chatwithketch

Because many of the symptoms are similar, many people who experience migraines mistakenly believe they have sinus headaches.

Source: Sinus headache or sign-us up for a migraine consultation

Ever heard of those amazing bits of advice that people have repeated and passed along through various eras that they have practically taken the place of the truth about pregnancy! I will address some of them and let you know my verdict…fact or fiction

Advice
Pregnant women who deliver in hospitals are not brave

Verdict: Fiction
This is not true! This has led to a situation where women who ought to seek medical care in the hospital stay home to prove they are brave. Please be sure to register for your antenatal classes, attend regularly and follow your doctor’s advice to the letter.

Advice
Pregnant women should not sleep on their backs as this may damage your baby’s eyes

Verdict: Fact and fiction
In the first trimester, if you’re used to sleeping on your back, 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. However, the reason is not because of damage to baby’s eyes. It’s 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

Advice
If a pregnant woman drinks cold water, her baby may get pneumonia

Want to know what we think of the cold water and pneumonia advice? Get details from the book, Just For The Health Of It. You can get a copy via the shop now link on our facebook page. Or you can get it through:

1) Laterna Books online shop with nationwide delivery. Just click on this link: https://www.laternabooks.com/laterna_product_details.php?v=15450&c=44

2) Another option for those in Lagos is Laterna Bookshop on 13, Oko-Awo Close, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Street,. Victoria Island.

3) Jumia.com. Just click on this link http://www.jumia.com.ng/jumia-books-just-for-the-health-of-it-with-dr-ketch-179486.html and get a copy. You have the option of paying when the book is delivered to you or paying online. This service is available all over Nigeria.

4) If you’re outside the country, please visit Amazon through this link http://www.amazon.com/Just-Health-Ketch-Pregnancy-Parenting/dp/9789398026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426246647&sr=1-1&keywords=just+for+the+health+of+it+with+dr+ketch+olalere+nkechi

For those in Abuja and environs, please call 07030739403 or pick it up at No 5 Bricks Market, Dawaki 11 Market, Dawaki extension.

For those in Awka, please call 08189944090.

Have a fabulous week ahead, y’all😀

And so it comes to an end!

For the past couple of weeks, Complan has thrilled you with questions on nutrition. These were meant to jog your memory of tips from my show, Tips for Healthy Living with Dr Ketch and ensure that you learn new nutrition tips J I hope we succeeded!

Did you win any of our Complan gift packs? You still have a chance. Here goes…

For our last week, it’s all about Complan J

Do you know that Complan is perfect for all ages and lifestyles? If you do, then answer the following:

How many essential nutrients are in Complan?

Mention 4 specific periods in life, from birth to old age where Complan plays specific roles.

• Terms and conditions:
  The first 3 persons to answer correctly will win our prizes.
• Participants must be followers of our blog and/or facebook page.
  Only one answer per participant will be accepted.
• If a participant provides more than one answer, the first answer will be used.
• Edited answers will be disqualified.
• Editor’s decision is final.
• This challenge lapses by 11.59 pm on Wednesday, the 14th of December, 2016
• So, what are you waiting for?! Best of luck, guys!

Congratulations to our winners for the 3^rd November quiz! I was spoilt for choice! So many interesting answers for last week too! Well done, guys!

Here are our winners!

• Olubunmi Nasiru
• Shettu Young-Asanwana
• Chinazor Esther Ugboma-Egwuete

Congratulations, guys!

Please send an email to healthylivingwithdrketch@gmail.com for instructions on how to pick up your gifts.

Spices that flavor our holiday meals also deliver antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and other compounds that benefit the brain.

Source: Spice up your holidays with brain-healthy seasonings

Q: Good day Dr, my baby of 6 months sweats a lot making heat rashes appear on her face, neck and body. I have been using agnesia powder but it’s not working. Please, what can I do or use? Thanks for your response.

A: Rashes in your baby could be due to different things and so it’s difficult to say what it is over the net L Sorry, this medium has its limitations

Starting with common things, it may very well be heat rashes. If you’re of the school of thought that believes children should be all covered up in warm clothes even what it’s hot, then, this may be the cause of the rashes. To prevent this, ensure that you dress your baby in light clothes when the weather is hot and vice versa. Trust me, they have the same ability to feel hot or cold…just like you :O

Then, it could be due to eczema. This can arise from the soaps and bubble baths et al that you are using.  It could also be due to rough fabrics or allergy to foods. To prevent this, choose mild baby products that are not perfumed, be gentle when drying baby after a bath…just pat dry.

It could also be due to fungal or bacterial infections. You need to take your baby in to see the paediatrician so that a proper diagnosis can be made and then proper treatment started.

Have a great weekend y’all 😀

Q: Good day Dr Ketch, Please, why do babies’ front head breathe? Thanks for your response

A: Hi dear, thanks for writing in. And congratulations on your brand new baby!

When a baby is born, the skull bones are not completely fused. This ‘lack of fusion’ allows a baby’s relatively big head to pass through the narrow birth canal during delivery. These soft spots are called fontanels and they also accommodate the baby’s rapidly developing brain during infancy.

In front, there is a diamond shaped spot where 4 skull bones (cranial sutures) intersect, called anterior fontanel and there is a smaller one at the back, called posterior fontanel. These are the more conspicuous ones. There are two smaller ones (one on each side of the head).

It is normal for the anterior fontanel to pulsate with baby’s heart beats. We can also tell about the baby’s health by observing the fontanels. If it is sunken, baby may be dehydrated from vomiting or stooling and if it is bulging, it may point increased pressure in the brain as can occur in meningitis. Please note that this fontanel looks ‘full’ when baby is crying. This is normal J don’t go running to a doctor for this one. Scratch that…always consult a doctor when in doubt!

So, leave these fontanels well alone. Don’t rub any special ointment or anything on them 😀 They are not as fragile as they look (so can be washed and touched) as they are covered by a tough protective membrane but don’t go poking there 😀 The posterior fontanel would close off after about 2 months but the anterior fontanel usually closes off after about 18 months.

I hope this helps.

Have a good night y’all 😀

Q: Good day Dr Ketch, please i just want to ask a quick question. What can i do to get the white (sclera) part of my eyes really white and healthy? I eat healthy and drink fluids and have no underlying health issues yet I have dull looking eyes with red vein. Please is there a drug or good eye drop apart from V-s–e? I can use or is it advisable to go for an eye wash? Please your help is needed. Thanks…More blessing DR. You are wonderful

A: Thanks for writing in.

Dull looking eyes redness may be due to tiredness. As people get older, the whites of their eyes (sclera) also turn brownish due to years of exposure to wind, dust and the sun. Tiredness? That can also lead you here 😀

A red eye can give you cause for serious concern especially if it happens when you can’t really attribute any event/trauma to it…and then it’s also not painful. What on earth could it be?! 😀

Usually, the white of the eye (sclera) is covered by a transparent membrane with a rich blood supply, called the conjunctiva.

• This membrane can be infected/ irritated or blood vessels under it can burst leading to painless red eyes. Irritation of the conjunctiva (conjunctivitis) could be due to an infection, allergy, chlorine (remember those blood shot eyes after swimming? :D), dust etc.

Conjunctivitis due to viruses tends to affect one eye first and then spread to the other eye…helped along by people rubbing their red eyes and then touching the other eye. Conjunctivitis caused by bacteria can usually be recognized by the presence of sticky eye discharge which crusts around the edges of the eye. Conjunctivitis caused by allergies usually affect both eyes and causes significant itching.

• A burst blood vessel causes a condition known as sub-conjunctivial haemorrhage (this simply means bleeding under the conjunctiva). This can be caused by coughing or straining.
• Eye strain from prolonged staring at a computer screen or screen of digital devices, straining to see in poor light or being exposed to bright lights, being stressed, being exposed to dry moving air from a fan or air conditioner can also be associated with red eyes (blood shot eyes).
• Using eye drops that contain vasoconstrictors (eg tetrahydrozoline or naphazoline) like the one you mentioned in your question can lead to an initial reduction of redness but is quickly followed by increase in redness. The substances contained in these eye drops cause shrinkage of the outer blood vessels in the white of the eye depriving the eye of essential nutrients and oxygen. When their effects wear off or the person stops using the eye drops, the vessels quickly dilate (enlarge) as the tissues that have been deprived oxygen and nutrients quickly signal for a supply. So, the vessels become more prominent as they swell and their redness becomes more pronounced. For this effect to stop, the use of the eye drop must be stopped. Prolonged use may lead to a situation where the eyes need this eye drop to stay white.

Treatment of conjunctivitis may involve the use of eye drops. Remember not to prescribe them for yourself…that’s what your doctor is there for 😀

Other measures include placing cool face towels or flannels to the eye to soothe it, not sharing towels, pillows/pillowcases, staying away from make-up at this time (I feel you, girlfriend! Imagine going out without putting your face on! Whaaat!!!!), staying of contacts, if you use them and don’t forget to keep your hands off your face.
Burst blood vessels would usually resolve on their own.

Burst vessels usually require no treatment and resolve within 7 to 14 days.

Now, if you develop pain or find that your vision is affected, please see your doctor. It could be any number of issues including glaucoma, sty (a small lump/boil at the edge of the eye lid), foreign body in the eye etc.

So, be sure to see your doctor so he can make a diagnosis of your condition and I’m sure you’ll be bright eyed in no time!

In the meantime, eat right for your eyes:

• Fruits: Oranges, mangos, tangerines (in season now), pawpaw, avocado etc
• Vegetables: Carrots, spinach, carrots, peppers
• Source of Omega-3 fatty acids: canola oil, salmon, tuna, mackerel etc
• Sources of zinc: beans, pumpkin (egusi) seeds, lean beef, fortified breakfast cereals etc

I hope this helps

Have a good night 😀

Q: Hello Dr I am new in this page, please my question is do all women wet during intercourse? If so, is anything wrong with a person who has never experienced that?

A: Usually the vagina has a thin film of fluid that coats it. This fluid helps lubrication during sexual intercourse, maintains the normal environment of the vagina preventing the overgrowth of organisms like fungi, flushing out dead cells and menstrual blood. The level of this fluid/moisture varies with the level of estrogen released in the body. During sexual intercourse, there is increased blood flow to the vaginal area leading to an increase in the volume of moisture. During menopause, however, the level of estrogen is very low leading to vaginal dryness, loss of elasticity and thinning.

There are other conditions, other than menopause that can lead to low estrogen and consequent vaginal dryness (and lack of ‘wetness’ during sexual intercourse). They include childbirth, breast feeding, cigarette smoking, some medications (like anti-estrogen drugs used to treat cancer) and douching. Douching refers to the practice of cleaning the vagina with a ‘cleansing’ fluid. For more on this topic, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/09/30/daily-health-tips-what-is-douching/

Other very common causes of vaginal dryness include a lack of foreplay during sexual intercourse, feelings of guilt, relationship issues, allergy etc

The main consequence of vaginal dryness is the fact that it affects sex life such that these women experience significant pain and sometimes, bleeding. Other problems that vaginal dryness could cause include soreness, itching and burning around the vaginal area, recurrent urinary tract infections and frequency of urinating etc.

Treatment depends on cause. If it’s due to low estrogen, the focus would be on replacing this either through Hormone Replacement therapy or through the insertion of estrogen pessaries (tablets, cream or ring) into the vagina) should help. If due to rushed foreplay, there should be a conscious effort to slow down allow enough time for foreplay and sometimes, discussion with the partner may be helpful. Avoid heavily perfumed products like sanitary towels, tissues etc which may lead to irritation of the vagina and subsequent dryness etc.

Use of vaginal moisturizers can also help. Vitamin E has found use as a vaginal moisturizer with the gel rubbed on the vagina.

Please discuss these with your doctor. Please, don’t be embarrassed to discuss your symptoms with him 😀

I hope this helps.

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Getting a lot of resveratrol from red wine and food offers no protection against heart disease and cancer, and doesn’t appear to extend the lifespan.

Source: Diet rich in resveratrol offers no health boost

Could tea be a health beverage? Eleven new studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition highlight the many ways that tea may improve health: Tea drinking appears to lower the risk for heart disease and stroke, may strengthen bones, and appears to improve mood, concentration, and performance. Natural compounds called polyphenols in tea might protect against several cancers, including those of the prostate, GI tract, lungs, breast, and skin, and may also increase metabolism and promote weight loss. Those possible benefits apply to tea, not tea extracts condensed into pills. If you’re a tea drinker, enjoy your favorite brew with the added satisfaction that it may be good for your health. If you aren’t, there’s no reason to start.

Source: Tea: Drink to your health?