www.nfb.org. If you are not aware. Script Talk is a
prescription bottle with a tiny microchip in it, that you the patient gets
the little reader and when you are ready to take the pills and I take a lot
do to my kidney transplant 10 years ago, plus diabetic medications etc. You
take the prescription bottle and place it on the reader, and it reads what
the drug is how many times a day to take it, etc.

You don't have to be blind to get it, but it was invented for the blind, so
we can take our medications independently.

Cheryl Echevarria, President
National Federation of the Blind - Travel & Tourism Division
Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of New York State - Greater Long Island
Chapter
631-236-5138
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
"Live the Life You Want"

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria was awarded by Governor Cuomo in 2012, New York State
Disabled Entrepreneur or the year, and is the owner of Echevarria Travel 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carly
Mihalakis via blindtlk
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2016 3:49 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; Blind Talk Mailing List
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at comcast.net>; Christopher-Mark Gilland
<clgilland07 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Two questions about administerring medicine.

Evening, Chris,

Just now seeing this. Ask Mom to show you some tricks, have you ever thought
of that? If she says it's so easy, perhaps if she were there she might
appreciate what showstoppers you are dealing with?
Keep us posted! Car 04:19 PM 5/21/2015, Christopher-Mark Gilland via
blindtlk 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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