Precious M., 1

Precious is a one-year-old girl and the younger of two children. She lives with her parents, both of whom have hearing and speech disabilities, while her paternal grandmother provides additional support and assists with communication. The family depends on irregular casual work and lives in a modest one-room mud-walled house with an iron-sheet roof. Precious is normally an active child who enjoys playing with toys. According to her grandmother, Precious accidentally licked an acaricide that had been left on the family’s verandah after her father was given the chemical to treat a neighbour’s cattle. Precious begun vomiting, having excessive salivation, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, sweating and was also experiencing breathing difficulty. A bystander initially gave Precious milk, but because of the potential seriousness of the poisoning, she was rushed to Siaya County Referral Hospital.

Precious was diagnosed with organophosphate poisoning, a potentially life-threatening condition that can affect breathing, heart function, the nervous system and other organs, particularly in a one-year-old child. She required urgent medical treatment and close monitoring for complications such as respiratory failure, seizures and altered consciousness. She is showing good response. Her prognosis is favourable.