Daily Health Tips: Ulcer?

Posted on February 23, 2016 by chatwithdrketch
Q: Good morning ma’am. I found out that I have sharp Ulcer yesterday and I feel pains in my stomach that extends to my waist. Please what am I going to do to the Ulcer and the pain? Thanks
A: Gastric acid is secreted normally in the stomach to help the process of digestion. Peptic ulcer is a sore in the stomach, esophagus or duodenum and occurs when there is either over-production of this gastric acid in the stomach or reduction in the quantity of mucous that protects the stomach from the acid. Infection with an organism, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been found to be a cause of peptic ulcer.
 
In the past, it was thought that spicy foods caused peptic ulcers. However, there’s no evidence to support this, though spicy foods can certainly make the symptoms of ulcer worse 😀 Smoking, stress and drinking alcohol are also likely to worsen the symptoms of peptic ulcer. Caffeinated and carbonated beverages may also be culprit.
 
Ulcers are also common in people who take certain pain relieving drugs known as Non- Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen.
 
People with peptic ulcer usually complain of abdominal pain or even sometimes, chest pain as the pain can be anywhere from the breast bone to the navel…giving room for a wide range of descriptions 😀 The pain is usually worse at night or when the stomach is empty.
 
People with ulcers may vomit blood or pass out fresh or altered blood in stool. For the latter, the stool looks tarry black. Complications of peptic ulcers include internal bleeding, leakage of the acid into the abdominal cavity etc
 
Treatment is targeted at reduction in acid production, neutralization of acid, treatment of Helicobacter infection, promotion of healing or protection of stomach lining. Your doctor will determine the best option or combination(s) with your active participation, of course 😀
 
Thus, prevention is targeted at switching pain relieving drugs (if you have an ulcer, please stay away from NSAIDs, reducing your level of stress, stopping smoking and reducing your alcohol intake. Maintaining a healthy diet filled with loads of fruits and veggies which provide sufficient vitamins to aid healing, is also a good way to go. It is still not very clear how H. pylori infections spread but it is thought to be probably from person to person or from food and water. So, judicious and very frequent, hand washing will certainly help 😀
 
Does milk help? Well, temporarily but it quickly makes it worse. Milk coats the surface of the stomach, reducing the pain but then stimulates more acid production. Sounds like you can’t win, aye?! ;D
 
Have a great evening, y’all 😀
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Daily Health Tips: How Can I Get My Children To Take Fruits?

Posted on February 22, 2016 by chatwithdrketch
Q: Good afternoon Dr. I need your advice as regards what to do for kids that do not like fruits at all. Is there a more delicious way I can improvise the fruits or smoothies intake for kids of between 5 – 6 years of age?
 
A: Great question 😀 I never liked fruits myself as a child and even as an adult, I never got into the groove. Well, except for fruits like mangoes (I lived on this during my first and second pregnancies :D), apples and grapes. For the rest, I could not abide them until I discovered smoothies. The trick is to mix tart fruits with sweet ones so that you find the right balance. I absolutely got my son, who hated fruits like me to begin a love affair with them 😀
 
What fruits can your baby take? Practically, all types of fruits. If you’re introducing fruits for the first time, start gradually. Blend the fruits into smoothies or add some to fruits, like mashed bananas to cereal. You can actually blend up some fruits with the re-constituted milk (powdered milk mixed with water) and serve your baby. Start small and increase amounts as baby tolerates.
Get some fruits in season. I love to use mangoes and/or bananas. If you’re going to use both, one small mango and one medium sized banana is sufficient for a long glass. Scoop out the pulp of the mango and then cut up the bananas. Add the fruits to a blender one measuring cup of yoghurt. If you don’t have a measuring cup, just estimate. Blend both. If you want it thick, don’t blend for too long. If you want it runny (like drinking yoghurt) then blend for longer.
 
Serve in a nice, long cup. If you like some crunch, you can sprinkle some unsalted nuts (almonds, cashew or even peanuts) or some whole grain, crunchy cereal on top.
 
Improvisations:
If you don’t have a blender, you can mash up the fruits and add to the yoghurt. You will expect that the blend will not be so smooth and will have nice, delicious bits and lumps in it.
 
If you don’t have yoghurt or can’t make it immediately, you can replace the yoghurt with skimmed milk.
 
Yum, yum, yum!!!
 
Another delicious healthy milky/fruity snack you can make for your children is a milk popsicle. Even you will love it! Here’s how:
 
• You can juice some sweet oranges, or blend mangoes or any other fruit you like.
 
• Mix it with some milk
 
• Put it in fruity shaped ice moulds or even a regular ice tray that comes with most freezers or get a popsicle maker and pour it in with your popsicle stick in.
 
• Allow to freeze
 
• And….you’ve got the ideal sugar rush snack for your children.
 
Try it out and feel free to tinker with the recipe whichever way you want!
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Daily Health Tips:Sexual Intercourse After Baby

Posted on February 20, 2016 by chatwithdrketch

Q: Good day ma’am. May God bless & protect you for us. My question is, when is it ok for a woman that just delivered to start having sexual intercourse and is it true that it is going to affect the baby?

A: Good question 😀 The honest answer is, as soon as you and your spouse feel up to it. Usually, 6 weeks is advocated at which time the woman would have had a post-natal check.  However, there is really no scientific basis for this and the time a woman feels like intimacy could differ from woman to woman. Some women feel ready earlier and some much later. Bear in mind that there are new issues contending for attention here…namely the new baby who requires a lot of attention, the overwhelming emotion of being in charge of a new life especially for new mothers, the sheer exhaustion after looking after the baby’s needs and sleep deprivation, the pain of vaginal suturing, if the woman had a tear, the dryness of the vagina at this time etc. We could go on and on! So, with all these, it may be difficult to feel really sexy…trust me, I know 😀

 

So, what’s the way forward? New mums, get as much help as you can so that you don’t feel exhausted every night. Also, rest whenever the baby is taking a nap. Perhaps, timing for intimacy can also be re-scheduled to other times…maybe mornings while the baby is still sleeping etc. Then again, you don’t have to wait for full sexual intercourse to be intimate. You can start off with cuddling and then move on to more adventurous things. Lubrication may also be a great idea to help with vaginal dryness. To help restore muscular tone to the vagina, pelvic floor exercise (Kegel exercises) should be started as soon as possible. The exercise mimics the movements we make when we want to stop the flow of urine. Try holding this for about 10 seconds and then doing about 10 repetitions per set. Try about 4 to 6 sets per day and increase this as you feel ready.

Remember birth control even if you’re breastfeeding exclusively. You don’t want to get pregnant while nursing a baby, right? 😀

 

Is it safe to have sex while breastfeeding? Yes, it is…provided the two activities are not occurring at the same time. The breast milk and the sexual activity have totally different pathways 😀 Is it healthy? It’s definitely NOT UNHEALTHY.

 

I hope this helps 😀

 

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Daily Health Tips: Re-Visiting Chronic UTIs

Posted on February 19, 2016 by chatwithdrketch
Q: Hi Dr I am from Tanzania. I am suffering from UTIs and I have had this several times. So can I use dilute antiseptic liquid for my daily vagina washing? Does it work in prevention of UTIs?
 
A: Urinary Tract Infections occur anywhere in the urinary tract (Genius me, right :D) and include infections of the kidneys, the ureters (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder), the bladder (the reservoir or store house for the urine) and the urethra (the tube that transports the urine from the bladder to the outside).
 
So, who is more likely to have an infection and why? Women are more likely to have infections and this is because they have short urethrae (those tubes that transport the urine outside) and because the opening of this tube is very close to the opening of the anus. And so, if a woman urinates and has not quite mastered the art of cleaning from the front to the back, she could transfer bacteria from her anus to her urethra and this in turn travels up and infects the bladder.
 
Women who also use the birth control method, diaphragm appear to also be at risk as it may cause the bladder not to empty completely when they urinate. Indeed, not urinating immediately after sexual intercourse in women may also predispose to this as the urethra may have may have become irritated, making it easier for germs to move in. People with depressed immune systems, frequent constipation and some people born with some disorders of their uro-genital system are also prone to UTIs. In men, narrowing of the urethra which may happen in men who have had straddle injuries (eg falling astride {with legs apart} on a pole…ouch!), history of STIs or prostrate problems may make a man open to UTIs.
 
Recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections (UTI that keeps recurring) may be due to changes in hormone (estrogen) level as one gets to menopause, problems with the urinary tract in terms of function or shape, kidney or bladder stones, bacteria getting into the urinary tract during sexual intercourse etc
What symptoms does a person with UTI have? They would complain of feeling they have to urgently urinate often and then when they do get to the toilet, they can only pass out very little urine, pain or burning sensation during urination, pain in the flank (just under the ribs at the back), the urine may be cloudy or reddish or coke coloured, fever with chills and rigours etc.
UTIs have to be treated because these infections could keep back tracking from the urethra to the bladder to the ureters and then to the kidneys…we don’t want that do we?! 😉
 
Treatment is focused on eradicating the infection…of course 😀 Usually a urine sample is taken to the lab. Part of the lab work is a culture and sensitivity test to find out the organisms causing the infection and the specific antibiotic that is active against it. Please take your prescription for the right period of time even if your symptoms disappear before you finish. Your doctor may also order other tests as he sees fit eg checking out for congenital defects etc.
 
Apart from the preventive tips above, be sure to drink lots of water which help dilute your urine and help flush out the bacteria.
Now as for using antiseptic fluid for intimate cleansing…..Hmm, this is a question I’ve been asked often and it does make sense to ask 🙂 You would want to wash your vagina with disinfectant or perhaps antiseptic soap to make sure that you kill off all the germs, right? Wrong!
 
There are some bacteria that are actually useful in the body. Those found in the vagina, mainly lactobacillus, fall into this group. They produce substances that help to fight the growth of fungi (candida) and other unwanted organisms. So, when you wash with antibacterial soap or disinfected water, you mess with that natural balance in your intimate parts leading to overgrowth of unwanted organisms like candida.
 
Another similar activity is douching. Vaginal douches usually contain water and vinegar. Others have antiseptics and fragrances in addition. These douches are usually sprayed upwards into the vagina to ‘clean’ it up. Apart from destroying the hard-working bacteria which ‘protect’ the ‘intimates’, it can also lead to irritation of the very delicate vaginal skin.
 
Other activities that can cause over-growth of the vagina by unwanted organisms are abuse of antibiotics, a weak immune system from disease or stress and the hormonal imbalance that can occur in pregnancy.
 
So, the feeling better is really all in the psyche. No real work is being done. Truth is, if there is actually an infection, the douche and disinfectant et al are unlikely to be able to deal with them! So, there 😀
 
So ladies, all you need is…clean hands, soap that is not perfumed (if you can tolerate it) and water; c’est finis!
Have a great evening!
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Daily Health Tips: Can I Have Cucumber In Pregnancy?

Posted on February 17, 2016 by chatwithdrketch

Q: Is cucumber good for pregnant women?

A: Cucumber is a rich source of calcium and is generally considered safe in pregnancy unless of course you’ve had any allergic reactions with it before. Where in doubt, please speak to your doctor. Other good calcium sources are spinach, cabbage and other greens.

Eating right in pregnancy is critical and trust me….eating right is not necessarily eating for two…I know we’ve all heard the feeding for two fable. Trust me, in pregnancy, your calorie requirement doesn’t increase in first trimester, increases by just 300 calories in second trimester and about 400 calories in the 3rd trimester …if you’re carrying just one baby. For multiple pregnancies this increases slightly.

Other nutrition tips to help you during this period:
• Eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods from different food groups.
• Be sure to include a lot of high fibre foods like vegetables, whole grain cereals etc to deal with the constipation associated with pregnancy.
• Ensure you take your antenatal medications (prenatal vitamins) in addition to eating well.
• Be sure to also take foods rich in iron eg and foods rich in folic acid eg green leafy veggies and beans. Folate prevents deformities of the spine.
• Drink at least 4 servings of milk, other dairy products or calcium rich foods like those noted above. If you don’t eat enough, your baby will start drawing on your own stock from your bones. So, stock up on calcium!
Pregnancy provides an opportunity for a mother to adequately prepare her baby for life in 9 months. Make sure that you get all the nutrients that give your child a great health boost.

Have a great evening 😀

Top of Form

 

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Daily Health Tips: Safe Sex In Pregnancy

Posted on February 17, 2016 by chatwithdrketch
Q: Can someone who is 4 days late with sore nipple or tender breast continue to have sex if she is trying to conceive? Though it hasn’t been confirmed if it’s -ve or +ve.
A: Hi dear, even if you have been confirmed pregnant, you can continue to have sex.
There are many different causes of nipple pain and they include:
• Vigorous rubbing of the nipples. This would usually heal without incident and applying a moisturizer will help the process.
• Friction: In this case, not wearing a bra or wearing a poorly fitted bra during exercise routines may lead to rubbing of the nipples against the fabric and consequent soreness/pain. Wearing a proper
• Sensitivity to the weather (hot or cold), certain fabrics, detergents or even creams/lotions may lead to nipple pain. If this is caused by specific detergents or creams, you may have to change them.
• Hormonal changes as can occur close to a woman’s menstrual period. This pain will usually disappear after a few days.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding can also lead to this condition. In pregnancy, the pregnancy hormones lead to the nipples being extra sensitive and during breastfeeding, the baby may not latch on well to the nipple, there could be blocked ducts or mastitis or breast abscess etc leading to pain. During pregnancy, be sure to choose bras made with fabric that can ‘breath’ like cotton. And during breastfeeding, be sure to get help with making sure you know how to put baby to the breast to prevent sore nipples etc.
• Cancer (Paget’s disease of the breast) can also be a cause of nipple pain.
 
So, where in doubt…especially if you have tried to rule out the causes above, please see your doctor.
Sex is generally considered safe during pregnancy. Except the doctor has noted some medical issues that may cause some restrictions on sexual intercourse, couples can generally continue to have sexual intercourse during pregnancy.
Having said that, it doesn’t mean that every woman wants to indulge 😀 Unfortunately, no. Some women do experience increased libido, some decreased libido and some are just completely exhausted by their itinerary (wife, worker, sister, daughter, intending mother, worries about the pregnancy or intending birth, care of already existing children, if she has them etc) that sex is the farthest thing on their minds, most times. So, where’s the solution or compromise? Communication lines between couples have to be open. The husband needs to understand what’s going on in the mind and body of his wife. Providing emotional and tangible support by helping her out with some chores/activities, providing a daily evening massage….which becomes something wifey can look forward to, can help create the right mood. Remember that for women, sexual Intercourse starts from the emotional before it gets to the physical 😀 Couples can also explore other means of sexual intimacy apart from sexual intercourse.
Some issues that may cause a doctor to issue some restrictions on sexual activity include:
Threat of a miscarriage
History of pre-term labour
Unexplained bleeding in pregnancy
Cervical incompetence (where the mouth of the womb is open leading to a risk of miscarriage) etc
If you’re not sure whether you belong to any of these groups or not, please ask your obstetrician.
Now, there also some risky activities during sexual intercourse in pregnancy:
 If you indulge in oral sex, hubby please do not blow into your wife’s vagina as this can lead to an air bubble being lodged in a blood vessel causing problems in mother and/or baby
 Having STI with an infected partner can lead to STI in pregnant mum. This infection can be transmitted to the baby. So, hubbies be sure that you stay faithful
 Anal sex is also discouraged.
In your case, please see your doctor to confirm if you are pregnant or use a pregnancy test kit. If your nipples are sore, be sure to gently communicate this to your partner so that he is extra gentle during sexual intercourse.
All the best 🙂
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Daily Health Tips: How Do I Stop Diarrhea In Pregnancy?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by chatwithdrketch

Q: Hi Dr Ketch, please I am 4weeks pregnant. 2 days ago, I ate vegetable soup and it’s been making me purge seriously; and I also feel weak. Please what drug can you advise me to take that will stop the stooling?

A: Hi dear. Congratulations on your pregnancy. We share in your joy!

Pregnancy is a very interesting time. Your body produces pregnancy hormone that help to keep your pregnancy. However, they come with some baggage too 😀 These hormones cause constipation and they also cause diarrhea. And so, even for those that may not be able to point to specific foods they ate that could have triggered the episode may just have diarrhea due to the hormones of pregnancy J

Other causes of diarrhea especially in early pregnancy include:

Changes to diet: Most women change their diets after they get pregnant and start to eat healthier. This diet would include fruits and veggies which in turn cause diarrhea when the body is not used to this sort of diet 😀 This is, however, temporary and stops after a little while.

Some antenatal drugs: The iron in the antenatal (prenatal) vitamins can contribute to the constipation experienced in pregnancy but other pre-natal vitamins can cause diarrhea. If you suspect this, speak with your doctor or skip the medication for one or two days to see if you feel better. If this is confirmed, your doctor will prescribe an alternative.

Lactose intolerance can also lead to frequent, watery stools during pregnancy. If this is the case, then your doctor will advice you stay off milk but you have to find other calcium sources needed by your growing baby like sardines, soya beans, fortified cereals etc

Infections with viruses or bacteria can also cause bacteria. Bacterial infections will require treatment with antibiotics.

What is important during these episodes is to ensure that you are hydrated. Drink lots of water, soups and Oral Rehydrating Solutions (ORS), if you’ve got them. Please do not take our sugary soft drinks. I have heard people say that if you take one of the soft drinks (the one that comes in the green bottle and is colourless like water), it is equivalent to taking ORS. This is not true, at all. These soft drinks can worsen diarrhea by drawing fluid into the tummy and making the diarrhea last even longer.

The BRAT foods are thought to help. Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast (BRAT) are traditionally thought to be easy on the stomach especially during these incidents. However, addition of other foods rich in other minerals and vitamins like lean meats, yoghurts, starchy foods (like crackers, unsweetened cereals etc) helps.

Generally, mild diarrhea in pregnancy with less than 3 episodes of stools per day, would resolve on its own depending on the causes as noted above. However, if you have 3 or more episodes of stooling and can see mucous or blood in the stool or indeed, the stool is purely liquid, be sure to see your doctor immediately.

Have a great evening, y’all 😀

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Daily Health Tips: What Did You Add To The Smoothie?

Posted on February 15, 2016 by chatwithdrketch
Q: Good morning ma’am. I watched your show on DSTV yesterday afternoon concerning 5 health tips. I want to know what you added to the fruits for the smoothie before blending them. Thank you
 
A: Smoothies are fruit juices extracted in a smoothie maker. ..almost like blending the fruits; the smoothie maker goes a step further by removing the pulp so that you are left with the pure fruit juice. Traditionally, yoghurts are added but be sure that be sure that they are then low fat and no-added sugar variety. To be extra sure you are not being fed ‘hidden’ sugars, you could make yours (a cup of milk to four cups of water. Add a little amount of ready-made yoghurt – unsweetened – to this. Leave in an airtight container overnight, mix and then refrigerate).
 
So, nothing has to be added to the fruits before blending and if you do not wish to use milk or yoghurt, that’s also fine 😀
 
Here is a question that I responded to with a recipe. I hope you find that useful.
 
Q: Good morning Doc. Welcome to 2016. Please, how do I prepare fruit juice with…water melon, banana, apple, milk and orange?
 
A: Hello dear, it does sound like you’re planning a major fruit cocktail! It sounds yummy-delicious!
 
Okay, here goes.
 
Wash all the fruits first.
 
If you have a smoothie maker:
Cut up the water melon and remove the juicy fruit from the hard back.
If your smoothie maker is big enough, it can take a whole apple; if not cut up the apple into quarters. You don’t have to remove the seeds from the water melon or the core from the apple. The smoothie maker deals with all that for you 😀
Feed the water melon and apples to the smoothie maker. Collect the juice in a jug and keep aside.
Juice your orange manually or in an orange juicer. Add the juice to the melon and apple juice.
Then get a blender. Cut up your bananas and add the juice, a little at a time until the bananas are all blended. Then add the rest of the juice. The consistency will be either thick (if you have a lot of bananas) or watery (like the consistency of juice if there is more juice than bananas).
 
Now, I would not add milk to this. I would prefer to have this just like described above. If you want a milky drink, cut up some bananas and blend it up with some milk. That’s another yummy drink, right there!
 
If you do not have a smoothie maker, cut up the water melon and remove the juicy fruit from the hard back. Remove the seeds from the water melon and the core from the apple. Make the orange juice by manually squeezing it or juicing it. Use the orange juice as the liquid to blend the water melon and apple. Finally add the bananas and whizz it all
 
For yoghurt and other milky recipes, please click on this link:
 
The recipe describes how to make yoghurt using either powdered milk or bottled milk.
 
Have a great week ahead 😀
 
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Daily Health Tips: How Can My Sister Lose Weight?

Posted on February 14, 2016 by chatwithdrketch

Q: Greetings Dr.My sister is aged 21 and weigh 80 kg. After all the nice slimming course programs given to her, it doesn’t lead to a positive results. What can she do to cut down this weight of her’s, please?

A: Thanks for caring about your sister and writing in.

The first and perhaps most important thing I would like to say is that weight loss is not an event but a lifestyle. And so, it’s not something that happens after you have attended a course or taken some pills, but something you need to build into your everyday lifestyle.

Three very important concepts to help this journey:
• Portion Control: Start with reducing the portion sizes you eat. This could be by just changing plates…switch from a big plate to a smaller plate.

• Eat Healthier: Make your plate colourful with fruits and veggies.
Half your plate should be filled with fruits and veggies. The other half should be divided into 2 (a quarter each).
One quarter should contain the protein you wish to eat: fish, beef, chicken etc. Remember that white meat is healthier. The ‘redder’ the meat, the less healthy it is for you. For instance in chicken, the breast is very white and is the part people like the least. It is the healthiest though. The chicken wings etc with more redness are less healthy!
For carbohydrates, stick with complex carbs. These have a lot of fibre and when eaten, they absorb water and stay in the stomach longer given a feeling of fullness. The sugars from the food is also released slowly thereby preventing blood sugar spikes which are not good for you. Good examples of complex carbs include beans, local rice, oatmeal etc

• Get moving: Get, at least, 30 minutes of exercise on 5 days of the week. This could be walking, running, swimming, dancing, doing jumping jacks during the commercial break in between your favourite show etc.
For more creative exercise ideas, please lick on this link:

Daily Health Tips: Is It Possible To Actually Enjoy Exercise?

So, the most important ingredient for weight loss is self control 😀 And that’s why it’s not a destination but a journey. Sometime, you may slip and fall; but don’t give up! Pull yourself up and start all over again. Everyday provides a new opportunity to do more, be better and push the envelope.

For more resources on weight loss, make yourself and someone else happy by getting a copy of the book, Just For The Health Of It, from any of the following outlets:
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 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.

Have a great week ahead, y’all 😀

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Daily Health Tips: Why Do I Have Smelly Discharge After Inserting IUD?

Posted on February 12, 2016 by chatwithdrketch

Q: Hi Doc, I changed my family planning method from Jaddell hand injection to coil and I’ve realized I have discharge that’s smelly. What do I do? What remedies do I take?

A: There are different types of birth control methods including birth control pills (hormone-containing tablets taken orally which prevent ovulation), birth control injections (hormone-containing injections which can prevent pregnancy for up to 3 months), implants (hormone-containing match-sized rods placed under the upper arm), tubal ligation (tying up the fallopian tubes to prevent eggs passing out from the ovaries), cervical cap, Intra-Uterine Device (coil), spermicides, male and female condoms, vasectomy (for men), natural family planning  etc

The choice of which methods to use depends on individual considerations, risks involved, cost of procurement etc
Talking specifically about the coil, this refers to the Intra Uterine Device (IUD). There are two types: the Paragard IUD and the Mirena IUD.

The Paragard IUD is a copper-containing IUD. The copper is poisonous/toxic to sperm and the IUD also prevents implantation of the fertilized egg into the uterus, should fertilization still occur. Paragard can be used during breastfeeding and its removal leads to a quick return of fertility, generally.

The Mirena IUD contains hormones which make the cervical mucous extra thick preventing the sperm from getting to the womb and it also makes the lining of the womb thin such that even if a fertilized egg were to get there, it would not be able to implant on the thin lining of the womb. It also prevents ovulation. Mirena helps reduce the cramping pain of a menstrual period and also reduces bleeding.

Side effects of Paragard include back ache, cramps, severe pain during menstrual period and heavy bleeding etc while Mirena can cause breast tenderness, weight gain, irregular menstrual cycles etc Both IUDs can also be expelled, spontaneously, that is for no reason.
There are warning signs to look out for when you have the IUD on. If you experience any of these under-listed symptoms, please see your doctor immediately.

  • Severe vaginal bleeding with at least 2 sanitary towels soaked every hour for 2 or more hours.
  • Smelly vaginal discharge. This could be associated with fever and chills
  • Severe pain in abdomen or pelvis

So, you should see your doctor immediately to check this discharge out.

Have a great night 😀

 

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