Death By Snoring

  


Snoring can be very irritating especially for bed partners of snorers but many are oblivious to the fact that snoring may be a symptom of a serious health problem known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). The American Thoracic Society says “Obstructive Sleep Apnea increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack or dying by 30 percent” however in Ghana, not much is known about the disease and may be silently killing a lot of people.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a clinical disorder in which a patient experiences frequent pauses in his sleep due to blocked airways and is mostly accompanied by loud snoring. These pauses cut off oxygen supply to the brain for a few seconds. Since the brain is not receiving air, it wakes the patient up in order to reopen the airways and starts the breathing process all-over. This may happen to the patient many times during the night and makes proper sleep impossible. Unfortunately, the patient may not be aware that all these is going on. Obesity, males over fifty years, family history and people with thick neck are more susceptible to the disease. Symptoms and effects of the disease are loud snoring, , extreme daytime sleepiness, gasping in sleep, lack of concentration and morning headache.

CPAP Machine

Obstructive Sleep Apnea can be diagnosed by using a machine called Sleep Studies and is often treated using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy CPAP) to enable the patient sleep normally.

According to a research conducted by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information in Ghana, one out of every two stroke survivors attending a Neurology clinic in Ghana is at high risk for undiagnosed sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea caters for an increased risk in heart related diseases such as heart failure, hypertension and stroke. It also increases the risk of Motor Vehicular Accidents due to daytime sleepiness. In some countries like the UK, OSA patients are not given driver’s licenses to prevent accidents.

Speaking to an Obstructive Sleep Apnea patient undergoing treatment, he described how tired and sleepy he always was at work. He cited an incident that occurred at his workplace before his treatment. “I was being asked to go and do something and I got there and I felt as if I’m weak and wanted to sleep so I left what I was being asked to do to go and sleep and my director got angry at me”. He also explained that he thought the symptoms he was experiencing were normal so he did not bother to report them to a physician until the pressure from his partner led him to seek help.

A general practitioner at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr. Daniel Acorlor says few people have been diagnosed of the disease due to the fact that victims of the disease do not take its symptoms seriously. He also added that since people afflicted with the disease do not report at the hospital, health authorities are unable to make policies to help curb the disease.





By Edjeani Sika Dei

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LESSER KNOWN

Image
  THE MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORT REFERS TO WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN GHANA AS LESSER KNOWNS – PRESIDENT OF GHANA WHEELCHAIR BESKETBALL FEDERATION (GWBF) - (FINAL PRODUCTION). STORY BY: EVELYN COBBINAH. NOVEMBER 4, 2021. The president of Ghana Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Max Vardon has stated that the Ministry of Youth and Sport has refused to acknowledge and develop wheelchair basketball in the country. According to him, Ghana Basketball Wheelchair Federation is referred to as lesser known sport in their budget as most of the resources are allocated and invested in football in the country. “If you go to Ministry of Sport, they would talk about lesser known sport. Why are they lesser known? Because they refuse to acknowledge and they refuse to support and they refuse to promote these so called lesser knowns. All the bulk of money in this country under the curfew of the ministry goes into football, to the exclusion of virtually everything else” he said. He add
Read more

Independence Square Jacked Into Home By Citizens.

Image
  The government and Non- governmental organizations can come together to assist homeless individuals on the streets of Accra especially those at the independence square says Madam Josephine Kumi, PRO of Odo Nti foundation. An individual found sleeping at the independence square. The Independence Square situated in the center of Accra was built in 1961 and the second largest town square or open public place in the world. It contains monuments of Ghana’s Independence struggle and serves as the venue for important national events including the annual 6 th March independence anniversary. A view of the Black Star Square symbolizing the strength of Ghana's independence.  The Square has stands that can accommodate up to 30,000, but some squatters have taken undue advantage of the poor maintenance of the facility to turn it into their residence. Some of these squatters live on temporary basis while others are permanent. The Odo nti foundation just like other non-governmental or
Read more

DANCE WITH A PURPOSE (FINAL PRODUCTION)

 PHYLLIS DELPHINA AMOAH , Accra.   Dancing With A Purpose  Dancing, a movement of the body to a rhythm, is an activity people do for various reasons such as physical fitness, mental clarity, and commonly for entertainment. Dancing is also a source of livelihood for others who work as dance instructors. There are different types of dances, both local and international such as salsa, ballet, cultural dances and choreography.  Over the years, there have been various choreography groups springing up to perform at different places in Ghana; “Dance with a purpose” is one of such groups. Dance with A Purpose, DWP, is not just a dance group but a dance school or institution, which accommodates and trains young people with the talents and flair for dance.  The group was set up in 2014 by Laud Anoo Konadu and Nicholas Botchey also known as Dancegodloyd and Afrobeast respectively. The group started with family and friends who love to dance and over time, the number increased to about 500 people.
Read more