Jun, 2015
After a long night of unrest and uneasy sleep, Reema Hirmas could not wait until morning to take her slightly feverish 12-year-old daughter Shahd to the medical center in Halhoul, West Bank for another checkup in less than a month.
Shahd has been suffering from inflamed tonsils for a couple of weeks.
This time the doctor gave Shahd’s mother a new and more efficient penicillin antibiotic to treat her daughter’s worsening condition.
Anera delivered the medicine Augmentin to medical centers in the West Bank in May, thanks to a generous donation from long-time Anera partner Direct Relief. The donation to this particular center in Halhoul includes 580 units in two forms: tablets and powder for dissolving in water.
Augmentin treats infections caused by bacteria, such as sinusitis, ear infections and bronchitis, which the center’s patients suffer often. The medication is very efficient for treating acute conditions.
“Recently, the weather this year has been unpredictable, making people vulnerable to germs, viruses and bacteria,” explains Dr. Ashraf Qdeimat. “Temperatures have risen during the day and this has significantly increased people’s intake of cold drinks and ice cream, which could further irritate an infected throat.”
On a typical day, the doctor examines at least 30 children and 20 adults complaining of bacterial infections.
“What we always try and instill in the minds of people here is the importance of consulting a qualified doctor before taking any medication,” says Dr. Qdeimat. He says many residents in Halhoul and around Hebron, like elsewhere in the West Bank, often choose to treat themselves, without realizing they could be making their conditions worse. “Before receiving this medical relief, we used to prescribe to two medications to our patients so they often had to take two or three pills a day. This medication alone is enough and even more efficient.”
With her new medicine in hand young Shahd hopes her tonsils will get better so she can rejoin her brothers and sisters and cousins to play games and have fun. “It’s going to be great fun playing again with them without my mother worrying about me.”
