NOT A TYPICAL DAY AT THE PHARMACY




Pharmacy school can be tasking as well as boring. While I was a pharmacy student, I lived a circular life ; hostel, class, library then back to hostel. I could almost predict my next day activity. Similarly,  as a Pharmacist,  my work can be monotonous at times except for some unexpected days. Well, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love my profession as a Pharmacist and would chose Pharmacy over and over again. Just that some days can be unpredictable

Last week Thursday was one of such 'untypical' days. As I alighted from the taxi just a few metres from the Pharmacy ( I always stop before The Pharmacy so I can walk some distance as form of light exercise),  I noticed a small crowd in front the pharmacy. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered what could have caused that. Many scenarios  flashed through my mind , could it be a fight , an accident or worse still a mob waiting for me to come . Well,  I increased my walking pace and I realised my hands were shaking . 

On reaching the crowd , I tried to wiggle my way to the front of the pharmacy and then I saw a woman holding a girl and screaming . The girl should be about 15 or 16 years old and looked pale . On closer examination , I realised the child was gasping for air and clutching her chest while the crowd surrounded them and watched . What insanity? Call the ambulance, I screamed but then I remembered where I was ( such facility does not exist ) .  I could hear her mum saying this started when she ate some peanuts bought by her uncle the previous day and that he had poisoned her . 
I quickly grabbed the epipen in my bag - thank God I always carry that in my handbag for my personal use. I quickly opened the orange cap and injected a dose into her thigh while at the same praying silently that this works. 

Three minutes later , the girl’s breath returned to normal and she opened her eyes. She looked around in bewilderment at the crowd possibly wandering why there was such a gathering . Her mother was filled with joy as she jumped around while thanking me repeatedly . I explained to the mother that this was serious reaction to the peanut eaten by her daughter and not necessarily a poison given to her by the uncle.  Also, I advised her to take her child to the nearest clinic to see a doctor.  I was very happy and deeply relieved as I quickly walked into my pharmacy wondering what could have happened if there was no adrenaline available . 

What a way to start the day ! 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE MUSING OF A PHARMACIST II

Image
I was in a sour mood as I walked into my office at the Pharmacy this morning. To be honest, I could not exactly pinpoint why I was not happy, maybe because I didn't get enough sleep the previous night or I missed my usual early morning bus. Well, some days are just like this. Immediately, I sat down in my office, Janet, the pharmacist technician walked in to announce that Mr.Kenneth wants to see me. Oh God! It seems today really will be a bad day. Mr. Kenneth is one of our patients who refills his anti-diabetic medicine with us. The last time,  we spoke,  it didn't end so well. That was three weeks ago when Mr. Kenneth vehemently refused to take his medications even with his FBS value at 12mmol/L and after series of counselling. He claimed he had gotten a herbal medicine from the village which will treat the diabetes and therefore do not need his refills. While pondering on the last encounter with Mr.Kenneth, he walked into my office.  Mr. Kenneth looked unhappy, pale
Read more

‘Are all these medicines necessary? A case for deprescribing in the elderly.

Image
One of the goals of clinical therapy is to improve patient quality of life, however in some cases more harm is done than good. This is often the case of overtreatment and "too much medicine". overtreatment and polypharmacy "too much medicine " in the elderly with multiple chronic diseases have been shown to contribute greatly to serious negative effects such as adverse drug effects, falls, increased cost, frequent emergency department visits, hospital admission and on very severe cases, death. Older patients with co-morbidities are often loaded with too much medicine which is driven by strict adherence and reliance on clinical therapy guidelines most times.  Most patients older than 70 years old with multiple chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes take upto six or more medicine where some of them are not relevant or are inappropriate. Take for instance,  a study conducted in a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria by Dr.Fadare and colleagues shows
Read more