chatwithketch

Hello y’all 😀

I hope you slept well? So, today is the day! The first episode of Dr Ketch Show goes on air. Yippeeee!

Keep a date with us today as I discuss weight gain during pregnancy with a medic. How much weight is okay to gain and what’s a no-no? I also caught up with a celebrity who already has children and still ooks like a teenager. She taught me some easy exercise routines to help you trim after your baby. You don’t want to blink…literally and figuratively 😀

Guess who this celebrity is!

Time: 6.30pm on Africa Magic Showcase (DSTV channel 151)

If you miss today’s episode, catch the repeats on Saturday by 4pm and Sunday by 7pm, same station.

Q: Hi, Good day ma’am! Thanks a lot for the way you have been helping lots of people with their problems. I have three questions that have been bothering me.

First how does one stop a child from sucking her thumb always in a healthy way? Secondly how do I change the bad sleeping habits of a child? And the most important, three of my kids have knock knees I have been able to trace this to my hubby’s extended family. And it worries me a lot. Please is there any way I can correct them before they grow older?

I would appreciate if my questions are answered. Thanks ma’am.

A: Interesting questions!

Children suck their thumbs at an early age as a means of soothing themselves or coping with stress/anxiety or even when bored. Usually, this habit would stop between the ages of 2 to 4 years old. If it continues longer than that your baby’s teeth start to give way to accommodate the thumb leading to a situation where your baby’s upper teeth no longer align properly with the lower teeth. It can also lead to speech problems.
How do you stop a child from sucking his thumb? Hmm, I’m sure that lots of people can share a lot from their personal experiences eg tying up the thumb, putting terrible tasting stuff on it like vinegar, mustard, bitter leaf, nail polish etc. In some instances, these harsh methods get children to stop this habit but they probably latch on to another habit, like bedwetting. So, we do not advocate any of these.

What can you do as a parent? Well, if the child, is not 6 years yet, ignoring the thumb sucking is an option. Don’t go into a big fuss and fight about it. He’s more likely to stop because some children teased him about it that the fact that you screamed about it.

Talk to him about why sucking his thumb is a bad idea. Talk to him about germs that he’s giving free access into his body etc and be sure to praise him when he’s not sucking his fingers/thumb. In fact, you could go as far as providing a reward to re-enforce this good behavior.
Remember that before the age of 6 years, we still believe that your baby will kick this habit all by himself. He usually does about the age of 4-5 years.

Now about knock knees, when a child is born, his legs are naturally curved in a bow position as a result of their position in the womb (or sometimes due to a disease condition). This situation continues till 18 months. From 18 months to 24 months, the legs go into neutral mode (neither knock knees nor bow legs). From 2 to 5 years, the legs go into knock knee mode and would usually ‘straighten’ out by 6 years. If it continues beyond this time (by age 7 or 8 years), using braces may help and in some cases, where braces do not work, in rare cases, surgery may be an option.

Other causes of knock knees include rickets and injuries. Children who are overweight are more prone to knock knees…so be sure that your children eat healthy and get at least 30 minutes of activity daily as soon as they are old enough to run around.

For more on this, please click on: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/03/09/daily-health-tips-my-baby-has-knock-knees-k-legs-what-should-i-do/

I really do not understand your second question. You will have to be more specific about the bad sleeping habits.

I hope this is helpful.

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Q: Please, I’m 5months pregnant and went for antenatal registration last week. I was given folic acid, Vit C, B complex, Calcium, Ferrous as well as Daraprim. I was told to take all the drugs twice daily except Daraprim to be taken once a week. The problem is that 3 of my colleagues who are also pregnant said they were told in their hospitals not to take calcium daily as it makes babies too strong and in turn makes labour pains severe. And secondly they said they were also told not to take Daraprim for reasons they didn’t disclose. Please what are the functions of these drugs and how to take them? As I have called my nurse and she insists I do as she has said.

Thanks

A: Hi dear, congratulations on your pregnancy.
I am worried though at the half-information and even wrong information being given out by medical personnel. They are medical personnel, right? Your medical personnel owe you the duty of explaining the reasons behind any prescribed treatment. You have a right to know. That’s how you can get involved in your treatment (and health) and also provide information that helps this process.

Moving on…

Calcium is important in pregnancy so your baby can develop healthy bones and teeth. If you don’t take enough in your diet, then your baby, being a perfect parasite, helps himself/herself to calcium from your bones leaving you with brittle bones (osteoporosis). So, it’s important to eat enough calcium-rich foods (milk and other dairy foods. Other sources include green leafy vegetables, beans, oranges, iceberg lettuce). If your doctor believes that you’re not getting enough from food, he may put you on calcium supplements. Now, taking calcium supplements certainly gives your baby strong bones and teeth (I guess that’s the ‘making baby strong’ bit?) but does not make labour pains more severe.

Daraprim (active ingredient: pyrimethamine) was previously used to prevent malaria. But more recently, Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (Fansidar) has become the mainstay of preventing malaria especially in pregnant women who live in malaria endemic regions (Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy). So, I find the prescription of Daraprim a bit curious.

Now, I suggest, you book an appointment to see an obstetrician who will examine you properly and then prescribe your antenatal drugs based on findings.

Take care of yourself and your baby.

Have a good night everyone 😀

Q: Good day Doctor. Please, is it true that one can sell her eggs and make big money out of it? Is it safe and true? Someone told me this last year but I was so scared because I don’t know if they are using it for ritual. If it is true, let me know because I need money to start a business of my own. I don’t have a job. Thanks and God bless you. Please notify me when posted.

A: I couldn’t resist a smile when I read this. I have no doubt that you’re Nigerian. We relate most things to the presence of or possibility of jazz (ritual)! 😀 Okay! More seriously…can you sell your eggs? Yes…if you meet certain criteria which include:

• Aged between 18 to 35 years
• Have both ovaries
• Be normal weight with a good Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Not have any family history of inheritable diseases
• Not have any infections that can be transmitted to baby and/or mother
Etc

Can you make big money out of it? Donors are compensated; however, it is very critical and indeed not allowed for money to be the motivating force for being an egg donor. It requires a lot of investments in time and emotions, such that money may not be a sufficient motivation. You have to be at the hospital a couple of times for tests and counseling etc…even before the procedure can commence, if you are accepted as a donor. Remember that as a donor, one does not have any rights towards the baby born and all of this need to be understood, documented and signed off on. Most donors have a genuine desire to help couples have their own babies.

Possible side effects include weight gain, bloating and headaches due to the hormones given, bleeding, infections.

Now, I suggest that you find some other way(s) of raising money for you business. I assume that you have confirmed that this business idea is viable. If so, start small and as you provide exceptional service (or product), you will stand out and be able to scale up. Remember that every business needs a unique selling point. What makes what you do different from Sikira’s own business? Find out what can make you different, build on that and watch that business grow. Find other things you could also do on the side…be a lesson teacher, sell water or airtime etc. I really don’t know your area of strength, so I’m stumbling in the dark here. But there should be ways of making your dreams come true, rather than commercializing your eggs. You can even approach a micro-finance bank.

I hope this helped.

I hope y’all had a great day 😀 Good night

Here’s to a healthier you!

Please note that the answers to this challenge have to be submitted on our blog on this same post titled Power Oil Saturday Challenge

On our 5-minute show on Wednesday, the 4th of February, 2015 we discussed five things to know about your diet and your health.

“For a chance to win any of our prizes, answer the question below:

Mention 5 tips to help you ensure that your food heals…and doesn’t kill.

The first person to answer correctly will win our star prize.

Terms and conditions:

Participants must be followers of our blog. If you’re not a follower, click on the link http://www.chatwithdrketch.com and click on the follow button to qualify. The follow button is on the bottom right hand corner of the page and floats with the page.

Answers are based on our TV show as broadcast on Silverbird TV on Wednesday, 4th February, 2015.

The first correct answer is the winner of the 1st prize (a 3 litre bottle of Power oil, a Power oil apron, a Power oil T-shirt and pens)

The next 2 correct answers get a Power oil apron, a Power oil T-shirt and Power oil branded pens.

All winners will be entered into the grand finale challenge for this season happening in the 11th week. Mouth watering, exciting gifts!!!

(To qualify for the grand finale draw, all winners should send in pictures of themselves wearing their Power Oil aprons and cooking up a storm in the kitchen using Power Oil. The winners will be revealed in the 12th week.)

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.

This challenge lapses by 11.59 pm on Tuesday, the 10th of Febuary, 2015

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

Q: Good morning Doctor. After shaving, I started noticing rashes….what should I take?

A: These ‘rashes’ are called razor bumps or ingrown hairs. Ingrown hairs occur when hair curls back and brow back into the skin. This is particularly easy with hair that had been cut (as in shaving) as the hair that grows back usually has a sharp edge and finds it easy to ‘pierce’ into the skin.

A solution to this is to stop shaving and maintain the designer beard look 😀 Another option is to use depilatory cream. This may, however, cause irritation and so should not be used more than once or twice a week.

Try to resist the urge to press these bumps but if the temptation proves too great, use a sterile needle to tease out the hair, if it appears to lie close to the surface. If it appears deep, please leave well alone…let’s not give you scars you’d rather not have 😀

Preventive measures you can practice include:
• Using a single blade shave stick
• Wet the area to be shaved with warm water and use a shave gel
• Try not to shave too close…you know how you like to pull the skin taut to achieve a better shave? Well, stop doing that as this encourages hair to curl back into the skin
• Shave in the direction of growth of the hair.
If infections occur, the bumps become filled with pus and you may be prescribed antibiotics for this. Your doctor may also prescribe some drugs to help calm down the inflammation.

For more on this, please click on the link:

Daily Health Tips: Ingrown Hair In The Groin

Have a great weekend, people 😀

Hello y’all 🙂

I hope you’ve had a great day so far.

Announcing our winners….

Announcing our winners
Jan 31st
Onyii Anastesia Obi (a 3-litre bottle of Power Oil, a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
NNeka Chukwuma (a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
Okhamiogue Eunice(a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)

Jan, 24
Obiesie joy (a 3-litre bottle of Power Oil, a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
Kristy Amara (a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
Okhamiogue Eunice (a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)

Jan 17
Obiesie joy (a 3-litre bottle of Power Oil, a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
Kristy Amara (a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)
Okhamiogue Eunice (a T-shirt, an apron and 2 pens)

Given the challenges people have had following on the blog and the comments and mails sent to me, when the Power Oil challenges are over, we will come back to posting and answering the challenges here on face book. Later, when our website is ready, we will then post on the blog there…and that will be easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy 😀

Have a great weekend, y’all 😀

Today is World Cancer Day.

This year’s celebration has four central themes:
• Choosing to live healthy
• Delivering early detection
• Achieving treatment for all
• Maximizing the quality of life

These themes focus on how to use existing information to reduce the burden of cancer.

When you hear cancer, what vision is evoked in your mind? Death? The fact that people can beat this? The fact that it is possible for people to prevent this? What? Do you ever think that you have significant power in your hands to reduce your risk of this disease?
A study carried out in the US (San Diego) a couple of years ago showed that three lifestyle factors: smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise/activity led to 4 diseases: cancer, respiratory diseases (like asthma), heart disease and Diabetes/obesity. These diseases, in turn, were responsible for over 50% of deaths! A 3:4:50 relationship!!! Just think about that. Our lifestyle alone can significantly reduce our risk of diseases…this study made that aptly clear.

Focusing on cancer, what lifestyle changes can keep me safe?
• If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
• Ensure that your home is smoke-free and try not to be close to even second-hand smoke.
• Eat healthy…more fruits and veggies. Lay off the processed foods.
• Get some exercise every day. At least 150 minutes per week.
• Reduce your alcohol intake.
• Get your children vaccinated for Hepatitis B and cervical cancer
• Get screened for cancer
• And guess what? Breastfeeding is protective against cancers…one more reason to ensure that your baby gets this all important goodness 😀

For more on this topic, please click on these links:

Daily Health Tips: Your food and cancer

Daily Health Tips: Superfoods that fight cancer!

Daily Health Tips: Debunk The Cancer Myths!

Daily Health Tips: How Can I Prevent cancer?

A pretty popular facebook post talks about how people with cancer just want to beat cancer…and that is so true. Today, you can join that fight by taking steps to ensure that you reduce your risk of ever having this disease.

Have a good night, people 😀