Health Essentials
End inequalities; end AIDS – Every life matters
COVID-19 seems to be at the receiving end of every missed target, it is the first name to pop up when countries even face mismanagement of their economies through incompetence or sheer greed. I do agree COVID-19 did and continues to disrupt many aspects of our lives BUT should we continue to blame it for everything? I do not know the answer, but we all need to start asking more questions.
Long before COVID-19 made its unwelcome entry onto mother Earth, healthcare in general including HIV/AIDS failed to effectively reach those who were most vulnerable. 2020 and 2021 seem to have even made many more people worse off. The theme for this year’s WORLD AIDS DAY sums it all up – END INEQUALITIES. END AIDS; “with a special focus on reaching people left behind, WHO and its partners are highlighting the growing inequalities in access to essential HIV services.” – WHO.
COVID-19, reminds us daily of the benefits of a robust immune system and that makes it even more important to know our status, use the appropriate modes of prevention of infection and access to appropriate services to manage our condition if we have the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to avoid a situation where our immune system breaks down completely.
Key facts on HIV/AIDS
1. HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 35 million lives so far.
2. In 2020; 680,000 people died from HIV-related causes globally.
3. There were approximately 38 million (37,700,000) people living with HIV at the end of 2020 with 1.5 million people becoming newly-infected in 2020 globally.
4. Africa is the most affected region, with 25.7 million people living with HIV in 2017.
5. African also accounts for over two thirds of the global total of new HIV infections.
6. Key populations often have legal and social issues related to their behaviour that increase vulnerability to HIV and reduce access to testing and treatment programmes.
Ghana’s Estimates in 2019
1. Number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) – 342,307 and the majority of these are females
2. Estimated number of New HIV infections – 20,068
3. Estimated number of AIDS-Related Deaths – 13,618
It is worth refreshing our memory with some facts. Let us neither judge nor stigmatise persons living with HIV because it does not in any way reflect the person’s morals or character. Stigmatisation only leads to people “shying” away from help and may even play a role in spreading HIV. Let us all work together to end this epidemic; governments, businesses and individuals all have roles to play.
In general direct contact with certain fluids from people with a “detectable viral load” puts us at risk and these include; blood, semen, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid and breast milk.
These do not spread HIV:
1. Hugging an infected person
2. Cough or Sneeze of an infected person
3. from tears, sweat, vomit or urine
4. Sharing a toilet seat or water fountain
5. Drinking from same glass or eating from same plate
6. Eating food prepared by someone with HIV
7. Mosquito or other insect bites
8. In general kissing may only spread if both person with HIV and the one without have bleeding gums and or cuts in the mouth*
Known paths to HIV transmission:
1. Unprotected vaginal and anal sex. Oral sex is possible but not as common as the previous two.
2. Sharing of needles
3. Tattooing and piercing may also have a level of risk though not common
4. When you touch an open wound of someone with HIV and you have a cut yourself
5. From mother to baby during child birth (when appropriate precautions not taken) or through breast milk
6. Blood transfusion is an extremely rare path with current screening methods of donated blood*
7. Having an untreated sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as gonorrhoea can increase one’s risk.
It is also worth knowing that the use of alcohol and other “recreational” drugs may impair one’s judgement and increase one’s risk of contracting HIV through unprotected sex.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ St Andrews Clinic/Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise.
Thought for the week –“In Ghana December is THE VACCINATION MONTH FOR COVID-19. Do whatever it takes to get vaccinated. You protect yourself and others and also help to reduce transmission and the formation of more variants. GET VACCINATED NOW!”
References:
- Ghana AIDS Commission
- World Health Organisation (WHO)
By Dr. Kojo Cabba Essel
Health Essentials
Do you want to be happy?
Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the Golden Fleece eludes the majority of us.
Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make us happy and healthy and eventually wealthy.
I will introduce a few everyday activities that are guaranteed to make you happy if you continue practising them.
You definitely do not need to live in Finland to experience happiness even though many people agree that is the “headquarters” of happiness.
1. Wake-Up Ritual
a. Say to yourself that today will be a beautiful day or a great day!
b. Ask God what He has in store for you. Use me Lord (if not a Christian what you believe in will be useful as well.
c. Remind yourself of your purpose in life and get out of bed.
d. Do Not grab your phone as the first thing for the day.
2. Pray
a. Talking to God has a way of calming our nerves. It brings about unexplained peace and when we add praise and worship then the floodgates open. That is how to win battles against unhappiness.
3. Smile
a. Definitely floods your body with feel good hormones and insulates you from stress.
b. Smiling is infectious so the more you smile the better and you set off a smiling OR happiness domino effect.
4. Meditate
a. Extremely good for your brain and an easy way to start is to do deep-breathing and just focus on your “breath” excluding all others. That is what some will prefer to call mindfulness. Being in the moment has immense benefits. Things you never knew existed suddenly spring up.
5. Exercise
a. That wonder drug that trumps virtually all others. Like smiling it does pour out feel good hormones. Strength training even goes an extra mile causing our muscles to act as “pharmacies” that pour out life-changing signals every time they contract.
6. Be kind to yourself & to others
a. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Give yourself a break. Self-care is the real deal!!
b. Being harsh to others has no benefits.
7. Spend some time doing nothing!
a. We need to re-set from time to time. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing. There is happiness and innovation in “idling”. Do not abuse idling though.
8. Spend time with loved ones.
a. This is another powerful happiness “hack”. You have to make time and be intentional about this; talk on phone, send messages, arrange to meet for a drink or meal. Social Wellness ranks very high on the happiness index and it’s fairly easy to plug into it.
b. While spending time together remember that your choice of food and drinks also impacts on how happy or sad or anxious you may feel.
9. Indulge in a hobby.
a. Our bodies and brain love variety. Do you have a hobby? Get one
10. Write in your gratitude diary.
a. That is all it takes – keep doing it regularly.
11. Get a pet.
This list is not exhaustive but definitely a good start. Share your happiness hacks with me via email and together we can keep the world smiling and happy.
At the end of each day ask yourself if you did better than the previous day. That is all it takes. Doing better than the previous day for 365 days, for 5 years, 10 years… How amazing that will be!!!
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer
May 17 is World Hypertension Day and please do not panic. This is not a stress-filled day that aims at increasing your blood pressure but rather it’s a day set aside to increase awareness of a serial yet silent killer. That is exactly what Hypertension it; its killing the young and old at an alarming rate yet in most instances people with high blood pressure may feel absolutely well.
The theme for this year is “Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer”
Do these when you take your blood pressure since the accuracy of the reading matters:
• If you have been walking or running rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes
• No caffeinated drinks or alcohol two or three hours before checking blood pressure
• Sit (sometime you may need to stand or lay in bed) comfortably with your back rested/supported and your arm for the cuff resting on a table of firm surface
• Have your feet flat on the floor and not legs crossed
• Ensure the cuff is the right size for your arm
• If using an electronic monitor ensure battery is working well
• If clothing covering arm is thick remove
• Loosen your neck-tie or belt if uncomfortable
• If you are not conversant with checking blood pressure, get the appropriate training
Global statistics show that only 50 per cent of those with hypertension are actually aware and that awareness in some areas may be as low as 10 per cent while awareness may exceed 75 per cent in a few areas.
The bitter truth is some people do not have enough information about the condition, a significant number do not have easy access to measuring their blood pressure and a few stubborn ones think it is better not to know if something is going wrong.
What do we need to understand about our blood pressure numbers? There are ALWAYS two numbers in a blood pressure reading such as 120/80mmHg. The top figure represents the force of the blood against the artery (blood vessel) walls as your heart beats and the lower value represents the force on the walls in between beats or while the heart rests. Both numbers are important.
Essentially when your blood pressure is higher than it should normally be all organs in the body are exposed to elevated pressures since arteries supply blood to every part of the body. These sustained high pressures will be causing harm gradually every minute of the day.
Prevention of high blood pressure is based mainly on adopting the appropriate lifestyle, while having regular medical check-ups to pick up conditions that can may lead to hypertension if not tackled early. Management of hypertension on the other hand requires a three-pronged attack in most situations;
• Lifestyle modifications
• Regular medical checks to pick up other conditions that be worsen our hypertension or general wellbeing
• Use of appropriate physician prescribed medication
Age and our genes may have a way of increasing our blood pressure or predisposing us to hypertension, but since we have no control over the choice of our family and years rolling by, it may be worth focusing on the above three that we can control to a large extent.
Lifestyle Modification
• Exercise adequately
• Do not smoke
• Limit or avoid alcohol
• Aim at fat (weight) loss
• Manage stress appropriately
• If you have sleep apnoea (intermittent snoring during sleep and feeling tired and sleepy on waking up) seek medical intervention
• Adopt the DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet; low sodium (salt), increased potassium from fruits and vegetables, low or no saturated fats and increased fibre.
• Control conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol challenges and kidney disease.
Exercise need not be rushing to the gym to sweat out only, but taking walks, gardening, cleaning your home, using the stairs and many others. Exercise increases heart function and lowers blood pressure but there is a little hitch: the benefits of exercise on blood pressure do not last beyond 72 hours.
In short frequency is the watch word. Do not be a once a week or once a month exercise fan. The effect of exercise on the heart does not rely on past glory so if you were an athlete years ago but you have now become one with your sofa, I am sorry to disappoint you but you need to get moving NOW!
All types of exercises will benefit you and lower your blood pressure but a word of caution here;
• When your blood pressure is not controlled DO NOT lift weights above your head
• Do not overdo exercises of the upper body but lower body exercises such s squatting will enhance lowering of your blood pressure.
• Breathe properly especially while you train with weights; breathe out during the exertion phase as you lift a weight and breathe in while you relax.
• Of course brisk walking, swimming, use of the treadmill and other exercises that target heart function are also a must
When all is said and done, you can never know our blood pressure without measuring or checking it. Take a few minutes to check your blood pressure and ensure at least one other person checks their blood pressure before the end of the month.
Associations, companies and all identifiable groups should ensure they check their blood pressure and go an extra mile and as a corporate social responsibility help to check the blood pressure of hundreds or even thousands of people. You will be saving lives.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
