chatwithketch

Q: Good morning, Doctor. My wife is doing exclusive breast feeding but my daughter sucks intensively, an average of 14hrs everyday…she could suck from 12am to 4am sometimes, making it difficult for the mom to do any other thing.

1) Can we start introducing a little water so that I could help wife some nights?
2) Can we give her gripe water? Mother insists it helps babies to ease stomach upsets that is normal with babies.

A: Trust me…you’re not the only husband who wonders whether their new babies are on a mission to deplete their wives of their very lives given their frequency of sucking! When I had my last baby, I would jokingly say that I felt light-headed after breast feeding him…he sucked that much 😀 So, I know exactly what you’re talking about! And thank you so much for being a caring husband that feels for his…

Q: Hello Doc, my baby is around 5 weeks now. From birth I have been feeding her formula and breast milk. Should I still be giving her water. If yes, should it be warm water.

A: Hi dear, congratulations on your new baby! She will be a blessing to her generation.

Now, if you’re a regular follower of this page, you will know that I am ‘almost’ fanatical about breastfeeding. You should be giving your breastfeeding only from birth to 6 months with no water at all. Breast milk contains all the required nutrients and sufficient water for your baby.

Having said that, if you’re giving your baby formula feeds, the same dictum also applies. You have to ensure that that you follow the instructions properly so that you don’t make feeds that are too thick (and likely to cause constipation) or make feeds that are too watery (and likely…

Q: Please what is tampon?

A: Tampons are products like sanitary pads used
to absorb menstrual flow. A tampon is cylindrical in shape and has a string at
one end that can be used to pull the tampon out. Sometimes, this string may go
inside your body but you can usually feel the tampon and pull it out.

There is a
dangerous infection that can occur in females who use tampons. It’s called
Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). It is not caused by tampons but because tampons in
the vagina create a perfect environment for bacteria (staphylococcus aureus in
this case) to thrive, a toxin is created that causes severe illness. Young
teens with fewer antibodies to the infection are more likely to experience this
than older females.

Symptoms of
TSS includesuddenhigh fever, headaches, redness
of the eyes, mouth and throat, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures etc. If you
experience any of these…

Q: Good
day Doc I would like to know. What is the cause of blood always reading
positive to pregnancy but urine doesn’t test positive? Looking forward to your
response.

A: When
pregnancy tests are done, they usually test for the presence of the hormone, Human
Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG). The presence of this hormone signifies pregnancy
and its absence denotes no pregnancy.

Blood
pregnancy tests are typically very accurate.

A
positive result on blood pregnancy test, as I already noted above, could mean
that you’re pregnant. If you’re not, then the false positive result could be
due to medications like fertility medicines or some meds used for the treatment
of seizures

It is also possible that one was
pregnant at the time of the previous blood pregnancy test and miscarried soon
after. This type of early pregnancy is referred to as achemical
pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy, a situation
in which…

Q: Good
evening Dr. Ketch. please can women with PCOS who can only menstruate, ovulate
by taking medication, conceive and put to birth without miscarriage?

A: Ovaries are small
bean-shaped organs on either side of your womb. Every month, your ovaries
develop sacs called follicles from where eggs are released monthly and female
sex hormones produced. After the egg is released every month, the sac
disintegrates. But sometimes, the egg is not released and the sac remains or
the egg is released and the sac does not disintegrate. This follicle becomes
the fluid-filled cyst sac. Usually this is not a problem as it could form
during every menstrual cycle and usually resolves on its own. These cysts are
called the functional cysts. However, these cysts could get very big and in
some instances become twisted or they could rupture causing problems. This
latter type is called pathological cyst.

Examples of…

Q: Good day Doc, please l want you to prescribe drugs to cure kidney stones for me. Thanks

A: If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you surely remember it. The pain can be unbearable, coming in waves until the tiny stone passes through your urinary plumbing and out of the body. For many, kidney stones aren’t a one-time thing: in about half of people who have had one, another appears within seven years without preventive measures. Preventing kidney stones isn’t complicated but it does take some determination. Prevention efforts include drinking plenty of water, getting enough calcium from food, cutting back on salt (sodium), limiting animal protein, and avoiding stone-forming foods like beets, chocolate, spinach, rhubarb, tea, and others.

For more, read this! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-steps-for-preventing-kidney-stones-201310046721

Q: Good day Doc, can sexual intercourse open the cervix at 39 weeks of pregnancy?

A: An open cervix, also known as a weakened cervix or cervical incompetence is a condition in which the mouth of the womb is open leading to a risk of miscarriage. This may be caused by a previous injury to this area, typically after a surgical procedure. The weakness of the muscle can cause the mouth of the womb (cervix) to open too early during pregnancy, leading to a miscarriage.

Having said that, if the cervical incompetence is not a pre-existing condition, sex is generally considered safe during pregnancy. If your doctor has noted some medical issues that may cause some restrictions on sexual intercourse, he will communicate that.

Some issues that may cause a doctor to issue some restrictions on sexual activity, apart from cervical incompetence, include:

• Threat of a miscarriage
• History of pre-term…

I was at the Redeemed camp on Thursday last week to give a talk on hygiene as preventive strategy. As usual, I was asked a lot of questions, many of which I couldn’t get around to answering. I promised to take them on this platform.

As a background to the questions, I discussed the four different aspects of hygiene:

Personal hygiene which involves taking care of ourselves with activities like taking a bath, brushing our teeth, washing hands etc
Hygiene at home which involves keeping our homes clean with activities like cleaning the bed rooms, bathrooms, toilets and areas we hardly think of which harbor a lot of germs like door knobs, light switches etc

Food hygiene which involves preventing food contamination and preparation of foods in a healthy and hygienic manner

Pet hygiene which involves ensuring we properly clean up whenever we have been in contact with animals, pets…

Q: Please ma’am, how many days can implantation bleeding last?

A: Implantation bleeding is typically a small amount of light bleeding that occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception. It could last anything from a couple of hours to three days. This is thought to be due to implantation as the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus (womb). This usually occurs in early pregnancy, close to or about the same time as the menstruation would be seen and is thus often mistaken for a period. But, it is usually lighter than menstrual…typically without clots. It would stop on its own and does not require further treatment. If the bleeding is heavier, associated with cramps or any other complication, please see your doctor.

Some tips to help distinguish implantation bleed from menstruation:

• Menstrual bleeding may have clots. Implantation bleeds have no clots
• Menstrual bleeding can fill sanitary towel(s). Implantation…

Our health tip today is on my pet peeve, people spitting in public places!

Sometimes, you’re just walking and minding your business when you happen across this ‘disgusting’ blob; other times, someone just spits out without minding if anyone is close by and you catch some droplets of it (Eew!) etc.

Apart from the fact that you can ‘catch’ some disgusting droplet infections (whatever disease the person was harboring in the saliva), it just makes everywhere more disgusting and dirty. I ask the question, ‘if you pass a dirty place that smells really bad and you spit there as a result, are you making it better or worse? Food for thought.

Please let’s stop this dirty habit as cleanliness starts from us and every little ‘good habit’ helps.