Sade Oguntola, Oluwole Ige and Joseph Ajayi provide insights into the food poisoning story surrounding the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.FOR Dame Patience Jonathan, the political amazon wife of Nigeria's president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, this is perhaps one of the most challenging phases of her life since her husband assumed the mantle of leadership as the number one citizen of the nation. Anxiety about her health generated much concern during the week when both local and international media, including online news agencies, reported that she had been flown to Germany for complications over the treatment of food poisoning. Though the Presidency has continued to assure Nigerians that she was only in Germany to rest, media reports indicated that the president's wife was treated for food poisoning for some days in the country without much improvement, a development which compelled her movement to a German hospital identified as Horst Schmidt Klinik, located at Wiesbaden.While confirming Dame Jonathan's admission in the medical facility, an unnamed hospital spokesperson, who spoke to a Nigerian newspaper, Leadership on Tuesday, said 'Nigeria's First Lady, was in a bad state of health' when she arrived last week at the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany. According to the hospital official, available records showed that Mrs Jonathan had earlier been treated for food poisoning in Nigeria before being brought to the Horst Schmidt Klinik, but she had been responding to treatment after she had undergone a major surgery for a ruptured appendix to remove the poisons in her intestine.Similarly, a senior consultant of the hospital who pleaded anonymity told the newspaper that Mrs Jonathan was brought to the hospital early last week after the management of the hospital had been contacted and briefed on her deteriorating health condition. The consultant said Mrs Jonathan was getting better, but the hospital management would ensure that she was fully fit before she would be allowed to go back to Nigeria.What is food poisoning'Food poisoning is not strange in the medical world, as it falls under the long list of treatable ailments afflicting humanity, regardless of social stratum, living condition and individual economic cadre, most especially whether you are wealthy or living even below poverty level.The Friday Edition's investigation shows that the position of Dame as the First Lady may have raised awareness and awaken the consciousness of Nigerians and the health institutions to the danger inherent in food poisoning.This is not to say its effects on the internal organs of the body is not life threatening. According to mailonline.com, studies have shown that people caught up in food poisoning outbreaks are more likely to develop a host of lengthy illnesses, including diabetes, arthritis, kidney failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes with lifelong consequences. Some, such as kidney damage, thought to be caused by powerful poisons released by bugs and arthritis triggered by a faulty immune response, occur within weeks. Others, such as high blood pressure, take years to appear. Long-term: Salmonella, E coli and other types of food poisoning may have devastating effects. Others say that prevention is key and better hand and food hygiene would cut the number of cases of food poisoning and so the number of people left with lifelong complications.In Nigeria, statistical data of individuals, who have suffered food poisoning is not readily available, but the major causes of the ailment is traced to bacteria, contaminated plants and food items, just as signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, head or muscle aches, and fever. Infants and the elderly are at greater risk for food poisoning. Other risk factors include having a pre-existing medical condition, such as chronic kidney failure, liver disease, or diabetes taking antibiotic, antihistamine, or steroid medicines, weakened immune system, sickle cell anaemia, traveling in an area where contamination is more likely, among others.A University of Western Ontario researcher, Dr Bill Clark, according to mailonline, recommends that survivors of severe food poisoning, such as that caused by the E coli O157 strain undergoes regular blood pressure and kidney checks. 'Food poisoning occurs when you eat food contaminated with bacteria or other toxins', he stated. Ruptured AppendicitisRuptured appendicitis, according to medical reports, occurs when an infected appendix gets seriously inflamed, blocking the intestine and interfering with the function of the intestinal wall. This prevents passing of liquids and gas, thereby causing nausea and vomiting.By medical definition, appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix which is the worm-shaped pouch attached to the cecum, the beginning of the large intestine. Although the appendix, located in the right lower quadrant, reportedly has no function in the body, it can be infected or diseased. Reports state further that appendicitis is a medical emergency which, if left untreated, may lead to the rupture of the appendix and cause a potentially fatal infection in the body.According to medical experts, the first symptoms of the appendicitis are occasional pains in the right side of the abdomen which gradually increase to a sharp and persistent in and around the bellybutton. The pains, the experts say, may shift towards the right lower quadrant of the abdomen and worsen with moving, taking a deep breath, coughing, sneezing, walking or being touched. Other symptoms are said to include fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, frequent and/or painful urination, diarrhea, constipation and abdominal swelling in the later stages.Highlighting the complications of appendicitis, experts say an infected appendix can rupture or burst within 24 hours after symptoms begin. This, according to them, may cause abscesses, that is pus-filled boils around the appendix or diffuse what is called peritonitis, an infection of the abdominal cavity which is life-threatening. Symptoms of the peritonitis, they posit, include mild to moderate abdominal pain, fever, change in bowel habits and feelings as if one doesn't have enough energy to do one's daily activities.Appendicitis is said to be commonly found in children and young adults. Reports have it that one person in 15 develops appendicitis in his or her lifetime. The incidence, the reports add, is highest among males aged 10-14 and among females aged 15-19. While more males than females develop appendicitis between puberty and age 25, it is rare in the elderly folks and in children under the age of two.Diagnosing appendicitis, according to the medical reports, is done by a complete history and examination. The physical examination takes a look at signs like increased temperature, tenderness in the right lower part of the abdomen, especially when the doctor presses the area. There is a sharp increase in pain when the pressure is removed (rebound tenderness). In a bid to confirm the diagnosis, the doctor may order the following tests: White blood count (WBC), Urinalysis, Xray, Ultrasound and CT Scan.TreatmentThe treatment of appendicitis is through an immediate appendectomy, reports say. This may the carried out by opening the abdomen in the standard open appendectomy technique or through laparoscopy. In laparoscopy, a smaller incision is made through the navel. Both methods are said to successfully accomplish the removal of the appendix. When the appendix has ruptured, patients undergoing a laparoscopy appendectomy may have to be switched to the open appendectomy procedure for the successful management of the rupture. If a ruptured appendix, according to the reports, is left untreated, the condition is fatal.The reports conclude that while appendicitis is probably not preventable, there are some indications that a diet high in green vegetables and tomatoes may help prevent appendicitis.Dr Gbenga Kuponiyi, a medical expert at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, while describing appendicitis as one of the most common causes of emergency abdominal surgery, stated that a ruptured appendicitis is dabgerous. According to him, a ruptured appendicitis can lead to peritonitis and shock. 'If nothing is done for a patient with a ruptured appendicitis, when it causes systemic septicaemia, such a person can die.'The medical doctor stated that often times because abdominal pain is one of the symptoms experienced by people with appendicitis, if people resort to the use of painkillers, the appendicitis might rupture before it is realised.The symptoms of appendicitis can vary. It can be hard to diagnose appendicitis in young children, the elderly and women of childbearing age. But the first symptom is often pain around your belly button. The pain may be minor at first, but it becomes more sharp and severe. This sometimes is accompanied by lower appetite, nausea, vomiting, and a low fever.Sources:http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Ruptured+appendix.http://healthpages.org/surgical-care/appendectomy/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000256.htm
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