Don’t be part of the problem...

Emma Seyi-Onabule

 

Antibiotic is a medication that stops the growth of or destroys bacteria. They are wonderful drugs and have saved countless lives since their discovery. However many people in Nigeria, where you don’t need a prescription from a doctor to get any medication, believe its fine to take antibiotics for anything whether or not they need it.

The sad thing is that many people don’t know that taking antibiotics for every bit of discomfort or suspected infection can cause major problems. One of these problems is antibiotic resistance. This occurs when bacteria develops a way to resist the effects of the antibiotic, thereby making the infections they cause harder to treat.

One day a lady explained to me that her daughter had a chesty cough that was keeping her awake at night. I asked her how long she’d had the cough for and she said it had only started the day before. She then said that she was very upset because she couldn’t just buy antibiotics over the counter in the UK and if she were in Nigeria she would just walk into a chemist and purchase it no questions asked and give it to her daughter. I tried my best to explain that using an antibiotic as first line treatment could do more harm than good but she wasn’t prepared to listen. So in the end, I wished her well and left her in her ignorance.

In the west, where the use of antibiotics and indeed every medication is very tightly controlled, antibiotic resistance is a major problem, how much more in Nigeria where there’s virtually no control.

Antibiotics do not work on the common cold. This is because it is caused by a virus against which they are ineffective. The widespread use of these medicines in the misguided attempt to treat the common cold has led to the development of several strains of bacteria that are now antibiotic-resistant.

Sometimes, a bacterial infection will follow a cold virus. Signs that you may have a bacterial infection after a cold include pain around the face and eyes and coughing up thick yellow or green mucus. These symptoms are common with a cold, but if they last for more than a week, you may have a bacterial infection.

Also, some people, about one in 40,000, have a potentially fatal allergic reaction to some antibiotics. So when used by an untrained individual the consequences can be devastating. But people don’t make the connection; they just blame some African voodoo.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public health problems. The more we use them, the more likely it is that bacterial resistance will develop. Some bacteria that cause potentially fatal infections in hospitals, such as methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) are resistant to several antibiotics.

When bacteria are repeatedly exposed to antibiotics (and when people do not complete their prescribed course of antibiotics) resistant bacteria are favoured. They survive and multiply.

When that happens, the illness will linger with no signs of getting better or it could suddenly take a turn for the worse.

You may have to seek emergency medical care, even be admitted to hospital, where different antibiotics may need to be administered through your veins. People around you may also get the resistant bacteria and come down with a similar illness that is difficult to treat.

With regards to children, if every time your child has the sniffles or cough you pump them full of antibiotics, how will their immune system develop?

Here are some important things to remember when you are thinking of taking antibiotics. Firstly, go to your doctor to determine whether or not you need them. Secondly, take them as prescribed i.e. at regular intervals and complete the full course, even if you start to feel better before the end of the course.

And lastly, don’t take someone else’s antibiotic, not all antibiotics are the same, you could be allergic to it or it could be the wrong one you need for your condition.

Irresponsible use of antibiotics contributes to the global antibiotic resistance crisis. You don’t have to go far to find an example.

I remember when I was in secondary school and we used to get chloroquine every week for malaria prophylaxis. We used to call it “sunday sunday medicine”. Now that same medication is ineffective against the malaria parasite because it was so misused.

Next time you want to reach for an antibiotic ask yourself if you really need it, as you could be doing, not just yourself, more harm than good.

Great dynasties of the world: The Kims of North Korea

Ian Sansom

 

Pity the poor dictators: because even they find it difficult to hand on wealth and power from generation to generation.

The Somozas managed three presidents over 40 years in Nicaragua – Anastasio Somoza García; Luis Somoza Debayle; Anastasio Somoza Debayle – before the Sandinistas kicked them out in 1979.

The Duvaliers, 'Papa' and 'Baby', tyrannised Haiti for almost 30 years. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad is currently hanging on to power, bequeathed to him by his father.

The Mubarak dynasty has come to a shuddering halt in Egypt. And things aren't looking good for a smooth succession for Saif Gaddafi in Libya too. This makes the world's longest-reigning dictator family, by a long shot, the Kims of North Korea.

In the western media, the ruling Kim, Kim Jong-il, is often depicted as a figure of fun: a bequiffed, cognac-swilling, platform shoe- and shades-wearing buffoon who loves Hollywood movies and once kidnapped a film director to make a communist Godzilla.

Bradley K Martin, in his book 'Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader' (2004), comes closer to the truth when he compares Kim and his family to the troglodyte Morlocks in HG Wells's novella The Time Machine, as monstrous beings who live underground and feed on the Eloi.

First of the dictator Kims, was Kim Il-Sung, born on 15 April, 1912, in Pyongyang. Kim's father died when he was 14 and his mother when he was 16. He fought with Korean partisans against the Japanese and in 1940 fled to the Soviet Union, where he became a major in the red army.

As Adrian Buzo notes, in The Guerilla Dynasty: ‘Politics and Leadership in North Korea (1999),’ the history of North Korea has been decisively shaped by Kim's time in Russia.

"In Stalinism, Kim saw a model for the rapid construction of a modern industrial nation-state under the aegis of a revolutionary party, capable of expelling all vestiges of imperialism from the Korean peninsula."

Kim also saw firsthand how one might become a ruthless dictator. After seizing power in 1948, Kim styled himself as a kind of North Korean Stalin.

According to Bradley K. Martin, he presented himself not only as North Korea's great leader and liberator, but also as the country's "leading novelist, philosopher, historian, educator, designer, literary critic, architect, industrial management specialist, general, table tennis trainer ... and agriculture experimenter."

It was, of course, all guff. And what wasn't guff was Juche, Kim's homemade, half-baked political philosophy, which promotes a unique Korean self-reliance, guided by a great leader.

"Man is the master of everything and decides everything," declared Kim. In other words, he was the master of everything and decided everything.

Kim died in 1994, aged 82, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Kim Jong-il. (Kim is one of the most popular surnames in Korea). It had been expected that, in turn, Kim's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, would be named heir presumptive, but he seems to have fallen out of favour after being arrested in 2001 trying to enter Japan with a fake passport in order to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

It is now assumed that Kim Jong-il's successor will be his third son, Kim Jong-un, who has recently raised his political profile by being made a general in the people's army.

In her book, ‘Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2009),’ the journalist Barbara Demick writes: "If you look at satellite photographs of the far east by night, you'll see a large splotch curiously lacking in light. This area of darkness is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

The country has a chronic lack of fuel and food. North Korea, writes Demick, "is simply a blank." In truth, it has been effaced by one family.

Chores between couples

Sheri & Bob Stritof, your Guide to Marriage Today's marriage tip is about chores.

Today's Marriage Tip

Don't ask your spouse for help around the house. If you ask for help you give the impression that only you have the responsibility to keep the house clean.    It is better to ask your spouse to do his/her share of household tasks. Remind your spouse that the chores around the house should be shared responsibilities between the two of you.

Quest for independence or excuse for loneliness?

A solitary lifestyle may fulfill the yearnings for independence nursed by many, but it nonetheless holds a host of negative implications worth knowing, writes Yemisi Nnnamdi-Manuel

yemihayday4u@yahoo.com

 

By all accounts, the 21^st century is defined by congestion and so much fuss, so it is no surprise that solitary living is embraced by many, especially the youths. Nowadays, many youngsters in their 20s prefer living alone, at least before they settle down to start families of their own.

But the trend is not limited to the young, because observers say there is an increase in the percentage of people living alone globally, as separated or divorced couples and singles. This raises a poser: is there something so attractive about living alone, or is it just an excuse for introverts without the company of family and friends to lead what can only be termed a lonely lifestyle? Most importantly, does this way of life have negative health implications?

Ogbolu Emeka, a professional psychiatrist, says those who embrace a reclusive lifestyle without the company of family and friends are susceptible to many things, most of which are negative. “If one does not think such people exist, check the annual list of suicides. How many people, tragically and sadly, take their own lives each year, because they are lonely? How many others turn to alcohol and drugs to fill the void in their lives in an attempt to drown the pain of their isolation? How many others still try to remove the pain, loneliness and hurt by engaging in endless sexual encounters with other people in an empty pursuit to fill this emptiness, placing their lives and well-being, including those of others at risk by so doing? There are many people living in loneliness; some hide it better than others. But they exist in larger numbers than most people realise,” argues Emeka.

This reclusive fad, however, does a lot more than affect individuals embracing it, because it has ripple effects on their loved ones. With today’s soaring divorce rates, for instance, the reality that a child would be raised by a single parent –or sometimes in a foster home- is one of the negative spin-offs from this trend.

Modinat Badmus, a divorcee and mother of three, has been separated from her husband for four years. Now in her mid-50s, she lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment at Egbeda, a suburb of Lagos . Her husband has denied her access to her three boys, for which reason her loneliness is more profound.

“I was depressed for the first two years of our separation, and worry about my children and my life every moment. I mean, I live alone and so many people see me as a failure, one that refused to endure assault and battery each day. Anyway, I’m still praying for divine intervention. But I have been able to cope with my solitary life. It’s a battle, but you either learn to fight and survive or you die. It’s that simple,” she says with finality.

Tolu Oladeji, a marketer, says she started living alone when she moved to Lagos Island after landing a swell job with a bank. She is quick to admit it’s not been fun and games: “It’s not easy staying alone. I’ve been lonely because no relative or friend is with me. There are times I naturally swing into moods; but I either go out or invite friends over.

“Living alone is not the best anyway because anything can happen at any time, and there won’t be anybody there to help you,” she observes.

Meanwhile, Akande Daniel, a cleric, says a reclusive lifestyle is not so bad, and can even be used positively in most cases. “Times of solitude, isolation, or silence can be used to find God, the essence behind every living energy and soul. You can’t do this if you’re constantly involved in an atmosphere of noise, chatter and other distracting environments. To me, therefore, with this understanding, living alone can be a divine gift if you know how to exploit it to give courage and hope,” he notes.

Femi Anjorin, a pastor and family counsellor, does not agree with Daniel: “I’ll not advise anyone to decide to live alone. At least have somebody close-by - a sister, brother, or even a friend. This is because I’ve seen and heard of cases of deaths or accidents in the middle of the night, where neighbours did not try to come out to help because they were afraid!”

He has a tragic experience to share: “A brother I knew died like that. He lived alone and only God knew what happened during the night, but he was found dead at dawn by his friend who usually drove him to work by 5:30 am everyday.”

Emeka once again asserts that life itself is a battle and one should not create unnecessary stress with a solitary lifestyle, because if such is the case, fear of the unknown and loneliness will be inevitable.

“Living alone is traumatic for a lot of people who do not have emotional problems, because in truth, no man is an island. Life’s problems could make someone change overnight, and it is the duty of those around the person to seek help and provide necessary support,” he advises.

So what do experts say loners should do to either get out of the woods or cope with their plight? Hear them: “Be of good courage, because you’re definitely not alone. Use that opportunity to get personally stronger. Redirect inner energy and focus in life towards greater advancement.

“Secondly, be happy with who you are. Value your isolation, because in truth, we’re all born alone. Make the best use of your status right now by getting a hobby. Do something you love, that will make you feel fulfilled. Moreover, render help to others because by so doing, you indirectly help yourself.

“Read more, exploit your potentials. Spread your wings and fly. Find small joys each day, making it a point to build a whole life, to make the difference between happily living alone and being lonely.”