I remember some time ago when I was on internship in a clinic, they had rushed in a man who was almost lifeless to the Emergency room. We feared he was dead as almost all the doctors did yield no result until we discovered his insulin level was very high.
Another time, while carrying out a series of tests for a patient, we
discovered he was diabetic but surprisingly he was oblivious of it. Likewise,
during one of the routine BP checks in the plant, we came across an employee
whose value was so high that we asked if he was hypertensive and on drugs, he
said yes but could not take it regularly, as the drugs were expensive; more
expensive than his life I guess.
I can keep going on and on. How many have lost their lives or
complicated their health conditions due to negligence or carelessness? How long
do we keep overlooking these little things that really matter?
When was the last time you walked into a hospital and asked to do
routine checks? How many know their BP, Sugar, Cholesterol, PCV (Packed Cell
Volume), and other vital values. This is because, in a traditional African
Nigerian community, it is unusual to see people go for routine check-ups unless
they become critically ill.
Most have become self-acclaimed doctors. It is disheartening to know
that these little things we feel are inconsequential are what we need to be
wary of to stay healthy.
It is no longer out of place to hear people slumping, dying, having
heart failures, and more when such people were presumed to be healthy before the
incident. It is high time we stop relating most of these happenings to the ‘so-called village people’ and start paying close attention to the aforementioned.
Absence of obvious symptoms does not connote 100% healthiness. I used to
think I had so much blood even to donate but my PCV result proved me wrong. So
was the time I stopped taking much sugar because I thought my body was
accumulating much until I saw my sugar test result and I had to increase my
sugar intake.
It is okay to presume some of
these things, but we also need to start ascertaining them through routine
medical check-ups.
In as much as going for check-ups is very important, it should not stop
there. It transcends to other things like having proper rest to relieve stress.
I am emphasizing on this because with the pandemonium and hullabaloo, we
experience always most especially in Nigeria today, it will not be out of place
to say most people are stressed out trying to make things work.
I do not have a problem with the later but I do have serious issues with
people overworking themselves to a breaking point. What if you exceed your
‘elastic limit’ and break out in the process, what would you have achieved in
the end? The formula should be; do your work, take a break, get some rest and
continue.
Other pertinent issues like drug abuse, self-medication, healthy diet,
exercise cannot be left out. I will not be writing much on them but there are
so many wrong preconceived notions already associated with them we need to get
right. Like the idea of exercising basically to lose weight, self-interpreting
symptoms, purchasing drugs in shops manned by untrained persons without
prescription and more.
I encourage all to start imbibing the culture of visiting the hospital
for routine checks rather than wait until we have no choice. You may appear
very healthy on the outside but will be dying inside without knowing.
What if I don’t have the money for these checks? Many will ask. What if
you lose your life while trying to save that money I would retort? Like the popular saying, ‘health is wealth’,
only a person who is ‘medically certified’ to be healthy will be fit to run
around.
Your health is paramount. Stop ignoring these little things that
matters. Walk into the nearest health centre today, carry out these tests and
know the values such that when it deviates from the norm, you can easily tell.
Do all you can within your limits to stay healthy.
By Eze Blessing Chinedu
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