12 Practical Health Tips for year 2020

08 January 2020

Amb. Joshua Ekpokpobe

As we begin the new year 2020, it is important we work towards living in good health. Here are 12 practical health tips (representing the 12 calendar months) to kick start the year with.

1. Eat healthy diets

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Eat a combination of different foods, including fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five portions (400g) of fruit and vegetables per day. You can improve your intake of fruits and vegetables by always including veggies in your meal; eating fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks; eating a variety of fruits and vegetables; and eating them in season. By eating healthy you will reduce your risk of malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

2. Consume less salt and sugar

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Consuming twice the recommended amount of sodium places one at risk of high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Most people get their sodium through salt. Reduce your salt intake to 5g per day, equivalent to about one teaspoon. It’s easier to do this by limiting the amount of salt, fish sauce and other high-sodium condiments when preparing meals; removing salt, seasonings and condiments from your meal table; avoiding salty snacks; and choosing low-sodium products.

On the other hand, consuming excessive amounts of sugars increases the risk of tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain. In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake. This is equivalent to 50g or about 12 teaspoons for an adult. WHO recommends consuming less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits. You can reduce your sugar intake by limiting the consumption of sugary snacks, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages.

3. Reduce intake of harmful fats

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Fats consumed should be less than 30% of your total energy intake. This will help prevent unhealthy weight gain and NCDs. There are different types of fats, but unsaturated fats are preferable over saturated fats and trans-fats. WHO recommends reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake; reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats.

The preferable unsaturated fats are found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower, soybean, canola and olive oils; saturated fats are found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard; and trans-fats are found in baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen pizza, cookies, biscuits, and cooking oils and spreads.

4. Avoid harmful use of alcohol

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There is no safe level for drinking alcohol. Consuming alcohol can lead to health problems such as mental and behavioural disorders, including alcohol dependence, major NCDs such as liver cirrhosis, some cancers and heart diseases, as well as injuries resulting from violence and road clashes and collisions.

5. Avoid smoking

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Smoking tobacco causes NCDs such as lung disease, heart disease and stroke. Tobacco kills not only the direct smokers but even non-smokers through second-hand exposure. 

If you are currently a smoker, it’s not too late to quit. Once you do, you will experience immediate and long-term health benefits. If you are not a smoker, that’s great! Do not start smoking and fight for your right to breathe tobacco-smoke-free air.

6. Be active

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Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. This includes exercise and activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuits. The amount of physical activity you need depends on your age group but adults aged 18-64 years should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week. Increase moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week for additional health benefits.

7. Check your blood pressure regularly

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Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is called a “silent killer”. This is because many people who have hypertension may not be aware of the problem as it may not have any symptoms. If left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to heart, brain, kidney and other diseases. Have your blood pressure checked regularly by a health worker so you know your numbers. If your blood pressure is high, get the advice of a health worker. This is vital in the prevention and control of hypertension.

8. Get tested

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Getting yourself tested is an important step in knowing your health status, especially when it comes to HIV, hepatitis B, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB). Left untreated, these diseases can lead to serious complications and even death. Knowing your status means you will know how to either continue preventing these diseases or, if you find out that you’re positive, get the care and treatment that you need. Go to a public or private health facility, wherever you are comfortable, to have yourself tested.

9. Get vaccinated

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Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent diseases. Vaccines work with your body’s natural defences to build protection against diseases like cervical cancer, cholera, diphtheria, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, pneumonia, polio, rabies, rubella, tetanus, typhoid, and yellow fever.

In Nigeria, free vaccines are provided to children 1 year old and below as part of the Ministry of Health’s routine immunization programme. If you are an adolescent or adult, you may ask your physician if to check your immunization status or if you want to have yourself vaccinated.

10. Prevent mosquito bites

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Mosquitoes are one of the deadliest animals in the world. Diseases like dengue, chikungunya, malaria and lymphatic filariasis are transmitted by mosquitoes and continue to affect Filipinos. You can take simple measures to protect yourself and your loved ones against mosquito-borne diseases. If you’re traveling to an area with known mosquito-borne diseases, consult a physician for a vaccine to prevent diseases such as Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever or if you need to take antimalarial medicines. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants and use insect repellent. At home, use window and door screens, use bed nets and clean your surroundings weekly to destroy mosquito breeding sites.

11. Drink only safe water

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Drinking unsafe water can lead to water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. Check with your water concessionaire and water refilling station to ensure that the water you’re drinking is safe. In a setting where you are unsure of your water source, boil your water for at least one minute. This will destroy harmful organisms in the water. Let it cool naturally before drinking.

12. Wash your hands properly

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Hand hygiene is critical not only for health workers but for everyone. Clean hands can 

prevent the spread of infectious illnesses. You should hand wash using soap and water or handrub using an alcohol-based product.

World Malaria Day 2019: Zero Malaria starts with Me

World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 every year. 

World Malaria Day

The theme for this year's World Malaria Day is “Zero malaria starts with me”

Zero Malaria starts with me

World Malaria Day is a moment to reflect on the great harm malaria does. It is also a time for hope. Eliminating malaria is possible, it's no longer a dream. 

The theme for World Malaria Day 2019, “Zero malaria starts with me”, connotes this hope and emphasizes individual commitment, country ownership and community empowerment for malaria prevention and care.

What does “Zero malaria starts with me” mean for the people in affected countries? For governments, it means political and financial commitment. For members of communities including health workers and employers, it means new prioritization of malaria prevention and care. 

For individuals, it should translate into renewed efforts to become aware yourself, raise awareness among others, and be part of malaria control.

KEY MESSAGES
1. Keep your surroundings clean and free from stagnant water
2. Sleep under insecticide treated mosquito nets (LLINs)
3. Pregant women should go for antenatal care (ANC) visits regularly and sleep undet mosquito nets to reduce the risks of having malaria which is harmful to them and their fetus.

Mother and child sit under an insecticide-treated mosquito net in their home

All hands must be on deck to achieve "Zero Malaria"

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards prevention and control of Lassa Fever among health workers and residents in Asaba, Delta State.

Name of author(s) and institutions:
Dr. Mininim Oseji
Delta State Ministry of Health/Public Health Impact Research Centre

Dr. Irikefe Obiebi
Delta State University Teaching Hospital Oghara

Dr. Nosa Orhue
Federal Medical Centre, Asaba

Mr. Amos Esievoadje
Public Health Impact Research Centre

Mrs. Joy Mordi
Public Health Impact Research Centre

Dr. Darcy Asogun
Irrua Specialist and Teaching Hospital, Irrua

Mr. Joshua Ekpokpobe
Public Health Impact Research Centre

 
Background : Nigeria has experienced repeated outbreaks of Lassa Fever over the years, with cases reported in Asaba, Delta State as well. A number of measures to prevent and control the spread of Lassa Fever in Delta State have been carried out. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of health workers and residents in Asaba towards the prevention and control of Lassa Fever particularly after prevention and control measures had been instituted.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among health workers and residents in Asaba. Self-administered questionnaires was used as the instrument of the study.  All collected data were cleaned, sorted and entered into the spread sheet of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for analysis.

Results: A total of 400 completed questionnaires were retrieved with 63.5% of respondents being females and 36.5% males. 85.5% of respondents were aware that rats were the vectors of Lassa Fever, but only 10.3% knew that Ribavirin was the drug of choice for treatment of the condition.  64.3% of the study population indicated they bagged their waste at home, and 55.7% did that at work. 21.5% of the subjects claimed they had been bitten by a rat, while 76% said they soak and drink garri. 41.9% of health workers said they do not know what they should do if they came into contact with a suspected or confirmed case of Lassa Fever and only 19.3% said they used Personal Protective Equipment at work.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that practices of health workers and residents in Asaba puts many of them at high risk of contacting Lassa Fever.

Recommendation: Stricter enforcement of control measures on a long term  basis is required to achieve positive behaviour change with regards to prevention and control of Lassa Fever.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a  worldwide event that celebrates women’s achievements – from the political to the social- while calling for gender equality.
It was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.

As a Global Youth Ambassador at Theirworld, we have been focusing on the theme of #ChangeTheCulture of violence against women and girls.
In many countries girls and women continue to have to fight to receive an education in a safe space. Currently many women and girls face the threat of violence just trying to make their way to school, and this risk continues within the school environment, with the danger of abuse in a space that should be safe and enable young girls to learn and thrive.

There is also the issue of gender inequality. There should be equal opportunities for both men and women, boys and girls.
I will continue to maintain a gender parity mindset and celebrate women’s achievement.
#ChangeTheCulture
#pressforprogress

Joshua O. Ekpokpobe
Global Youth Ambassador

Hope Jeremiah Offor: Sexual & Reproductive Health Advocate

Today we shall be profiling an amazing young man from the World's most populous black nation; Nigeria.

His name is Hope Jeremiah Offor. Offor is a recent graduate of one of Nigeria's most prestigious Universities; The University of Benin, where he studied Medical laboratory Science with specialty in Histopathology and Cytopathological diagnosis where he graduated with a second class upper division.

Offor at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Accra

Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocate

This committed and driven young man is passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals particularly regarding the SDG 3 target 7 and SDG 5 target 6 that talks about increasing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, he strongly believe that prioritizing young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights is key in empowering African youths in achieving the demographic dividends.

Offor is an alumnus of the President Barrack Obama initiated/US government funded Young African Leaders Initiative training that took place at Accra, Ghana in 2017.

With fellow participants at Accra, Ghana

Out of an applicant pool of over 4,000 young Africans from 11 countries in West Africa this young leader made it among the selected few to attend the 5 weeks long leadership training for young Africans who have demonstrated leadership in their local communities. He was recently accepted into the 2018/2019 class of the Women Deliver Youth Leaders; a program of the World leading NGO fighting for Women rights, out of over 9,000 young leaders across 130 countries working to improve the lives of Women again Offor was selected among the very few into this class.

Offor identifies himself as a creative critical thinker where he is proficient at the evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomenon, and research findings and can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information and discriminate between useful and less useful details for solving a problem or making a decision. With this skillset he has been able to create and iterate some solutions for some SDG challenges in Nigeria as regarding young people sexual and reproductive health and rights.

We wish this amazing change maker further success in his quest.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia and/or injury to the female genital organs, whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons.

The practice is found in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within communities from countries in which FGM is common. UNICEF estimated in 2016 that 200 million women living today in 30 countries—27 African countries, Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan and Yemen—have undergone the procedures.
Typically carried out by a traditional circumciser using a blade, FGM is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. In half the countries for which national figures are available, most girls are cut before the age of five. Procedures differ according to the country or ethnic group. They include removal of the clitoral hood and clitoral glans; removal of the inner labia; and removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva. In this last procedure, known as infibulation, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid; the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth.
FGM is an unhealthy traditional practice inflicted on girls and women worldwide.

FGM is widely practiced in Nigeria, and with its large population, Nigeria has the highest absolute number of cases of FGM in the world, accounting for about one-quarter of the estimated 115–130 million circumcised women worldwide.

The practice is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control women's sexuality, and ideas about purity, modesty and beauty. It is usually initiated and carried out by women, who see it as a source of honour, and who fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion.

Health effects depend on the procedure. They can includem recurrent infections, difficulty urinating and passing menstrual flow, chronic pain, the development of cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding.

There have been international efforts since the 1970s to persuade practitioners to abandon FGM, and it has been outlawed or restricted in most of the countries in which it occurs, although the laws are poorly enforced. Since 2010 the United Nations has called upon healthcare providers to stop performing all forms of the procedure, including reinfibulation after childbirth and symbolic "nicking" of the clitoral hood. 

MY STAND
*FGM is a ritual cutting.
*FGM is unhealthy and it's practice is rooted in gender inequality.
*Health Talk Africa (HTA) totally condems the practice of FGM in Nigeria, Africa and in the world.
*Existing laws against the practice of FGM should be fully implemented.
*Healthcare providers should desist from carrying out the procedure.

Athlete's Foot: Symptoms, risk factors, prevention and treatment

By Pamela Ogujiuba

Reviewed by Keno Ekpokpobe

Athlete's foot (Tinea pedis) is a fungal infection that affects the upper layer of the skin of the foot, and usually becomes apparent between the toes.

Athlete's foot is caused by a fungus called trichophyton, a parasitic variety that feeds on keratin, a protein found in hair, nails and skin. Trichophyton thrives mostly in dark environments, such as in dead upper layers of skin between the toes of a sweaty foot inside a tight enclosed shoe, their spores are extremely difficult to eliminate and spread everywhere.

 

Athlete's foot forms because there is a presence of fungus and bacteria. When the conditions become right for the bacteria or fungus to grow, usually in moist, warm places like in your shoes that's when the infection sets in. Athlete's foot most usually causes burning, stinging, redness and itching, and in some cases causes flaking of skin.

SYMPTOMS

Athlete's foot presents with lots of different symptoms, but you won't get all of them. However, the longer you have athlete's foot, the worse the symptoms are likely to be.

If you have athlete's foot, you may have the following symptoms;

·         Itchy, scaly, red rash between your toes

·         Small red blisters (usually occurring in the soles of your feet or between your toes)

·         Dryness and scaling on the soles of the feet

·         Ulcers that leak fluid, smell bad and look red

·         Stinging or burning sensation between the toes

In very extreme cases;

·         The skin on the soles of your feet may get thick, and look leathery and red.

·          You may have raised bumps on your feet, these can be very itchy.

·         Discolored, thick and crumbly toenails. Nails may fall off.

·         Skin damaged by athlete's foot can become infected with bacteria. This can lead to cellulitis.

TYPES OF ATHLETE'S FOOT

Toeweb Infection:

This is also known as interstitial infection, and is the most common type. It occurs between the fingers or toes. It usually emanates on the skin between your fourth and fifth toes. In this case, the skin may be red, peeling or scaly, and the rash may give a foul smell or produce discharge. In extreme cases, the skin is a green color.

Moccasin Infection: It is called moccasin infection if the fungus covers the sole of your feet. Early stages present with sore, dry or slightly itchy feet and subsequently the affected skin thickens and cracks or peels. Toenails may get thick and brittle, sometimes the nail falls off.

Moccasin infection is usually seen in people with eczema and asthma.

Vesicular Infection: This begins with an outbreak of fluid filled with vesicles(blisters) under the foot. This is usually on the bottom of the foot, but sometimes can appear anywhere on the foot.

Ulcerative Infection: This type is unusual, but feet develops open sores or ulcers. This ulcers are predisposed to infection by bacteria. In addition to sores that may produce discharge, skin gets inflamed and discolored.

RISK FACTORS

1. Weakened immune system, either by the prolonged use of steroids, chemotherapy or HIV infection.

2. Wearing tight fitting covered toe shoes.

3. Sweaty feet, keeping your feet wet for a long period of time.

4. Walking bare foot in a public area, especially swimming pools, showers.

5. Skin or nail injury

6. Sharing items that have been in contact with the fungus.

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Athlete's foot can be treated with over the counter topical antifungal which includes miconazole, terbinafine, clotrimazole. However, prescription medications are necessary if over the counter medications don't treat the infection.

They include;

* Oral antifungal medications such as Fluconazole, itraconazole.

*Topical steroid medications to reduce painful inflammation.

*Oral antibiotics if bacterial infection develops due to raw skin and blisters.

Athlete's foot can however be prevented, and can be done in the following ways;

1. Wash your feet with soap and water regularly, especially between the toes.

2. Avoid sharing socks, shoes or towels

3. Clad your feet in public showers, swimming pools and in other public places.

4. Change your socks when feet get sweaty.

5. Air your shoes and give time to dry, moisture is a medium for the fungus to thrive.

6. Wear socks made out of synthetic fibers and materials such as cotton or wool.

Athlete’s foot is generally not a harmful disease, as no mortality and morbidity has been recorded. However, it causes serious discomfort and embarrassment and should be avoided.