LEPRA Society

Case Study - 1

A Woman in her early twenties who is a cured leprosy client with Grade II deformity was rejected by her husband and his family members because of the ulcer of the foot.

She was depressed and threatened to commit suicide and our Staff counseled her. We counseled her husband also. In the mean while we offered her soft loan to run a business so that she can be self-sufficient, which she rejected. Her husband proposed to take her back but on condition, that he wanted to marry her younger sister. At this she was upset, and agreed to take a loan. She used the to purchase milk, prepare curds and sell it from her house. Previously she was working as a teacher in a school with a meager salary of Rs 400/- per month. Because of the ulcer, she was advised not to stand for long hours. After assessment we found her working from home which is suitable to her, at present she is earning at least Rs 100/- per day. She developed self-confidence and followed self-care practices meticulously and ulcer of the foot healed. Now her husband has accepted her.
This case study shows the benefits of economic empowerment of a leprosy client.

Case Study - 2

Social empowerment

A Health and Social development Forum was initiated in a slum. The members of the forum were mostly women. In one of the review meeting of the Forum the members raised an issue of two orphan children, a girl aged 14 years and her brother 12 years were staying in a small hut. Their parents expired due to AIDS few months back. The house was taken over by the relations who had lent money for their treatment. The children were attending school, when their parents were alive. After their parents expired they were being used for menial jobs. The community needed guidance to rehabilitate these children. After enquiries we came across an organization who were working for HIV affected and infected children. The local leaders of the community wrote a letter on their letterhead requesting admission for these children. The forum members agreed to be guardian for the children.

The NGO is an organization admitting HIV infected and affected children. Both children were tested and boy was reactive, now they are healthy and attending school. The girl is reported to be very bright and she is able to teach the younger ones. Recently when we visited the NGO we were very delighted to find both of them happy and healthy.

We felt like a flicker in the dark and beginning to betterment in the social environment. Where people are busy in making a living, there such an act is appreciable.

Case Study - 3

Doctor as a Patient

One of the doctors is a Holistic Health Consultant and trainer. He was suffering from cough and evening fever since one month. He took advice from some other friends about his sickness. They told him to go for unani or Ayurvedic treatment. He also thought it would be cured with Unani, Ayurvedic treatment and so consulted an Ayuvedic Practitioner. The practitioner diagnosed and told him that it may be Tuberculosis and it would be cured with the Ayurvedic medicines. He started the Medicines for the tuberculosis; he took treatment nearly for about one year. Even though the cough and fever subsided his sickness still persisted.

One day while going to the market, he noticed that the Health department staff was distributing the pamphlets, which contained the messages about Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS. He read the pamphlet and went to the one of Microscopy Center of HYLEP at Sitaphalmandi. First he observed what was going on in the Microscopy center, and later he asked the MC staff about his doubts regarding RNTCP. Then he consulted the doctor in the MC. The doctor advised him for sputum test, and then he got his sputum tested, and the result was positive (as 3+).

He was diagnosed as TB Cat I put on DOTS. He was taking treatment from Microscopy Center. He took treatment for one month regularly and stopped treatment suddenly. The reason being he had some problem with the medicines like nausea and giddiness. He was disappointed, and he lost confidence on the RNTCP treatment.

He stopped treatment for one month. The staff were motivating him frequently even though he was not turning up for treatment. Meanwhile he tried other medicines and consulted many other doctors also. Not giving up, the staff patiently counseled him, and slowly he was showing some signs of willingness. Finally he agreed to allow the staff to talk to him in his house, and they convinced him to continue treatment. . He started taking treatment and the 2nd month of follow up sputum test result was positive, because of the irregularity of treatment. An extra month of treatment with Intensive phase of DOTS treatment (Prolongation pouches). After completion of Intensive phase (prolongation pouches) of treatment the 3rd month the sputum follow up was done, the result was negative. He was very happy with the outcome and continued the treatment without a gap . Now he has completed his treatment and is declared cured.

Now he is functioning as an ambassador for not only referring suspected cases but also is ready to motivate difficult ones.

Case Study - 4

Background information

We had conducted a routine IEC programme (IEC van show) at Sri Sri Banjaranagar which was attended by one of the auto drivers called Mr Ramu, 22 years old. After learning about the symptoms of TB during the IEC programme, he became aware of the symptoms of TB, so was motivated to consult the Microscopic Center at Hylep where he was tested positive for TB and was subsequently registered for treatment on 24/4/02.

We had also educated the patient about various aspects of TB. Then subsequently he noticed and brought his brother and had him tested at Hylep which also turned out positive. This one persons motivation was so strong, he consciously looked around and also brought another brother called Mr. Rajesh, 15 years old (student) who was subsequently registered for treatment on the same date 24/4/02.
Then the whole family was first educated about TB and then it was confirmed that they did not carry any symptoms of TB at that time. They were advised to get themselves tested in case they developed any symptoms.

Mr. Ramu has another brother called Mr. Praveen, 21 years old who also developed symptoms like chest pain & cough and was tested positive for TB and he was registered for TB treatment on 19/7/02 . He is also an auto driver.
Eight months after this, Ramu’s mother who was coughing for more than 25 days was tested which turned out positive. Anti TB treatment was started on 30/12/02.

Seeing this trend Ramu’s father Sri Dashratham, 47 years old was tested for TB which was found to be positive. He was started on anti TB treatment on 5/4/04.

This is a unique incident where all five members in one family were infected and it is very encouraging to observe that the right IEC activities brings about a very positive impact and is beneficial to bring out the hidden cases.

Family Details
Total family members of Mr. Ramu - 6 (Mother, father, 3 brothers, and 1 sister) His sister got married 4 years back. All 5 members of family registered for Anti TB treatment. All are sputum positive pulmonary cases, put under Cat I treatment out of 5 members 4 are cured, 1 is under Treatment. They have 3 Autos (2 Owned, 1 on rent) They stay in one hut. They had migrated from other dist 8 years back. Recently Ramu got married

Conclusion
Seeing that in addition to themselves, all of their children have been tested TB positive, the parents were very upset because they were of the view that all TB patients die, and were reduced to tears. With our counseling they are now convinced that there is a sure cure for TB and there is nothing to worry about. They are now healthy & happy now and Ramu even got married a month ago.Earlier they had approached private hospitals and spent a lot of money but in vainbut now they are satisfied with the outcome.

Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary, Martyr’s day 30th January is observed as Anti Leprosy Day. On this day a rally is taken which culminates in a meeting where the facts about leprosy are discussed, eminent personalities are invited to grace this occasion.
This is followed by weeklong programs in Schools and slums ending on 5th of February with a valedictory function. In this meeting awards are given to winners of various competitions like essay writing, elocution in leprosy held during the week.