chatwithketch

Q: Hello Dr Ketch, I am a female; 42yrs, single and I have no child yet. Last year, I noticed a swollen part beside my navel (top of my stomach). I went for scan. It states that it’s a hernia. How can it be cured besides surgery. I am really scared. Please help me!

A: Hernia is the protrusion of an organ through a defect (like a hole or opening) in the wall of the muscle or cavity which usually holds it in place. There are different types hernias (or herniae) and they include:

Inguinal hernia: The most common type of hernia. It usually happens in situations where the pressure inside the abdomen is increased.

Other hernias include incisional hernia (where a protrusion develops from the site of a previous surgery, especially abdominal surgery), femoral hernia (which has the same risk factors as inguinal), umbilical hernia (common in black children…

A while back, I got this question…

Q: Hi, Good day ma’am! Thanks a lot for the way you have been helping lots of people with their problems. How does one stop a child from sucking her thumb always in a healthy way?

A: Interesting question!

Children suck their thumbs at an early age as a means of soothing themselves or coping with stress/anxiety or even when bored. Usually, this habit would stop between the ages of 2 to 4 years old. If it continues longer than that your baby’s teeth start to give way to accommodate the thumb leading to a situation where your baby’s upper teeth no longer align properly with the lower teeth. It can also lead to speech problems.
How do you stop a child from sucking his thumb? Hmm, I’m sure that lots of people can share a lot from their personal experiences eg tying…

‘For years, fat was a dirty word in the dietary world. After World War II, large studies established links between saturated fat and heart disease. Most dietary experts advised people to reduce their fat intake, not only because of the heart connection, but also because fat has more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrate and was assumed to contribute more to weight gain.’

Read more here: http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/are-fats-so-bad

Happy Easter in advance! 😀

Q: Doc, good morning. Please does eating oats make one to add weight because I have changed from garri to oats but friends say I am getting bigger.
Thanks.

A: I have received a couple of questions on oats since I posted on oats, bloating and weight loss.
Now, remember that even when a particular food is touted to be a healthy option, it still has calories (perhaps, except for water) and so if you take more than what you need, you will certainly add weight.
There’s a funny thing that tends to happen when people start doing ‘healthy stuff’. They, sort of, compensate for their hard work with unhealthy stuff…weird, right? I’ll give you an example. Someone goes to the gym, gets back home and eats a huge plate of white bread (perhaps about 6 slices). About 3 boiled or fried eggs, 2 glasses of sugar-filled juice or any…

Q: I’ve heard that taking oats is good for me,,,but I have found that when I take it, sometimes, it makes me feel bloated. What do I do?

A: Good question, I reproduce my post on bloating. It ansers this question, pretty well.

Bloating is usually caused by the twin factors of what you have eaten and how you chose to eat it.
For what you have eaten, easy culprits are rich, fatty foods, beans, dairy (especially in lactose intolerant people), high fibre foods like oats (if lots of water is not taken afterwards) etc.

How can how you eat cause you a problem?

If you tend to over-eat or rush your food (eat it very fast or like a friend of mine would say, ‘inhale’ it :D), then you are a target for bloating. The reason is that you eat so fast that you don’t give enough time for…

Q: I had a miscarriage eleven months ago and since then have not been able to take in. What do I do?

A: Condolences on the loss of your baby! I can’t imagine what it must have felt like going through this experience!

But….don’t give up! You can still have a baby.

Unfortunately, often times, the cause of a miscarriage is not identified. You need to understand this so that you don’t blame yourself unduly. Having said that though, first trimester miscarriages are mainly due to problems with the baby/fetus. These problems could be due to problems with the placenta. This is how the baby receives its nutrients in the womb and so, if this organ cannot deliver, a miscarriage might occur. There may also be a problem with the baby’s chromosomes, such that a baby may receive too many or too few genetic materials or there may be a…