chatwithketch

Q: Good morning Dr. I am 4 months pregnant now but my breast runs especially when I am sleeping and is pressed with my body, my bed gets soaked. Though before now I use to experience such but not as serious as now. Please what do I do?

A: Congratulations on your pregnancy!

One of the things you expect to happen in pregnancy is breast fullness with attendant pain/tenderness. This is due to the hormones, estrogen and progesterone, increase in blood flow and fat deposits in the breast…all in preparation for the job of breastfeeding the soon-to-be-born baby.

The breasts may start to produce milk as early as second trimester (from about 14 weeks) into the pregnancy. This may show up as leakage of fluid (breast milk) from the breast. This milk is colostrum, the first milk produced by a mother to feed her young. This milk is filled with antibodies which help protect and strengthen the baby’s immune system. This leakage can be prevented by using breast pads

To help out with breast enlargement and consequent pain during pregnancy, please invest in a good bra that provides the right support and sleep with bra tops or sports bras when sleeping to give you more support if you’re uncomfortable while sleeping.

I hope this helps.

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Strokes seem to come out of the blue. But most of them happen due to decades-long damage to blood vessels and growth of artery-clogging plaque. That raises the question: Is there an early warning test for stroke?

Yes and no.

Want to know how that works out? Please click on this link: http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/is-there-an-early-warning-test-for-stroke

Q: Please, can I drink aloe vera and lime to lose weight?

A: Aloe vera is great with many health benefits. But useful for weight loss in combination with lime? It sounds like one of those fad diets I have heard about. This is a variation of another question I have been asked before…

Q: Good morning Doc, please what is the best solution for weight loss? Is hot drink and lime a good idea to achieve a weight loss?

A: Hmmm! What did you have in mind? Taking the hot drink (alcoholic spirit) alone or in combination with the lime? 😀 Now, you have to forgive me, but I’m always amused at the fact that we think that there are short cuts to these stuff. Unfortunately, losing weight is pure hard work: sweating and grunting.

Alcohol’s health benefit is usually touted in the area of heart health where moderate alcohol consumption is thought to provide some benefits to the heart. Moderation is described as one drink of alcoholic beverage per day for women and also for men 65 years and older and two drinks for men younger than 65 years. However, even these moderate servings of alcohol are also associated with cancers and other disease conditions. Indeed, the beneficial effects of this moderate alcohol on the heart can be reproduced by paying attention to diet and exercising at least 150 minutes per week.
In addition, alcohol contains empty calories which will definitely mess up anyone’s weight loss plan and when people drink alcohol, they lose their inhibitions and may completely forgo their diet plan and eat all sorts 😀

Lemon on the other hand is thought to have some cleansing properties and also helps whiten the teeth. It is full of vitamins and anti-oxidants that help fight disease. Too much of this can lead to erosion of the enamel of the teeth (leaching away of the top coating of the teeth).

Remember that any diet that leads to undue restrictions by completely eliminating certain food groups or restricting diets to liquids only may not only be a health hazard but is also not sustainable. Sustainable diet plans focus on making sure you get the right quantity of foods from each food group to nourish your body.

For more of what to do to lose weight, 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:

• 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) If you’re outside the country, please visit Amazon through this linkhttp://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.

Remember that this book is a great gift for anyone who wishes to live and eat healthy, lose weight, get ready for pregnancy and parenting. Buy copies for bridal showers, baby showers, Christmas gifts etc. It’s a gift that keeps on giving

Give nutrition tips to a First Time Mother (FTM) especially a breastfeeding one:

• Three foods to include in her diet
• Three foods/substances to avoid eating/taking

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 Friday, the 4th of November, 2016

So, what are you waiting for?! Best of luck, guys!

Congratulations to our winners!
The winners of last week’s (22^nd October) quiz are:

John Favour (from facebook)

Ola Amoko Amuwe (from facebook)

Kristy Amara (from www.chatwithdrketch.com)

Congratulations, guys!

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

Q: Hello Dr, I put to bed on 9th of this month. Since last week, my baby poos 5 to 6 times in a day…is it normal? Again, if she wants to poo I will hear the sound of it and her stomach usually makes noise. She also stretches her legs a lot since the falling of the umbilical cord. I’m a first time mother.

A: Congratulations on your bundle of joy! Your baby is blessed and will be a blessing to her generation!

Your baby’s tummy makes noise normally…grumbling noises, murmuring noises, gurgling noises etc 😀  all through the day. And they are normal. You would probably notice them more just before your baby eats or soon after. Those are the sounds of our very hard working intestines as they contract and push air around…swallowed air and air produced as a result of digestion.

As long as your baby eats normally, does not have abdominal pain and is not vomiting, then there’s probably no problem. These sounds are very loud and active just after a meal or when your child eats foods like beans 😀 The normal process of digestion of beans involves fermentation in the intestines which of course produces more gas and by extension, more bowel sounds. When one has diarrhea, these sounds happen more frequently and conversely, reduce when one is constipated. In fact, little or no bowel sounds after a meal may be suggestive of a problem. In the same way, very high pitched sounds, could also mean there are issues. You would, of course, need to know what the normal sounds are in order to recognise the strange sounds. As I always say, where in doubt, please consult your doctor.

Exclusively breast fed babies may pass stool a couple of times during the day to lots of times (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 her 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. How can this occur in exclusively breast fed babies? It may be due to an infection (viral and bacterial), food allergy to something the mother ate, it may be due to food poisoning in the mum or perhaps the mother had taken antibiotics. If in doubt as to whether the stools appear normal or as they have been since birth, please see your baby’s doctor. If your baby has diarrhea, she should be rehydrated as quickly as possible. The first way is to continue breastfeeding even before going to the hospital. This also provides valuable antibodies that help the baby fight diseases.

So, here’s a quick reminder class on foods to avoid or limit their consumption while breast feeding:

Caffeine in coffee (try decaffeinated and stick with 2 small tea cups), energy drinks, some soft drinks etc This makes the baby irritable and by extension, makes sleep difficult for the baby. Now, you don’t want that, do you?

Alcohol: This should be avoided as much as possible.

Cigarette (yeah, yeah, I know it’s not food) should also be avoided as it reduces the production of breast milk.

If baby reacts to what the mother ate, efforts should be made to pinpoint what the mother ate before the incident started and then eliminating that from the diet to see if the diarrhea or allergy stops.

Make sure that you eat well: lots of fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Cut out the junk which will not help you achieve your weight loss goals and in addition have empty calories. And drink sufficient fluids daily.

Be careful before taking any drug as most find their way into your baby.

Hope this helps.

And guess what? Being a first time mother is not as daunting as it seems. You will do great! 😀 Keep asking questions and trust your instincts too. Check out my blog www.chatwithdrketch.com for a whole lot of posts on taking care of your baby or get a copy of my book, Just For The Health Of It. Just click on this link and off you go to the online shop to get a copy 😀

https://www.laternabooks.com/laterna_product_details.php?v=15450&c=44

Goodnight y’all 😀

Q: Good morning ma’am! Please I need your help. My 18 months old baby has been having boils for the past 3 weeks. I have given him Augumentin for children on doctor’s prescription. But the boils are still coming out. Recently i noticed he urinates too much. What should I do?

A: A boil, also called a skin abscess, is an infection of a hair follicle deep in the skin. Boils can occur in any part of the body, but most frequently in the armpits, groin, around the vagina/anus areas, around a tooth and at the back. They are often swollen, painful, and after a few days collect as a head of pus and debris (this explains what you noticed) which can rupture on their own when soft or ‘ripe’ or may require a health expert to cut it open and drain it (if it’s quite large).

Boils in the pubic region, can be caused by an ingrown hair (the hair instead of growing upwards, grows inwards into the skin, this may occur following shaving), blocked hair follicles (from sweat, or a damp unclean environment), a sexually transmitted infection (herpes, when it’s just starting) a sign of some other disease like diabetes, or problems with the immune system, poor hygiene (especially during menses for women) and poor nutrition.

As much as you may want to, avoid squeezing or scratching it, allow it rupture on its own. This would help prevent further infection of deeper structures and skin, and also prevent spread to other areas. Apply warm water with a cloth on the boil for about 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Avoid sharing towels and washcloths with other people and keep the area clean and dry as much as you can. An antibiotic cream or mupirocin cream can also be applied (ask for this in a pharmacy shop). Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if he thinks you need them. Further evaluation may be necessary if you have boils in multiple areas, recurrent boils over several months, a very large boil, or boils on your face and anus.

As for the urination, how much is too much? How many times now compared to how many times before? Discuss this with your baby’s doctor and he will advise on what to do, if any.

Hope this helps.

The grief of losing a spouse or partner affects not just emotional and mental health, but physical health as well. A study published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that losing a spouse or partners boosts heart attack and stroke risk.

Source: Death of a spouse or partner can lead to heart attack or stroke

Let’s face it, ladies: Sex is a topic you usually discuss behind closed doors with your partner. A research letter reports that women 40 to 65 who place greater importance on sex are more likely to stay sexually active as they age. In other words, if it’s important to you, you’ll keep on doing it.

Source: For women, sexuality changes with age but doesn’t disappear

Older men may want to change how they think about sex, specifically by focusing more on the experience and pleasure of shared intimacy.

Source: Older men: Rethinking a healthy sex life