In December, gospel musician William Getumbe caused a stir in Eldoret when he put on diapers and danced on the streets to educate the public on fistula.
Getumbe suffers from male fistula complications, which have forced him to always wear diapers.
A lot of people questioned whether fistula also affects men as they know it to be a disease for women.
However, men also go through the shame associated with fistula albeit silently.
A fistula is an abnormal passageway or tunnel in the body and it is a men issue too.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, anorectal fistulas are more common in men than in women.
The site describes an anorectal fistula as an abnormal tunnel from the anus or rectum to the surface of the skin around the anus.
“Anyone can get an anorectal fistula, which usually starts as an infection in a gland inside the anus,” it says.
“Anorectal abscesses, caused by infections of the anal glands, are the most common cause of anorectal fistulas.”
An abscess is a painful collection of pus, usually caused by a bacterial infection.
However, infections such as tuberculosis, HIV, surgery, injury, or radiation therapy may also cause anorectal fistulas.
The most common symptoms are anal pain or a swelling and pain near the anus that may come and go, sometimes with redness or fever.
Men can also suffer from colonic fistulas, which are mostly caused by abdominal surgery, cancer, and trauma or injury to the abdomen.
Some colonic fistulas will close on their own without surgery according to the experts, while anorectal fistulas are treated with surgery as most won’t close on their own without surgery.
In 2017 the Kenyatta National Hospital raised awareness on urinary fistula, which is very common in men.
The condition is brought about by a number of factors including infections such as Sexually Transmitted Infections, which destroy tissues if untreated for a long time.
Other causes are trauma through accidents where parts of the urethra rupture causing an abnormal opening or may also be congenital, where the patient is born with abnormalities of the urinary tract.
“Fistulas in men may also occur if there is accidental injury on the male genitalia during circumcision,” the hospital said through their Facebook page.
The medical treatment for urinary fistula in men is surgical, where tissues are grafted from other parts of the body to close the fistula.
