"Pain is often viewed as a character flaw or a weakness. But really, it's an invisible disease. You don't need to have a bandage or lose your hair to be its victim."
Sounds like something Teri Robert would say, doesn't it? But this time it was Thuraya Kamber Al Awadi, member of the UAE Businesswomen's Council who said it. UAE is United Arab Emirates; the one we see on the telly from time to time. Thuraya Kamber Al Awadi is a spokeswoman for the newly-launched pain management campaign 'Relief'. She continues - "Pain is often viewed as a character flaw or a weakness. But really, it's an invisible disease. You don't need to have a bandage or lose your hair to be its victim."
Looks like they have to deal with the same problems as we do here in the western countries. Maybe even more so - there is some data that suggests that "Headache ("Wajaa-Raas") is one of the most common symptoms in Arab population."
Interestingly, the types of headaches seem to vary from tribe to tribe. People from Yemen, for example, are more susceptible to tension ("Taab" or "Tafkeer") headaches. On the other hand in people of Bahrain migraines ("Veeraathi") seem to be more prevalent.
Would the 'Relief' campaign be successful? Even in the U.S., most of the "invisible disease" advocacy falls on the deaf ears. On the other hand, with the growth of business and economy in the Arab countries, predictions like "Loss of productivity due to headaches is estimated to affect 200,000 people daily in UAE" might prompt people and businesses to pay more attention to this subject. We most sincerely hope they would.
Monday
Migraine and Chronic Daily Headache in Arab Countries
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2 comments:
Since so many things trigger migraines (including stress) it is hard to figure out why one tribe would have migraine and another would have tension headaches.
None the less, most people do improve with lifestyle changes. But acknowledgement is always a key in treating a problem. If their society does not allow for pain to be recognized, that would create guilt and possibly more pain for the victim.
Hi Mary,
That is an interesting dynamic, indeed. Heavily "Patriarchal" cultures might exhibit more "macho" elements, like being stoic against reoccurring pain.
On the other hand, have you read http://www.raingem.com/2008/06/migraine-patients-are-not-being.html ? Only 8 per cent of the estimated 9 million people with migraine in the UK" are treated properly. One of the reasons given - "Stoical attitude among migraine patients". Go figure.
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