Dr Britt Borden: How We Can Help Hondurans Without Medical Care
Imagine living without access to medical care. Now add in malnutrition, parasites and other pests. That’s what poor people in Honduras and other undeveloped countries face every day of their lives. These people live in constant fear every day that something catastrophic will happen, causing them pain, irreversible health damage or even death.
Dr Britt Borden recently returned from a Honduran humanitarian medical missionary trip with the Indiana-based group FAME. Dr Britt Borden understands that not everyone is able to physically take a trip to Honduras, but he outlines the medical challenges the poor people of Honduras face and what Americans can do to help.
Dr. Britt Borden, Why is a trip like this important?
Britt Borden: Being able to access medical care in Honduras is a major hurdle. The hospitals there just aren’t equipped to handle the problems facing the poor in Honduras. Humanitarian medical missionary trips such as this one are very important and can go a long way towards improving the lives of the Honduran people.
After treating the people in Honduras for week, what are the biggest medical challenges they face?
Britt Borden: Malnutrition is a major problem. It’s estimated that over 60% of Hondurans live in poverty and these people don’t get the basic nutrition they need to survive. On my trip with FAME, we handed out vitamins to every patient we saw to try to combat malnutrition. Many Americans don’t realize the impact a daily vitamin can have on people who are severely malnourished. Relief organizations like FAME welcome donations of over the counter multivitamins and donating them is an easy way for Americans to help.
What’s another medical concern facing Hondurans?
Britt Borden: Tapeworms are actually a serious health concerns in Honduras. These parasites infest the gastrointestinal track and can cause abdominal pain, discomfort, loss of appetite, or a disease called cysticercosis, with cysts in the brain or other nearby tissues.
Hookworms can cause itchy feet, fevers, coughing, wheezing, abdominal discomfort and anemia. All three of these worms are contracted by unsanitary living conditions and eating food that isn’t properly cooked. To help the people of Honduras, I provided each patient with some medication to get rid of the worms.
What else did you see in Honduras that Americans don’t see in their everyday lives?
Britt Borden: The living conditions in Honduras bring about a whole group of problems that we don’t see in America. The unsanitary living conditions mean the reduviid bug is a major problem. These bugs are attracted by the carbon dioxide people breathe out and because of that, the bugs bite the Hondurans on the lips as they sleep. The bugs’ feces then infect the bite wound. That infection can cause Chagas disease and can be fatal.
One of the towns I visited actually had a collection box for people to deposit bugs that they caught in their homes. That simple collection box was a reminder of the challenges the people of Honduras face every day of their lives.
