chatwithketch

Q: Good evening, Doc. Please is anything wrong with you lying on your tommy with 8 weeks pregnancy and I am always having upper back pain. Thanks in anticipation.

A: Congratulations on your pregnancy! In early pregnancy, there’s nothing really wrong with lying on your tummy….that’s if you feel comfortable. As your pregnancy progresses, you will definitely not be able to do so again. So, if this is your guilty pleasure, enjoy it while it lasts. Generally, in the first trimester, if you’re used to sleeping on your back or tummy, you can continue. However, as you get into your second trimester, it is fact that pregnant women should not sleep on their backs especially close to term. This is because the woman may feel dizzy as the growing uterus puts pressure on the vein that returns blood from the body making the woman feel dizzy on getting up and the baby may also not get enough nutrients from the placenta in that position.

As pregnancy proceeds, you may start to experience more backaches as the weight you have put on starts to take its toll. Be sure to sit up straight on chairs with proper back support to help with this. Sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs will also help. This may be the cause of your backaches but if they are very discomforting, please see your doctor. Better safe than sorry.

Have a good night, everyone 😀

A: Thanks for writing in. Congratulations on your new baby! 😀 Well, my first question is whether you are practicing any form of contraception? Not just now but before you resumed sexual relations with hubby after your baby? Well, if you were not on any contraceptive, then you could very well be pregnant…and hey, indeed you are, as the pregnancy test has shown 😀

So, how can I help you out? Some advice: go see your doctor and let him carry out a pregnancy test in the hospital…just to confirm your result. He will also examine your scar to see if there are any problems. Barring that, I suggest you start getting ready for the next baby, physically, emotionally and otherwise.

It’s important for every woman who’s had a baby or is going to have one to know that pregnancy soon after having a baby is most definitely possible whether your period has ‘returned’ or not if you’re not using contraception…and this applies to you even if you’re breastfeeding exclusively! 😀 So, watch out ladies 🙂

For more on this subject, please click on the link below:
https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/11/06/daily-health-tips-how-soon-after-a-c-section-can-i-try-for-a-new-baby/

Have a good night, y’all 😀

‘The never-ending advertisements for erectile dysfunction drugs seem to suggest that popping a pill is all it takes to guarantee a great sex life for men dealing with this challenging problem.’ But is that really all that is needed? Should you be doing more to improve your sex life? You should read this!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/a-better-sex-life-requires-more-than-popping-a-pill

Q: Hello ,doctor..is it ok to eat spicy foods when pregnant?

A: I love spicy foods! When pregnant, I crave it even more. Most people find it difficult to eat with me when I’m preggie…because the food is just that spicy! Unfortunately, this has a challenge associated with it. Eating spicy foods in pregnancy can cause your esophageal sphincter to stay open for prolonged periods leading to heartburn.

Heartburn really has nothing to do with the heart…I bet all of you knew that, aye? It is usually felt as a burning sensation in the chest which feels worse on bending down or lying down. Okay, why and how does this happen? You know that the stomach produces acid to help with food digestion, right? Have you ever wondered, how come this acid isn’t all up in your mouth all the time? Well, that’s because there’s a ‘lock’ or control at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach which prevents the acid in the stomach from coming back up into the esophagus. This ‘lock’ is called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter. This lock can get strained if the esophagus opens too often or if there is too much food in the stomach…so, if you regularly over-eat, you might want to re-think that 😀 A major no-no is a very heavy meal just before you lie down. It’s almost certain you may have a heart burn 😀

There are also conditions like pregnancy (like in your case) and obesity that make this sphincter stay open for prolonged periods as a result of pressure on the abdomen and there are also foods that encourage this. Examples of these ‘foods’ are fatty foods, alcohol, orange juice, chocolate and coffee, onions, tomatoes, peppermint and as already mentioned, spicy foods. In pregnancy, the hormonal changes and the pressure of the growing womb on the stomach contribute to heartburn.

Heart burn in pregnancy is more likely to occur in women who had heart burn before pregnancy, women who have been pregnant before and women in the last stages of their pregnancy.

So, I suggest you keep a food diary over a period of time and try to figure out the trigger foods. Remember that being over-weight could be a problem or even over-eating.

Prevention involves trying to avoid your trigger foods (quite a number are actually healthy 😀 ) maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding heavy meals just before bedtime, avoiding alcohol or smoking, sitting up straight when eating, try eating smaller meals and avoid tight clothes that may also put pressure on your abdomen.

Treatment is targeted at the acid and healing the esophagus. So, drugs used can stop acid production, reduce acid production and cause healing of the esophagus or neutralize the effect of the acid. Your doctor will prescribe what works best for you.

Have a fabulous evening and remember…no heavy meals before bedtime.

Have a good night y’all 😀

Hello Doctor Ketch, please I need clarification on something. I want to know if adding fresh raw ugu leaf to my smoothie is okay. And doesn’t have any side effect. I am GTC. mum (going to conceive) let me know please. Thank you

A: I just got this question and I figured that the best way to answer it is with this post I had made before, using raw green veggies (ugu) in a smoothie. Green leafy veggies are full of folate (folic acid) and if you’re trying to conceive, you need to load up on that. So, here goes…..

Q: Hi doc please assist. My belly keeps on getting bigger and I’m not pregnant

A: Usually, there are five Fs associated with abdomens getting bigger 😀 Want to guess? I’ll tell you 😀

• Fat: It could very well be that your abdominal distension is due to fat: visceral fat which is located all around your organs. This places one at risk of heart diseases.
• Faeces: If one is constipated, then the abdomen could get distended. So, make a habit of ‘emptying’ out daily 😀 If you keep to my often-repeated advice of eating lots of fruits and veggies, you won’t need to make an effort. It will happen naturally 😀
• Flatus: If you feel very gassy, you will feel uncomfortable and your tummy may also be out there 😀
• Fetus: Pregnancy is the most common cause of abdominal distension in a woman of reproductive age. So, you might want to check this out.
• Fluid: Fluid in the abdominal cavity can cause abdominal distension. This can happen in heart failure, kidney failure or with liver problems.

So, please, go see your doctor asap. Let him/her examine you and make a proper diagnosis. That will determine the right course of management.

Have a good evening, y’all 😀

Q: Please I do feel some pain when I piss (urinate) and the piss (urine) is somehow yellow. What’s the cause please?

A: Generally, pain when urinating could be due to:

§  Injury: This could be a straddle injury (falling astride a pole, for example), car accidents etc

§  Infections of the urinary tract

§  Infections of the prostate (in males)

§  Sexually transmitted infections

§  Cancer etc

Treatment depends on the cause. If it’s due to infections, appropriate antibiotics will take care of the problem. Surgery may be used for cancer etc.

Urinary tract infections are quite common and occur anywhere in the urinary tract (Genius me, right? :D) and include 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 and this is because they have short urethrae (those tubes that transport the urine outside) and because the opening of this tube is very close to the opening of the anus. And so, if a woman urinates and has not quite mastered the art of cleaning from the front to the back, she could transfer bacteria from her anus to her urethra and this in turn travels up and infects the bladder. Women who also use the birth control method, diaphragm appear to also be at risk as it may cause the bladder not to empty completely when they urinate. Indeed, not urinating immediately after sexual intercourse in women may also predispose to this as the urethra may have may have become irritated, making it easier for germs to move in. People with depressed immune systems, frequent constipation and some people born with some disorders of their uro-genital system are also prone to UTIs.

In men, narrowing of the urethra which may happen in men who have had straddle injuries (eg falling astride {with legs apart} on a pole…ouch!), history of STIs or prostrate problems may make a man open to UTIs. Recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections (UTI that keeps recurring) may be due to changes in hormone (estrogen) level as one gets to menopause, problems with the urinary tract in terms of function or shape, kidney or bladder stones, bacteria getting into the urinary tract during sexual intercourse etc What symptoms does a person with UTI have? They would complain of feeling they have to urgently urinate often and then when they do get to the toilet, they can only pass out very little urine, pain or burning sensation during urination, pain in the flank (just under the ribs at the back), the urine may be cloudy or reddish or coke coloured, fever with chills and rigours etc. UTIs have to be treated because these infections could keep back tracking from the urethra to the bladder to the ureters and then to the kidneys…we don’t want that do we?! 😀

Treatment is focused on eradicating the infection…of course 😀 Usually a urine sample is taken to the lab. Part of the lab work is a culture and sensitivity test to find out the organisms causing the infection and the specific antibiotic that is active against it. Your doctor may also order other tests as he sees fit eg checking out for congenital defects etc. Apart from the preventive tips above, be sure to drink lots of water which help dilute your urine and help flush out the bacteria. If your urine is light yellow, then you’re good. If it’s a darker hue, you’re probably dehydrated. So, your yellow urine may be pointing towards dehydration.

If placed on antibiotics, please take your prescription for the right period of time even if your symptoms disappear before you finish

I hope this helps.

Good night y’all 😀

Q: Hello doctor! Please my question is, is it normal for a pregnant woman to secrete milk from the breast when she is still five months pregnant? Thank you…

A:Hi dear. Thanks for writing in.

Yes, this is normal. Generally, the milk glands start the job of milk production early in pregnancy (1^st trimester). Some women may notice leakage of yellowish milk from their breasts as early as second trimester but some may not see anything until after baby has been delivered.

Remember that feeding should ideally, start within one hour of having your baby. Your breast already has a stock of breast milk but it does take your baby sucking to make the breast milk ‘come out.’ So, the earlier you put the baby to the breast, the sooner proper breastfeeding can be established. Your baby will probably sleep away the first 24 hours or so, so it may be a challenge to put the baby to the breast. Try the best you can and make sure that your baby’s mouth covers the areola which is the dark coloured area of the nipple.

Some women who had their babies through Caesarian Section may also experience delays in breast feeding just like some other women. There’s no specific reason for this and the same advice of putting the baby to the breast often suffices. The more often you put your baby to the breast, the better your milk supply will be.

Just in case you’re worried that your baby will starve before full breast feeding is established, don’t be. Your baby doesn’t need more than a few teaspoonfuls of colostrum (which your breast already has and baby gets as he suckles) in the first few days. They contain a lot of substances that help build your baby’s immunity. If, however, by 72 hours you’re still not making breast milk, be sure to discuss with your doctor so that he can confirm that your baby is getting enough to eat. Before this time, don’t get tempted to offer glucose water or formula feeds if you plan to breast feed.

Have you heard about pap with milk and how this helps breast milk come in faster? Well, if you want to take your pap, please indulge…in sizeable portions. If it helps your breast milk come in, that’s fine. I guess if the pap is watery enough, it will help hydration and you certainly need to be well hydrated for breast feeding to happen without stress 😀

I hope this helps.

Have a good night y’all 😀

This week is World Antibiotic Awareness Week. The theme for this year is ‘seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional before taking antibiotics’.

In honor of this day, I repeat a post I had made on this issue a while back, in response to a question.

Q: Good evening doctor. I am highly impressed with your assistance. Please doc, can one use double antibiotic at d same time?

A: The way you asked this question makes me suspect already that perhaps you are making this prescription by yourself or perhaps you approached ‘Dr Lagbaja’ who owns the chemist shop at the corner to mix some drugs for you. Both practices are dangerous. You should not be prescribing for yourself and Dr Lagbaja in the chemist shop is absolutely not a doctor and has no idea what he’s saying or prescribing for that matter!

So, back to the specific question, can 2 antibiotics be used at the same time. Yes. It depends on what’s being treated. I’ll give an example, in Peptic Ulcer Disease due to the organism Helicobacter pylori, the triple therapy is used in the treatment involving 2 antibiotics and another drug. Please be guided by your doctor in terms of what drugs (antibiotics or otherwise) to take, how much and for how long. Antibiotic resistance occurs because people buy and use antibiotics that are not capable of ‘killing’ the organisms causing a disease or even when they are capable, they are not taken in enough quantities or for a long enough time to make the desired impact. In either case, the organism develops the ability to resist the effect of that drug such that when this drug is taken again another time, it will no longer be effective.

For more on antibiotic use, please click n the link https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/04/03/daily-health-tips-how-do-i-cleanse-my-kidneys/

Have a good evening, y’all and quit prescribing antibiotics or any other drug for that matter for yourself! J