Schools Need To Educate Students About Healthy Lifestyles To Consumption Of Tablets Add Blood

JAKARTA - Giving blood-added tablets (TTD) to young women is now one of the important health strategies in the world of education. Schools not only act as a place to study, but also as a space to shape healthy living habits.

One of the crucial steps is to provide education related to TTD consumption to students, which can help prevent anemia and support optimal growth and development.

Education about the benefits and ways of consumption of TTD needs to be done thoroughly. Not a few students are still hesitant to take this tablet because it is circulating that the TTD has caused nausea or discomfort. In fact, not everyone has these side effects, and most complaints can be minimized with the right information.

Prof. Dr. dr. Harapan Parlindungan Ringoringo, Sp.A (K), a pediatrician who is a member of the Oncology Hematology Coordination Unit, stated that schools have an important role in eliminating negative stigma around TTD.

According to him, nausea that sometimes appears after eating a tablet can be treated in a simple way, such as rest or sleep.

"How to convince him to drink (TTD) is okay. Taking the blood added drug makes you nauseous, it's not good for your stomach, even though it's not true. Not all have experienced something like that, so make sure you can take the drug," said Parlin as quoted by ANTARA.

Parlin explained that the ideal time to eat tablets plus blood is one to two hours before or after eating. If consumed in conjunction with food, iron absorption can be disrupted. Therefore, it is important for schools to convey this information clearly to students.

To increase compliance, schools can form a regular reminder system, for example through message groups in communication applications that are commonly used by teachers and students. Cares can be sent before lessons start or before sports activities so that students are used to consuming tablets regularly.

The TTD program itself is a national initiative run by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the education sector. This program targets young women at the junior high and high school level as part of efforts to overcome anemia and stunting prevention from an early age. TTD is routinely given "one tablet every week" to be considered a form of long-term female health investment.

Data from the Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) in 2023 shows that 15.5% of teenagers aged 15' 24 years have anemia. In children aged 5'14 years, the figure is even higher, which is 16.3%. This indicates the need for more systematic efforts to overcome iron shortages, especially in adolescence which is an important period in the formation of quality of life in the future.

In addition to basic nutritional needs, TTD also helps replace lost iron during menstruation, where a teenage girl can lose 12.5'15 milligrams of iron every month.

By actively involving schools in education and monitoring TTD consumption, it is hoped that the younger generation, especially women, can grow healthy and be better prepared to face the future, both physically and mentally.