Stories making the news recently have caught the eye of Nigerians and called attention to our general attitude toward asymptomatic health conditions.As the football world mourns the loss of Ex-Super Eagles coaches, Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu who both passed away within a week of each other, Nigerians are turning to Google for the what and why of ailments. And it’s not difficult to understand why.
Like Stephen Keshi, Bahamian mixed martial artist, Kimbo Slice died of heart failure this month and also had a cancerous mass on his liver. In May, Afeni Shakur, mother of iconic rapper, Tupac Amaru Shakur, died of a heart attack at her houseboat in Sausalito, California. The same ailment ended the long career of Congolese rumba maestro,Papa Wemba, who lost his life on April 24, while performing at a music festival in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
Controversial legend and music innovator, Prince, reportedly had prescription only opioid painkillers on his person and in his Minnesota home, when he passed away on April 21.Some of his siblings have told the media that he’d been addicted to Percocet for decades.
The recent Tiwa Savage/ Tee-Billz brouhaha also turned the spotlight on the dangers of unaddressed depression after the music producer reportedly attempted suicide.
Well, more Nigerians are sitting up now and taking a closer look at their health and wellbeing.
Below is a list of the top searched health conditions on Google thus far this year
- Cancer
- Malaria
- Diabetes
- Ulcer
- Hepatitis
- Tuberculosis
- AIDS
- Drug Abuse
- Acne
- Headache
Interestingly, Nigerians are not only searching for individual ailments, they are asking lots of questions, with Lassa Fever and the Zika virus leading the queries and giving some insight into Nigerians’ health concerns and fears . See below the top ten health related questions Nigerians are asking. Number 9 may raise your brows…
- What is Lassa fever?
- What is Zika virus?
- What is shortness of breath?
- What is Parkinson’s disease?
- What is Cardiac Arrest?
- What is Obesity?
- When is it right to take a pregnancy test?
- Is Lassa Fever Contagious?
- What is the cure for Cell Phone Sperm Count?
- What is scurvy?
