chatwithketch

Happy International Women’s Day for all my ladies! I hope you wore a touch of purple today signifying your royalty, dignity and willingness to fight for justice? I had a great but very fulfilling day! It’s always great to spend a day with ladies thinking about how we can turn things around and change the world.

I hope y’all had a great day too.

Now to our question for the day….

Q: Greetings Doc, I pray you are well. I have a problem. each time I take pain killers I get serious stomach pains. I am even afraid to take meds. What could be the problem?

A: Hello dear. Thanks for writing in.

What painkillers are you taking? There are a group of painkillers called Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). These meds reduce inflammation (which is the body’s reaction to injury characterized by swelling, redness, ‘hotness’ of that area of the body, pain and loss of function), which in turn reduces pain. On the flip side, especially at very high doses, they are known to cause serious bleeding in the digestive system especially in people who drink alcohol. Thus, these medications are not advised for people with heartburn, indigestion, and stomach ulcers. Common examples of this group of drugs are aspirin and ibuprofen…with the latter being gentler on the stomach than the aspirin. These drugs must not be taken on an empty stomach but should be taken with food.

So, if you are taking these meds for your pain, they could be the cause of your pain. But, you need to see your doctor with the meds/drugs you are taking so he/she can advise as to what you need to stop and/or dosage that needs to be adjusted. It may also very well be that the source of the problem is something else. So, see your doctor!

For more on ulcer, please click on the following links:

Daily Health Tips:Home Remedy For Peptic Ulcer?

Daily Health Tips: Ulcer?

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Q: Doc I’m on 3 months injection but the nurse told me to change to 2 months injection. Doc I want to know whether I can become infertile because I was on 3 months injection?

A: Hmmmm….

Thanks for writing in. The first advice I would give is that anytime you receive advice from a healthcare practitioner and you do not understand the meaning, implication(s) or long term consequence(s), please ask. You have a right to know. You NEED to know.

No, you will not become infertile by using the 3 months’ injection. That’s not a normal side effect of that injection J The two months’ injection may be suggested if you need it for a short period of time, perhaps, while waiting for a partner’s sterilization surgery or when being immunized for rubella. Maybe you mentioned this and she advised on that? The 3 months’ injection provides more long-term protection and only needs to be taken 4 times a year.

Taking these injections affect women differently. In the first few months, there is excessive bleeding during periods, followed by a period of lighter periods. This may yet be followed by a period of irregular or no periods especially in women who have taken these injections for up to a year. Irregular periods should be discussed with your doctor to ascertain the cause. It may be due to the drug or due to an infection, which needs to be treated. Prolonged periods can also be treated.

With any of the injections, it might take up to one year (or 2) before the return of periods and fertility. This is really irrespective of whether it is the 2 months’ or 3 months’ injection. And, it is a delay not necessarily a case of not being able to conceive again. In the same vein, because the effects of these injections range from 2 months to 3 months, depending on the one taken, then if there were side effects, one would have to bear them for that same period of time.

I hope this helps J

Have a great night, y’all 😀

Q: Hi Dr, what should you do if you have a face problem..oily face with pimples and black heads?

A: Acne can be inflammatory (in which case they are usually painful like pimples) or non-inflammatory (blackheads or whiteheads). One of the major problems with acne is the fact that a lot of the people who have them can’t leave them well alone…plucking, tweaking, pressing and just generally touching them leading to more inflammation, scarring and even bacterial infections as germs from hands are transferred to them.

Treatment of acne is targeted at one or a mixture of the following factors: reducing inflammation, reducing oil production, improving skin cell turnover and reducing bacterial infection.

Creams with Salicylic acid or Benzoyl peroxide are useful for removing dead skin cells, killing off bacteria and reducing oil production. You may notice some slight irritation initially which wears off in a little while. Where in doubt, please see your doctor J

Your doctor could also prescribe other (stronger) drugs if the above do not work to deal with the acne and the scarring.

You can prevent pimples by using gentle cleansers on your face in the morning and evening. Be sure that they do not dry out your face as these cause even further irritation.

Do not use your body soap on your face for the same reason. Use a facial bar or facial wash.

Keep greasy hair off your face and wear loose clothes that allow your skin to breathe. Cotton is always a great idea😀 For this same reason, if you always carry a rucksack, switch it around and carry other bags in turn to allow your back ‘breath’

Do not use greasy cosmetics and if you have acne, perhaps you should give your foundation a miss for a while or try not to be too heavy handed with it😀

Be sure to wipe all your makeup off your face every night. Those pores need some air after all that war paint we put over them😀

And…please leave your face alone, especially if you’ve got pimples. Continually picking at them will just cause more scarring and increase the likelihood of bacterial infections😉

For natural methods, Alpha hydroxy acids found in some fruits have been found to also be helpful. A good number of creams contain this and they help unclog pores and remove dead skin cells. Use with caution though as they may cause some irritation.

Have a great day, people😀

Source: Weight loss that works: A true story

Wednesday March, 8th is International Women’s Day. It is usually a busy day for me as I give a lot of talks on women’s empowerment. This year, I will be spending my first few hours with the ladies at Schlumberger discussing what this year’s theme, ‘Be Bold For Change’ means.

So, I start my exploration with you, my sister/friend…

What was your bold moment? That moment, day, event when you decided to be you? When you decided to own your story and not be defined by what others choose to call you? When did you realise that you had all it took to be great? When did you realise that there is power in the collective and choose to pull up another sister/friend?

Share your stories, ladies! Together, we can change the narrative. People think that supporting women’s causes means you’re anti-men. It doesn’t mean that! It just means that you are on your own lane, running your race and it could very well be that the other people on the other lanes are men…but when you set out on the race to be the best runner at the end of the race, you did not necessarily do it because you wanted to best the men. You just want to be allowed to be good at that which you are good at.

As a ‘strong woman’ and a firm believer in the power of the collective good, I actively support and cheer when I see women do great things! I see a lot small things done in great ways and great things that are amplified! Wow! Sisters, y’all amaze me!

So, strong women, share your stories and encourage another sister!

I look forward to reading your answers to the ‘bold’ questions I posed above

Hello y’all 😀 Hope you’ve had a good week?

I get a lot of questions from women on problems with sexual arousal, pain during sexual intercourse and the likes. If you’ve ever written in on account of this, this post is for you! if you haven’t, you can definitely learn something from reading this. While the post appears to be speaking to people in midlife, young couples will definitely benefit from this.

Enjoy!

http://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/yes-you-can-have-better-sex-in-midlife-and-in-the-years-beyond

The prostate gland is a small organ located just below the bladder. It produces semen and the urethra which transports urine from the bladder and semen from the prostate, passes through the prostate. This organ grows throughout a male’s life and sometimes grows so big that it blocks the flow of urine from the bladder. This condition is known as Benign Prostatic Enlargement or Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. This is more likely to happen as people age and when there is a family history of this.

For tips to cope if you have an enlarged prostate, please click on the link, below:http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/4-tips-for-coping-with-an-enlarged-prostate

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Q: Hello doctor, stretch marks on breast please what does it mean?

A: Stretch marks occur when the skin is over-stretched like during pregnancy, during the growth spurt of the teenage years and during rapid weight gain or loss. So the skin, sort of, loses its elasticity, overstretches, leading to the breaking the of interconnected fibres of the middle layer of skin, dermis. When this happens, the blood vessels show through, with the characteristic red or purple colour stretch marks have initially. As the blood vessels contract, the pale fat underneath the skin shows through causing the stretch marks to assume their usual pale colour.

Stretch marks can also occur in people who have a family history, people with underlying health conditions like Cushing’s syndrome ~(where the body produces too much of the hormone, Cortisol) and sometimes after prolonged use/abuse of steroid creams (some of these are used to treat eczema).

Common areas for stretch marks to occur are the breasts, tummy, buttocks, upper arms, shoulders and thighs.

Before the appearance of stretch marks, the affected area becomes thin and you may develop an itch there. The stretch marks when they first appear are slightly raised but eventually, flatten out. As they flatten, the colour becomes less pronounced until they leave pale silvery or whitish streaks, depending on skin colour.

As described above, the ‘damage’ to the skin is done from the inside and not the outside. This makes it difficult to really take care of it from the outside. Having said that, creams that contain shea butter, cocoa butter and Vitamin E are thought to be useful in causing the marks to fade.

Other creams that contain olive oil, castor oil and fruit acids may also be helpful. There are some other advanced treatments like glycolic acid peels, laser therapy etc, (that you must NOT attempt on your own) that are helpful with old and new marks. Discuss these options with your dermatologist.

I hope that this helps.

Have a goodnight, everyone 😀

Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea. Untreated, sleep apnea increases our risk for serious health conditions including stroke and heart attack.

I once received a message from someone who said her friend’s snoring was destroying her relationship! This may not have been an exaggeration. Truth is, snoring needs to be seen as a condition that can be treated and all efforts should be made to get this treated.

Click on this link to read what advice I gave this lady and then check out the Harvard blog on being snored to death!

Daily Health Tips: My Friend’s Snoring Is Destroying Her Relationship!

Source: Snored to death: The symptoms and dangers of untreated sleep apnea