India Environment Portal Knowledge for change

About us Contact us
downtoearth-subscribe

Browse by subjects

Against the jab

  • 14/09/2004

Against the jab It is rare to hear the wail of a child about to be given an injection at Dharam Prakash's small clinic in Ashok Vihar, Delhi. Reason: in the 30 years that he has been practising, this doctor has rarely used injections, not even in extreme cases. For instance, twelve-year-old Vishakha of Sabji Mandi was terribly afflicted with gastroenteritis in July this year. Prakash gave her oral medicine, monitored her condition for an hour and made her suck on an orange bar (to take care of dehydration). Within three days, she was cured: no hospitalisation, no intravenously injected glucose drip, none of the staples of the regime most doctors suggest. His meticulously maintained records of patients show how consistent he is in this regard. Two-year-old Arjun of Bharat Nagar is an asthmatic, yet has never been injected with steroids or bronchodilators; he inhales his medicine through a nebulizer. Then there is 30-year-old Rahul, one of Prakash's first patients. He's had gastroenteritis, fevers and chest infections all through childhood, but was never given an injection.

In the medical profession, strict guidelines suggest that an injection should be administered only when a child is very sick, when the oral version of the medicine is not available or the child is unconscious and so cannot take medicine. Also, reducing injections is a safety procedure the World Health Organization promotes

Related Content