Although diseases such as COVID-19, heart disease and diabetes are the ones that caused the highest number of deaths in Ecuador in 2021, there are also other little-known reasons that caused deaths, although not at the same level as those mentioned above.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), there were deaths that can easily be considered unusual or, at least, peculiar. For example, five people (two women and three men) died when they were victims of a lightning strike. These deaths occurred in the provinces of Chimborazo, Loja, Los Ríos, Tungurahua and Zamora Chinchipe.
The ten main causes of mortality in Ecuador in 2019
Scientific studies estimate that deaths from this meteorological factor would be between 6,000 and 24,000 per year worldwide. The chances of a person being struck by lightning in a year are only about 1 in 500,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Imbabura the death of a child was recorded because one of his testicles did not descend. This is known as cryptorchidism. An undescended testicle has a higher chance of developing cancer, even if it is lowered into the scrotum with surgery. While a man in Pichincha died of a benign tumor on the penis. On the other hand, the sleep disorder caused the death of a woman in Chimborazo.
In addition, actions that are carried out daily and that seem simple also cause death to Ecuadorians. Two people, in Loja and Pichincha, They died after falling from their respective beds.. four ecuadorians died after falling from a tree in Loja, Manabí, Los Ríos and Pichincha. One person, in Morona Santiago, died after falling from a chair.
There were also deaths from very specific and little-known infectious diseases in the country. Two Ecuadorians, in Pichincha and Morona Santiago, died from contracting ascariasis, an infection caused by a roundworm. People contract the infection by ingesting pinworm eggs, usually in contaminated food. According to the Mayo Clinic, every year in the world between 2,000 and 10,000 people die from this disease.
One death also appears in the INEC registry, in Morona Santiago, due to blastomycosis, which is a disease caused by a fungus found on decaying wood and soil. The fungus enters the body through the lungs, where the infection begins. Later, it spreads to other parts of the body.
The disease can affect the skin, bones, joints, and other areas. It is estimated that about 200 cases are diagnosed annually worldwide and fewer than 20 deaths are recorded. It is more common in countries like the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Chronic pain “not elsewhere classified” was also the cause of death for Ecuadorians last year: twelve people died; nine of them lived in Morona Santiago.
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The International Association for the Study of Pain defines this pathology as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, linked to a real or potential injury. As explained by Dr. Carla Cevallos, from Laboratorios Bagó Ecuador, “Pain is, in principle, a defense mechanism whose function is to detect and locate the processes that damage body structures, but it is also a subjective phenomenon that may or may not be linked to injury or pathology.
Pain causes irritability, mood swings, sadness, despondency, and feelings of worthlessness. Pain produces feelings of disappointment and despair in the person. It can lead to an anxiety or depressive disorder that could lead to suicide, says the specialist.
On the subject of benign tumors, these are not considered cancer, they only grow in one part of the body and cannot appear or invade other parts. However, they can be dangerous if they press on important organs, says Carlos García, an oncologist. Therefore, it is important that the patient go to a doctor and follow a treatment, which usually ends in removal of the tumor, so as not to have complications.
The vast majority of these unusual causes or pathologies have something in common: people die at home, according to the INEC. The exception is the cases of infectious diseases that were treated in a hospital and that is where the death occurred.
Falls from chairs, beds or stairs can cause injuries that lead to death, explains Mario Aguilar, traumatologist. Sometimes the damage to the person is obvious, such as a blow to the head, and the family takes them to the emergency room. However, other times it is not given importance and it is thought that with ice and medication it can be controlled, but there are cases in which the blow caused internal bleeding and puts a person’s life at risk, explains the specialist.
“It is recommended to go to the doctor when you have a severe fall, and the place of trauma does not matter. It is the specialist who is in charge of telling the patient that there is no risk“, He says.
The deaths generated by these peculiar causes are, by far, very low compared to those of coronavirus, which last year caused 20,874 deaths, followed by those derived from acute myocardial infarction (12,305) and type 2 diabetes (2,659). . (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
