DRUG: The two edged sword

"Mum, I'm hot, I feel so sick, and this headache won't let me be," Debby told her mum. "Go get two pills of paracetamol from my bag in my room. That would do just fine," her mum replied, busy cooking dinner. "But mum, I've been taking that for a while now." "Oh! That reminds me. Call your sister, she'll go get you Artesunate." "Again? I finished a whole pack last month." "Debby, don't stress life out of me. If Malaria has forgotten you took drugs last month, let's remind it. Just go get your sister." "Mum, you called me," Mercy said, frowning in obvious discomfort. "What's wrong with you?" "Menstrual cramps as usual. It's like Felvin and Ibuprofen aren't even working anymore. I had to combine them with Buscopan, yet the pain keeps coming back after a while," Mercy said, disappointment displayed on her face. "Sorry my dear. Take the #500 on the table and go to the chemist up street. Get Artesunate and Novalgin for you and your sister. Don't forget to add paracetamol when you return."
All Mercy and Debby wanted was to get rid of their symptoms, and to their ignorant mother, she was only trying to help her daughters out. Few weeks later, Debby died from perforated typhoid, as opposed to the malaria her mum consistently treated her for. Mercy became dependent on drugs and sustained damages to her liver from drug misuse.
Of a truth, drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being", but drugs can also cause tremendous damages to the body. Thus, it's a two edged sword. Deriving maximum benefits from it depends on careful use of it. As drugs can reduce nasty symptoms, they can also induce them.
Drug misuse is the improper use of prescribed or non-prescribed medications for purely therapeutic gains.
It includes
A person who takes more or less than what is prescribed by his/her doctor.
A person who buys drug on the street or receives it from a friend or relative, and is using it without prescription of a qualified medical practitioner.
A person who takes drugs and engages in activities that he/she has been advised against by the prescriber e.g taking heavy medications that can alter consciousness and driving or operating machines, against prescriber's advice.
Effects of improper use of drug include:
Physical and psychological dependence i.e the individual cannot do without the drug.
Damage to internal organs e.g liver damage from excessive use of paracetamol, kidney failure e.t.c
Drug tolerance or resistance
Tips to note about drug use:-
Don't use drugs without prescription by a certified medical practitioner
Strictly obey prescription order
Don't stop taking the drug immediately symptoms are relieved. Inform prescriber before discontinuation of drugs.
Make drug use your last resort e.g hot water bottle, exercise, good diet and rest can relieve menstrual cramps. Good rest &sleep can relieve stress headaches.
Parents should care, but should not become their children's doctor.
Don't self diagnose or self medicate, not every fever and tiredness result from malaria. Consult your health care provider.
To prevent the two edged sword from it's destructive ability, it's imperative to avoid it's misuse. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF CRASH HELMET USE IN THE PREVENTION OF HEAD INJURY AMONG MOTORCYCLISTS IN IFE CENTRAL

ABSTRACT

Motorcycle accidents occur frequently because of interface between the agent, the host and its environment, resulting in fatal consequences. Motorcycle riders have a 34 times risk of death than the drivers of other types of vehicles and eight times more likely to be injured. The non-use of helmet is a specific factor leading to head injuries ensuing from motorcycle crashes. This study aims at discovering the knowledge, attitude, and practices of crash helmet use in the prevention of head injury among motorcyclists in Ife central local government.

The study was a descriptive non-experimental design that utilized random sampling technique to get seventy-five respondents at the randomly selected commercial motorcycle parking points. Self-designed questionnaires utilizing descriptive statistical method were used. Data was analyzed using statistical product for services solution version 16.0.

All the respondents were males, with the majority (34.7%) having had tertiary education. Of the total respondents, 89.3% had good knowledge of crash helmet use. The proportion of motorcyclists, who reported to wear helmet was 88%. However, more than half of them (46.6%) reported to not wear helmet consistently. In addition, 58.7% had a positive attitude to crash helmet use. It is worthy of note that those who agreed regarding the protective ability of helmet against head injury were more likely to wear helmet than those who disagreed.

Based on the findings, commercial motorcyclists in Ife central local government generally have positive attitude towards helmet use, and a positive attitude towards protective ability of helmet against head injuries. High proportions of commercial motorcyclists have adequate knowledge of crash helmet use. In spite of this noteworthy information, the inconsistent use of helmet was evident, whereby majority of commercial motorcyclists wear helmet only on weekdays, or when anticipating meeting a police officer. This may be partially explained by either somewhat weak legal enforcement on helmet use, which may be due to more often unavailability of traffic police in the small roads and rural areas. In view of the results, there is a need to strengthen legal enforcement of helmet wearing and ensuring the availability and accessibility of quality helmet to the majority of commercial motorcyclists. Crash helmets of high quality with improved design to enhance users’ comfort should be made available to the majority, at affordable prices, and continuous organization of programs in which health professionals are able to act as agents involved in educating people with regard to risk prevention behaviours when riding a motorbike is recommended.

ANGER and your HEALTH

Martha had heard many times from ministers of God that anger should be avoided, and even in impossible cases, one should not sin but rather do away with it rapidly. She thought, "well, my feelings are none of your business, old men, you can't turn me into a dummy please. I guess you don't know how people can so much get on one's nerve. Anger is just an expression." Martha was easily irritated, always raging and wouldn't keep her emotions controlled. "People can be so annoying, foolish holiness my foot," her favourite statement was. Few years after, Martha came down with stroke, with half of her body paralysed.

                Anger is experienced in the body as well as in the mind. Emotions begin inside two almond-shaped structures in our brains, called the amygdala, which gets us reacting before the cortex (brain part responsible for thought and judgment) is able to check on the reasonableness of our reaction. As you become angry, your muscles tense, neurotransmitter known as catecholamines are released in the brain, blood pressure rises, and rate of breathing increases. Subsequently, additional neurotransmitters and hormones (including adrenaline and noradrenaline) are released, which trigger a lasting state of arousal.

                The adrenaline-caused arousal that occurs during anger lasts a very long time (many hours, sometimes days). Although, we do calm down, it takes a very long time for us to return to our resting state.

Effects of anger include:

•   Headache
•  Insomnia 
•  Digestion problems, e.g abdominal pain, indigestion
• Increased anxiety
•  Depression
•   Memory problems 
•  High blood pressure
•  Skin problems, such as eczema
•  Heart attack
•  Stroke.

Of course, there are many frustrating situations out there, but you can...

•  Be cautious, don't allow every little thing bother you.
• Take deep breaths when angered.
• Leave the environment or source of anger briefly.
• Exercise or meditate.
• Make positive statements e.g I can handle this, this can't upset my mood, I am a stable person.
• Express yourself, rather than bottle up anger, but be assertive and not aggressive in doing this.
• Let go of things beyond your control. (Let go and let God)

Don't be like Martha, take charge of your emotions today. Anger, as it is, can be very destructive to health.

FASTING AND HEALTH... What you need to know.

    The art of fasting is an ancient tradition practiced for thousands of years for curing illness of all kinds, rejuvenation, clarity and decision making, cleansing and strengthening.

Fasting as it is, means different things to different people. For others, it may mean giving up a favorite food for a period of time or not eating food at certain times of the day or year out of respect for various religious holidays.

Some people even termed fasting as a period of dropping old habits, being sober or leaving one's luxurious way of life to humble oneself, as seen among the Israelites, who wear sacks and sit in ashes during fasting.

Fasting involves abstinence from food and/or drinks for a specified period of time.

Strictly speaking, it is the voluntary absence of food and or drink.
While the idea of missing one meal might put most people in misery, fasting does have many benefits for the body.

Health benefit of fasting  
Have you noticed that when you’re sick, your appetite diminishes? Similarly, when animals are ill, they lie down and often don’t eat or drink. Energy goes towards healing our bodies instead of digesting food.
Our digestive system is very busy and hard-working, which requires high amounts of energy; in fact, the digestive system can even drain energy needed for healing, repair and general maintenance of the body. Therefore, it makes sense to give it a vacation once in awhile.
Have you noticed that when you eat a whole lot if carbohydrate or heavy foods such as pounded yam, Eba, yam and beans e.t..c, you feel sleepy afterwards? This is because a whole lot of blood is redirected to the digestive system to supply and also absorb nutrients, thus cutting other organs', including the brain, blood supply and hence dizziness or sleepiness.

Fasting also allows for the body’s enzyme system to focus on detoxifying and breaking down toxins in the body quickly and efficiently without the job of heavy food digestion. During fasts, toxins are being circulated in the body in order for our organs to de-arm (neutralize) them. Therefore, it’s not always wise to detoxify quickly because a flood of toxins being released at once can cause serious distress to the body that can do more harm than good.

During a fast, the body is starved. When the body is starved of food, it starts to burn fat so that it can make energy. This can lead to weight loss. This is an added advantage as it helps to maintain an healthy weight. However, if you fast for too long your body will eventually start breaking down muscle protein for energy, which is unhealthy. Fasting thus should not be embarked on with the thought of it being an opportunity to lose weight, though it has physical benefits as well.

The use of fat for energy helps weight loss. It preserves the muscles,  reduces your cholesterol level, helps in better control of diabetes and reduces blood pressure.

Endorphins are substances produced in the body. They are hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and which have a number of physiological functions including analgesic effect. These endorphins increases in the blood after a few days of fast, making you more alert and giving you an overall feeling of general well being.

Effective fasting/Healthy fasting.
As you fast for religious or personal reasons, it is always good to keep your health in check. As much as fasting can improve  your health, cut cancer rusk by detoxifying toxins and reduce/prevent heart disease; it can also lead to terrible side effects.
when your fast is not effective, perhaps you fast for too long a time, your body may burn too much fat which may cause the blood to be acidic due to increased ketone (byproduct of fat breakdown) in the blood, and this may lead to severe diseases such as ketoacidosis which may in turn cause bad breadth, fatigue and other unpleasant symptoms. Long-term, it can lead to kidney and liver damage.
Thus, it is imperative to note the following points:-
° Don't fast with the aim of losing weight.
°Eat a lot of fruit and adequate diet when you want to break your fast (balanced diet is very vital in maintaining health).
°Drink plenty of water.
°Do not over exhaust yourself when fasting..
°See a holistic nutritionist if you have any health condition and you want to fast.
°Listen to your body, this doesn't mean you should fall for desire for food of the body. But, be sensitive enough to know your peak point to avoid exhaustion.
°Don't imitate or compare yourself another person, there's always a difference between two people.

Fasting is a message to your body that you’re embarking on a new beginning, flushing out the old and bringing in the new. Fasting is the perfect way to introduce new healthy habits and foods into your life. It can give you that jump-start, boost clarity, and clear your body toward shifting things in a positive direction.