
These nurses are our angels right here on earth; let’s treat them that way, each of us doing the little we can to help them help us live easier lives.
These nurses are our angels right here on earth; let’s treat them that way, each of us doing the little we can to help them help us live easier lives.
THIS Zika virus is pissing me off quite a lot.
Earlier today you must have seen this map:
Please share it with anyone and everyone in THE WORLD so that they begin to understand that this continent is not one big tent under which lives this big, close-knit family called Africans.
And kindly go over to people like the professionals who run kidshealth.org and make them replace their entire philosophy with this map.
This evening, while checking on a couple of ideas I had in the middle of handling my four-year old’s feverish cough (NO – she does NOT have Ebola!), I landed on this page (http://kidshealth.org/kid/) and was surprised to see the section titled ‘Ebola’.
Do you see what they are doing there? This is a website that communicates DIRECTLY to children, with a clear focus on the ones in the United States of America, and their idea of Ebola has it linked to the continent of Africa in our white entirety.
Don’t think, by the way, that the purveyors of this website information are so stupid that they show you a picture of the full human body to depict a headache:
They understand the idea that the body is made up of different parts, and, presumably, that an ache in the head is called headache and so on and so forth. The idea that the continent of Africa does not have Ebola across the entire landmass, therefore, should be easy for them.
Luckily, on one level, this is not the type of page that a medical researcher will visit for information on Ebola, judging from entries such as:
But the children who read this, I fear, will be traumatised for life with the thought that these “many people in Africa” are sick.
And one cannot therefore fully blame American children or their ignorant parents for all manner of silly reactions such as:
1. The teacher who had to resign her job because she had returned from a visit to Kenya and parents of her school in Lousville, I-Can’t-Be-Bothered-To-Find-Out-Which-State – which is probably closer to the Ebola case in the United States than Kenya is to any case of Ebola in West Africa this year. (http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/education/2014/11/03/louisville-catholic-teacher-resigns-amidst-ebola-fears/18417299/)
2. The two children from Senegal who were beaten and shouted at for being African and therefore probably having Ebola. (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/28/us/ebola—-school-beatings/)
And many other stories besides.
Isn’t there a high possibility that these students and their parents had sought some high quality information from the likes of http://kidshealth.org/kid/?
You see, their editorial policy…actually, read it yourself:
“rigorous”
“extensive review”
“by medical professionals”
Okay, they don’t know geography or communication, obviously, and need help in that field – thus the need for them to refer to the map above.
Showing them the map above would help them in their ’18-step process’ that has hitherto failed to notice that the VAST MAJORITY OF THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA DOES NOT HAVE EBOLA.
I’ve done my bit, and gone to their ‘Contact Us’ page where, politely, I have suggested: “You should not spread the stereotypical error that Ebola is linked to the entire continent of Africa, as the map you have presented for the disease indicates. Be clear in your communication so that the children of the United States of America don’t grow up associating everyone from Africa with this disease. You might also wish to mention that some people in the United States and also Europe have contracted Ebola…”
I know that on its own this is a weak blow.
So, please, join me, go over and submit your own suggestion?
Please?!
Help the American child to NOT be mis-educated so?
This week I consider the reality that I could have only two years left to live.
Do not panic (I haven’t yet); the statistics actually say, according to the World Health Organisation Life Expectancy figures, that Ugandan men are generally expected to live to about 49 (50 for women, which isn’t the issue today). Even better, indexmundi.com has us living up to 54 years – and they are even quoted by the CIA World Factbook!
But the science around it is so complicated that even after two hours on these websites all I have is the assurance that I have about nine to fifteen years to go instead of the two (2) some chap had confidently declared to be the official figure (on a Saturday night and I couldn’t account for what he had been drinking earlier in the day).
The point is, I stopped a little bit to think about what exactly I would do if I had only a guaranteed two years left to live. Or nine. Or fifteen.
Reading about life expectancy was the equivalent of a life referee holding up a big, bright yellow card, blowing the whistle and announcing: “Two/Nine/Fifteen years like this and you’re out!”
Either way, first I’d prop two massive thumbs up for my parents, because my longevity is really their achievement, in spite of all the neglect I have shown for my own well being; indeed, recently my old man adopted the practice of sending congratulatory birthday wishes to the parents of the birthday boy or girl rather than to the subjects themselves.
So this week I start taking an ongoing opportunity to thank these two old but youthful people for their hard work over the years, and hoping that their sacrifice and dedication and efforts continue well into the future beyond the calculations of the life expectancy scientists. But I will give them some help along the way.
I would expect that the life expectancy scientists actually factor in stuff like your parenting, giving lower chances of survival to children whose parents are ill-educated, or challenged in other ways.
Speaking of children, I wouldn’t, regardless of what’s left on my life-meter, sit my children down to tell them to use the years left with me to their best advantage – that creates too much anxiety for all involved.
Rather, I’d just take action so that by the time I succumb to statistics, I leave them with as few ‘what-if’s’ as possible. Homework together, impromptu walks, chats and school drop-ins, solutions to all sorts of problems big and small, life lessons at every turn and corner, non-stop invasion of their privacy…the list is long and I am on it.
But even as I was writing this list I realised that fifteen years is still quite a short time – and I went back to the reliable internet where I found a life expectancy calculator!
Within minutes, I had taken the quiz, clicked a button and apparently I’ll live to…94 years!
Immediately, I replaced the WHO and CIA with this website, and began adjusting my list for the next 54 years. Two hours later I gave up: their idea of stress, for instance, does not take into account the harsh irrationality of a certain breed of workers, or Kampala taxi drivers and definitely NOT boda-bodas.
In general, whereas the scenario is easier to contemplate with the highest figures possible, I realised I’m better off trying to tip the odds in my favour.
I presume those statistics take into account the way we live life in Uganda, including stuff like drinking more alcohol than necessary (besides holy communion – in church, that is, administered by an ordained member of the clergy); eating whimsically rather than wisely (my favourite waiters and waitresses, reading this, will now understand why I am ‘lost’); and physical exercise or the lack of it.
So there are life-extending action points there.
In addition, there are tactics such as climbing onto fewer boda bodas, or investing in a solid helmet if I must do so; using seat belts everywhere (sometimes the office chair could do with one); shaking fewer hands of people whose office messengers are likely mates with garbage collectors…that’s another long list. Even otherwise ordinary pursuits such as upcountry travel are now going to be undertaken with the objective in mind to extend my life expectancy just a little bit more.
And most of all: handling stress! Stress is defined in different ways (my favourite: “pressure you can’t withstand”) and comes from many different corners, so I’m not taking any more. If you’re irrational and stupid with me, I’ll be smiling and moving past you and the two-year or nine-year mark. Or I’ll try to.
Meanwhile, someone needs to create a tool for a Ugandan like me or Lozio Cheptai in Kaberamaido to calculate our life expectancy using real-life indexes that pertain to us, so I’m now seeking health professionals to team up with ICT professionals for this.
We might even win an award – and that uplift to self-esteem might extend our life expectancy figures further!
As we prepare to set off for Pakwach and Masindi to catch the hybrid eclipse (hashtag = #EclipseUG), I am particularly happy that we have had tips, cautions and words of advice from someone at Mulago Hospital rather than an expert from outside Uganda.
I’m not going to crack jokes about how because this is from Mulago Hospital it is more serious than just the usual kb.
Instead, a big round of applause for Opthalmologist Dr. Anne Ampaire Musika of Mulago National Referral Hospital, who compiled the following:
PLS TAKE THESE SERIOUSLY!
COMPILED BY DR. ANNE AMPAIRE MUSIKA (and received through a third-party):
This Sunday 3rd November 2013, there is going to be a hybrid eclipse and everyone is excited.
SOLAR RETINAL DAMAGE/ SOLAR RETINOPATHY
When a person looks repeatedly or for a long time at the Sun without proper protection for the eyes, this photochemical retinal damage may be accompanied by a thermal injury – the high level of visible and near-infrared radiation causes heating that literally cooks the exposed tissue. This thermal injury or photocoagulation destroys the rods and cones, creating a small blind area. The danger to vision is significant because photic retinal injuries occur without any feeling of pain (there are no pain receptors in the retina), and the visual effects do not occur for at least several hours after the damage is done.
WHO IS AT RISK?
Susceptible individuals include children and teenagers, because the lens of the eye filters little short wavelength light before the age of 20 years; people with ocular conditions such as retinal dystrophies or albinism or who have undergone certain forms of cataract surgery; those taking photosensitising medication; and those using alcohol or recreational drugs.
During a solar eclipse more people are at risk. With the sun partially covered, it’s comfortable to stare, and protective reflexes like blinking and pupil contraction are a lot less likely to be in use than on a normal day.
WHEN IS VIEWING THE ECLIPSE SAFE?
The only time that the Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye is during a total eclipse, when the Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun during the short two minute period of total eclipse, and one should look away the moment the first rays of the sun appear at the edge of the moon.
It is never safe to look at a partial or annular eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, without the proper equipment and techniques
WHAT EQUIPMENT CAN FILTER THESE SUN RAYS?
The commonly used filters include:
1. all colour film
2. black-and-white film that contains no silver
3. photographic negatives with images on them (x-rays and snapshots)
4. smoked glass
5. sunglasses (single or multiple pairs)
6. photographic neutral density filters polarizing filters
These however do not offer adequate protection because most of these transmit high levels of invisible infrared radiation which can cause a thermal retinal burn.
Welders’ glasses and pin-hole cameras are relatively safer though not perfect.
7. The safest devices are solar viewers with aluminized polyester. Most such filters have a thin layer of chromium alloy or aluminum deposited on their surfaces that attenuates both visible and near-infrared radiation
Other suggested locally available filters include:
8. negatives without images (x-rays or black and white films) used as double layers
9. pin holes (made by passing a pin through a hard paper or cardboard)
10. black kaveera (polythene bag)
11. compact discs
12. floppy discs
These may not be entirely safe but are a lot safer than nothing at all.
Viewing the sun through binoculars or telescopes produces the 10-25° temperature rise in the retina required for a thermal burn. By contrast, looking at the sun with the naked eye induces photochemical injury to retinal receptor cells and pigment epithelium, associated with only a 4° rise in retinal temperature.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
This thermal injury or photocoagulation destroys the rods and cones, creating a small blind area.
The danger to vision is significant because photic retinal injuries occur without any feeling of pain (there are no pain receptors in the retina), and the visual effects do not occur for at least several hours after the damage is done
TREATMENT, IN CASE OF A RETINAL BURN?
No treatment has been shown to be effective in solar retinopathy.
The emphasis is therefore on prevention,
Children must be closely supervised.
It is unsafe to look at the sun during the partial phases of a total eclipse, or during a partial eclipse.
Failure to use proper observing methods may result in permanent eye damage or severe visual loss. This can have important adverse effects on career choices and earning potential, since it has been shown that most individuals who sustain eclipse-related eye injuries are children and young adults
Binoculars and telescopes should not be used.
SHARE THESE TIPS AND TREAT THEM VERY, VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
VERY SERIOUSLY.