Pain is an uncomfortable feeling and/or an unpleasant sensation in the body. The presence of pain often is an indication that something is wrong. Pain can appear suddenly or can come about slowly.
Each individual is the best judge of his or her own pain. Feelings of pain can range from mild and occasional to severe and constant. Pain can be classified as acute pain or chronic pain.
What is acute pain?
Acute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp in quality. It serves as a warning of disease or a threat to the body.
Acute pain might be caused by many events or circumstances, including:
Surgery
Broken bones
Dental work
Burns or cuts
Labor and childbirth
Acute pain might be mild and last just a moment, or it might be severe and last for weeks or months. In most cases, acute pain does not last longer than six months, and it disappears when the underlying cause of pain has been treated or has healed. Unrelieved acute pain, however, might lead to chronic pain.
Differences between acute and chronic pain?
There might be no known cure for the disease (such as arthritis or phantom pain) that is causing the chronic pain.
The cause of chronic pain might be unknown or poorly understood.
How is pain treated?
Depending upon its severity, pain might be treated in a number of ways. Symptomatic options for the treatment of pain might include one or more of the following:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a specific type of painkiller such as diclofenac or Ibuprofen.
Acetaminophen (such as Tylenol®)
Narcotics (such as morphine or codeine)
Localized anesthetic (a shot of a pain killer medicine into the area of the pain)
Nerve blocks (the blocking of a group of nerves with local anesthetics)
Acupuncture
Electrical stimulation
Physical therapy
Surgery
Psychotherapy (talk therapy)
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing
Biofeedback (treatment technique in which people are trained to improve their health by using signals from their own bodies)
Behavior modification
Some pain medicines are more effective in fighting pain when they are combined with other methods of treatment. Patients might need to try various methods to maintain maximum pain relief.
Acute and chronic pain are different clinical entities. Acute pain is provoked by a specific disease or injury, serves a useful biologic purpose, is associated with skeletal muscle spasm and sympathetic nervous system activation, and is self-limited. Chronic pain, in contrast, may be considered a disease state. It is pain that outlasts the normal time of healing, if associated with a disease or injury. Chronic pain may arise from psychological states, serves no biologic purpose, and has no recognizable end-point.
Acute pain is pain with a specific, identifiable cause, like a slip or fall. An example of acute pain is the pain you feel when you stub your toe or touch a hot stove. Pain from an acute injury should resolve itself in two to four weeks with the help of rest, ice, heat and a visit to your primary care provider.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 4 to 6 weeks. An acute injury can lead to chronic pain, but sometimes chronic pain does not have an identifiable cause. If your pain persists for four to six weeks, you should see a pain management physician who can help pinpoint the cause of your pain and work with you to find an appropriate treatment plan. An example of chronic pain is back pain that lasts longer than 4 weeks.
Acute pain is the body’s normal response to damage such as a cut, an infection, or other physical injuries. This type of pain usually comes on fast and often goes away in no more than a few weeks or months if treated properly. Acute pain can become chronic when the cause is difficult to treat.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/acute-versus-chronic-pain/#sthash.4lr0sMPt.dpuf
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
An Abuja-based veterinary doctor, Dr Yomi Nafiu, said on Wednesday that bird flu viruses could not be transmitted to humans who ate carefully prepared poultry products. Nafiu told newsmen in Abuja that there was no empirical evidence to prove the claims that avian influenza is a human scourge. He noted that few human cases had been linked to consumption of dishes made of raw, contaminated poultry food.
According to him, slaughtering, de-feathering, handling carcasses of infected poultry and preparing poultry for consumption, especially in household settings are likely to be risk factors. “The primary risk factor for human infection appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or contaminated environments, such as live bird markets. “Controlling circulation of the viruses in poultry is essential to reducing the risk of human infection. “Given the persistence of the viruses in some poultry populations, control will require long-term commitments and strong coordination between animal and public health authorities,’’ Nafiu said. He said there are possible risks of infection for people who had contact with infected birds or surfaces that have been contaminated with secretions or excretions from infected birds. Nafiu said the symptoms of avian influenza in humans could be fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases and other severe and life-threatening complications.
He said the symptoms of avian influenza may depend on which virus caused the infection. “The spread of avian influenza A viruses from one ill person to another through prolonged, unprotected, close contact has been reported very rarely, and has been limited, inefficient and not sustained. “ However, because avian influenza A viruses have the potential to change and gain the ability to spread easily among people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person transmission is extremely important for public health,’’ Nafiu said. He advised Nigerians not to eat sick birds as that increase chances of infection, adding that eating healthy birds and commercial egg is safe. “We just need basic hygiene like washing, cleaning of hands and cooking utensils at all times. “Farmers are more likely to catch the disease on farms where bio-security measures are not strictly adhered to.’’ Nafiu said farmers should restrict movement in and out of their farms by ensuring that vehicles or equipment be disinfected. He also urged humans to change shoes, wear overalls, wash hands and feet or bathe. “They should ensure that virus or bacteria are not allowed into the farm; keep farms clean and free of vermin, cobwebs.“Farms should also be sprayed regularly with disinfectant as most of these microbes are susceptible to most disinfectants and sometimes they vaccinate,’’ Nafiu said
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Less than 30,000 medical doctors, 150,000 registered nurses nationwide
*Average Doctor-Patient ratio = 1:53,333; Nurse-Patient ratio = 1: 1,066
EVEN before the current health workers’ strike, a visit to public hospitals in Lagos and other parts of the country on a weekday, is an eye-opener. The situation at any of the primary, secondary or tertiary health centres highlights a depressing scenario. One is bound to ask were the nurses, doctors and other health workers have gone, because there are always too many patients and not enough health care personnel around to cater for them. Even during the last Ebola outbreak in the country, health worker shortage was a big threat to the containment effort. In this special report, the immediate and long-term effects , consequences and remedies regarding health worker shortage are highlighted: Excerpts: By Sola Ogundipe, Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale
IN Lagos, it is not uncommon for patients to sleep in hospital premises overnight or arrive hours before the crack of dawn so as to be at the head of the queue. But even after spending several hours on the queue, chances of being attended to before the close of the day’s work are not often guaranteed as many patients return home without obtaining the treatment they seek.
The problem is obvious. There are too many patients and not enough healthcare providers. Day after day, incidences of attendant effects of health worker shortage are exhibited in excessively lengthy queues, abnormal waiting times, audible patient dissatisfaction at the various outpatient clinics are instructive and an insight into the fact that all is not well with the system. From dawn to dusk, thousands of patients that converge at the hospitals seeking attention for sundry health problems often leave in frustrated annoyance.
This chronic health worker shortage that has prevailed in public hospitals over the years in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole has steadily gone from bad to worse.
On the average, a doctor that should not see more than 30 patients in one day is compelled to attend to average of 100-150 or more patients daily. Sometimes, one doctor is on call for two, three or four days at a stretch. Not only is there a shortage in numbers, there is shortage in specialisation.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, defines a health worker as “all people engaged in actions with the primary intent of enhancing health,” including those paid as “health service providers” and “health management and support workers.”
However, the hospital staff shortage transcends the medical personnel and there are times medical staff needs to carry out administrative work just to keep things going. Even as the government is struggling to contain the unsavoury trend, indications reveal it may be fighting a lost battle.
For chronic health management, the situation is particularly serious. Patients with conditions such as cancer, kidney failure, diabetes, asthma,stroke and coronary heart disease and others requiring specialist attention are worse off. The dearth of health workers is contributing to the death of patients.
Evidence suggests that shortage of healthcare personnel, notably doctors and nurses in the state are detrimental not only to quality of patient care, but also to staff morale, affecting staff retention, patient welfare and weaker standards of practice. Worse still, the loss of confidence and overall failure of the health system is apparent.
High patient-doctor ratio
“Persistent under-staffing leads to a high patient-to-doctor,” stated a commentator on national health issues. “It is largely responsible for the series of frustration, stress, job burnout, poor attitude to work and workplace incivility and higher turnover of healthcare personnel is killing healthcare delivery in public hospitals.
A World Health Organisation publication entitled: “Establishing and Monitoring Benchmarks for Human Resources for Health: the Workforce Density Approach,” notes that it is as difficult to comprehend the extent of the shortage of health workers across the country as it is challenging to contemplate a solution. Going by WHO standards, Nigeria is not on track to meet the very low benchmark of 2.5 doctors, nurses and midwives per 1,000 people.
In Nigeria, Human Resources for Health represent the cornerstone of the health system and no health intervention can be successful without an effective workforce. As one of the eight pillars of the National Strategic Health Development Plan, a skilled and fortified health workforce in the right proportion and combination is essential towards provision of the desired improvement in health indices.
National Health Workforce Registry In 2011, the Federal Ministry of Health assisted by the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the Centre for Diseases Control, CDC, inaugurated the National Steering Committee for the National Health Workforce Registry and the Committee on Nigerian Public Health Training Initiative, towards establishing a functional human resources information systems and registry to account for and track all health workers in the country.
At that time, WHO Country Representative, Dr. Ruiz Gama Vaz noted that inadequacies in number, mix and quality of human resources for health posed greatest challenges to the nation’s health system’s capacity to deliver effective and equitable health services. Vaz said addressing health workforce shortages, competencies and productivity is a critical intervention to undertake.
In line with current global practice, the National Registry would track all Nigerian Health Workers by capturing routine pre-service training, graduation, work entry and exit retirement as well as attrition.
Initiated by the Federal government in collaboration with the Carter Foundation to improve the quality and quantity of health professionals serving the country, the Health Workforce Registry is expected to monitor a sustainable check and balance system; to monitor progress towards production and provision of real-time data on the availability of required health personnel at all levels of healthcare service delivery.
It is also to provide data for the general management of Human Resources towards optimising production, deployment, utilisation and retention of skilled healthcare workers at all levels in an equitable manner.
But allegations that government has not done enough to address the dire shortage of health workers in the country continue to make the rounds especially as the health workforce crisis is a national emergency.
Findings by Good Health Weekly show that Nigerian health professionals as a whole are unanimous on the issue of health workers’ dissatisfaction, burnout, stress, and motivation that are influencing their recruitment and retention.
“Although the WHO recommends one pharmacist per 2000 population, in Nigeria we have approximately one pharmacist per 12,000 population. This is taking into account that many have died and those who have migrated,” says the Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Mohammed Elijah.
Nursing care, a big challenge The scenario is as precarious for nurses, the largest group of health professionals, veritable caregivers and the strength of the nation’s health system.
Registered nurses are the hospitals’ workhorses. In providing essential services and health care support, the average nurse’s daily workload to meet up with the clinical requirements of patients is enormous.
The nurse is in charge of new outpatient assessments and monitoring of patients on admission in the wards. The nurse takes the patient’s vital signs including height, weight, pulse, temperature and blood pressure and dispensing of prescribed medications.
Nurses probably develop closer relationship with the patient more than any other healthcare personnel and are crucial to the smooth running of any hospital. They provide or assist in providing services in every imaginable area from the surgical theatre, Accident & Emergency, to the paediatric and labour wards.
Patients requiring surgery, vaccinations, specimen withdrawal, and treatment of fresh wounds or changing of dressings on old wounds, setting up drips, administering regular injections or treatment for ongoing health conditions among dozens of other needs, often rely on the nurse for their care and upkeep.
But the nursing profession has been experiencing persistent shortage for years and is now in dire straits. For close to a decade and a half, the scale of nursing shortage has been termed a global crisis because the supply of nurses cannot meet the demand. The WHO recommends a nurse to a population ratio of 700, but according to the Open Journal of Nursing, 2014, Nigeria has less than 150,000 registered nurses to cater for an estimated 160 million population, giving an average nurse population ratio of 1 to 1,066 people.
Modupe O. Oyetunde of the Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, and Olabisi O. Ayeni of the Lagos State School of Nursing, Lagos, in their study entitled “Exploring Factors Influencing Recruitment and Retention of Nurses in Lagos State, Nigeria within Year 2008 and 2012”, found that the turnover rate of nurses in Lagos State Health institutions is higher than obtains in Federal health institutions in the country and also higher than the national average.
The study published in the Open Journal of Nursing 2014, said increment in salary and allowances rated the best influence on recruitment and retention of nurses in Lagos State. The study identified lack of nursing leadership; sense of job security and work environment as major factors influencing recruitment and retention of nurses in Lagos health institutions.
“There is need for adequate human resource planning; increased efforts and formulation of policies that will improve recruitment and retention of nurses in Lagos State of Nigeria,” the study concluded.
Bound by policy A registered staff nurse at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, who simply identified herself as Esther, noted that, ordinarily, the recommendation for maximum number of patients that a nurse can see safely within an eight-hour shift period ranges from 25-30.
“But that is on paper. In practice, providing nursing and care support in a teaching hospital such as LASUTH something else. There are not enough of us, and we sometimes double shift to cope with the thousands of patients that flock here daily. Honestly there is no limit to the number of patients a nurse sees. You just do what is humanly possible,” Esther explained.
Toyin, a Staff Nurse/Midwife at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi Araba, Lagos, tells a similar story. “We are bound by the government policy not to turn away any patient, even when there is no bed space. There are times when there are so many patients at the clinics, even on appointment, it is impossible to attend to them all, so we often ask them to come back the next day. But if someone urgently needs to see the doctor and can’t wait until the following day, we could make an exception. If it is an emergency, we take it on that basis. But no patient is rejected. Every patient is seen.”
In the bid to find solution to the crisis of nursing shortage, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) initiated priority areas, top among which is retention and recruitment of nursing personnel. Experts argue that recruitment and retention of nurses and other health personnel are two human resources functions that require strategic thought and planning for effectual and effective outcomes.
It is argued that successful recruitment begins with proper employment planning and forecasting, however, systemic factors such as constraints in hospital budget; remuneration, practice autonomy, work load, flexible shift, and opportunities for career advancement remain a hindrance. Worse still, an ageing nursing work force, coupled with decline in the number of nurses graduating from the schools of nursing among other factors are a stumbling block to the availability of nurses for employment.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Health workers under the aegis of the Joint Health Sectors Union, JOHESU, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH branch, Wednesday staged a peaceful protest over what they described as government insensitivity to their demands even as they expressed willingness to call of the strike should the Federal Government release the much expected circular on their demands.
Addressing a large number of health workers bearing placards with inscriptions such as, ‘save the lives of Nigerian masses,’ ‘FG correct injustice in Nigeria health sector,’ at the premises of the hospital, the Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, SSAUTHRIAI, Kehinde Adegoke said the Union is ready to shift grounds but insincerity on the part of those representing the Federal Government is the major cause of the setback in the quick resolution of the crisis.
“Those that are negotiating on behalf of government are not sincere in the arrangement. We have been on this struggle since 2nd November 2014 and the last time we held meeting with the Federal Government which is on the 22nd December, 2014 they promised that in the next two weeks they will address our issue, it is more than two weeks now we are yet to receive any circular.”
“We know that President Jonathan is having tough time clamouring for vote, but we are urging him to ascend to our demand so as to continue in the business of saving the lives of Nigerians,” he added.
Corroborating his views, Chairman, National Association of Nurse and Mid wife, LUTH Branch, Mr. Oluwagbenga Ajala, however, warned that if labour disputes, which has led to the breakdown of health services in about 50 federal health institutions in the country are not addressed, the Federal Government may meet a collapsed sector after the February elections.
“We are asking that they promote our members who have been stagnated for 14 years on a level. We are asking that health workers wage structure be reviewed. We cannot be rubbished by any group in this sector because we form more than 70 per cent of the work force in the health sector.
“We are asking that the Federal Government address needless deaths in its hospitals and put an end to this strike before the elections.
Members of JOHESU embarked on an indefinite strike on October 16 to protest non-implementation of collective bargain agreement and Memorandum of Understanding it had with the Federal Government.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
#ISurvivedEbola, the groundbreaking West African multimedia campaign, has launched a new, interactive mobile app that allows Ebola survivors to connect with each other, share public health advice, and update the world on the challenges they still face during their post-recovery lives.
The innovative digital tool debuted in Guinea on January 5. It is being piloted by the first Guinean survivor to share her story with the #ISurvivedEbola campaign. The updates from the app appear on the newly launched #ISurvivedEbola website, which also houses the stories of a growing community of Ebola survivors from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.
In the first-ever message sent via the mobile app, Camara “Fanta” Fantaoulen of Guinea stated in French, “Yes, I survived Ebola, thanks to the help of the brave healthcare workers who treated me. And I’ve learned that together, we can defeat this virus and protect our families and communities.”
After losing her father and five other family members to suspected or confirmed Ebola, Fanta believed her death was imminent when she tested positive for the virus. Thanks to a combination of early treatment, strict adherence to her treatment plan, and sheer determination, Fanta recovered from the virus and is now providing psychosocial support to Ebola patients.
“While treatment of Ebola patients is critical, the best way to end the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is to cut the chain of transmission and prevent further infections,” said Rafael Obregon, Chief of the Communication for Development Section at UNICEF. “As the global UN lead for the Social Mobilization Pillar of the Ebola response in West Africa, UNICEF is at the helm of efforts to stop transmission by working with national governments and partners to educate the public in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea about how to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from the virus.
#ISurvivedEbola is reinforcing our efforts by providing this information in multiple, highly entertaining forms, including through the testimonies of actual survivors.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Active older people resemble much younger people physiologically, according to a new study of the effects of exercise on aging. The findings suggest that many of our expectations about the inevitability of physical decline with advancing years may be incorrect and that how we age is, to a large degree, up to us.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, has expressed worry over the unending industrial actions in the health sector, urging the Federal Government to immediately resolve the crisis to ensure better healthcare services for Nigerians.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A research carried out in Nigeria by scientists from the University of Edinburgh, England, revealed that one in every four Nigerian is at risk of being diagnosed with high blood pressure. Continue reading →
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Medecins Sans Frontiers œwasted time by waiting too long to call for vaccines to fight an unprecedented outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, a veteran of the medical charity told Reuters.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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