On the latest episode of Vodafone Healthline series, health professionals have debunked the assertion that sleeping under a fan causes pneumonia indicating that there are no such viruses or bacteria transfer associated with just sleeping under a fan.
Senior Physician Specialist, Dr. Aba Folson, emphasized that though sleeping under a fan can irritate the airway and cause a person to cough sometimes, it is not related to pneumonia because there are several other factors that can stimulate a cough without giving pneumonia.
“We have people whose airways in the body do react to the air blowing from the fan sometimes because the excessive air irritates the passage which stimulates a cough but pneumonia is far from that because as an infection it is not limited to just coughing,” she said.
She added that pneumonia occurs when viruses and bacteria get into one’s lungs causing inflammation which lead to fever, chest pain and coughing.
General Practitioner, Dr Kwekuma Yalley, however indicated that both fan and air conditioners have the potential to activate pneumonia, if they are not cleaned or serviced regularly thereby producing filthy air. “With this situation, it is not necessarily because you are sleeping under the fan but the dirt in the air you are breathing in that causes the infection,” he said.
He added that pneumonia infection is commonly acquired in the environment depending on the community in which one lives, thus when one breath in polluted or dusty air from road construction works on the street or toxic emissions into the atmosphere, possibility of contracting viruses and bacteria that causes pneumonia is high.
In this sixth episode, the story of a seven-year-old Gadaffi, who resides in Wassa Amenfi in the Ashanti Region, born with a protruding stomach and have been living in pain until Vodafone Healthline rescued him was highlighted.
His parent, Mr. and Mrs. Mamudu, narrated that he is the fifth child but the only one with such complication so they initially thought it is his physique until he was two months old and they realized it keeps increasing and he is constantly in pain.
His father indicated that subsequently a surgery was performed on Gadaffi at the Okomfo Anokye Hospital, but the family could not pay for the medical bill and have been seeking for assistance to get him discharged. Notwithstanding, the surgery did not solve the issue completely as Gadaffi this time around cannot sleep on the operated side of his body without screaming in pain.
The mother shared her bitter experiences about how people always make mockery of the son which makes her feel distressed that her son cannot have a good healthy life.
“I was short of words when I received a call from the hospital informing me that Vodafone had offered to finance the surgery and all the required procedures needed to restore my son’s health. It was a moment of joy and gladness in the whole house,” the father said.
They emphasized that they will forever remain grateful to Vodafone for the immeasurable joy and excitement they brought to her family by bearing all the cost involved in making sure Gadaffi is completely healed.
The episode included a spotlight on infertility in men by Dr. Bernard Morton, Consultant Urologist, who cautioned men to take issues concerning the health of their sexual organs seriously as potency level reduce after 60 years.
