Factors That Cause Early Death & Prevention

Factors That Cause Early Death & Prevention Tips

Last week, we discussed how nutritional disorders, cancers, and genetic aberrations may lead to early death or disabilities. We also discussed their preventions and what you have to do. In today’s article, we will further explore the remaining classes of illnesses that may lead to death or infirmities.

Infection

Infection is a major cause of death worldwide. In Nigeria, malaria and typhoid are common causes of deaths. Infection may cause severe damage or death on its own right or infection may lead to other more serious illnesses such as cancer.

For a start, food and water borne infections are common in Nigeria. Example is typhoid fever. Death could result very speedily within three weeks or shorter after developing typhoid illness. Malaria kills a lot of children and pregnant women. Hepatitis A, B, C , D , E are common causes of illness.

They affect the liver. To varying degrees, each of those types of viral infections may cause liver cancer in the long term. Worms such as schistosomiasis may cause urinary bladder cancer. Another worm Filaria may cause onchocerciasis including blindness.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is known to be responsible for cancer of anus, vagina and cervix in women and in addition cancer of penis in men.

A lot of bacteria such as gonorrhea and syphilis and other viruses acquired through sex may cause disabilities and ultimately death. Still, meningitis, a deadly inflammation of the brain cover may be due to various bacteria or viruses.

Prevention

Four approaches in dealing with infection could prevent the devastating effects of infection in our lives. The first is observing personal hygiene and keeping vigilance accordingly. Example, prepare your food in tidy environment.

Keep a neat environment. Dispose human wastes such as feaces and urine properly. Wash hands after going to toilet. The second is vaccination. There are vaccinations against an array of infections such as polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, HPV infection, measles, yellow fever meningitis and measles to mention a few.

You should take advantage of vaccinations to prevent early death and disabilities. The third approach is to speedily treat the infection once it’s discovered. Go to your doctor promptly for attention.

The fourth is a change in lifestyle. Reckless lifestyle may lead to early death. Dangerous infections such as HIV, hepatitis, syphilis may be contracted via unguarded sexual encounters.

Environment

Your health or our health as humans reflects the way we treat our environment. A polluted environment is a recipe for bad health and early death.

A poisonous environment that feeds into our food and water and the air we breathe will end up poisoning our bodies and health. Typhoid fever and malaria are as a result of some of these poisoning.

Some of these pollutants or poisons may, in fact, cause respiratory illnesses such as asthma or blood cancer. Further, polluted environment may also lead to disruption of hormones with consequent impact on our health.

Prevention:

Do your bits. Live in a tidy space. Drink clean and healthy water and eat good clean food. Use air purifier if possible to enable you breath clean air. Avoid polluted environment. If you do have illness that is caused by polluted environment, seek medical help promptly.

Read Also: Causes of disability or early death and their prevention (1)

Accidents:

In Nigeria, accidents take a primal position amongst causes of death and disability. In particular, road traffic accidents (RTA) are a major cause of death in Nigeria. RTA is not the only cause of early death or disability.

Home accidents such as falls are notable causes of death. Falls on floor tiles, stairs and in bathrooms do cause deaths and disabilities. Kitchen accident, fire, knives or sharps cause untimely deaths.

Prevention

There is no substitute for vigilance, diligence and care in all our approaches: be on the roads or on at homes. When accident do happen, get to your physician for support as soon as possible.

Mental health:

Twenty per cent of Nigerians suffer from mental health at any given time; 14 per cent of Nigerians take one form of drug of abuse or another. Depression, psychosis, anxiety, personality disorders are common in Nigeria.

Yet, we as a people pay lip service to community, public and individual mental health. Assaults probably fueled by substance misuse or mental health disorder or by pure criminality are frequent causes of death and disabilities.

When political activism is mixed with drug misuse and mental health especially in an environment devoid of rule of law, a cocktail of lethal force is created that could end the lives of perpetrators and victims alike: if not death, disabilities could result in such circumstances.

Prevention:

We all need to know that anyone can fall into mental health issue at any given time. Stigmatisation does not help. Pay attention to yours and family mental health when there is no physical evidence that they are physically unwell.

Go to the doctor immediately. The sooner the better. Remember also that infection, environmental pollution, malnutrition, cancers and genetic abnormalities could all lead to impaired mental health. In all, take heed of what I have discussed in these articles as a way to prevent early death or disabilities.

How To Contact The Author:

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