Healthy Living

Tick, tock says the brain, what you need to do, do “FAST”.

Published

3 years ago

September 2, 2017

Ovundah

Spread the love

By Ovundah Nyeche.

Strokes occur due to problems with the blood supply to the brain: either the blood supply is blocked or a blood vessel within the brain ruptures, causing brain tissue to die. A stroke is a medical emergency, and treatment must be sought as quickly as possible.

It is important that a stroke is diagnosed quickly, not just to reduce the damage done to the brain, but because some of the treatment for stroke is time dependent.

There are two main kinds of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic, both caused by different factors and requiring different forms of treatment.

Once anyone has a stroke, you need to act FAST, like it is said in medical parlance “Time is Brain, Brain is Time”. Most times people delay when their relatives have strokes, most send them to places that will not help them, many pray alone and forget prayer reaches any distance and faith without work is dead, most times many fail to realize the symptoms of stroke.

Okay let me bore you a bit with some facts.

* There are 200 billion neurones in the brain

* In a stroke 2 million neurones die per minute.

* The brain ages 3.6 years per hour of oxygen deficiency.

* 830 billion synapses or junction between 2 neurones are lost per hour (14 billion synapses /min).

* 714 km of myelinated fibres are lost per hour (12 km fibres / min)

You now know why I said initially, that time is brain and time is neurone.

Delay is dangerous, we will learn about basic symptoms in a moment.

FAST is an acronym used as a mnemonic to help detect and enhance the responsiveness a stroke victim needs.

F: Facial weakness, let’s say someone you know wakes up or suddenly develops weakness of their face, or bending of their mouth to one side, inability to smile, it may be a pointer that all is not well. It’s a pointer that you need to act fast.

A: Arm Weakness, let’s say suddenly there is weakness in the arm or leg of one side of the body or someone you know, heaviness of one part of the body, funny sensation on one side of the body, or abrupt inability to move the arm on leg or sudden inability to write, hold biro or sign signatures,it is a pointer that you may need to act fast. Also inability to walk suddenly or walking as though the person is staggering or having sudden reduced movement of one side of the body, or sudden inability to lift one arm or leg, you may need to rush to the hospital.

S: Speech difficulties, let’s say someone you were speaking with suddenly has slurred speech, the person can no longer speak clearly or pronounce clearly, you were speaking with someone and then you say Ndaa ( which in Ikwerre means how are you) and you expect to hear Orvuroma ( which means fine) and you hear meka ( which is thank you), you notice someone that could pronounce certain things is speaking as though a hot potato or food is in his or her mouth, someone can suddenly not swallow, cannot speak suddenly and is drooling saliva from the mouth, you may need to act fast.

T: Time; It is time to call for help and rush to the hospital, time is Brain. Time is of essence, every minute counts. In our setting 911 hardly works, but if you are confused and you stay in Rivers State you may need to know the numbers of the Rivers State Emergency Medical Services 112, 08033104730, 08079733265.

Time is brain, the brain clock ticking, act fast to limit the disabilities from stroke.

However, prevention is better than cure.

The best way to prevent a stroke is to address the underlying causes. This is best done by living healthily, which means:

Eating a healthy diet
Maintaining a healthy weight
Exercise regularly
Not smoking
Avoiding alcohol or moderating consumption.

Eating a healthy diet means getting plenty of fruits, vegetables and healthy whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes; eating little or no red or processed meat; limiting intake of cholesterol and saturated fat (typically found in foods of animal origin); and minimizing salt intake so as to support healthy blood pressure.

Other measures taken to help reduce the risk of stroke include:

Keeping blood pressure under control.
Managing diabetes well.

As well as these lifestyle changes, see your doctor to assess your risk for a stroke and reduce it by prescribing anti-stroke medications.

Healthy Living

Dealing with stress in the face of a pandemic.

Published

1 month ago

April 17, 2020

Ovundah

Spread the love

Ovundah Nyeche

A few days ago, during a Zoom meeting, I mentioned that; ‘we are not just dealing with a pandemic, but also an infodemic’, which is an excessive amount of information concerning a problem such that the solution is made more difficult. Little was known about COVID-19, 5 months ago, but right now it is in the lips, ears and minds of a lot of people worldwide. Considering the amount of updates, especially fake news, with the level of uncertainty, with the level of loss of control, with dwindling fortunes in many quarters… Fear and anxiety is at an all-time high.

This is the period when having a cough, fever, catarrh or difficulty in breathing can increase the worry hormones. This is also a period where a lot of people are worried about their own health and the health of their loved ones especially those that are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

And to keep up to speed with the news, a lot of people are having issues with their sleep and having changes in their eating patterns. Many are having issues with concentrating, as bad news hits left, right and center. Worsening chronic health problems stare us at the face. There is also worsening of mental health conditions and increased use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs this period, as people find ways to deal with stress and fear.

So how do you cope with stress…

*Get news only from verified sources, trust me ‘e get why’. That ‘salt and pepper’ that brings out the dopamine in you, may not be good for your health. Professionals report having your health in mind, while many sources report with sensationalism and the overwhelming need to get more clicks at the back of their mind. Also it is important you get the right information, so that you may be properly equiped.

* Take breaks from watching reading or listening to news stories, including social media, it will do you a great good.

* Take care of your body needs by eating healthy; a nutritious diet will do you a whole lot of good. You will also need to exercise regularly; you can tailor-make the exercises you do, so as not to break the physical distancing rule. Get adequate sleep; sleeping well does not in any way connote laziness, a good refreshed sleep is very important. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and drugs this period.

* This is also a time to meditate, pray, listen to wholesome/soul lifting messages, it will do you a whole lot of good.

* Learn something new this period, the fact that it looks as though things are on hold, does not in any way mean your life should be on hold. You can learn something new, but come on, it doesn’t have to be a competition.

* Give back to society in your own capacity, you may think your effort will be considered too small, but you can be a voice for someone or something this period, you can be a reason someone says thank you and wishes to live one more day.

* Do something you enjoy this period, of course something that would not put your health at risk or expose others to harm.

* Connect with others. As you know Physical distancing does not mean you should cut off from people, call your parents, call friends on phone, ask people how they are doing, care about others, and be willing to respond to other people’s need, it will also not be a sacrilege to receive help from other people. No one is a superman or superwoman. Find out how others are doing, and do not be embarrassed if people ask you how you are doing.

* Play your part to stop the spread of fake news, be careful what you share, if you are not sure and it is malicious, you may as well not share even if it sounds so sweet. Never allow fake news and rumors spread in your hands.

* We should also play our part to reduce stigma and stigmatization of people during this period.

Do have a great day ahead, we will overcome this. Let’s play our part to flatten the curve, it is in our hands.

Credits: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html

+12

Healthy Living

Separating Myths from Facts #1 #COVID19

Published

3 months ago

March 17, 2020

Ovundah

Spread the love

By Ovundah Nyeche

Bleach is a very effective fluid for cleaning surfaces and it can kill germs, including coronavirus on surfaces.

Alcohol can also kill coronavirus on surfaces and alcohol based sanitizers (at least 60 percent) are useful for cleaning your hands.

Emmmm

This does not mean you should bathe with alcohol, bleach, rub it on your body or gargle with alcohol and or bleach.

Alcohol or bleach will not kill germs in your body and can cause you harm.

Say you use water and detergent wash motor well well, no mean say you go pour am inside your fuel tank.

Say engine oil good for motor, no mean say you go pour am for motor body or fuel tank.

Please get information from the right channels like @WHO @Fmohnigeria @NCDCgov @LSMOH…

Credits: WHO, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/coronavirus-myths-explored

#hearword #OvdSpeaks #hearwordseries

Healthy Living

World Suicide Prevention Day 2019.

Published

9 months ago

September 10, 2019

Ovundah

Spread the love

Every 10th of September the World Health Organization in collaboration with the International Association of Suicide Prevention celebrates the World Suicide Prevention Day.

This year just like last year the theme is ‘Working Together to Prevent Suicide’.

Every year about 800,000 lose their lives by suicide and this amounts to a death by suicide every 40 seconds.

25 more people attempt suicides and many more have suicidal ideations.

Of those aged 15 – 29 years, suicide accounts for the second leading cause death, topped only by Road traffic accidents.

Suicide is a public health concern and any one can be affected, and it is very preventable.

Unfortunately suicide does not end the pain but passes it to family members, friends, colleagues and others.

Last Saturday, RivEthics an initiative of the first lady of Rivers State Justice Mrs Suzzette Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, did a suicide awareness/ prevention campaign on radio and yours truly was the guest.