24 Nov 2024

Members of the community have been encouraged to adopt regular screening in order to curb Non Communicable diseases (NCDs).

When officiating at Kgatleng Tribal Administration wellness day held in Oodi recently, Infectious Diseases Physician at Sidilega Hospital, Dr Letumile Moeng said NCDs were neglected and now at a point where they caused multiple irreversible problems.

He said more Batswana were increasingly affected by NCDs and that regular screening was important to reduce the increase rate.

Dr Moeng cited that hypertension or high blood pressure was the most dangerous as it introduced many complications to a patient.

He said high blood pressure could quietly damage the body for years before symptoms appeared adding that without treatment, it may lead to disability, a poor quality of life, or even a deadly heart attack or stroke among other complications.

He also said prostate cancer was also one of the common illnesses that showed no signs at early stages.

Dr Moeng implored men to make screening a habit citing that most patients were diagnosed at stage four, something he said was very risky.

Meanwhile, Dr Moeng stated that with government determined to revamp health sector through introduction of health insurance scheme, Batswana should come forth to assist doctors to be able to track family history and set up better outcomes in managing diseases.

He also encouraged attendants to take precautions about healthy eating and managing their body weights.

Wellness chairperson, Mr Thabo Mokgatle said objectives of the wellness day were to share information about illnesses caused by sedentary living and to get first-hand information from doctors’ experiences about such illnesses.

He also said the day provided a platform to screen members of the community and the Kgatleng tribal administration staff. Ends