Health Essentials
Glaucoma – a call to have your eyes checked
As we raise awareness of Glaucoma this week (it should continue all year), the importance of community education to prevent vision loss, regular eye care and early detection of this silent disease is key. The theme “SEE THE FUTURE CLEARLY” puts the whole process into perspective.
What will you do if after years of enjoying the beauty of the world through your eyes, you wake up one day and realize your eyes are failing or have failed you? It could be a major life-changing event. You may even run the risk of causing accidents. Imagine what one goes through during the DUM phase of DUMSOR.
Now imagine life perpetually in DUM. All this could be prevented if you make time to care for your eyes: check your eye pressure and have your sight checked as well.
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve (nerve of the eye) leading to loss of vision. It is most often but not always associated with an increase in eye pressure.
In Ghana, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness second only to cataract. Ghana appears to have many challenges with “vision” (note the pun) as we have been identified as the country with the second (some data quote third) highest prevalence rate of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is sometimes referred to as the “silent thief of sight” because it can damage your vision so gradually that you may not notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage. The most common type of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma has no noticeable signs or symptoms except gradual vision loss. As always, the key is to be diagnosed early and managed since this can prevent or minimize damage to the optic nerve. Early diagnosis is only possible if we have regular check-ups. I checked my eye-pressures six months ago, what about you?
Isolating the risk factors
1. Age – Anyone can get glaucoma, but it most often occurs in those above forty years.
2. Ethnicity – Africans and African Americans are at an increased risk compared to Caucasians. In high-risk groups it may be necessary to have your eyes checked even in your 20s.
3. Family History/ Genetics – You are at an increased risk if a member of your family has glaucoma.
4. Medical Conditions – Diabetics and people with hypothyroidism are also prone
5. Nearsighted/shortsighted – For this group of people, objects in the distance appear fuzzy without corrective lenses.
6. Prolonged Steroid use – especially if used as eye drops, increases our risk for glaucoma.
7. Other Eye conditions – Severe eye injury, some of which may even cause the eye lens to dislocate. Retinal detachment, eye tumours and some eye infections may also predispose us. Some eye surgeries may occasionally trigger glaucoma.
Recognising the warning signs
It is important to drum home the point that just as in high blood pressure, there may be no warning signs. As stated above, the commonest form of glaucoma will hardly warn you. In some forms of glaucoma, however, we may experience the following:
1. Gradual loss of peripheral (side) vision leading to tunnel vision where one is able to see only objects directly in front of him/her
2. Redness of the eye
3. Blurred vision
4. Halos around lights
5. Severe eye pain is sometimes associated with nausea and vomiting
6. Sudden onset of poor vision especially in low light
Overview of tests available
1. Measuring eye pressure. This is a simple painless procedure. It is often the first line for screening for people with glaucoma.
2. Visual Field Test – your doctor will use this test to determine whether glaucoma has affected your peripheral vision
3. Several other tests are available and include testing for optic nerve damage and measuring corneal thickness.
Treatment options
There is NO CURE for glaucoma, but it can be successfully managed. Our options include eye drops, oral medication or surgery, which reduce pressure in the eye to a level that is unlikely to cause further optic nerve damage.
You may not be able to prevent glaucoma, but you can avoid its complications if diagnosed and its management started early. Talk to your healthcare professional and have eye examinations when necessary.
This is the only way to ensure that you can “…see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way” and you will enjoy this great vision for years to come.
Glaucoma is “a silent thief of sight.” This is another reminder that NOT ALL SILENCE IS GOLDEN! Get checked.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “The next big thing in Healthcare in Ghana is the Medics Clinic. Visit https://medicsgroupgh.com/ for more information.”
References:
1. 37 Military Hospital Eye Department infomercials
2. Mosby’s ACE the BOARDS
3. www.mayoclinic.com
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Revival Outreach Church donates food items, others to Street Academy
The Revival Outreach Church in La on Friday presented food items to the Street Academy in Accra.
The gesture was to support the academy to take care of the underprivileged children and help in the organisation of an Easter picnic for the children on Easter Monday.
The items worth over Gh₵27,000 include rice, sugar, maize, tin fish, gari, toiletries, clothes and many others.
Led by Rev. Prof. Abednego Okoe Amartey, immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) said the gesture was to put smiles on the faces of the children and also encourage the staff of the Academy for the good work.
He said the presentation has been an annual thing and believes it has come to stay.
According to him, it was important for other churches and organisations to join the effort to keep these children off the street and be trained in their areas of interest.
Rev. Emmanuel Amuzu who presented the items commended the staff and management of the Academy for the good work it was doing to giving the children a bright future.
He said the items were not meant for the children alone, adding that, “part of it would go to the teachers who train these children. That should serve as an incentive to them.”
He lauded the vision of the Academy Director, Ataa Lartey and urged more organisations to offer similar support.
“What the Academy is doing is massive. These are children who on regular days would roam the streets and grow up becoming social deviants. Parents should try to be more responsible taking care of their wards.
“However, traditionally when a child is born, his or her development and upbringing becomes the responsibility of the society. It is the reason we, as a church, would continually support the academy to keep these children to get the training to be responsible adults,” he explained.
The Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey thanked the leadership and members of the church for the presentation which he said would go a long way to ease the burden on them.
By Spectator Reporter
Health Essentials
‘Every birth counts’: The critical need to improve emergency maternal care in Ghana
Imagine a young woman in labour, her heart racing, her unborn child in distress. She arrives at a district hospital — tired, scared, and in need of immediate care. What happens next determines whether she lives, whether her baby survives — and whether another Ghanaian family is shattered by a preventable loss.
A recent study in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region is shedding new light on the realities of emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) in Ghana. The findings are sobering — but they also reveal a clear path forward.
Why this matters now
Despite progress in maternal health, far too many Ghanaian women are still dying from childbirth-related complications. Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 308 per 100,000 live births — nearly 20 times higher than the average in high-income countries.
“We know what the problems are, and we know how to solve them,” says Dr Reuben Esena, one of the study authors. “The question is: are we willing to invest where it matters most — in women’s lives?”
What the study found
The research, published in the International Journal of Science Academic Research, evaluated three key hospitals — St. Martins Catholic Hospital, Atua Government Hospital, and Akuse Government Hospital — which serve a population of over 108,000 in Lower Manya Krobo.
The study reviewed 271 cases of obstetric complications and found that the most common were:
– Foetal distress (18 per cent)
– Complications from previous C-sections (13 per cent)
– Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (8 per cent)
– Cephalopelvic disproportion and breech deliveries (7 per cent)
These complications are not rare, nor are they unpredictable. Most are entirely preventable or manageable — with timely intervention and well-equipped facilities.
A mixed picture: Progress and gaps
The good news? All three hospitals provide round-the-clock EmONC services, staffed by midwives, medical officers, and anaesthetists. Life-saving drugs like oxytocin and magnesium sulfate are widely available. Caesarean sections and manual placenta removal are routinely performed when needed.
The bad news? None of the facilities had an infant laryngoscope — essential for newborn resuscitation. Only one had ergometrine to control bleeding after childbirth. And not a single case utilised assisted vaginal delivery — even where it might have been appropriate.
In some cases, multiple complications overlapped, such as foetal distress plus severe pre-eclampsia. For a woman in that situation, every minute counts. Every delay risks two lives — or more.
Who’s Most at Risk?
Women aged 25–29 years had the highest number of complications — a reminder that even “prime age” pregnancies can be dangerous without the right support. But adolescents and women over 40 faced some of the most severe risks, including eclampsia, foetal death, and difficult labour.
“Our younger girls, especially those between 15–19 years, are particularly vulnerable,” the study noted. “They come late to the hospital, sometimes after trying traditional remedies at home. By the time they arrive, it’s often too late.”
A national crisis demands national response
The maternal health challenges in Lower Manya Krobo reflect a broader national reality. Many districts across Ghana lack the full complement of staff, drugs, and equipment required for quality EmONC services.
But the solutions are not out of reach.
So what must we do?
1. Invest in life¬-saving supplies and training: Every hospital handling deliveries should be equipped with the full range of emergency tools — including items as simple, but critical, as an infant laryngoscope or ergometrine injection.
2. Improve documentation and digital health systems: Accurate records allow clinicians to track complications and adjust care accordingly. Ghana’s shift to digital health must prioritise maternal health systems.
3. Decentralise comprehensive EmONC: More health centres and CHPS compounds need capacity to offer basic EmONC. Complications don’t wait for referrals — care must be accessible at the first point of contact.
4. Promote community education: Women and families must be educated on the importance of antenatal care, early referrals, and hospital deliveries, especially in rural areas where myths and delays still cost lives.
Every woman deserves a safe birth
This study is more than data — it’s a call to action. Behind every statistic is a mother, a child, a family. Ghana has the knowledge, the workforce, and the policy framework to make maternal death a thing of the past.
What remains is commitment — not just in funding, but in leadership, in community involvement, and in valuing every single life.
As the researchers conclude: “Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care is not a privilege. It is a right — and one that Ghana must deliver.”
By Henry Okorie Ugorji
