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Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure or arterial hypertension, is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated   The disease is described by medical officers as a ‘silent killer’ because it usually does not cause symptoms initially, but sustained hypertension over time poses a major risk factor for conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, loss of vision and kidney failure.

Check your blood pressure regularly

A consultant nephrologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Dwomoah Adu, has underscored the need for regular checks of blood pressure, for people to know their blood pressure levels and also decrease the risk of developing complications associated with hypertension.

According to him, most people who have high blood pressure or hypertension do not show any symptoms until it gets to a serious state where there is heart and kidney failure or stroke.

Speaking at the launch of a fixed-dose combination therapy of irbesartan and amlodipine for the treatment of hypertension by Sanofi, a global health care provider, Dr Adu, who is a specialist in kidney care and treating diseases of the kidneys, said “we know that one-third of Ghanaian adults have high blood pressure, but there are no symptoms contrary to what people think, and, therefore, most people will not discover it until they come to the hospital with heart failure, kidney failure or a stroke.

•The four broken-down vehicles parked in front of the UWR NAS office.

Ambulance Service grinds to a halt in UWR

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) in the Upper West Region (UWR), which provides emergency medical services in the region, is gradually grinding to a halt. This is because four out of the nine vehicles operating in the various districts have broken down between June 2014 and October this year.

The affected areas are the Wa Municipality, Wa-East, Wa West and Nadowli districts.

In an interview, the Administrative Officer in charge of the NAS in the region, Mr Osumanu Mahmoud, said at the moment, the vehicles were operational in five districts  in the region. These are: Lawra, Nandom, Sissala East, Sissala West and Jirapa districts. The two newly created districts, Lambussie/Karni and Daffiama/Bussie/Issa do not have such facilities.

PROCESSED MEAT SUCH AS BACON HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE WHO'S DANGEROUS LIST

Doctor's Diary: Carnivores do not have a higher incidence of cancer than vegetarians

Last week’s decision by the World Health Organisation to ran Kham as major carcinogens is the more baffling for being so readily refutable. If correct then, by definition, carnivores would have a higher incidence of cancer than vegetarians – just as smokers compared to non-smokers. They do not. 

Some participants at the photo exhibition stand. Picture: NII MARTEY M. BOTCHWAY

MoH develops five year national strategy for cancer control

The Ministry of Health has developed a national strategy for cancer control to be implemented over the next five years.

The strategy will, among other things, help to prevent and control cancer cases in the country.

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, made this known in a speech read on her behalf at the relaunch of Reach for Recovery Ghana (RRG), a support and counselling group for women with cancers.

October every year is observed over the world as Pink October or breast cancer awareness month and this year’s theme was, “Education: Ending breast cancer forever”.

Lisfranc injuries occur as a result of direct or indirect forces to the foot. A direct force often involves something heavy falling on the foot. Indirect force commonly involves twisting the foot.

Lisfranc Injuries

The Lisfranc joint is the point at which the metatarsal bones (long bones that lead up to the toes) and the tarsal bones (bones in the arch) connect. The Lisfranc ligament is a tough band of tissue that joins two of these bones. This is important for maintaining proper alignment and strength of the joint.

How do lisfranc injuries Occur?
Injuries to the Lisfranc joint most commonly occur in automobile accident victims, military personnel, runners, horseback riders, football players and participants of other contact sports, or something as simple as missing a step on a staircase.

Lisfranc injuries occur as a result of direct or indirect forces to the foot. A direct force often involves something heavy falling on the foot. Indirect force commonly involves twisting the foot.

Physiotherapy management of sciatica

The physiotherapist examines or assesses the condition and confirms the diagnosis. He/she also identifies the cause of your sciatica and provides valuable advice to assist you to manage the condition. 

An individual with sciatica needs to undergo physiotherapy management in order to restore his/ her
• Muscle strength
• Range of motion of lower limbs
• Posture and flexibility
• Function in activities of daily life
• Muscle tension
When the physiotherapist makes a diagnosis of sciatica he/she puts together a useful programme to deal with it.

Personnel of Savana Waste Management Company spraying a public toilet

Mass spraying exercise begins in Northern Region to prevent cholera outbreak

Savana Waste Management Limited, a waste management company based in Tamale, has begun spraying the final waste disposal sites of all 26 districts in the Northern Region to prevent the breeding of flies, the main carriers of the cholera disease-causing bacteria.

The exercise is also targeted at places where flies have a high tendency to breed, including communal container sites and public toilets, to prevent the outbreak of cholera.

As part of the exercise to prevent an outbreak of cholera in the region, the company is also carrying out public education on the need for the general public to cultivate the habit of using toilets instead of engaging in open defecation.

So far, no scientific research has linked wearing of bra to development of breast cancer.

Does wearing bra cause cancer?

Mirror Doctor, I have been enjoying  your  very educative articles in  The Mirror and kudos. Recently, I have been hearing about world "No Bra Day " in commemoration of  breast cancer awareness month of October.

 Mr Evans Danso, a representative of the Ministry of Health, delivering a speech on behalf of the ministry

18 Midwifery IT tutors attend workshop

A six-member Intel Education Service Corp (IESC) team is in Ghana to support a week-long capacity building workshop for 18 Information Technology (IT) tutors of midwifery and community health training institutions across the country.

The IESC is an innovative skills-based volunteer programme that harnesses the passion of Intel employees to work with organisations in developing countries that patronise Intel technology.

IESC teams provide technical assistance on the installation and maintenance of such technologies, as well as train end-users on the effective usage.

Pinterest

Counsel women on family planning during antenatal, postnatal care visits

The Deputy Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), Ms Dannia Gayle, has advised health practitioners to make optimum use of both antenatal and postnatal care visits to counsel women on the need for family planning and also give them access to contraceptives.

She said since the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey of Ghana indicated that 78 per cent and over 70 per cent of Ghanaian women attend both antenatal and postnatal care clinics respectively, health practitioners need to educate these women on the various family planning methods and options.

Nurses who participated in the colposcopy course

Korle Bu Polyclinic gets cervical cancer screening equipment

Cervical cancer screening is expected to improve at the Korle Bu Polyclinic with the acquisition of colposcope equipment and training of colposcopists. The colposcope equipment provides an enlarged view of the cervix, allowing the colposcopist to visually distinguish normal from abnormal tissues.

Its main goal is to prevent cervical cancer by detecting pre-cancerous  lacerations early in order to treat them. The purchase of the portable equipment was facilitated by a Ghanaian based in the United Kingdom, Dr Theodora Pepera, a consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and colposcopist and funded by the International Organisation on Migration (IOM).

Some food items on display at the festival

Vegetarian Festival ends in Accra

The 10th annual vegetarian festival ended in Accra on Sunday, with a call on the public to eat more vegetarian diet to avoid contracting certain lifestyle diseases.

The President of VegGhana, Dr Kofi Asare, who made the call, said diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and most of the cancers were caused by the type of food people ate.

“The food you eat today will build your body tomorrow and the best solution to a healthy and stronger life is vegetarian diet,” he said.

WASH sector stakeholders at the conference.

Loan for toilets : Catalysing WASH: from Possible to Profitable

Naturally, the Whatsapp message I received got me curious and interested. What! There is now a loan for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in Ghana?

“Kudos EKN, SNV and Fidelity Bank. Now I can walk to any Fidelity Bank and take a loan to finance my septic tank, Veronica bucket, toilet, bath, litterbin, borehole etc. In fact any WASH at 10 per cent per annum,” the message stated.

The message came from the 26th edition of the longest running national conference on WASH in Ghana organised annually by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) and dubbed the ‘Mole Conference Series’ because it started at Mole, 170 km west of Tamale in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region.

And yes, the message I received as a member of a Whatsapp group was true, my confirmation came later.

Why blood is not always red

Imagine you cut yourself and see purple blood gush out . Now that will be the start of an alien invasion or another sign of the end times. If you are lucky to have the experience indoors, you will save yourself the ‘witch hunt’ from the public.

Jokes aside though and contrary to popular belief, do you know blood is not always red? That’s right. Don’t be alarmed if you came across green, blue and even purple blood.

Feeding the sickle cell child

Sickle-cell disease also known as sickle-cell anaemia (or drepanocytosis), is a genetic life-long blood disorder characterised by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, curved (sickle) shape.

 Normal haemoglobin is called haemoglobin A, but people with sickle cell disease have only haemoglobin S, which turns normal, round red blood cells into abnormally curved (sickle) shapes.

Haemoglobin is an iron containing protein that forms about 97 per cent of the red blood cells when dry. Haemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs or gills to the rest of the body (for example; the tissues) where it releases the oxygen for use by  the cells.

All you need to know about Sciatica

Sciatica (pain along the sciatic nerve) is not a condition, but  a symptom of other conditions. The sciatic nerve – a long nerve in the body- runs from your lower back into both legs and passes downwards into the back of your thigh.

 Sciatica is an umbrella term which pertains to the pain in the sciatic nerve, which is often felt on the back or side of the leg.

The individual may also experience an alteration in sensation for example numbness or tingling sensation in the affected leg.

Sciatica also refers to a collection of symptoms which results from the compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve. The nerve may be compressed due to damage to the backbone or the cushions in between each of the small bones of the spine.

A child being immunised at the function. Picture: EMMANUEL QUAYE.

Ghana close to eradicating poliomyelitis

Ghana is close to eradicating poliomyelitis which kills or cripples children for life, the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, has stated.

He said the country’s polio eradication interventions, including periodic nationwide polio immunisation and active surveillance activities have yielded positive results.

Since the outbreak of polio in 2008, no case of polio had been recorded in the country as of 2015.

Biomedical laboratory scientists to meet in Tamale

The Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) will converge on Tamale between October 29 and 31 this year to update and broaden their knowledge about new techniques of quality service delivery and best practices that impact positively on their operations.

The lectures will form part of the three-day congress that will offer opportunity for about 400 members of the association to be updated on their operations and look at the way forward.

Mr Alexander Ackon, Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection addressing participants in the conference. Picture: EDNA ADUSERWAA

Obstetric fistula patients undergo free surgery

A programme initiated by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) has helped 90 women from various parts of the country, suffering from obstetric fistula, to undergo free repair surgery since 2014.

With sponsorship from the Economic Community for West African States Gender Development Centre (EGDC), the patients went through the surgery in three health facilities, namely the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in Kumasi, Mercy’s Women Hospital at Mankessim and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra.

This was made known by the Deputy Minister of MGCSP, Mr John A. Ackon, at the third National Gender Conference in Accra.

Businesses urged to integrate blood donation into CSR activities

The Head of Transfusion and Medicine Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr Shirley Owusu-Ofori has appealed to organisations in the Ashanti Region to integrate regular blood donation and support for the unit into their corporate social responsibility programmes.

She explained that companies could organise periodic blood donation exercises and at the same time funding the activities of the unit to ensure that it had adequate blood to cater for all emergencies.

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