MARCH 5

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Inside March 5, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 3/2/18 8:52 PM Page 5 06 View DAILY HERITAGE MONDAY, <strong>MARCH</strong> 5, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH Do you fancy the ‘excessive’ hairdo of our ladies? BY NANA BRAM OKAE II WOMEN’S HAIRD O has caught my attention of late and I want to discuss it as well as other trends in fashion in a very light-hearted manner today. Wigs You may have noticed that our women are using wigs and what they call ‘attachments’ very much these days. It’s all part of fashion. A career woman may not have the luxury of time to go to the hairdresser’s every so often to have the hair fixed. Instead, she may have a wig handy to put on whenever it’s needed. Of late however, I have been seeing extra-ordinary hairdos by some of our women and I thought those hairdos were intriguing. Some of the hair-dos are not ‘moderate’ at all, if you understand what I mean. They partially cover the face and ears of the wearer making it difficult to recognize the wearer. Some also are so long that you wonder whether the African hair is as long as it’s being portrayed. Moderation For this reason I want to make the call for moderation when it comes to hair-dos by our women. Indeed, moderation is the best policy in anything we do. We all know that we Africans have short hair. There is no doubt about that. When it comes to length of hair, the African cannot match the rest of the world, be it European or Asian. So, if a woman puts any false hair on to give the impression that her hair is naturally long, we know it is not true. Centre of attraction A woman’s hair is the centre of attraction. You may therefore have noticed that a woman seeks to protect her hair first when it’s raining to the neglect of other parts of her body. So the hair must be managed very well by them. From our traditional environment a young woman started to have her hair plaited when she reached the age of puberty. The older ones then used head-kerchiefs to cover the hair when going to public meetings or church or mosque. Career women Career women in the olden days had a way of fixing their hair at weekends—they used what was called the stretching comb to do that. It was a relatively not-so-long metal comb with teeth and when put in coalpot fire to become very hot, was applied to the hair and stretched out. It looked beautiful when well done. In course of time, the ordinary stretching comb metamorphosed into electric stretching comb and that made things easier for the career women. Then came in the ordinary wig, big time, for our ladies, followed almost immediately by the Afro-wig, a replica of the hair of African-American women in the US. Afro-wig The Afro-wig was in vogue for a considerable length of time after which the hairdressers’ shops started springing up in the early 80s when chemicals for treating black hair starting arriving in the country from England and America. And today, we have all kinds of wigs and hair styles, all in the name of fashion. But those wigs and hairstyles that make the wearer look like a scarecrow or ‘kakamotobi’ must be discarded in favour of the simple ones that make it easy for the public to easily recognize the wearer. It’s in their own interest. Fashion But they will tell you it’s fashion and when it comes to fashion no logic is applied. It’s the vogue of the day and that’s it. For, how do you account for male teenagers and young adults wearing trousers with their underpants showing conspicuously? And when you ask, they say it’s Oto Pfister, referring to the German sexagenarian who once coached our junior football teams in Ghana. Cyclical I have observed over the years though, that fashion trends are cyclical and that what happened in the sixties once again became trendy in the nineties. And what happened in the seventies are now the vogue of today, and so on and so forth. It was fashionable for youngsters to wear very tight trousers in the late sixties and early seventies. Indeed, they were so tight that you needed a second person to help you pull them out for you when undressing. You couldn’t do it all by yourself because of the way they had been sewn. Transportation The means of transportation in those days was the wooden mammy truck, popularly called ‘bone shaker’ and to get on board in those tight trousers was a big problem for the wearers. One had to swing one leg across into the vehicle and in the process tear the trousers where they were joined which was a major embarrassment for wearers then. Ten years later in the mid-70s we moved to the extreme end where we had the trousers with a big flare at the bottom called the ‘bell bottom’ or ‘Oxford’. At the same time came the ‘guarantee shoes’ (wooden platform shoes) made in Kumase. Thus, the platform shoes and the bell bottom trousers trended am icably in the 70s and that was the vogue. Guarantee shoes So, the high-heeled shoes you see worn by women and men of today were in vogue in the seventies. They were called ‘guarantee shoes’ and for your information they were made nowhere else but in Kumase, here in Ghana. Today, all these mini-shoe factories in Kumase are no more and we import most of our shoes from abroad while our boys and girls roam about on the streets selling dog chains, biscuits, ice cream and chilled water. Necklaces and ear-rings You see men, well-respected men of society, wearing necklaces and ear-rings as our women do and they will tell you, it’s fashion. Women wear necklaces and ear-rings to enhance their beauty and also to announce the quality of their jewelry stock. But in the case of men wearing them, I can’t see how ear-rings can add to the handsomeness of a man except to say that they’re now part of the fashionable trend. And remember fashion has no logic, as I have said already. Admittedly, women use makeups to enhance their beauty and almost everybody including men admits to this. But when women use make-ups in an excessive manner, without any moderation whatsoever, I believe the purpose of the make-up is completely defeated. Lip-stick Take the lip-stick for example. What is the use of the red lip-stick to our women who are dark in complexion? The red lipstick doesn’t gel on our women particularly when it’s excessive and bright. Can’t they use lip-sticks that are in sync with their skin-colour or it is because the red is used by white ladies so our dark-complexioned women should also use it? All in all, our ladies must be moderate when it comes to dressing and make-ups. Particularly about their hair, they’ve got to make sure that they don’t look like ‘kakamotobi’ soon after they come out of the hairdresser’s. Have a blessed day.
Inside March 5, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 3/2/18 8:52 PM Page 6 Dealing with morning sickness • Speak up You may be all about self-sufficiency and powering through your pregnancy, but being vocal about your feelings to those around you can help alleviate morning sickness misery. Your hubs probably doesn't know that his scented soap makes you queasy, or that giving you a kiss post pizza dinner, without brushing his teeth first gets your gag reflex going. • Track your nausea Your queasiness may seem to come and go as it pleases, but by tuning into your body and your surroundings, you might find that your morning sickness isn't so random. If you find yourself getting nauseated at the same time every evening, says Erick, it may be from the smells of your neighbors' cooking. • Stay hydrated It sounds like a no-brainer, but getting your eight glasses a day can feel like a monumental effort when your stomach won't keep anything down. Despite that, it's essential to get your liquids in because the more dehydrated you become, the more nauseated you'll become, according to Greenfield. WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERITAGE MONDAY, <strong>MARCH</strong> 5, 2018 &Env. GHS issues health alert on Lassa Fever HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT DESK FOLLOWING THE death of a 26-year-old man at the Tema General Hospital due to Lassa Fever, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has issued a health alert. According to GHS, the 26- year-old man reported to the hospital on February 23, 2018 but took ill on February 22, 2018. He vomited blood with clots on admission. Information available to health officers indicated that the patient had come from Kintampo North District about a few weeks ago to Tema. Within the three-week period, he also travelled to Eastern, Volta and the Brong-Ahafo Regions. He was suddenly taken ill on February 22, 2018 and reported to the Tema General Hospital on February 23 after the symptoms had worsened and was admitted. Blood sample was taken and sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for laboratory investigations which confirmed that he had Lassa Fever. The patient was managed in the isolation unit and was later moved to the Infectious Disease Centre at Tema General Hospital. Patient’s condition improved for a while and started deteriorating on the night of February 27. Unfortunately, he died at the early hours of February 28. •Lassa fever is an acute viral infectious disease normally caused by rodents Steps taken by the GHS/Ministry of Health The following measures have been immediately put in place to avert any possible outbreak. They include safe and dignifying burial under the supervision and support of trained professionals; enhance surveillance including Points of Entry (POEs) Surveillance with screening at the respective POEs and contact tracing and follow up processes. Other steps taken are regional and district health facilities have been informed about the outbreak. Media sensitisation and public education started about two weeks ago and is still ongoing. GHS has initiated processes to mobilise and stockpile essential logistics such as drugs and personal protecting equipment, public health emergency management committees at all levels (national, regions and districts) have been activated and the Ghana National Technical Coordinating Committee which is multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary has been activated and met to discuss response activities for containment. General information on Lassa Fever Lassa Fever is an acute viral infectious disease which is endemic in West Africa. The disease is gradual in onset with non-specific signs and symptoms. About 80% of infections are mild or without symptoms, however the disease can be severe and fatal. The incubation period is between 2 to 21 days. Ghana had earlier in 2011 confirmed few cases of Lassa Fever in Ashanti and Eastern Regions. In severe cases; facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding tendencies from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract which may result in low blood pressure and shock, late presentation may include shock, convulsion, disorientation, coma and multiple organ failure. Signs and symptoms Early symptoms include fever, general weakness, and malaise. After a few days, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough and abdominal pain may follow. In severe cases; facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding tendencies from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract which may result in low blood pressure and shock, late presentation may include shock, convulsion, disorientation, coma and multiple organ failure. Mode of spread Lassa Fever is transmitted to humans through contact with the urine, saliva, faeces and blood of rodents. The disease is endemic in rodent population in parts of West Africa. The reservoir for the virus is ‘multi-mammate rat.’, person to person transmission through direct physical contact with body fluids like blood, saliva, stool, vomitus, urine, and sweat of infected person and soiled linen used by a patient, sharp instruments such as needles that have been used by an infected person and non-professional handling of persons who have died of Lassa Fever Treatment There is an effective drug for treatment if reported early to a health facility/centre. For more information contact the following personalities: 1. Dr Badu Sarkodie; Director of Public Health, GHS (0244417911) 2. Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe; Deputy Dir (PH) & Head, Disease Surveillance Dept, GHS (0244643142) 3. Mrs Rebecca Ackwonu, Head of Public Relations Unit, GHS (0208118787) 4. Robert Cudjoe, Head of PR Unit, MOH (0245877340 or 0249955605
Page 1 and 2: NO. 100661 MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018 PR
Page 3 and 4: WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERI
Page 5: WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERI
Page 10 and 11: Inside March 5, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1
Page 12 and 13: Inside March 5, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1
Page 14 and 15: WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERI
Page 16: WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH 05/03/2018

MARCH 5

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?