Unhealthy habits

One fine summer morning I witnessed more than 50 people queuing up in front of outpatient department desk in a government hospital. The number of people doubled within next hour, with continuous entry and exit till afternoon. The long awaiting queue was filled with tiring and gloomy faces, standing along with family members for registration, routine check-up or follow-up on health status. Some were rushing to emergency ward with fearful expressions, few bargaining with security guards for entry passes to see their patients in general wards and remaining waiting up their turns to see respective doctors. 



What is most surprising is it’s not only a sight of a single government hospital, but each and every hospital of Kathmandu is filled with similar crowd every day, except on Saturdays, when most of those hospitals remain close apart from the emergency service. Beds full of patients in every hospital, always occupied intensive care unit (ICU) and coronary care unit (CCU), emergency ward filled with fresh patients 24/7, packed pharmacy and medical stores and same mass in every hospital; it seems a big chunk of population of the country is unwell. 
Government hospitals in Kathmandu witness variety of patients, hailing from Far-east to Far-West. Since the well-equipped hospitals and professional doctors are centered here, a large number of populations are dying every day in the remote village. Kathmandu and few other major cities are well equipped with modern hospitals providing quality treatment whereas villages lack even a single medical store. As a result, there is a remarkable disparity in the health status of urban and rural people. 

Quality of health service has definitely grown in urban areas but rustics are still far away from access to basic medicines. Urbanites know about the importance of good health but disregard it. They don’t even follow the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle. Rural people don’t even have basic education on how the body functions.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Being healthy doesn’t only refer to the physical pain of body or symptoms of diseases but it is equally important to be mentally sound as well. Good health leads to good life, good society and good nation. Balanced body and mind leads to good health, which is a key to happiness and success. 

Nepalis have a low life expectancy rate, i.e. 55-60 years. Can you guess how many times a person visits a nearby hospital till 60? It’s quite disappointing that maximum number of Nepalis visit hospitals only after 50, or only in the worsened health condition. They don’t bother about regular check-up until they are bedridden with critical health problems and the situation worsens. There is a tendency of consuming painkillers most of the time, if any general disorder or imbalance occurs. Or simply, people go for nearby medical stores, brief their problems to the pharmacists and buy medicines. But in no ways they think about taking wise decisions like going to hospitals for whole-body check up or consulting good doctors for routine check-up. Common health problems of Nepalis in day-to-day life are cured instantly with medicines available in medical shops without the consultation of doctors or without holding any tests. But, they are unaware about the long-term effects of such medicines. 

Unhealthy lifestyle is the major reason for people falling victim to diseases. Nepalis have poor health habits and disorganized lifestyle leading to different diseases. Mostly gastritis, diabetes and high/low blood pressure are found in Nepali men. Similarly, thyroid and problem in uterus are major health problems for Nepali women these days. 

People run behind money, ignoring their health. And when it’s too late, they rush to hospitals. By then it is too late and hard-earned money is spent in hospitals. People could have saved their earning for different purposes but fail to do so as their health has already been deteriorated. Had they paid attention to good lifestyle, balanced diet, sound mind and good hygiene, hospitals would not be packed all the time. 

Good health must be the top priority of each and every individual. They must have a thorough check up of all the body parts regularly. Since prevention is better than cure, one must focus on adopting a healthy lifestyle. The state must provide access of quality health services to one and all. There is a strong correlation between literacy and health, so focus should be made on making the people literate about basic health problems and solutions. Highly skilled health professionals should be available in every single village to prevent the diseases and immediate deaths of local people. 

Self-awareness, balanced diet and regular physical exercise, without fail, keep diseases at bay. So, it’s most necessary to adopt a healthy lifestyle and keep health in top priority. 

Published on Republica,  2014-07-06 

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