Solon wants derma treatment for military men: Soldiers can’t run with athlete’s foot

"Do military men have derma treatments?"

Camiguin Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo posed this question to AFP Surgeon General Fatima Claire Navarro at a Commission on Appointments hearing as he recalled an encounter with a member of Philippine Army soldier who had a hard time because of athlete's foot.

"May tatanong lang ako kasi I was listening to all. Merong [ophthalmologist], merong [orthologist], merong surgeon pero gusto ko lang malaman if you have a program on derma and skin diseases in the Armed Forces kasi ngayon ho problema po 'yon e," Romualdo said.

[I have a question. There is an opthalmologist, an orthologist, a surgeon. I would like to know if you have a program on derma and skin diseases in the Armed Forces because it is also a problem.] 

"Because before, there was an Army [man] taga-Camiguin, kinuha ko. Kawawa talaga kasi pinagaling ko 'yung paa niya ang daming athlete's foot kasi Scout Ranger e," he added.

[Because before, there was an Army man from Camiguin that I got. It was a pity because we had to treat his athlete's foot.]

Romualdo said this is a serious concern for the members of the military because they will have a hard time fulfilling their duties if their skin diseases remain untreated.

"It's a serious concern kasi 'pag ang dami mong athlete's foot, sabihin mo na lang, 'di ka makatakbo e. Sakit talaga niyan at saka yung psoriasis," he added.

[It's a serious concern because with athlete's foot, you can't run. It will hurt and then also psoriasis.]

In the United States, Romualdo said some of their military officers, who are provided the best gear, still acquire skin diseases.

"If you can just imagine 'yung US nagkagalis-galis yan, how much more sa atin? Halos okay na tayo sa healthcare ninyo e pero yung tinitingnan ko, yung mga nakita ko...importante, it can hamper whether you're in the office [o] nandun kayo on a mission, may problema po tayo," he said.

"Are we going to include that ngayon sa program natin sa Armed Forces the skin diseases or derma kasi apg sinabi mong derma, mukha pero generally marami pala eczema, lahat psoriasis. Do we have that program?" he went on.

Navarro, in response, said they already proposed to the AFP chief the prioritization of the total force health protection.

"This is not just the wellness on the physical aspect of the usual cardiovascular but more particularly on certain diseases that can be affecting our soldiers since they are living in barracks, since they cannot maintain very good hygiene when they are in operations," she said.

"So we are now looking in certain diseases not just the lifestyle disease but those that affect [them]... So this would also include the dermatologic, of course, the cases with stigma and discrimination like HIV, tuberculosis aside from the basic wellness of being phsyically fit for them," he added.

At V. Luna Medical Center, Navarro said the organic consultants and military dermatologist have already retired.

She said they have subspecialty training for physicians in the military force but they prioritized other fields such as cardiology, endocrinology, cardiology, pulmonology over dermatology.

"They will be graduating probably in the next two years. So we'll be sending next the dermatology," she said.

"But we have also empowered V. Luna with additional civilian dermatologists. So the services are available every day and we also included in the health teachings of our nurses in the field the proper care for such diseases," she added.

Further, Navarro said they will address the basic wellness of the military men because skin diseases may cause sepsis which is also fatal.

Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla also suggested prioritizing infectious diseases and psychology in the AFP health services.

In response, Navarro said the modernization of the AFP should also cover the health services as they are pushing for the enhancement of their combat casualty and seaburn response as well as the mental health protection.

"So these are the things that we want to enhance better in the next few years also capacitating it through our modernization programs, sir. Aligned with the modernization of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, there should also be the health service support to sustain them in their operations," she said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News