Hair and nails do not keep growing after death – Doctors clarify

Medical Practitioners on the Vodafone Healthline TV series have debunked the myth that hair and nails grow after death.

The regular panellists, Doctors Kwekuma Yalley and Aba Folson, explained that though the flesh quickly decays after death, human hair, nails and teeth take longer to decay.

“The whole body shrivels, but when the pulp of the finger shrivels, it explains why someone may be confused whether nails are growing after death. As for the flesh, it decomposes quickly, but the teeth and nails take a longer time,” Dr Kwekuma Yalley explained on the show.

During the 10th episode of the award-winning show, the team rescued Daniel Akornor, a mechanic from Darkuman in Accra who suffered from a spinal cord defect. The spinal cord defect was associated with a chronic pain, which left Daniel Akornor bedridden.

Vodafone’s financial intervention helped Daniel seek medical care, which got him back on his feet.

During the episode, a medical practitioner, Dr Florence Akumiah, also focused on the causes and management of diabetes in adolescents.

Giving some symptoms of diabetes in adolescents, Dr Akumiah said, “If you notice they are getting thirstier than usual at night or urinate very often [then it may be diabetes] … For the Type One they lose weight, but the Type Two usually leads to obesity.”

She said diabetes in adolescents could lead to adverse complications that could threaten their general wellbeing. She thus emphasized the need for regular check-ups to detect diabetes in adolescents quickly enough before it gets to an advanced stage.

The ‘This Week in Medicine’ segment turned its focus on Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, the first black man to perform a heart transplant.