Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Knock Knock……Who’s there? GRIM REAPER !!!

The majority of us are familiar with the grim reaper and his role(for those who are not its OK,the grim reaper is also known as the person in Hollywood movies  that comes to take your soul whether or not you want them to) .The famous quote that ‘ nothing is certain but death comes to mind’, is something that I totally agree with however  what I don’t agree with is why the urgency to meet him.

grim-reaper-1

The way our  society lives  each day is that we  take for granted one of the most important  things that keeps us living  and that is our health. It is astonishing because Alhamdulilallah (Praise to God) some of us are lucky enough not to be faced with wars,famines,droughts or a life threatening alien invasion however what we are all faced with  is our biggest threat or enemy and that person stares back at us  in the mirror every morning afternoon and evening , YOU. We need to start worrying about why we unintentionally(sometimes intentionally as well) put ourselves in harms way everyday, something I know a lot of us are guilty of and take for granted including myself.

grim

I have come across numerous blogs on a variety of issues, everything out there seems to say the same things. Don’t do this and don’t eat that but none stress the importance of How and WHY!!  I am still looking for something more practical and specific to Public Health.In addition the  majority of blogs consist of writers from Europe and the  United States of America(USA). I was able to find a very limited number of writers from the  the MENA-Middle East and North Africa region (shown in the image below) including  my country the UAE(United Arab Emirates).

BBIC MENA Region Map

Majority of the writers that I came across discussed issues of public Health I found to be more theoretical and designed for professionals in those specific fields and not the ordinary  individuals they were trying to protect, in addition they were not tailored for  readers  residing in the “Arab World”. The Arab culture, customs, lifestyle and morals  are different from the rest of the worlds.Arab health systems Arab food,drink and how we live our lives is very different to that of the rest of the world. Therefore  any discovery or suggestions made on those blogs are  beneficial but not really relevant to us in the Arab world.

                          IMG_1254

That flows nicely to the reason I decided to create my own blog. I was looking for a forum where I can  be free to share,  the knowledge  I have on pubic health and hopefully create a better more relevant awareness on the topic that would make a significant difference to people who are interested  in reading my blog frequently and providing them with “ooo I didn't know that”  moments ,who can then also spread the word and awareness in our region through their family ,friends and colleagues”.
I am also hoping that my blog will be a  platform where important and much needed discussions can take place on taboo health subjects in our region especially those that we shy away from, stay tuned to find out exactly what I'm talking about;).My blog will be tailored towards the Arab environment(with much needed feedback from the international community) and not routinely fall into the number one public health trap of following remedies designed for other cultures but have our own remedies and strategies to combating current health issues that impact us daily as shown in the image below ,looks familiar to anyone lol !!!!!

pton327l

Now a little bit about me . I am an anonymous  Emarati (UAE) public health graduate who is passionate about  the career path that I have chosen in PUBLIC HEALTH. Why write a blog they ask me?? My answer is because this is my way to give back to the society and be part of much needed change for the better,that or I could be just another graduate doing routine work.
I am a product of my nation and I believe  it’s time I pay my dues through being a part of the solution in terms of the Public’s health .I have come to learn through my field that the majority of health conditions  (some people like to call them diseases)are preventable and treatable  but I’m guessing my community or even my family and friends didn't know that ,they didn't know that health or lack of it is a result of our choices that we make day to day .Lets all be part of this change by  not procrastinating and keeping things till the last minute(which I am the queen of myself) ,because the consequence of procrastinating on our health is sometimes irreversible if left too late.

procrastination-cartoon

You should read my blog if you:
-You would like to gain PRACTICAL knowledge on a variety of public health issues
- felt uncomfortable to ask about certain health issues but are desperate for the knowledge
-Want a platform to discuss issues on public health with various people from all professional backgrounds so maybe just maybe we can come up with some good strategies on the many issues we face as a team
In conclusion I would like to thank you for reading until this point and encourage you to follow my blog and share with me the struggles I face in following multiple health instructions. Remember YOU ARE NOT ALONE you will get there and hopefully make a small but huge impact on your lives so you can live to pass on the knowledge to your children and your childrens children and also your childrens childrens children.Iwould like to leave you with a Hadith(the record of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) on the importance of health.
The final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mounted the pulpit, then wept and said, "Ask Allah (swt) for forgiveness and health, for after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health."
Related in Tirmidhi
Until next time take care of yourselves because
 HAYATEK is HAYATI  (your life is my life)