When Dengue claimed ‘Angel’ (Last part)

(Writer’s note: This article is an edited and paraphrased version that was written to me last 2010 by a dear friend who requested to remain anonymous. It is about a boy named ‘Angel’ who fought the last minute of his life against an alleged misdiagnosed dengue case. I find this article timely considering June is also the Dengue Awareness Month. The setting took place in one of the private hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City. The first part of this two-part article was published last June 7, 2013)

THAT Sunday morning, the medical team panicked as Angel succumbed to cardiac arrest.

When Dengue claimed ‘Angel’ (First of two parts)

Writer’s note: This article is an edited and paraphrased version that was written to me last 2010 by a dear friend who requested to remain anonymous. It is about a boy named ‘Angel’ who fought the last minute of his life against an alleged misdiagnosed dengue case. I find this article timely considering June is also the Dengue Awareness Month. The setting took place in one of the private hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City.

Angel was an adopted child of my uncle and aunt who could no longer bear children. There was nothing really special about him.

On prostate cancer

THE month of June typically marks the end of summer season in our country. However, did you know that June is also declared as the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month?

World Health Day (last part)

LAST Sunday, April 7 was the 65th World Health Day. Since the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948, every year a theme is selected to highlight a priority public health concern that affects the entire world.

For this year, the World Health Day theme is controlling blood pressure.

Vesagas: Combating heatstroke

ACCORDING to weather-forecast.com, for 10 straight days beginning April 1, Cagayan de Oro city will experience hot sunny days as temperature soars highest at 30 degrees Celsius. Summer time has indeed set in. For most students, it is the best season of the year: no classes, all night gimmicks and parties, off-shore vacations, and the seemingly unlimited pool and beach picnics.

But before donning your provocative swim wear and flaunting some skin, summertime also poses some health risks that include heatstroke, heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

The Room Nurse saga (Last part)

(Writer’s note: This article has been conceived in response to the contentious remarks of Senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar about the nursing profession)

IN MY quest to solicit what the Philippine Nurses’ Association (PNA), the largest accredited professional organization of nurses by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and the Board of Nurses (BON) in the country, has to say regarding the matter of Villar’s “room nurse” issue, a former classmate of mine in college and is currently among the PNA regional officers sent me a copy of their two-page official statement.

Vesagas: The Room Nurse saga (1st of two parts)

(Writer’s note: This article has been conceived in response to the contentious remarks of Senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar about the nursing profession)

QUOTING Ms. Cynthia Villar’s remarks: “Actually, hindi kailangan ng mga nurse matapos ng BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) kasi, itong ating mga nurse gusto lang nilang maging room nurse. Or sa Amerika or in other countries e ano lang sila, yung parang mag-aalaga. Hindi naman sila kailangan ganoon ka galing.”

Vesagas: Violence against women

SINCE March is also dubbed as the national women’s month, allow me to give you a picture of how domestic violence has been going in our country in a sociological level.

Violence, as stated by the World Health Organization, is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.

Vesagas: The importance of a sodium-restricted diet in hypertension

“THE association between sodium and hypertension has been firmly established,” states Dr. Virginia Claudio, a registered nutritionist-dietician and co-author of the Basic Diet Therapy for Filipinos.

According to Dr. Anne Harley, chapter contributor of Pathophysiology: Reviews and Rationales for Nursing: “Hypertension is a [condition of] sustained blood pressure (BP) that is greater than normal, usually greater than 140 mmHg systolic and 90 mmHg diastolic.”

Vesagas: Some facts about oral health

FEBRUARY, aside from being popularly known as the Heart’s month, is also dubbed as the Oral Health Month.

According to Dr. Dawn Murphy, chapter contributor of Medical Surgical Nursing: Clinical Management for Positive Outcomes, health professionals [including dentists] strive to preserve the patients’ healthy gums and teeth because of the following reasons: 1) natural teeth are almost always more functional in masticating food than dental prostheses; 2) effective mastication of food helps promote efficient digestion; and 3) efficient digestion of food results in healthy gastrointestinal function and maintenance of general health.