Ringworm and Flouride

Last week, the public health team completed their second mass treatment of scabies. The first time we did it nearly 3 months ago, 450 children in the village needed treatment. This time around, we were down to just 44 cases of scabies! If a child had scabies and shared a bed with anyone else, they were all treated. If there were more than a handful of children with scabies in a single house, everyone in the house was treated.

Last week was also the first mass treatment of tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp) for all of the children. This one is a little harder to treat. Each child must first be weighed and then given according to his/her weight, a pill everday for at least a month. Because we have just 125mg and 500mg tablets, some of our kids are taking 3 pills/day. We're tackling this treatment program with DOT, much like we've been doing with the TB program. Each evening, right around bed time when we can be sure that all of the children are in their homes, the public health team distributes the meds. It's very important that the children are treated everyday in order to completely treat the ringworm and prevent any secondary infections. The meds can sometimes be rough on some of the stomachs of the younger ones. This treatment is voluntary. There is nothing dangerous about tinea capitis. It is simply a thing of comfort and appearance, unless it gets to the point of secondary infections (these can be avoided by washing the head everyday). Tinea is usually grown out of once a child reaches puberty. There is a large stigma surrounding it though. The children who do have it, are often teased, ridiculed and poked at. I have 62 children on treatment and all of them want it.

A lot of things happened last week. Among the scabies and tinea programs, we also launched our flouride program. Once a week, the entire public health team (5 people) along with the new public health students (11 people), head into the village and offer flouride mouth rinses to every person living there. The concentration of the rinse is strong enough to need only one rinse every 1-2 weeks. This is also a voluntary treatment program. Along with the treatment comes an explanation of what it does and a mini-lesson on how to brush your teeth and the importance of taking care of your teeth and gums. No one has yet to turn it down. The next toothbrush/toothpaste/floss mass distribution is scheduled for 3 weeks from now.

That's all for now.