Home Doctor: Practical Medicine for Every Household
INTRODUCTION - by Dr. Maybell Nieves A little over a year ago, we wouldn’t have imagined that the whole world would be paralyzed due to a contagious virus that threatened the lives of the most susceptible. This situation is literally one of the worst scenarios for having an accident or an emergency at home: The health centers are collapsed, and by leaving the safety of our homes, we are exposed to contagion. This book comes to provide a source of medical information that we should all be familiar with and, at the same time, to be a practical tool for the care of chronic diseases and emergencies at home when seeking help is not a viable option. I am a surgeon from Venezuela, a country where health has deteriorated in the last ten years. Due to extreme situations such as protests, serious insecurity, failures in the electrical and communication system, and failures in transportation, it is often impossible to find prompt assistance for any health problem. Frequently these delays lead patients to serious complications—even death—that could have easily been stabilized at home. The idea behind this text is to introduce our readers to some handy and efficient tools that go a step beyond first aid care on a variety of common medical situations and emergencies that can occur at home or far from a healthcare center. At absolutely no time do we try to substitute professional experience for home treatment, but there are events when we are forced to stay indoors or when seeking the necessary help on time is an impossible task. My belief is that you can easily solve problems or at least gain precious time if you cannot immediately reach assistance for some reason. Whether you are away from a hospital or without an immediate phone signal or for any situation of confinement, whether a health crisis, an armed conflict, or social events. In the case of a somewhat serious health situation, the ideal solution would be to go to the emergency room and be attended by a specialist physician. However, we do not always have the optimal conditions, and it is important to know some techniques and procedures that we can apply at home. Another of my goals is that you can recognize to what extent you can handle an emergency by yourself and when you must necessarily seek specialized help. It is important for everyone to know some basic treatments for both chronic and acute illnesses, such as traumatic accidents or heart attacks, as these procedures can save the life of the affected person even if that person is yourself. Through the text, efficient natural and pharmacological treatments are addressed to be used in the safest possible way at home, until the necessary assistance can be found. I know sometimes it is not enough to seek emergency care quickly or to call the local assistance service. There are pathologies in which a second lost means the deterioration of the patient or even their death. 13
