African Men give better attention to their wealth than their health, a Senior Medical Doctor, Akin Oyejoko, whose experience spanned many years at government and private hopsitals in Nigeria, declares, adding that in most cases, the “Macho Man” in them thinks it is rather belitlling and unmanly to be seen always visiting the hospital. Unfortunately, the time they will eventually be carried/rushed to the hospital is almost always too late. The Chief Medical Director at Solomon Jayden Medical Centre talks about this and other sundry health issues at the Platforms Africa e-Discourse, moderated by Accra, Ghana-based veteran journalist, Francis Kokutse. Excerpts:-
A common condition these days is high blood pressure. Another is cancer. What are the causes?
We previously discussed that hypertension or high blood pressure can be caused by diseases of the liver, the kidneys, the heart and the blood vessels. It can also be caused by stress and substance abuse. Stress, especially emotional or psychological can cause the blood pressure to rise. Take for instance, a person with a relative in the ICU or intensive care maybe stressed, anxious and this may cause the blood pressure to rise. Some jobs with tight deadlines or high expectations may have similar a similar effect on a person.
You have once spoken about these two at a previous e-Discourse. So, the question that usually comes to mind even after that is, is it possible for someone to live a life free of these two killer conditions? How?
Yes, it is. Medically, we believe that high blood pressure is a disease that can be managed.
It is managed with life style change, weight control, stress management, diet management, exercise, regular health check and monitoring and finally, antihypertensive drugs.
Cancer on the other hand, can be well managed if discovered early. And this is mostly achieved through routine general checkups.
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Breast cancer has become a common type of cancer. How can women be safe from this? Are men at risk too?
Breast cancer is really wrecking havoc on our women. The best way to escape breast cancer is early discovery. And this can be achieved through, regular self breast examination and routine breast cancer screening.
Men are also at risk of breast cancer. Although not very common, my experience is that it is usually more fatal in men due to poor or late diagnosis.
What is the chance of a man being diagnosed with breast cancer? What is the chance of him surviving it?
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The chance of a man having breast cancer is very low, but once diagnosed , the chance of surviving it is even lower.
You once said that unlike women, men don’t always come to the hospital until it’s mostly too late. Have you noticed any difference? Why should men make taking their health more seriously a part of the new year resolutions?
Yes. No difference.
Though I must confess that I see more men at the extremes of ages. The very young, maybe because mummy brings them. And the very old, maybe because life has made its point clear at this stage. In all, men are more likely to be brought/carried to the hospital than to walk in by themselves.
It may be a coincidence, but this may be one of the reasons men die faster and younger than women.
Do you think we have an answer to COVID-19 which has become major health issue facing the World, though the fatality rate in Africa is low compared to the rest of the World?
No. I agree that africa has the lowest rates. Personally, I suspect our previous exposure to other corona viruses as our saving grace. I am suggesting, this previous encounters, which can be compared to vaccination of some sort, could have made our bodies to develop some specific and general resistance to the family of Corona viruses. This will explain why the infection is generally mild in Africa.
We have heard some experts talk about efficacy of drinking water on empty stomach every morning. Do you recommend this?
This one has been around for long. It is based on the premises that we get to sleep for about 8 hours at night, and during that time we do not take any water even though we loss water to internal metabolism, sweating, breathing and voiding of urine. So when we take water in the morning, we rehydrate our self. Water is good for the body.
What other tips would you give us to live a healthy life?
I would like to advise all the elderly among us to always have a project doing-something to keep the mind alive. Studies have shown that people who exercise thier minds live better and longer.
Platforms Africa e-Discourse is a weekly event organised by Platforms Africa forum, an e-Community of intellectuals, policy moulders and opinion leaders in Africa, created by Award-winning journalist, Adeola Yusuf
