I am not a medical practitioner, and I cannot claim to know much about medicine either. The best interaction I had with medical profession was during my ‘O’ level days when I took Biology as one of my science subjects during my school certificate examination. Aside from that, I like watching some medical programmes like Dr. 90210 on cable television and occasionally when I feel tired and I needed to go to the hospital for some medical check-up Are other occasions that I can say I see what medicine is all about. Medicine is a profession so many people like. Most parents always prefer their wards to go to the university and study medicine or pharmacy as a course. After reading much about Ben Carson, the retired American neurosurgeon and columnist, He wrote some nice books like ” The Gifted Hands and Think Big.’’ I became so thrilled about the profession and the kind heartedness of the people that practice the profession. When a person goes into coma and needs revival, traditionally, what we do is to look for some buckets of water and pour it on the fainted person to get him or her revived or get some flexible items to fan him for some air so that s/he can come back to life. Sometime it may even get so crude to the extent of forcing any hard object, like spoon within the reach of the rescue operators into the mouth of the person to prevent him/her from chaining the jaw and subsequently pass on from that state of coma. For medical personnel, who know the ABC of reviving a fainting person, they don’t approach it in that crude manner instead; they allow the victim to sit down in a particular position that would allow him/ her to have access to fresh air. This is more scientific and result oriented. Looking at our economy and the approach we are adopting to bring it back on its feet, it looks to me like we have been attempting to revive the ailing economy using the “crude and traditional” approach described above in order to resuscitate the Ghana ‘fainted’ economy. Why fainting (syncope)? Fainting, “blacking out,” or syncope is the temporary loss of consciousness followed by the return to full wakefulness. This loss of consciousness may be accompanied by loss of muscle tone that can result in falling or slumping over. Fainting is differentiated from seizure, during which patients may also Lose consciousness. Fainting is a sudden loss of consciousness, usually temporary and
Typically caused by a lack of oxygen in the brain. Sometimes syncope may be just that – a fainting episode with no medical importance. On some occasions, however, it may be caused by a serious illness, condition or disorder. Every case of fainting should be treated as a medical emergency until the cause is known and signs and symptoms have been treated. Anybody who has recurring fainting episodes should contact their doctor says medical experts. What are the signs and symptoms of fainting (syncope)? A symptom is something the patient senses and describes, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. The hallmark sign is evident to anyone around – the patient passes out, faints, and suddenly loses consciousness. The following signs and symptoms may precede a fainting episode. A feeling of heaviness in the legs, Blurred vision, Confusion, Feeling warm or hot, Lightheadedness, dizziness, a floating feeling, Nausea, Sweating, Vomiting, Yawning. When a person faints, the following signs may be evident: The individual may be falling over, the patient may be slumping, and the person may be unusually pale. There may be a drop in blood pressure; there may be a weak pulse. If you look at Ghanaian economy from this medical (syncope) point of view, you will agree that the economic health of the nation is suffering from all the signs and symptoms mentioned above.
