By Derick Matsengarwodzi The most testing part of caring for a sick toddler is administering medicine. It is always a struggle...
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The most testing
part of caring for a sick toddler is administering medicine.
It is always a struggle, such that our African
mothers would sometimes resort to chewing sour herbs and later dispose it into
the mouth once the bitter taste had subsided. Little do children know that this
process is necessary – it saves lives rather than curtail them? Instinctively,
every medicine is bitter.
So toddlers will lock their lips, and lick
with the tip of the tongue to taste, then they can swallow. Unless, the
medicine is sweet, this procedure is always a bitter pill to swallow. With
cough syrup, it is unusual. This syrup always comes in sugary form – it rarely
encounters the aforementioned defy. As children mature, they can feign
infection to ingest a remedy. Little do they understand the aftermath of an
overdose?
So as a precaution, the medicine is kept out
of reach of children. It only becomes a menace when they take medication for
fun – it is a hazard when the lust is not cured by a recommended dose. Now I
know why. Recently we learnt through the media about the rampant abuse of cough
mixtures namely Broncleer and Histalix amongst our destructive youths. It
explains why medicine cupboards must be locked – always.
Truckloads of the medicine are dodging border
authorities from the South Africa into Zimbabwe laden with the illicit contraband.
The load finds it destinations in the ghettos, where idle youths await with
drooling anticipation. Its early morning in my ghetto – most inactive youths
gather under trees. Meanwhile, boredom sets in. The gang will confer about
possible interventions to eliminate the ennui. Amongst the possible cures is
getting high but the costs of drugs are soaring and out of reach to many of
them.
The discussion proceeds to raising
contributions for a bottle of the illegal cough mixture pegged at $5, per
container. That will surely exterminate the idleness. So that hunt commences.
They will scatter in search for loose items to peddle from the house. Promptly,
the gathering resumes. Their search has raised $3, almost enough for the
morning blast.
Surely their day will end on a high. In unison, they march
towards the seller to purchase their morning order. Just like drug peddlers,
purchasing cough mixture is by merit, only. It’s illegal – so no chances are
taken. If you are a novice, chances of accessing the goods are eroded.
For total enjoyment and eliminating possible
hazards, the cough mixture is poured directly into your throat. It must not
interact with the teeth because it could be catastrophic due to codeine. Yes,
the one spotting rotting teeth is a possible end abuser. Until this revelation,
we have lost close friends to this scourge, so I shall write on. The rest of
the day is spent sleeping or day dreaming. The constant abuse of cough mixture
is a time bomb ticking to destroy our future generation.
Not only that, the violence and
hallucinations soaring in our society could be directly linked to the direct
menace from the medicine cupboard. The codeine contained in the mixtures has
killed many. In our youthful days, we experimented with beer but we were naive
of the mayhem a simple cough mixture could bring. How times have evolved. And how
sick have we become?
Where shall we locate the remedy to cure our
multitude of sick youngsters? This goes to you before you take another gulp. Don’t
invite sickness with a cough remedy. Safeguarded your life, don’t wash it away.
Every drop is a concoction laced with death.
Derick Matsengarwodzi
is a communication consultant and founder of The Aloe Media – a communication entity.
An ardent researcher and media devotee – you can interact with him through:
Facebook or email: derickmats@gmail.com or http://tinzwei.blogspot.com or http://thehealthoracle.blogspot.com.
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