Leprosy Mailing List
– August 11th, 2007
Ref.: “I can do
it myself!” (self-care booklet)
From: Ryan T., Oxford, U.K.
"I can do it
myself! Tips for people
affected by leprosy who want to prevent disabilities."
W.H.O. Regional Office
for South-East Asia, New Delhi
Dear Salvatore,
This is an excellent booklet. I would like to encourage the
St Francis Leprosy Guild to distribute a dozen or so to each of
its many centres. How
does one get hold of it at what cost?
Can I,
without suggesting anything but pleasure with the booklet, note that
this is one more addition to the leprosy literature which does not
think in terms of general health service needs. There are many
conditions which present to the general health services which are
crying out for booklets which could be met with only minor
modifications of this publication.
Indeed there are the feet of every shoeless agricultural
worker. There are the
feet of elephantiasis which I specialize in. There is the emerging epidemic
of the diabetic foot.
I am reviewing all literature from all systems
of medicine, used for the care of the skin to try and address the
needs of general health services rather than specifically of leprosy. There are details to be
discussed which even this booklet raises questions about. We live in an evidence based
world or era. Why soak
for 20 minutes? Why
choose vaseline? How much
water, where from and how prepared?
What temperature? Is
it really good to traumatize callus and invoke a repair mode of
inflammatory agents. Is
there a background of nutrition of relevance, with simple remedies,
that include home grown vitamins.
I am not
seeking to complicate but actually simplify so that taking leprosy
into general health services does not lead to the shelving of leprosy
books but the use of just one manual for everything. Utopian no doubt, but the
diminishing leprology experts will leave a more useful legacy if they
think as much about the needs of general health services as of
leprosy.
It is a
wonderful book for the person affected by leprosy!
Terence
Ryan
