Gorogo (U/E),– A total of 117 community members at Gorogo in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region have benefitted from a free Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT), eye, Blood Pressure (BP), viral hepatitis, and Random Blood Sugar (RBS) screening exercise.
The team of health professionals who conducted the screening exercise included a Public Health Officer and Nurse Specialists in Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) and Ophthalmic nursing from various health care facilities across the Region.
Mr David Sa-Aleong Yinbil, a Public Health Officer who led the team to organise the medical screening exercise, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview after the screening that the initiative was their contribution as health professionals to improve health care delivery in rural communities.
He said the initiative was intended to inculcate in members of the community the importance of health screening, as such exercises would enable them to know their health status for appropriate remedies.
He disclosed that about 25 people out of the number screened, recorded high Blood pressure “But we could not conclude that they have hypertension. Though they were made to relax and their BPs rechecked, they still recorded high BPs, so we referred them to the Health Centre for further investigation.”
Mr Yinbil advised members of the community to take their health seriously, insisting that until they got screened, they would not know their health status, “We encourage them to consistently check their health status.”
Mr Patrick Hope Atuick, an ENT Nurse, who also screened beneficiaries for various ENT conditions, said most of the people had wax in their ears which often caused itching and pain among others.
He said some people often used cotton wool buds or feathers in their ears owing to the wax deposits but that blocked the ear canal, “Victims end up pushing the wax deep into the canal.”
He said the wax in the ear was natural, meant to keep the ear moist, lubricates the ear canal, and prevents certain foreign bodies from getting into the ear, “So the more you remove the wax, the more the itching intensifies.”
Mr Atuick said the ear canal was so delicate that if hard materials were put into the ear, it could cause lacerations, which could also lead to bacteria and other infections, and advised members of the public to massage the tragus if they experienced itching, and not insert objects in their ears.
A beneficiary of the screening exercise, Mr Charles Luu told the GNA that the exercise was very important to members of the community as most of them do not have the opportunity and were not enlightened about the need to undergo medical screening exercises.
He thanked the health team for the gesture, and appealed for more of such initiatives in the community for healthy living among residents in the Gorogo community.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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