When the virus struck most of the hospitals were “no go” zones. Many of the adults spent their last days there and towards the end they couldn’t be moved to the morgues. The hospital’s were the last place any of the kids wanted to go.
It wasn’t until a few months later that the braver kids decided that they could beat the horror of what they would face and entered the hospitals in search of medical supplies for trading. It wasn’t long before everyone caught onto the idea and if you weren’t in quick then there was going to be nothing left.
Simple first aid supplies like bandages and antiseptic are rare in Tribeworld so the risk of infection is high.
Everyone in Tribeworld is susceptable to injury whether it be minor or major. But with no adults the amount of help available is limited.
Trudy
When Trudy was in labour, Amber needed all sorts of things to prepare for the birth. She sent the others off around the Mall in search of clean cloth, rubber bands, scissors, and hot water. There are always substitutes to be found but to stop infection everything needs to be sterile. To sterilise something you can boil it in water or if it’s not flammable, running it through a flame can also sterilise.
Lex
In Tribe 4 Lex had some toothache which soon grew into an infection in his gums and then spread to his blood. Where we would just go down to the dentist, the kids of Tribeworld can’t. Lex didn’t have much choice. He needed the aspirin that only the Techno’s could provide. These basic medicines are essential.
The Technos
When Jay arrived with the Techno’s the first thing he had in mind was to get a hospital of some sort up and running. The Techno’s had the supplies or could get them and Jay had the commitment. It would be a struggle but Jay was determined.
Jay knew that there was bound to be knowledgeable people around that would be able to help out. Patch was an enthusiast and interested in medicine and from the textbooks he had read he was able to diagnose minor problems and prescribe the right medicine for treatment.
Hygiene
To help stop infection in Tribeworld, hygiene plays an important part. The more hygienic people are the less likely it is that germs, bugs and viruses are being spread.
Washing at least once a day, hand washing often and not sharing saliva are great ways of preventing transmitting bugs to yourself or others.What could be done?
A hospital could be set up in Tribeworld again. All available supplies would need to be rationed and no doubt there would be kids that are still interested in education and would love to study all the medical textbooks.
But a hospital in Tribeworld now would only be able to deal in minor ailments. There are no longer pharmaceutical companies that make all the medicines. Whatever is left over is all there is.
There is always herbal medicine. Taisan was very capable of making herbal remedies and they can be just as effective as manufactured pills.
Broken legs etc may be able to be fixed. A splint and some pain relief may allow it to heal. Infections could be helped with the proper care but more serious illnesses would go untreated.
So, will we see a hospital in Tribeworld soon?