chatwithketch

World Mental Health Day is observed on the 10^th of October every year. The theme of this year’s event focuses on psychological first aid. This speaks to supportive and psychological help people can offer to fellow human beings who have been through a crisis event.

When we hear mental health, we mostly think of ‘mad’ people. This has led to stigmatization of people of people with mental health issues. They do not own up to the issues they are going through, have no idea where to go for help and are mostly forbidden from talking about their issues. This has led to a situation where people with mental health issues do not get the help they need.

In honour of this day, I will re-post some of my mental health blogs. I hope you find them helpful and more importantly, I hope they help you provide support when next…

Happy Children’s Day! And no, I am not just referring to your children, I’m referring to you! 😀 You are somebody’s child 😀 My mother still sends me a message every 27th of May…so, go figure! 😀

And to celebrate today, we will take a question related to children….

Q: Hi Dr, my question is, ‘when does a baby start to grow? And is there a difference between the growing process or boys and girls?’ A: Hey! Thanks for writing in.So, when does baby start growing? Well, from the time of fertilization (union of the sperm and egg). If you use the 40 weeks of pregnancy typically used by your doctor, then that means that fertilization and commencement of growth of baby happened around week 3 (remember that we count from the first day of your last menstrual period and so that means that the 40 weeks includes your last…

Q: Evening Ma, please I need help. My baby is 2weeks and her stool is watery. I am practicing exclusive breast feeding. What type of food should I eat or what do I do?

A: Congratulations on your new baby! May she be a blessing to her generation!

Okay to your question, exclusively breast fed babies may pass stool a couple of times during the day to lots of time (it might even be after every meal :D).  You’re still getting to know your baby and so you should look out for the normal consistency of his stools and the frequency. Diarrhea is usually rare in exclusively breast fed children because you’ve cut off all the middle men like bottles and teats etc that could have been reservoirs of infection. Having said that, watch out for signs like blood or mucous in stool, explosive green stools and foul smelling stools…

Q: Good afternoon Dr. How can some one treat HPV in marriage… I mean both husband and wife?

A: Unsafe sex can cause infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cancer of the cervix and is a risk factor for other types of cancer. HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection that is spread through sexual, skin-to-skin contact. There is a vaccine to prevent this cancer now. Please ask your doctor where you can get it.

Health conditions associated with HPV include genital warts, cervical pre-cancer and other cancers.

Genital warts may increase in number, stay the same or disappear. Treatment modalities include the use of prescription medication. Ask your doctor.

Pap smears can detect cervical pre-cancers before they become actual cancers.

So, both parties should see a doctor asap for proper diagnosis to be made.

All the best.

Have a good night, everyone 😀

Happy Mothers’ Day to all the beautiful and wonderful mothers out there…

Who consistently go over, above and beyond;

Who deny themselves luxuries so their children and loved ones can have what they need;

Q: Good
Day Doc. Ketch!!! I’ve got a Problem here. Please help!! Is is Normal for a
Vagina to Fart?? Because this thing almost happens everyday

A:
Vaginal farts are much more common than you may think. However, many women
would rather not talk about it because, it may be somewhat embarrassing!
Vaginal farts occur when the vaginal walls expand, pulling in lots of air, and
then collapse back to release this air. They are usually odorless, in contrast
to anal farts. It can happen with exercise, sex, and with sudden movements like
getting out of a chair.

The
treatment for vaginal farts is really the same as for feeling loose ‘down
there’ after you just had a baby. This treatment is the usual suspect…pelvic
floor exercise called Kegel exercise.

This
is done by trying to hold your vagina together, tightening it like trying to
hold urine. Hold these contractions…

Q: Hello Dr Ketch, I am writing you all the way from South Africa, a new dad to a 3-day old baby boy. Well I have a concern…baby mama’s breasts seem to be secreting small doses of milk. In fact, yesterday she squeezed them and watery liquid came out, and I got worried that my son drinks water. And this morning baby mama messaged me from hospital (not yet discharged) and told me that baby’s glucose or sugar level is low. My first thought was that he is sucking water and becomes hungry quickly. Is there any way we can improve the situation because we really want him to breastfeed. Thanks.

A: Thanks for writing in and congratulations on your new bundle of joy!

Is your baby sucking water? Well, the first part of breast milk is mainly water with a little fat and is supposed to quench your baby’s…

Q: I was asking…what can someone do if he/she as been bed wetting since he was little? Now they are even 18 years old?

A: Hello. Thanks for writing in. Bed wetting is a huge challenge in childhood…how much more in adulthood!

Bedwetting is usually due to an increase in the amount of urine usually contained in the bladder, an over-reactive bladder or small bladder or it may be due to a heavy sleeper who does not get or respond to the urge to void when he/she gets that urge while asleep. In childhood, ensuring the child urinates just before he goes to bed, limiting the amount of fluid he takes in the evening (some studies have shown no significant improvement with this strategy), encouraging the child to use the bathroom regularly during the day or using bedwetting alarms may help a child get through this period. A bedwetting alarm…

Q: Please doc what causes weight loss? I used to be chubby before; then, all of a sudden, like a space of 2yrs, I see myself reducing and people are complaining asking if am sick because I look like one. I am very okay, not sick and very healthy. I have gone for tests but nothing was seen. I eat but not too much; I sleep well; I drink water a lot. Please, help me. I need to get fat.

A: Interesting question!

Your weight is a combination of a couple of factors. The first two are input (how much you eat) and your activity/exercise level (how much you burn). Others include your age, your state of health, your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, stress (job loss, bereavement) etc

However, weight loss, when you’re not trying to lose weight may be due to an underlying disease condition.

Some causes of…

Q: Doc what causes pee urine that has blood? I have a friend…She is having itching on her vagina and as a result anytime she urinates she sees blood coming out as she urinate. What kind of infection is that?

A: This question is quite common…but comes with a couple of variations. I repeat a post ?I/ had made to a similar question in the past.

A common cause of this is Urinary Tract Infection. This is an infection that occurs anywhere in the urinary tract (Genius me, right :D) and includes infections of the kidneys, the ureters (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder),  the bladder (the reservoir or store house for the urine) and the urethra (the tube that transports the urine from the bladder to the outside).

So, who is more likely to have an infection and why? Women are more likely to have infections…