During the third and fourth weeks of this unit I will focus on hygiene and how to avoid contagious diseases as important
factors in
staying in good health. I will stress the importance of having a first aid kit at home and how to use it in case of emergencies.
Health is defined as a state in which growth and function are optimal. I cite again some of Dr. Herbert G. Birch’s and Dr. Joan Dye Gusson’s findings about health, nutrition and school failure. “In disadvantaged children, inadequate medical care , inadequate maternal supervision, inadequate housing and associated socioeconomic deprivations are exerting unfavorable influences of the later survival of those nonwhite babies who initially appear the more favored.”
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They continue, “Thus not only malnutrition and disease are almost inevitably found in populations where children begin post-natal risk but are almost always found among children who are likely to be simultaneously exposed to multiple biological, social, economic, cultural and familiar hazards for optimal mental development.”
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Referring to the importance of adequate medical care for children the authors state: “ The data of immunization indicate that poor children receive significantly less medical care than their more affluent contemporaries. Children from poor families go to either a doctor or hospitals much less frequently than children whose families are better off. But increasingly, It is not only through the chronically overcrowded clinics that the urban poor make contact with hospitals. Rather, they come in growing numbers to seek care from the hospitals’ emergency service.”
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They say that 1966 studies demonstrated that at Yale New Haven Medical Center 56% of them were classified by attending physicians as “nonurgent.” Patients using the emergency room were found as a group to be younger, poorer, more heavily non-white and more heavily in the lowest social class than the total population served by the hospital.” According to the authors, data from the National Health Survey show persons of all ages from low-income families consistently having fewer physicians visits under any auspices than those from better off families. Such findings, they say, “do not indicate a lower level of illness among the poor children.”
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These authors also talk about a high correlation between education and follow-through doctor appointments. They found that the level of the mother’s education was the most significant single source of variation in the rate of broken appointments. They say, “Children of such mothers are smaller at birth, die more rapidly and are generally in poorer condition in infancy than children born to the more affluent. . . .
During the school years, they eat irregularly, their health care continues to be almost totally inadequate, their housing is sub-standard, their family income is low, subsistence on public assistance is high and family disorganization commonplace.”
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Again, how can we as educators contribute to breaking this link of poverty and ignorance in order to prevent illness and school failure?
Objective
With this purpose, during the development of this curriculum I intend to create a great deal of awareness not only in my students but in their parents as well. I want them to learn of the importance of good personal hygiene, the need for providing housing with good sanitary conditions, the need for immunization and regular doctors visits in order to prevent illness and to keep the family healthy, and to understand how these can lead to higher academic standards and more employment opportunities. I would also stress to the students the importance of each member of the family having a doctor who knows that person very well and who can help them if he / she is sick.
Words To Study
germs
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comfortable
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virus
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cells
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disease
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containers
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contagious
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pests
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bacteria
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dangerous
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immunization
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cleansers
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Procedure
The teacher will start by presenting to the students transparencies that show the different ways of developing diseases from such causes as: poor sanitary conditions, having contact with sick people, being infected by insects and other animals, and from contaminated food or water. The teacher will initiate class discussion by asking the students what they think of these pictures. The teacher will emphasize that it is a fact that if we get too close to other people who have contagious diseases, we will become sick; that we can also get sick from animals and pests that we have at home, or by using clothes or utensils that have been used by other people; and that we can get sick by eating food that has not been properly cooked or refrigerated.
The teacher will talk about germs, viruses, and the different types of diseases that they can produce. This lesson will be illustrated with transparencies, films and posters. In that way students can see what these germs look like. Teacher will explain to the students that bacteria can grow very fast when they are in a warm, dark and wet place. The inside of your body is warm, dark and wet. The inside of your body is a good place for bacteria to grow. In the body bacteria divide and make new bacteria cells. (Give examples to students of worms In the garden In a shady and humid place, how fast the worms reproduce by themselves.) The teacher will explain that as bacteria grow and divide, they make poison In the body. These poisons can make you sick. Germs can give you a sore throat when they grow in your throat; they can give you a stomach ache when they grow in your stomach. They can grow in your teeth and make cavities, and produce a bad toothache. Here the teacher will give more illustrations of different types of germs and diseases and will ask the students questions such as: How do bacteria and viruses get into the body? Explain: People who are sick often cough and sneeze, causing their germs to go into the air. If you are near them, you might breathe in these germs. The germs can grow in your body and make you sick, too. Also, food that has not been properly refrigerated or has been exposed to Insects can get spoiled. Germs grow in spoiled food. If you eat that food you will get sick. Flies and other animal pests can bring germs into your house when the house is not properly cleaned or when doors or windows are left open without screens.
The teacher might ask the class: Do you know that your body can fight and kill many germs? There are white blood cells in your blood. These cells can eat and kill bacteria, but white blood cells cannot kill viruses. The body makes germ fighters, called antibodies, to kill viruses. Antibodies are in the blood. It is easier for your body to make antibodies when you are healthy and strong. Sometimes antibodies and white cells are not enough to kill viruses and bacteria in the body, and many children and mothers die from diseases. Years ago many people were afraid to go to certain places or do things because they were afraid of a disease called polio. Many people died from polio; others could never walk normally again after getting this disease. Today we are no longer afraid of polio because in 1955 doctors made a special polio medicine. This medicine is called a vaccine. “The immune system of the body responds to the shot (or other immunization) by building up resistance to specific diseases, even if the person is exposed to the organism that causes it.”
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Here the teacher will show transparencies of how the immunization works in the body. The teacher will explain to the students that today doctors have many vaccines to prevent different diseases. Children are given vaccinations for measles, mumps, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, German measles and polio. Doctors start giving vaccines to children when they are just two months old. People can still get sick from these viruses. People who do not want to get sick must be sure that they receive the right vaccinations. Parents must make sure their children get all the vaccines they need at the right time.
Here the teacher will emphasize the importance of visiting the doctor regularly; of being sure to keep doctor and dentist appointments in order to stay in good health; and will explain the importance of staying in good health in order to do well academically. To be healthy you must eat good meals (remind the students what we learned about good nutrition). You must get enough sleep, and you body must also get enough fresh air and exercise. You must also wear the appropriate clothes for the season and weather you are in. (Talk here about the different weather in the four different seasons and the appropriate clothing to wear.)
A Healthy Home
Here the teacher will explain that eating the right foods and doing exercise are not enough. You must also live in a healthy home. A healthy home must feel comfortable; it needs windows that can opened and closed to receive fresh air from the outside. A healthy home should be warm enough for the people to feel comfortable. A healthy home should be 65° (explain degrees to the students) or warmer if babies or older people live in it.
A healthy house should not have pests: these animals try to get into food. They try to spoil food and when people eat that food they can get sick. (Remind the students about the different germs that pests transmit.) We can also get sick if bitten by rats and insects. How can we keep flies, mice and cockroaches out of our homes? All windows in your house should have screens so that these pests cannot come inside the house when the windows are open. We also have to keep pests away from our food; we can do this by keeping food in closed jars and containers. All food should be refrigerated after each meal. Do not leave food on the table or near the sink. Pests also try to get into garbage cans, so always keep your garbage cans clean and covered. It is hard for animals to get into a covered garbage can. It is very important to keep the kitchen and the bathroom clean. Furniture and floors must also be clean.
In a healthy house, chemicals and cleansers are kept in a place where children cannot get them. The same is true for knives, matches, plastic bags, paint, medicines and anything else that could be dangerous to a child. (The teacher will explain to the students the danger of each of these items when used incorrectly.) Here the teacher will ask questions and promote discussions encouraging the students to look for cause and effect, draw conclusions, and in other ways actively apply thinking and reasoning skills.
First Aid Kit
The teacher will introduce the subject of first aid and the importance of keeping a first aid kit in the home to avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency room. The teacher will ask: What happens if we feel some discomfort, such as a headache, sweating, fever, etc. What should we do?
Possible answers: Go to the hospital. Go to the emergency room. Go to see a doctor.
Teacher: Emergency rooms are for more severe cases such as car accidents, falling down from a tree or other high place, severe burns, animal bites, puncture wounds, poisoning, severe bleeding, stomach pains, very high fever, etc. How do we know if we have a high fever? Every family should have a first aid kit at home. It is very important to have a thermometer to take the body’s temperature. In that way, we will not have to go to the emergency room if it is not really necessary.
The teacher will explain that you don’t have to buy a first-aid kit at the drugstore; you can make your own. Here are the things you need:
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A three cornered bandage (A strong one, not an old sheet.)
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A pair of scissors
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A thermometer
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Some adhesive tape
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Safety pins
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A roll of bandage
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Some sterile compress pads
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A bottle with alcohol
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A card with telephone numbers for the family doctor or a clinic or emergency room number
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You will keep all of this in a little box. When something happens in the family you have everything you need. The teacher will stress the importance of knowing what to do. For example: Let’s learn how to use the thermometer. There is a place in the brain that keeps body temperature even whether the weather is hot or cold. The body temperature should always be fairly close to 98.6°. If you or someone else in your family is not feeling well you may want to start by taking the person’s temperature. The teacher will demonstrate in front of the class as she goes over these steps:
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Shake the thermometer down. Hold it in your fingers with the bulb down and check it.
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Read the thermometer. The line on some thermometers is red or blue; in others it is silver. The red and blue are easy to read.
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Move the thermometer back and forth until the light hits it. If it is not below 95° shake it some more.
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Put it beneath the tongue in the sick person’s mouth and leave it there for at least three minutes.
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Take the thermometer out and read it. You don’t have to hurry; the line will stay at the same place until you shake it. After you read it write the temperature down in case you have to call the doctor or for your own record.
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You must kill the germs on the thermometer. Do not use it on another person until you have cleaned it.
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What do the numbers mean? From 98.6° to 99° is O.K. 100 is a little high: Take the person’s temperature again in an hour. From 100° to 102° is a high temperature: Call your doctor or call or go to an emergency room.
What to do in case of an emergency with minor injuries. The teacher will explain in detail each of these:
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when a person is bleeding
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when a person steps on a rusty nail (puncture wound)
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when mild burns occur
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when a person eats or drinks poison
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when a person is choking
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Related activities and materials. Students will:
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read
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use dictionaries
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describe pictures
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look at pictures, films and transparencies
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prepare bulletins illustrating the curriculum
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practice some emergency first aid procedures
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learn how to read a thermometer
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