Tuberculosis Awareness Talk

By Cynthia and Intan

There was a Tuberculosis Awareness Talk at Learning House for Cakung Children’s Community on Saturday, October 22, 2011. Only few mothers and children have gathered there. The session started at 11.30 local time, right after we finished drink milk together.

The doctors who were giving the talk came around 11. They are Dr. Bimo, Dr. Aisa and Dr. Yvonne. More people came one by one, there were about 60 people altogether. That day we did not do our normal learning but learned through the awareness talk. Actually, the children from category 1 and 2 did not really learning after drinking milk, they just tag along with their mothers.

The doctors explained about tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a contagious airborne disease. It spread through our respiratory system, when we inhale and the tuberculosis germs getting into our lungs.

Everybody can get tuberculosis, from young children to adults. To avoid the disease from spreading, we need to cover our mouth while coughing and wash our hands afterward. Do not spit in public places, when saliva gets dry, the germ will fly to the air and spreads to others. For the children who like to buy food from the street vendors, it better to restrict that habit. We are not sure whether or not the food are clean nor nutritious. We need healthy and nutritious foods to keep our immune system strong so we will not fall sick easily. It is not just to avoid tuberculosis.

Symptoms of tuberculosis that we need to be aware of:

Cough with phlegm more than 2 weeks
Fever
Lost weight
Perspiration at night
Bloody phlegm
Chest pain
Difficulty of breathing

If we experience those symptoms we need to consult the doctors or community clinics.


Translated by Devy Suleiman