THE BRIDGE

At one point in life, we decide to move on in life by taking another step forward. As we move on, we are going to cross a bridge. We do not want to destroy the bridge so as to allow others to go through it. If we destroy the bridge, we do not know if we will still come back to it. A wall might be at the other side of the bridge and when we notice the wall, we decide to turn back and just then we come accross the bridge we destroyed and then we become stucked. Life is all about moving forward. Moving forward in the right way is the best.

Creadit goes to: Mr Moses Oseghale. CEO of Crestmed Limited

YELLOW FEVER

YELLOW FEVER

There have been reports of confirmed cases of yellow fever with several deaths in Edo state, Nigeria. It is important that you're given an idea of what yellow fever is so you can protect yourself and all your family members.

WHAT IS YELLOW FEVER?

Overview

Yellow fever is a viral infection spread by a particular type of mosquito. The infection is most common in areas of Africa and South America, affecting travelers to and residents of those areas.

In mild cases, yellow fever causes a

- fever,

- headache,

- nausea and

- vomiting.

But yellow fever can become more serious, causing heart, liver and kidney problems along with bleeding (hemorrhaging). Up to 50 percent of people with the more - severe form of yellow fever die of the disease.

There's no specific treatment for yellow fever. But getting a yellow fever vaccine before traveling to an area in which the virus is known to exist can protect you from the disease.

Symptoms

During the first three to six days after you've contracted yellow fever — the incubation period — you won't experience any signs or symptoms. After this, the infection enters an acute phase and then, in some cases, a toxic phase that can be life-threatening.

Acute phase

Once the infection enters the acute phase, you may experience signs and symptoms including:

- Fever

- Headache

- Muscle aches, (particularly in your back and knees

- Sensitivity to light

- Nausea

- vomiting or both

- Loss of appetite

- Dizziness

- Red eyes, face or tongue

These signs and symptoms usually improve and are gone within several days.

Toxic phase

Although signs and symptoms may disappear for a day or two following the acute phase, some people with acute yellow fever then enter a toxic phase.

During the toxic phase, acute signs and symptoms return and more-severe and life-threatening ones also appear. These can include:

- Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)

- Abdominal pain and vomiting, sometimes of blood

- Decreased urination

- Bleeding from your nose, mouth and eyes

- Slow heart rate (bradycardia)

- Liver and kidney failure

- Brain dysfunction, including delirium, seizures and coma

The toxic phase of yellow fever can be fatal.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR?

1) Before you travel

Four weeks or more before your trip, make an appointment to see your doctor if you're traveling to an area in which yellow fever is known to occur so that you discuss whether you need the yellow fever vaccine.

If you have less than four weeks to prepare, call your doctor anyway. Ideally, you'll be able to be vaccinated at least three to four weeks before traveling to an area where yellow fever occurs to give the vaccine time to work.

Your doctor will help you determine whether you need vaccinations and can provide general guidance on protecting your health while abroad.

2) After travel

Seek emergency medical care if you've recently traveled to a region where yellow fever is known to occur and you develop signs or symptoms of the toxic phase of the disease.

3) In illness

Call your doctor if you develop mild symptoms, after traveling to a region where yellow fever occurs or visit the nearest government approved health facility; to register your complaints..

What Causes Yellow fever?

Yellow fever is caused by a virus that is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. These mosquitoes thrive in and near human habitations where they breed in even the cleanest water.

Most cases of yellow fever occur in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria inclusive) and tropical South America.

Humans and monkeys are most commonly infected with the yellow fever virus.

Mosquitoes transmit the virus back and forth between monkeys, humans or both.

When a mosquito bites a human or a monkey infected with yellow fever, the virus enters the mosquito's bloodstream and circulates before settling in the salivary glands. When the infected mosquito bites another monkey or human, the virus then enters the host's bloodstream, where it may cause illness.

What are the risk factors

You may be at risk of the disease if you travel to an area where mosquitoes continue to carry the yellow fever virus.

These areas include sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America.

Even if there aren't current reports of infected humans in these areas, it doesn't mean you're risk-free.

It's possible that local populations have been vaccinated and are protected from the disease, or that cases of yellow fever just haven't been detected and officially reported.

If you're planning on traveling to these areas, you can protect yourself by getting a yellow fever vaccine at least several weeks before traveling.

Anyone can be infected with the yellow fever virus, but older adults are at greater risk of getting seriously ill.

What are the possible Complications

Yellow fever results in death for 20 to 50 percent of those who develop severe disease. Complications during the toxic phase of a yellow fever infection include kidney and liver failure, jaundice, delirium, and coma.

People who survive the infection recover gradually over a period of several weeks to months, usually without significant organ damage.

During this time a person may experience fatigue and jaundice. Other complications include secondary bacterial infections, such as pneumonia or blood infections.

How can one Prevent Yellow fever infection?

Vaccine

A highly effective vaccine exists to prevent yellow fever. Yellow fever is known to be present in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South America.

If you live in one of these areas, talk to your doctor about whether you need the yellow fever vaccine. If you plan to travel in these areas, talk with your doctor at least 10 days, but preferably three to four weeks, before your trip begins.

Some countries require travelers to present a valid certificate of immunization upon entry.

A single dose of the yellow fever vaccine provides protection for at least 10 years. Side effects are usually mild, lasting five to 10 days, and may include headaches, low-grade fevers, muscle pain, fatigue and soreness at the site of injection.

More-significant reactions — such as developing a syndrome similar to actual yellow fever, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or death — can occur, most often in infants and older adults.

The vaccine is considered safest for those between the ages of 9 months and 60 years.

Talk to your doctor about whether the yellow fever vaccine is appropriate if your child is younger than 9 months, if you have a weakened immune system (immunocompromised), are pregnant or if you're older than 60 years.

Protection from Mosquito bites

In addition to getting the vaccine, you can help protect yourself against yellow fever by protecting yourself against mosquitoes.

To reduce your exposure to mosquitoes:

1) Avoid unnecessary outdoor activity when mosquitoes are most active.

2) Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when you go into mosquito-infested areas.

3) Stay in air-conditioned or well-screened housing.

4) If your accommodations don't have good window screens or air-conditioning, use bed nets.

5) Nets that have been pre-treated with insecticide (LLINs) offer additional protection.

To ward off mosquitoes with repellent, use both of the following:

6) Nonskin repellent.

Apply permethrin-containing mosquito repellent to your clothing, shoes, camping gear and bed netting. You can buy some articles of clothing and gear pre-treated with permethrin.

Permethrin is not intended for use on your skin.

7) Skin repellent.

Products with the active ingredients DEET, IR3535 or picaridin provide long-lasting skin protection.

Choose the concentration based on the hours of protection you need. In general, higher concentrations last longer.

Keep in mind that chemical repellents can be toxic, and use only the amount needed for the time you'll be outdoors.

Don't use DEET on the hands of young children or on infants under 2 months of age.

Instead, cover your infant's stroller or playpen with mosquito netting when outside.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, oil of lemon eucalyptus, a more natural product, offers the same protection as DEET when used in similar concentrations.

But these products should not be used on children younger than age 3.

PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place - that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.
Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
No one succeeds without effort... Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance


TGIF QUOTES

CHILD ABUSE

            I met a twelve years old girl some years ago yearning for help to get what she could eat that day, she approached me and said "aunt please give me some money I want to eat, I have not eaten today" it was very deep into the afternoon, this child has not eaten anything for at least sixteen hours that day. I felt so cold and asked about her parent, she told me her parent stayed in the village. The next thing that crossed my mind was what she was doing in the city which I asked her, she said "my parent says they want me to have a very standard education so they brought me to the city to stay with my aunt." Then I asked her what she was doing on the street begging for what to eat then she told me that her aunt's eldest son had raped her and she told her aunt about it but her aunt pretended not to believe her and beat her and told her never to say a word about it to her parents. So her aunt made her starve and beat her often to make her remember that she must not tell her parent about it. Well  I helped her in the way I could and gave her the courage to tell her parents about it when next they visited her in the city.
  This little girl's situation touched me and and prompted me to write something on this to help thousands of children around the world and mostly in Africa. To help reduce child abuse to its possible minimal level.
  What is child abuse?

         A child is any person under 18 years of age therefore, Child abuse is an action, behaviors or inaction by an adult towards a child or young person that harms or endangers the child. A child  could be abused sexually, physically, emotionally and even by being neglected.
  Physical abuse;
 Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person  by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or workplace aggression.
         A child is physically abused when a person  deliberately inflict's a physical injury on them. Child abuse comes in different forms and this is one of the common ways a child is being abused. This makes a child suffer physical pain. many children as been made to be physically challenged or even lost their lives to this very form of child abuse.
  Sexual child abuse;
         Child sexual abuse referred to as any activity with a child, before the age of legal consent, that is for sexual gratification of an adult or a significantly older child. It includes among, other things, sexual touching, or penetration, persuading a child to expose his or her sexual organs and allowing a child to view pornography.
        Usually, a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent, but in case of a child when a person touches him or her in a sexual way with or without the child's consent is known to be child molestation.
  Emotional child abuse;
 What is emotional abuse?
         Emotional abuse, also referred to as psychological violence, psychological abuse, or mental abuse, is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting, or exposing, another person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
         According to Richard D. Krugman."Emotional child abuse has been defined as the rejection, ignoring, criticizing, isolation or terrorization of a child\children all of which have the effect of eroding their self esteem." It usually expresses itself in verbal attacks involving rejection, scapegoat, belittlement among others.
  Neglect;
          Child neglect is defined as a type of maltreatment related to the failure to provide needed age-appropriate care. Unlike physical and sexual abuse, neglect is usually typified by an ongoing pattern of inadequate care and is readily observed by individuals in close contact with the child. It is the failure to provide or to satisfy a child's basic needs. This basic need includes adequate food, clothing, shelter, or supervision to standardize a child's emotional and psychological development.
                                                               
                                                                           SOLUTIONS
             Child abuse is however a frightening and unpleasant reality in today's world and its effects on children could be devastating. the question now is how serious should we be about child abuse? Well, what will you be willing to give for the sake of your child's safety? how can children protect themselves?how can the people in the society help innocent victims? how can the governments be of great help in solving the issue of child abuse?  lets consider these questions one by one.
   
           First, lets consider why the first question that says "what will you be willing to do for the sake of your child's safety?" well the good news is you really don't have a very big price to pay when it comes to protecting your child. To protect your child, you just have to follow this simple steps bellow;
1)  Be a very good listener to your child and take seriously their feelings; Many parents today abuse their children without even knowing they do it. Giving a child the chance to speak and you listening and trying to understand things from their point of view will call  your awareness to how you irritate them. let your children know they can tell you anything. this way, you are protecting your child from external abusers and even yourself.
 2)  Train your child; of cause every parent train their children, but the question is "on what". let your child know what it means to be abused and never hesitate to fight back whenever they notice they are being abused also let them know that they should seek the closest help they could get when they are abused.This type of training are very important most especially in bringing up a female child. Equip your children with some basic protective tools like screaming in cases of molestations.
 3)   Always be ready to act whenever your child complains or report being abused. believe your child over everybody be it a teacher, a family member, friends or even your religious leader i.e pastors, imams, and traditional leader. when a case is reported, it is not the time of considering what the accused is capable of doing or the persons place in the society. believe your child.Be your child's first line of defense
     
    The second question of consideration is " how can children protect themselves?"
break the silence.

To every child that suffers from child abuse and to those that are prone to becoming a victim, don't you ever keep quiet. Silence makes you remain a victim for long let it be known to all those that can help you know about it never keep saying it it is not a sin to be a victim, help can come from anywhere.

  The third question for consideration is "how can people in the society help innocent victims"  the best way to do that, is to feed the victims with strength and go against every sort of abuses however small the society should give no space for any abuse and take cases very seriously against the abusers in fact, they should take matters to the law and make sure abusers are adequately punished and exposed to frightening other abusers. 

   Our final question for consideration is "how can the government be of great help in solving the issue of child abuse" this doesn't require much. all the government needs to do is to make the punishment for child abuse offenses be very serious. The government should also be ready to take responsibility of victims of child abuse that may have nobody else to run to when they eventually have the courage to break the silence. 

     child abuse is an evil act that should be eradicated in today's society lets not give it a place among us. fish them out. 

   

   Adeniyi M. O.[MRS].

    

Credit goes to: MRS ADENIYI M. O.

SELF ESTEEM

 Self-esteem reflects a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is a judgement of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself, as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame.
How happy do you feel when you have accomplished something good? When you do something good, feel happy, encourage yourself. Even if others do not acknowledge the good in what you have done, praise yourself and give yourself the credit you deserve. There is always a saying that when a Lizard falls from a wall and hits the floor, he nods his head which serves as a self-appraisal.
Low self-esteem means that you will have a poor image of yourself and this will result in a loss of confidence.
According to leading psychologists, positive self-esteem is vital in development of a healthy personality. Nathaniel Branden calls self-esteem: The immune system of consciousness.

The level of our self-esteem determines how we operate in life - how we interact with others, spouse, children, friends, and strangers. It determines our goals and what we strive for, our achievements, and our satisfaction and happiness in life.

TGIF QUOTES

CREDIT GOES TO: WIKIPEDIA AND NWABUKO INTEGRITY CHIDIEBUBE

NO PROCASTINATION

I read her post and it inspired me, so I decided to share it with you guys.

*Let's live life deliberately... We should be accountable for every single day we live. Steer your day.

*No procrastination... It's a snare!

*Do stuffs that gives you fulfillment... Refuse to live a boring life

*Manage/spend your time wisely... It's still 24 hours per day

Credit Goes to: LAWAL MARY OIEZA