RUSTY TAPS CAN CAUSE EPILEPSY


Rusted taps cause lead poisoning which can result in epilepsy, Miss Agnes Sam; Psychiatric Nursing officer at the Kaneshie polytechnic has revealed.

She said when people fetch water from taps that are rusty, they end up imbibing large volumes of lead which can lead to epilepsy.

Miss Sam made this revelation during a community durbar on mental illness in Accra yesterday.

The durbar was held in partnership with BasicNeeds, a nongovernmental organization that provides health care for the needy on the theme “Creating awareness on Mental illness and epilepsy for increased membership”.

The Psychiatric Nursing officer said for many years epilepsy has been attributed to spiritual causes leading to stigmatization of victims.
She however cleared that misconception saying that epilepsy is a medical condition that can be managed when medical care is sought.

Miss Sam said many people have the misconception that people having seizures should not be touched, “others say if you touch them you will be infected”.

“That is not true, when someone is having a seizure, keep the person’s head safe so that the person does not sustain any head injuries. Loosen the person up and lay the person prostate till the seizure is over” she advised.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs Juliana Azuma-Mensah, Research Statistic Information Manager, Efua Anyanful said there is the need to intensify efforts aimed at creating awareness among the public about the disease and to make mentally ill persons gain community acceptance and re-integration.

She said as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to addressing the problems facing mental health in Ghana, the mental health bill is going o be passed into law.

The Director assured that the ministry will continue to passionately work to advance the cause of women and children no matter their health and social status.

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Some of the causes of epilepsy are boils in the head, injuries sustained in the head and prolonged labour.

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