chatwithketch

What do I do with my baby’s cord? Clean with spirit? Clean with water? Just leave it alone? What about me? I can barely sit down after having my baby. My episiotomy site hurts so bad! What do I use to reduce the pain? Does a Sitz bath really work? Should I add anything to the water to Sitz bath? Just For The Health Of It With Dr Ketch explores this and so much more.

Get a copy of the book, Just For The Health Of It from any of these channels:
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) 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 😀

Q1: How can one treat stretch marks?

Q2: Hello sir/ma pls am in need of a good product that I can use to treat acne and if possible u can prescribe a drug that can kill d bacteria for me. I will b waiting for your response.

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 leading to the formation of the marks.

Thus, 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 etc, (that you must NOT attempt on your own) that are helpful with old and new marks. Discuss these options with your dermatologist.

Pimples or acne are always a serious concern for males and females of all ages. When you’re a teenager, it appears life is generally miserable when you have a lot of these and when you’re older, it’s embarrassing and almost as if, you didn’t pass through rites of the teenage years and now have to deal with it at this age😀 Either way, it can be a source of emotional upset. Stressing out about it, now makes it even worse as stress can make acne worse even if it doesn’t directly cause it.

Acne happens when hair follicles get blocked by dead skin cells and oil. They are most frequently found on the face, back, shoulders and neck.

Pimples are usually increased or aggravated by hormones which are in abundant supply during the teenage years, pregnancy, before the start of a menstrual period and when using some medications. In other instances, pimples result from friction between clothes and skin (e.g. collar, or wearing a back pack often), having greasy hair or other materials constantly touching the skin and a family history of acne.

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

.

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😀

Q: Good day Dr, please what could cause a 23 year old girl to be bed wetting? My niece that stays with me bed wets almost every night while my less than 3 year old son does not.

A: Bed wetting hardly happens once a child gets to the age of 7 years. However, for a small percentage of children, this continues for a while longer. We will talk about bed wetting in children another time. Today’s bed wetting discourse is about this problem in adults. What could lead to bed wetting in adults?

This usually indicates a medical problem like Diabetes Mellitus, prostate problems (prostate cancer or prostate enlargement), bladder cancer, urinary tract infections or urinary tract stones. Sometimes though, it could also be due to an emotional disturbance or anxiety.

Treatment of adult bed wetting will be focused on the underlying cause. For instance, if it is due to Diabetes, the blood sugar needs to be brought under control. In the meantime, the family of these adults have to show empathy and understanding. This will help them go through this situation knowing they have a support system. Mattress protectors and adult diapers may be temporary aids until the main issue is addressed.

Have a good night y’all 😀

Q: Hello Dr Ketch. Please kindly advise me. I need permanent cure to my persistent cold of sneezing and nasal congestion. Best regards.

A: I’ve been asked this question several times and in different ways. But ‘why is my nose blocked all through the year?’ is the common thread that runs through all the questions. ‘Stuffy nose’, ‘blocked nose’ or nasal congestion are different names used to describe this condition. In the simplest of terms, this condition refers to a situation when there is an obstruction (blockage) to the flow of air, in and out of the nose. This may be due to swelling of nasal tissues (tissues in the nose) and blood vessels with excess fluid.
Some causes include:
Common cold. We are all familiar with this common cause of nasal congestion 😀 This causes blockage of the sinus which results in nasal congestion.
Allergies in which an individual’s immune system reacts in an exaggerated manner to certain foods or to pollen is a cause of nasal congestion. This ailment tends to run in families and so history of people with same condition or asthma etc in that family is not uncommon.
A nasal septum (the wall between the nostrils) that is crooked or bent to one side may cause nasal congestion. This ‘deformity’ may be from birth, due to injury or occur as a process of growth.
Excessive use of nasal decongestants can also lead to this as after the decongestant is stopped, there is rebound nasal congestion. And so, one ends up with the same situation they were trying to solve from the beginning! 😀 So, if you must, do not use your nasal decongestants for more than three days
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses (air cavities) that line the nose. When these air cavities (which are supposed to be filled by air) become filled with fluid as a result of blockage, bacteria, fungi and viruses can thrive in this environment and cause infection. Pus-like nasal discharge, facial pain and persistence of symptoms for more than a week, maybe suggestive of this.
Other conditions include:
• Cold weather

• Foreign body in the nose
• Presence of tumour or polyp (a small growth with a stalk protruding from a surface)
• Medications for high blood pressure
• Spicy foods (remember how you start sniffling once you start on a hot dish?)
• Stress etc

There’s a pretty long list of causes, but your doctor will attempt to narrow down to what the probable cause for you is.
In the meantime,
Ø try drinking a lot of water
Ø Use saline sprays instead of the nasal decongestants, if you’ve been indulging in this 😉
Ø Use a humidifier which loosens the mucous. Turning on the hot water shower and inhaling the steam is another great idea.
Ø Avoid irritants of the nose like smoke
All these measures will help reduce the nasal congestion.
Have a great night y’all 😀

Q: This was really informative. Am 22wks now & just took my first dose of Fansidar today. I used to feel feverish at times & my urine is yellowish. I assume, I am infected with fever. Will the Fansidar I took get rid of it or it’s just to prevent in case someone is not infected yet or do I need another brand of anti-malaria drug? I hope to get your useful reply soon. Thank You.

A: Pregnancy can affect different women differently. For some women, they hardly feel a thing and others spend the whole nine months (…and then some :D) in bed. And so, you may very well feel you have malaria when the only issue you’re dealing with is the new life growing in you! I felt like that for a long while before I discovered I was pregnant 😀 Again, fever is more a symptom of a disease than a disease itself. We need to find out the cause of the fever.

Fansidar is a specific brand of the drug Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP). It is used for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy. Its use for this is referred to as Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in pregnancy (IPTp-SP).

Is it safe in pregnancy? Yes and no. In the first trimester, it is not recommended for use but from the second trimester, it is considered appropriate and indeed is recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) for administration to pregnant women. If you live in a malaria endemic area like Nigeria, your doctor will ensure that you get your Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) courses for malaria (sulphadoxine-pyrimethmine) during your pregnancy, as your doctor has already done. The assumed rule before was for pregnant women to receive 2 doses of this drug (full dose of 3 tablets) but WHO has since clarified that the appropriate regimen is for women to receive the full dose of Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine from week 13 of pregnancy. She should get a full dose at every antenatal visit provided the last dose was taken at least one month before. There is evidence that women who received 3 or more doses of IPTp had children with higher average birth weights than those who got 2 doses.

Your doctor will ensure that the Folic Acid dose you’re getting in your prenatal drugs is not more than 0.4mg. Doses of Folic Acid higher than or equal to 5mg affects the efficacy of the anti-malarial, SP. So, be sure to check with your doctor before you start buying other non-prescribed prenatal vitamins.

If you do have malaria Quinine, Clindamycin, Proguanil are considered safe by the WHO treatment guideline in the first trimester. But, don’t be quick to go take any of them without prescription. Remember that every drug is a potential toxin and your doctor is really in the best place to weigh potential risks of taking any drug against the potential benefits. To put this in perspective, a recent study appears to now suggest that acetaminophen (the main ingredient in paracetamol) may lead to Attention Deficit Disorder in children! And yet, we refer to it as ‘ordinary’ paracetamol. There is nothing ordinary about any drug, my friends 😀

Doing all of the above will be meaningless if you do not pay any attention to the environment.

Those anopheles mosquitoes that are associated with malaria need a place to lay eggs so they can muster the right army to wreak havoc. So deprive them of a breeding camp. Who would know the conditions necessary for a terrorist camp to be set up and make their homes or environment, the right one for that? Nobody…in their right minds at least 😀

If you have to go out in the evenings, depending on whether you will be out in mosquito infested areas, wear protective clothing that cover arms and legs, preferably in light colours. Mosquitoes love dark colours and the dark….no wonder their deeds are evil 😀 Insect repellent creams used on exposed areas are also not a bad idea.

So, my advice is to see your doctor to confirm what is wrong with you…if anything at all, beyond pregnancy 😉

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Among women ages 40 and older, two in three get up at least once a night to urinate.

Source: Full bladder wakes 2 in 3 women at night

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.

Source: 5 steps for preventing kidney stones

Why is my baby’s tummy making noise? Why does my baby appear to be losing all her hair? Is my baby teething too early? Is my daughter small for her age? K legs, bow legs..what should I do?

The book, Just For The Health Of It With Dr Ketch, explores these and other issues

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) 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

4) 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 😀