Water and Health are Linked!!

We left Yinchuan on Thursday morning to head toward Yanchi. We visited a clinic that serves 5,700 people in their region; the facility was clean, but sparse in terms of equipment. Think of your own doctor's office, then remove the computers, most of the testing equipment, almost all of the administrative staff, almost all of the furniture, add some beds (not at all what we think of when we think of a hospital bed) and add in a pharmacy. At the clinics, they practice both Chinese and Western medicine, so the pharmacy has both herbal and pharmacological concoctions.
The young woman shown here was receiving an IV treatment for what our interpreter described as pain in the joints, such as elbows and knees. At first I thought of arthritis, or bursitis, but I later realized that the ailment was related to high fluoride content in the water. Fluoride in small quantities is beneficial, and in the US we often add it to our drinking waster to promote good dental development. In many areas of the world, fluoride is naturally present in the water in dangerously high levels. In addition to the joint and bone problems, it causes a permanent yellowing of the teeth, and can lead to other dental problems.
The next photo shows a man in Maer Juang village. He talked about his teeth, and I asked him if I could take a picture so I can better tell his story. As you can see, he agreed!!