Your
July 2025
Issue 28
Matters The community paper to whom your wellness matters. facebook.com/yourwellnessza
@YourWellnessZA
@your_wellness_za PUBLISHING
10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Jehad Kasu
It only recently dawned on me that Your Wellness Matters (YWM) newspaper was established in July 2015 – Wow! How time flies! That means YWM is officially 10 years old since its first publication featuring the Western Cape Minister of Health & Wellness, Professor Nomafrench Mbombu on the front page, and this realisation mobilised its revival after a brief hiatus. It’s appearing fortuitous then that the birth month of YWM is also home to an international awareness week that since nearly 2 years ago has become very dear to me. What am I talking about? Allergies. 29 June – 5 July 2025 was World Allergy Awareness Week, and on the account of this auspicious occasion of YWM’s 10th Anniversary, it’s an honour to share something personal with you all in it.
The Golden Bow
My 2nd born son who will be 2 years old ona symbol 21 July was born with a mostly withsupport. extremely high levels of jaundice for breastfeeding protection, promotion and non-life-threatening genetic condition caused by his G6PD deficiency. called G6PD deficiency. G6PD deficiency is when the body is missing or doesn’t Another consequence of G6PD have enough of an enzyme called G6PD deficiency is that he’s allergic to a long (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase). list of medication that includes This enzyme helps red blood cells work paracetamol, and some foods such as correctly. A lack of this enzyme can cause fava beans and blueberries. But if he a breakdown of red blood cells ingests any of this in a low amount it (hemolytic anemia). So instead of won’t harm or kill him, so we find it easier circulating for 90 days, the red blood cells to manage this than what’s discussed are destroyed earlier. This results in a low next. number of red blood cells called anemia. He was in hospital for 2 weeks from birth In addition to G6PD deficiency he also PARTNERS:
6 Months old baby Kasu being treated in the ER
has severe (lethal) egg and nut allergies, along with wheat and gluten too. Allergies that many misunderstand and sometimes consider as harmless as a pollen allergy resulting in hay fever. We discovered his allergy to egg one Friday morning in February 2024, when he was only 6 months old and introducing him to solids and allergen food groups. I prepared myself some
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