Hesperian Health Guides
How to Use the HealthWiki
Contents
Finding Information
The Table of Contents, just like in a book, lists the chapters in the order in which they appear. There is also a box with a list of the chapter contents called "In this chapter" on the right-hand side of every wiki page. Click on a topic in this list to go to that part of the chapter.
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You can also enter terms in the search field in the top right-hand corner to look up information you are interested in.
To find information about the medicines used in this book and how to use them, look in the Table of Medicines, also known as the Green Pages. You can get there either from the Table of Contents or by clicking on the name of a medicine in the text.
Many chapters end with a section called Working for Change. These sections give suggestions for working to improve women’s health in your community.
A page in the wiki may contain the same information as many pages of a printed book. It also contains other information, including ways to visit other wiki pages, other books, and other websites. The links (or navigation) on the left can lead you to:
- the main Hesperian site
- a “store” where you can buy the print version of the book you are currently using
- a version of the chapter that looks just like the printed book (PDF) to print or download
- a way to print the page just as it looks on your screen
- this same material in another language
- a page where you can create new health materials using your own ideas along with Hesperian content
As mentioned above, the links (or navigation) on the right can lead you to the other pages in the chapter you are currently using.
What the different things on a page mean
Most pages include several headings of different sizes. The largest heading, at the beginning of the wiki page, is the general topic that is being discussed on that page. The smaller headings present more specific information.
Some pages contain medicine boxes, which look like this:
| Medicines for Yeast Infection | ||
|---|---|---|
| Soak a clean piece of cotton in gentian violet 1%. Insert the cotton into the vagina, every night for 3 nights. Remove the cotton each morning. Or use any of the following medicines. | ||
| Medicine | How much to take | When and how to take |
| miconazole | put one 200 mg insert | high in the vagina, each night for 3 nights |
| or nystatin | put one 100,000 units insert | high in the vagina, each night for 14 nights |
| or clotrimazole | put two 100 mg inserts | in the vagina, each night for 3 nights |
These boxes tell you the amount of medicine to give, how often to give it, and for how long, as well as some important information to know about using (or not using!) that medicine. Sometimes we recommend medicines in the text and do not put them in a box. Always look up each medicine in the Green Pages before using it. By clicking on the name of a medicine that is written in red, you will go to the place in the Green Pages where that medicine is explained in more detail. Rarely, as with the last medicine in the box above, we do not include information about that medicine in our Green Pages.
Medicines in the Green Pages appear in boxes that look like this:
dexamethasone (Decadron, Decilone, Inflam, Maxidex)
Dexamethasone is a steroid medicine used to treat allergic shock.
- Often comes in:
- Tablets: 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, or 6 mg
Liquid: 0.5 mg per 5 ml, or 1 mg per 1 ml
For injection: 4, 8, 10, 16, or 20 mg per ml
- How to use:
- For allergic shock: Inject 20 mg into muscle. If signs return, take 20 mg by mouth and repeat once if needed.
- Side effects
- If the person has diabetes, it could make it worse for a few hours. Also, it might raise blood pressure.
- Other medicines
that may work - for allergic shock: hydrocortisone
The top center of every page has links that show in which book and in which chapter the page you are viewing can be found. If you click on the name of the book, you will go to the Table of Contents for the whole book. If you click on the name of the chapter, you will go to the beginning of the chapter.
As mentioned above, the links (or navigation) on the right can lead you to the other pages in the chapter you are currently viewing.
More Information
Social skillsRed underlined text is a link to related information in the book. In the printed book, it may say “See more information on page 121”; in the wiki you can just click on the link and it will take you to that page. To return to the page where you were before clicking a link, just use the “go back” arrow in your internet browser (usually on the top left of your screen). Sometimes a page will include a box titled “More Information” with additional links to related information.
Finally, at the very bottom of every page there are links to the previous page and the next page of the chapter.
Other information about the Hesperian HealthWiki
Some of Hesperian's books are in the Hesperian HealthWiki. But the NEW Where There Is No Doctor is still being written. So the HealthWiki contains advance versions of only some chapters. In those chapters you will find gray “links” that do not work because the material that they will link to has not yet been completed. Please forgive us. We hope the chapters will be useful to you even before the entire book is completed.
Each chapter of the NEW Where There Is No Doctor contains medicine information (“Green pages”) for that chapter. Instead of combining the medicine information in a single chapter in the book (where it will be when the book is completed), the medicines information is now found at the end of each chapter. You can find a link to the medicines pages for a chapter in the contents box on the top right of each wiki page in that chapter.
Some books contain a “Problem Index” at the beginning of the Green Pages. In this Index, you can look up a health problem, the places in the book where it is explained, and the medicines which may be useful in treating it. The “Problem Index” provides an easy way to find information quickly, but it is not a substitute for a more careful study of the book.
Some of our books use specific pictures to convey important or repeated information. They include:
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TRANSPORT! Get help right away!
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IMPORTANT! Very important information
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 This is a sign of danger!
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 Be very careful with this medicine during pregnancy
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 Do not use this medicine during pregnancy
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 Be very careful with this medicine if you are breastfeeding
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 Do not use this medicine if you are breastfeeding
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Hesperian books often have a section called "Other Resources" that lists other books, materials, and organizations which we have found to be particularly helpful in working on different problems. You can find a link to this section in the Table of Contents for each book. On the Hesperian books and resources page and also on the pages in other languages, you will find more links to “Other Resources”. Use these links! There is a world-wide network of people working for health and social justice. Also, please let us know if any of these links no longer work, or if you think other resources should also be listed. Contact us at: [email protected].
This resource can be improved with your help
If you have any ideas about how the Hesperian HealthWiki could better meet your needs, or suggestions for changes to the content of the books, please write to us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!