238. Nepal Day 6

More screening today, starting in pm though patients have been liningup since early morning. As in the Philippines and Ecuador, we often need two translators: one to translate local dialect to standard Nepalese and the second to go from standard Nepalese to English.  Obtaining an useful medical history is a real challenge.  Ages, for example, invariably end in 0 or 5, not surpising given low education levels (most “sign” consent forms with a thumbprint). These are women who have lived their lives as substinence farmers, bending over in rice fields, carrying heavy loads everywhere. I saw plenty of tractors but I suspect a recent development.


The word that went out among local medical providers that we were looking for patients with uterine prolapse (the vagina turns inside out, extending outside the vaginal opening in a complete prolapse). So that's what we saw, no problem since the mission came with three specialists (urogynelogists who have expertise with the fixing of prolapse—essentially removing the uterus then attaching the vagina to a higher structure, such as the ligaments that hold the spine together.