What patients did we see?

(Disclaimer: I'm only speaking from my perspective as I did not see any infants and many ofthe children who were triaged to better qualified team members)

Probably the most common complaint was "pain all over" and headache. Unfortunately basic OTC meds like Tylenol or Motrin were unavailable to these patients. For the older patients, arthritis and muscle aches and pains were common. "Poor appetite" was also pretty common often conveying an underlying unspoken request for multivitamins. For young women, discharge was a frequent complaint. However, we had to distinguish between normal and abnormal symptoms which was challenging since there was no room to do a thorough exam. The "exam room" was literally a converted classroom where 4 clinicians and their patients were cramped in with little privacy. We had to interview and examine them in the same area! Allergy symptoms were also very prevalent with presentations of watery, itchy eyes, nasal drainage and cough. Not surprising given the perpetual burning occurring in the sugarcane fields and pollution. Upper respiratory tract infections were also pretty common in both young and old.

There was strong demand for acetaminophen and loratadine (Claritin) that our supplies frequently ran out. We used sulfur cream which is a universal treatment for skin fungus, scabies and bacteriacidal agent. It is easily compounded by mixing Vaseline and sulfur. I wished we had Selsun shampoo or topical ketoconazole for treating cradle cap or seborrhea. There was the occasional male patient that had symptoms of prostatic enlargement for which medicines were lacking. I didn't use as much antibiotics as I thought. We could have easily have gotten away with fewer than we brought. Hydrocortisone cream was also in great demand. Our supply of 50 reading glasses were snapped up in the first 2 days! I saw a few cases of asthma and which we had brought asthma meds. Thankfully, some were donated and we were able to get by.

There were many cases of hypertension. We used lots of atenolol and amlodipine - our only antihypertensives. Metformin was the only medication we had available for diabetes. As a geriatrician I did not expect to see many elderly, but I was surprised to see a 90 year old man - my oldest patient. His blood pressure was controlled nicely, and all he wanted was for me to treat him for his eczema.