The Wisdom in Doing Nothing

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One of the laws of physics says, "To every action, there is (an equal and opposite)/a reaction." 

The expression above does not apply in all areas of life. Sometimes, the right reaction to an action is to do nothing.

A doctor was in a bus sometime ago when a passenger began to vomit. Some passengers poured water on the head of the person who was vomiting; some made sympathetic expressions to the ill person. The doctor looked at the vomiting person for some seconds and turned to continue reading his novel.

The doctor's friend in the bus with him suggested that he (the doctor) should do something to stop the vomiting. The doctor shook his head in disagreement as he expected the vomiting would stop naturally. His friend was disappointed. As a doctor, he should have done something.

The doctor did the right thing. In silence, he assessed the situation and was convinced nothing meaningful could be done inside the bus that would help the ill passenger. Rather than cause more harm, he did nothing.

It is a regular occurrence for people to want to be seen to care. Unfortunately, some go about it in an unsafe manner.

Someone is convulsing somewhere. The reflex reaction of some witnesses is to push a metallic spoon into the person's mouth to keep the teeth apart. The spoon can break a tooth, or cut the tongue and cause bleeding. Blood from the cut tongue, or broken tooth may accidentally enter the airway and cause more harm to the convulsing person.

Another case is when someone faints. Onion, palm oil, and other agents are forced into the unconscious person's mouth. These items may actually be what will kill the person if they get into the airway. The real cause of fainting (which you don't know) may not kill the individual. "Doing something" may kill the person.

Below are recommended tips in any emergency.

1. Ask for help. Don't feel ashamed to do so.

2. Apply the life-saving skills that you know as first aid. Eg,

- Lie a convulsing person on his or her side and lift the chin. This simple effort helps the person to breathe. More than 90% of convulsions stop within 10 minutes. Just stay with the person, ensuring they don't harm their head or other parts of the body while they jerk. Once convulsion stops naturally, take the patient to the hospital immediately for proper management.

- Wash the site of a bite (snake, dog, scorpion, etc) with soap under running water. This removes any toxin on the surface that has not been absorbed into the blood. Don't tie anything around the bitten site or cut into the skin in attempt to remove the toxin. The tying  may impair blood flow to the affected part of the body causing death of the tissues.

3. If you don't know any first aid tip, no problem, DON'T ATTEMPT anything at the site of the incident; get the individual to the NEAREST hospital immediately. Time is essential in saving lives.

Ademola Orolu


About the Author

Ademola is a Consultant Family Physician and writer. He founded the online health magazine, The Family Doctors, and was its Editor-in-Chief from 2017 to 2020, when he wounded up the magazine to concentrate on his full-time medical practice, Nathaniel Health Consulting, Matogbun, Ogun State. 

He is an author of many books including storybooks. He regularly writes on health-promoting topics and encourages positive behavioural change in his articles.

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