Encomium
Doctors have spoken elaborately on several diseases killing most Nigerians today. ENCOMIUM Weekly brings you their views…
‘Malnutrition kills faster than you think’ -BANKOLE OLADAPO
Talking about diseases killing Nigerians, there are lot of them in this country. Many of the diseases are caused by keeping a dirty environment, which has become a habit to many Nigerians. First, malaria fever. This one of the infections that have succeeded in killing many Nigerians. Malaria is caused by plasmodium SPP with anopheles mosquitoes as the vector. Although there have been several measures to curb malaria, the disease has continued to ravage the lives of many. People living in an unhealthy environment have a higher risk of contacting malaria. The only way out is for us to keep a very healthy and clean environment.
Another is malnutrition. That may sound so untrue or impossible, but malnutrition and its complications also add to the list of diseases killing Nigerians daily. Malnutrition is the reduction of intake, poor absorption or utilization of nutrients (macro and micro) for the optimal functioning of human body. Thus, this can lead to heart failure, iron deficiency anemia, loss of tissue and organ functions. All these, ultimately lead to death. The prevention is to eat healthy, consume things that will give your body a bossom benefit, consult a nutritionists if you don’t know how to go about it.
There are a lot more diseases killing Nigerians. We can’t discuss them all now, let’s just keep a clean environment and eat healthy to prevent diseases.
‘Typhoid fever is a fast killer’ -CURTIS OGUAMALLAM
Here in Nigeria, we are at risk of many diseases. There are a lot of diseases killing us every day. For instance, pneumonia. This is a lower respiratory tract infection of bacterial origin. It causes the lungs to solidify leading to chest pain, difficulty in breathing and inability of the lungs to provide oxygen for the tissues and cells of the body. It can be treated with antibiotics. So also typhoid fever, it is a fast killer which is caused by bacteria that we take into our body system either when we drink water or eat food. It can also be treated with antibiotics.
‘Malaria is everywhere’ -ADEKUNLE
I can’t speak for the generality of Nigerians. There are some diseases that are prevalent in some parts of the country which are contained in some other parts. For instance, there are some diseases which are prevalent in the North but are curtailed here in the West. The only disease that I know that has brought the nation together is malaria, it’s everywhere. Infectious diseases too are common among old and young. Cases of infections are rampant.
How to avoid them?
The only way to avoid all these is to embrace and maintain a good hygiene culture, like hand washing culture the nation is promoting now. We should maintain good hygiene in our environments.
‘Visit good doctors, not quack nurses’ -HASSAN
We have several diseases killing Nigerians today. The master of them all is carelessness. Malaria is very common amongst us and so is typhoid. Among grownups, we have several sexually transmitted infections which can be very harmful to the system and can also kill if not taken care of. We have fibroid, heart related diseases, kidney diseases and so on.
How to avoid them?
The only way to go about all these diseases is for Nigerians to be very careful. They should report all cases to their doctors, and not quack nurses that we have around. They should also take their medications as prescribed.
‘Self medicationis wrong’ -AYO-OREGUN
Let me start from the children. The diseases that kill them mostly are malaria. Then, for adults, typhoid, gonorrhea, etc. And the reason why they kill them is that most patients will be doing self medication. For the adult, it’s HIV AIDS, cancer, hypertension, fibroid, etc. But these diseases kill because they are not taking care of them, like coming to the hospital, taking their drugs regularly.
How to avoid them?
Like I said, coming to the hospital regularly and taking their drugs as prescribed is very important.
‘Carelessness can lead to death’ -AYOBAMI
The disease that I have been working on and kills most Nigerians, both adults and children, is typhoid. It is people’s carelessness that lets this disease kill them, while some people do self medication.
How to avoid them?
First, to avoid it, keep a clean environment. And if they discover anything strange in their body, they should come to the hospital and stop self medication.
