I took my son to a private prediatrician recommended by husband's cousin last week (60E). He orally explained how to take the medicines he was prescribing as he wrote them down in an indecipherable handwriting (no shock there, but just what was he doing in first grade?). I did not think to take notes. I was shocked to discover the pharmacist does not translate this gobblydegook into plain italian and write it on a sticky label which he then would place on the box...take every 6 hours, mix with 10 ml of water, etc. Also, nothing seems to come in a chewable version, everything must be mixed with water which then must be gotten down the throat of said son teaspoon by yucky teaspoon. Now I have all these medicines, the scribbled prescription and I'm so confused! Also, I have to buy the injections he's supposed to get at the pharmacist, and find someone to give them to him. Now that was a shocker too... I'll have to find someone who can run fast.

Diane, all of the meds have a paper insert inside of the package that will explain how to use them. For the liquid ones, it normally says things like, fill with water to the line, shake well then fill until it is back to the line. Then you need to keep the meds either in the refrigerator or out. Many have measuring cups or spoons and you have to check how much to give by weight. The instructions inside will also tell you when to take the meds and how often. If you want, you can PM me or call me (you have my cell number in the emails we have sent back and forth for the GTG) and I can help as we have used most of the meds and I also have an Italian PDF and a medical dictionary.

For the injections, most people it seems know how to give these. Where do they have to be given and for what reason. We can get into detail about this on the phone. I can walk you through this. In my past life I was a medic in the Army and was pretty darn good with a needle but I don't think coming up here for the shots would work.

If you do have to give him the injections, I know it can be a scary/weird experience for you as well. But dont be scared!

I know it's a completely different situation than yours, but when my cat was diagnoised as being diabetic and I had to start giving him shots twice a day I was completely freaked out (and so was he!). After a few days though it became normal ruitine, and there were no more problems (Other than having to be at home and awake around 9am&pm everyday- not something easy for a college student. I did manage to train some of my friends in how to do it though, so that helped. anyways, off topic...)

I only had to give it to him on his side, so it wasnt that bad. One of the things the vet had me do that I hated doing, but helped, was poking myself with a needle (clean of course) so that I would see just how tiny it was, and that it really didnt hurt. Also, since he was a cat and I couldnt exactly explain to him what I was doing or why, finding a time to do it while he was distracted - ie, while he was eating. which worked perfect since he had to have food with the shots anyways. Only time it didnt work is when he ate faster and started to wander off - then I'd have to hunt him down and hold him still. Although you can explain to your son what you are doing, depending on where he needs the shot I would try and find a way to distract him while you're doing it.

I was extremely anemic for awhile, and used to have to go and get my blood tested everymonth. I hated needles. I found though that if I didnt watch them doing it, it wasnt as bad. Somehow I think the needle hurts a lot worse when you're watching it go in.

again, not really the best advice, but the most i can offer!

Lori

Thanks Cristina for offering to explain it all, but I finally made my husband sit down and carefully read and translate those info sheets as well as all the small print on the box. Lo and behold I discovered that the ONE and ONLY "medicine" I thought I had my son taking regularly (the probiotics) I was giving him incorrectly!! I was supposed to screw the lid on the individual little bottles even tighter in order to break the tiny vial of probiotics under the lid. Then shake. I took the lid off, then removed the stopper and threw them both away. I had him just drink the banana flavored sugar water. So that's why he didn't mind it so much!! Now we start all over again with that!! Mammamia!! I discovered this when I was on bottle number 10, the last in the box!!

We're holding off on the shots for now. I have given injections before (after practicing on an orange I think) and I remember it really wasn't hard, just scarey at first. On a moving target, it might be another story!!

Don't worry about giving injections Diane, it's very easy if you follow the instructions. If it is a intramuscolare the only reccomendation is that once the needle is in, before injecting the drug you have to suck a little to make sure that you didn't get the vein. If it's intramuscolare e endovenosa then you don't even need to do that. If it's and endovenosa only (they wouldn't give you such a thing) let a nurse do it as it is hard to do.
Other than that it's easy, I gave the first injection of my life (other than those given to the dogs and cats) to myself, in the mirror, I was in pain and had nobody that could do it as I live alone, since then I do it all the times I need it and I prefer to give them to myself than having someone else do it to me.

It's very easy and it's always very useful to have someone in the house that can do it since some medicines have to be injected and whatever is injected doesn't go through the stomac and gets absorbed faster and better.
Be brave, just do it.

after all it's not your butt that gets stabbed.

Dora

quote:

Originally posted by Dora:
Don't worry about giving injections Diane, it's very easy if you follow the instructions.

Oh my God!

There is NO WAY I could ever do this. I think this is the reason we have nurses...

I think nurses are for much more important things than giving injections, I work with them and I can tell, believe me, they do much more than that.

And if you have to call a nurse all the times you need an injection then you are broken or dead. Sometimes you need it twice a day for 20 days, do you want to go to the hospital everytime? It would be a terrible waste of time and money. Or maybe you want to call a nurse to come to your house to do it? Even more expensive and your schedule would have to be up to when he/she comes, what if you have to work? do you have to leave the office every time you need to be stabbed or just take two weeks of sick leave and patiently wait at home for the visit?
It's such an easy thing to do and once you do it is not that bad.


In Italian we say: Si deve fare di necessita' virtu'.


Dora

Well yeah I guess if I had diabetes I would learn to give myself injections. But otherwise I would never give myself an injection - just as I would never prescribe myself antibiotics - that's what we have medical professionals for.

But what are all these injectable medicines you are talking about? The only times I've ever had to have injections in my life were immunizations and medicines the few times I've been in hospital.

Could it be that in Australia all these medicines come in pill form?

I had both my children via a cesearean (emergency for the first, choice for the second). With the first I was in hospital for 6 days. With the second I was ready to walk out after a day. They allowed me to go home after 36 hours but only if I was willing to give myself a shot 3 times a day right near the incision from the CS. Trust me, if you have to do it, you could

Over the years it's been my experience that most chemists can recommend a 'local lady' who is qualified to administer the varying types of injections. These ladies are, at least the ones I have met, very professional and - though they do charge for their services - I have never found them to be expensive.

It should however be borne in mind that I haven't used this kind of service for a couple of years......

Carole B.

you can need a Voltaren fiale intramuscolare if you are suffering a strong pain (like it happened to me with the sciatic nerve) or just a prescription of antibiotics (from the doctor of course) in fiale (vials). There are many situations in which it's better an injection than a pill.
Yes the pill might be available too but the injection is more efficient.
Pain killers are real killers for the stomach and it is better a little hole in the but than a big hole in the stomac (ulcera). Vials still hurt the stomac but it's better if you can avoid the intestinal passage anyway, it stioll hurts but it hurts less.

Come on, what is an injection? Rambo used to stich himself!!!!

Dora

Also nuns often offer that kind of service. They do not come to your place, you must go to their "place" everyday, but since they wake up early you can go there before the office or in the afternoon.

Thanks. I live across the street from a whole bunch of nuns (a nunnery?) so if I ever have an injectable medicine prescribed I'll go knocking.

If they do it (not all of them do it, but lots of comvents have that service) they will have a timetable, but it's usually pretty "manageable".

I have been here less than a year and already I would say that YES, there are lot more injections prescribed here! In the USA it's all in pill or liquid form, perhaps because syringes are so strictly controlled? And unless you are a nurse, diabetic, or going through infertility treatments, no one, I mean NO ONE gives themselves or anyone else an injection! If the doctor needs to give you a shot (rare) it's done in his/her office. Here my husband runs to the pharmacist (who does this in his back room) and my inlaws have a nurse who visits twice a day if needed, not very expensive I'd guess, since they live on very little Euros.

Both my mom, my dad, one of my two sisters (ok she is a vet.....so?) and me can give injections. I am the only one who stabbs herlself though, maybe because I live alone and when I need it I need it ( I suffer severe migranes and sometimes, very rarely, I need to inject indometacine to myself because nothing else works not even other forms of the same medicine)

The first one is a requires a little courage but after that it is very easy. Just make sure that the needle, the part are well disinfected, and then goooooo!

Dora

Isn't it dangerous to give injections if you're not qualified? I mean isn't their something about air bubbles in the syringe?
I'm with you RTPM, no way, no how...if I ever need to do this for Lila or myself I'm talking to the nuns.

of course you have to blow away the air from the syringe but if there are little bubbles remaining it's not a problem, the needles have a system that lets only the medicine in and leaves the bubbles out.

Of course it becomes dangerous if you don't take the main important precautions, you need to wash your hands, disinfect the area, don't touch the needle and avoid its contact with any area other than the site, then put the cover on it and dispose of it appropriately, but come on, even to use the needle to fix a hole in your clothes or just to put a beautiful diamond pin on your dress is dangerous if you don't do it appropiately, it is dangerous to use knives to and other sharp utensils when you clean the fresh fish or other food. At least the needle of the syringe is sterile when unwrapped.
And how do you think the nuns learned? by doing it of course.
I prefer to trust myself, I know I would keep everything clean and sterile and I would never do it without washing and scrubbing my hands before, I wouldn't use a needle that has been in contact with any other surface or a syringe that was not perfectly sealed and sterile in its bag, how do I know the nuns would do the same?
I trust myself better and if I have to catch something at least it will be my own virus.

Dora

I just learned something about the shots. I thought that the great Doctoressa at pronto soccorso in LeSpezia (sp) prescribed shots to cure my bronchitis because I was a smoker. Now I find out that she really did so I would recover faster. My wife, daughter & son swore that it was because of the cigarettes. Even though I'll probably never make the move to Napoli this sit e has really been informational. Thank you all.

You can ask the farmacist to translate the prescription into an itelligible writing. And to suggest you somebody that will make injections.
Or ask the doctor an alternative to the injection.

if you do not understand what the doctor writes always ask him to write it down again on a piece of paper in capital so that u can understand, if you ever need a medicine translation i will help you.
I have been working 2 years in a medical call center and i can give you most of the infos you need too.
For the injections a nurse is always recommended and can be found via farmacist, friends etc.
I strongly recommend not to take medicines unless really necessary and prefer natuaral alternatives where possible as italian medicines are quite strong and can cause many problems as well as the fact that italian or foreign they make your immune system weaker and less reactive to normal problems.

Thanks pinkluna. I pared the medicines down to one which he took every eight hours, and probiotics. We said forget about the antibiotics since the shot really hurt and what he had was a virus. Now he's been 6 days without distress and we can begin introducing a greater variety of foods. But now he's got a cold! He's hardly been sick since last summer when we arrived, but April and May have been difficult. The kids in his class have all been sharing their germs and taking turns being out sick.

keep his nose clean, make him use paper tissue once, keep him warm and hot milk with honey will do the rest