chatwithketch

Q: I have pimples. I am married and have given birth but still have pimples. Please what do I do, Doctor?

A: Pimples and acne have been a recurring question for a while. So, I’ve reproduced one of my old posts on the subject.

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 make-up 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 evening!

Q: Doc, good morning. Please does eating oats make one to add weight because I have changed from garri to oats but friends say I am getting bigger.
Thanks.

A: I have received a couple of questions on oats since I posted on oats, bloating and weight loss.
Now, remember that even when a particular food is touted to be a healthy option, it still has calories (perhaps, except for water) and so if you take more than what you need, you will certainly add weight.
There’s a funny thing that tends to happen when people start doing ‘healthy stuff’. They, sort of, compensate for their hard work with unhealthy stuff…weird, right? I’ll give you an example. Someone goes to the gym, gets back home and eats a huge plate of white bread (perhaps about 6 slices). About 3 boiled or fried eggs, 2 glasses of sugar-filled juice or any variation of this. Now, the fact that you exercised does not make what you ate any less calorie-filled than if you had not exercised. To put this in perspective, a tablespoon of olive oil contains 120 calories (and you probably had a couple of tablespoons of oil in your eggs). If you went to the gym and lost, perhaps 300 calories, with just one meal, you’ve gained back the calories you lost and there are still 2 snacks and 2 major meals to get through! 😀

Another thing that I see happening a lot is that people think it’s okay to over-indulge in ‘healthy’ stuff. And so, using the example in the question, perhaps eating oats gave a mistaken impression that it was okay to eat a huge bowl of it…after all, it is a healthier option.

So, what can one do…especially in a place like Nigeria, where the calorie content of foods are not easily determined? Well, watch your portions. So, if you are to eat ground oats with soup, mentally divide your plate into two. One part of the plate should be filled with vegetable soup (fresh vegetable soup, hopefully cooked with ‘invisible’ 😀 or no oil). The remaining half of the plate should be divided into two: one half should have the proteins to be eaten (eg fish) and the last part should be filled with the starch (it’s better to go for complex carbs like oatmeal which are digested slower and do not cause sugar spikes).

Someone jokingly asked me once, whether portions that were piled pretty high were still okay, provided they stayed within ‘allocated’ spaces in the plate as I have advised above. The answer is obviously NO 😀 Flat plates and flat portions are the way to go!

So, if you eat a huge plate of oats daily as opposed to the portion noted above (which should ideally be no bigger than your fist or the measure of your palm), you will certainly be adding more weight, despite your good intentions.

Remember that having your oats the good old-fashioned way with slices of fruits and a sprinkling of nuts, provides you with a ‘filling’ start for the day, full of fibre, vitamins, complex carbs etc

For related posts, please click on these:

Daily Health Tip: Weight loss (facts and fiction)

Daily Health Tips: Weight Loss Revisited

Have a good night, people 😀

Q: I’ve heard that taking oats is good for me,,,but I have found that when I take it, sometimes, it makes me feel bloated. What do I do?

A: Good question, I reproduce my post on bloating. It ansers this question, pretty well.

Bloating is usually caused by the twin factors of what you have eaten and how you chose to eat it.
For what you have eaten, easy culprits are rich, fatty foods, beans, dairy (especially in lactose intolerant people), high fibre foods like oats (if lots of water is not taken afterwards) etc.

How can how you eat cause you a problem?

If you tend to over-eat or rush your food (eat it very fast or like a friend of mine would say, ‘inhale’ it :D), then you are a target for bloating. The reason is that you eat so fast that you don’t give enough time for signals to travel to your brain from the stomach confirming that you are full. By the time that signal arrives, you are all stuffed up and bloated to boot! Note that it may take up to 20 minutes for those signals that confirm fullness to get to the brain…sounds like a long journey 😀

Other causes of bloating are swallowed air (which can happen when we eat too fast or drink too fast) and smoking.

Prevention?

This is really simple: Reduce portion sizes, limit your intake of fats, eat slowly, quit smoking and limit your intake of foods that cause this, if all else fails.

If your bloating is caused by swallowed air, avoid carbonated drinks (most soft drinks fall into this category), don’t drink with straws (at least on a regular basis) avoid chewing chord…oh, sorry! 😀 I meant to say, avoid chewing gum and stay off your candies that you suck so hard and suck in quite a bit of air too!
Remember that if this ‘gassiness’ continues ‘regularly, you should see your doctor to be sure this is not the symptom of something else.

So, when next you attend that party today, go easy on the food. Take a small serving and eat slooowly 😉
Have a great week ahead!

For everyone who wonders how to lose weight, how to make their tummy flat and indeed, how to eat healthier the glycaemic index is a concept you need to understand.

Glycemic index is a measure that ranks foods that contain carbohydrates on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the number, the faster the food is digested, causing fluctuations in the blood sugar level and the lower the number, the slower the food is digested causing less fluctuations in the blood sugar level. So the focus should be on foods with low glycemic index. If you reduce your portion sizes and are exercising and generally doing the right things, you may still be adding weight or not losing weight if you’re eating a lot of food with high glycemic index.

There are 8 principles that guide you through this.
1) Eat a lot of beans (any and every type), non starchy veggies (garlic, onions, leeks, chives, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers etc) and fruits like apples, berries, peaches and pears.

Get more of these principles from the book, Just For The Health Of It. Get a copy via:

1) 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.

2) If you’re in Lagos, please visit 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

Have a great week ahead, y’all 😀

Q: Hello Dr K, please kindly advice me on what to do when you an irregular flow of menstruation. Thank you.

A: A ‘regular’ menstrual cycle is supposedly one in which the cycle (the length of time from the 1st day of a menstrual period to the first day of the next menstrual period) is about 28 days but there is nothing abnormal about cycles that fall outside of this range. It could range from about 24 days to 34 days with ovulation happening at mid cycle. Indeed, in some women each period appears to have a different cycle. For young girls who have just started menstruating, skipped or irregular periods may occur.
What do people refer to as irregular periods? Well, if the time between each period changes, or the length of days of the period changes or indeed when the quantity of blood lost during each period changes, the period is termed irregular. What can cause these changes? They include:

• Changes in hormone levels, as is common in the puberty period or menopausal period.
• Stress
• Excessive weight loss or excessive weight gain
• Fibroids
• Problems with the thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
• Polycystic Ovary Disease (PCOD)
• Scarring from previous surgery in the uterus
• Pregnancy cannot be overlooked as a cause of irregular bleeding and has to be checked out.
• Breast feeding mothers may also experience irregular periods as the hormones released may delay return of menstruation. Remember, however, that this is not an effective means of contraception.

So, it’s always a good idea to keep a record of your periods: length of cycles, number of days the period lasts, presence of pain etc. If you keep a chart of this over time, you would be able to know what is normal for you.

Treatment of irregular periods depends on cause: fibroids, PCOD, hyperthyroidism all have to be treated. If irregularity is due to stress, learning coping mechanisms or relaxation techniques may help. Reduce weight or go easy on your exercise routine, if weight issues are a problem.

However, be sure to see your doctor if your period is consistently below 21 days or more than 35 days, if you menstruate for longer than one week, bleed in between periods or experience severe cramps.

For related topics, please click on https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/06/27/daily-health-tips-why-do-i-have-scanty-periods/

Daily Health Tips: Are There Other Treatment Methods For Fibroids Other Than Surgery?

Have a great weekend, y’all 😀

Q: I am 42 years old and I am an addicted smoker since I was 14years. I smoke at least 2 packets (40 sticks) of Benson & Hedges a day. I am married and we have 2 lovely children. I have tried several times to quit smoking on my own, but for every time I tried to quit, I seem to resume the habit with a renewed vigour. I know this habit may kill me, but it’s an uphill task trying to quit on my own my own will without a support system. My kids are afraid I would die from the habit. I would like you to refer me to a NICOQUIT expert (Doctor) here in Lagos, who I can consult and also a support group that I can join, with members who can support each other during the “cold turkey” phase of kicking the habit. I NEED YOUR HELP FAST, Dr. Ketch. PLEASE.

A: Thanks a whole lot for writing in. I am excited that you have decided to quit and appear to have the right crowd urging you on. That’s a wonderful place to start. If you need a home support group, you’ve got one right there! The fact that you’ve got your children rooting for you and praying for you to be there for them is a great incentive. Think about their first days in school, graduation, weddings, first grand children etc. There’s a whole lot to keep yourself healthy for! Another important point here is the fact that your smoking could also be endangering them. Second Hand Smoke (which is smoke you exhale or that from the lighted end of the cigarette) has been linked to lung and other cancers. So, by continuing with this habit, you are not only endangering yourself but your family! I’m sure you don’t want that.

Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of death worldwide.

The first step to quitting is having a clear desire to quit. You’ve got that already. You have to be positive, reminding yourself why you need to quit. Apart from having a good support system, avoiding the areas where one usually is encouraged to smoke is a good idea. Friends and acquaintances that encourage you to smoke, should not be seen too frequently…especially as you start off on this process.

It is important to have other hobbies and activities that take your mind off smoking or take the place of smoking…in a sense. Getting more active with a sporting activity or church activities or volunteering etc are all activities that can take the edge off quitting. Some have found switching to oral substitutes like chewing gum, carrots and mints, helpful.

Apart from your home support, having a support group of people who wish to quit also helps a lot. I have sent the phone number of a psychologist who can help you during this process. I will update this post shortly with websites that have information on support groups in Lagos for people who wish to quit.
Remember that half the work has been done…making the decision to quit. Having a wonderful family that you wish to be there for is an extra push. Knowing that lots of people have been able to kick this habit before you should confirm that you can do this!

I’m rooting for you…and praying for you!

Share the good news as the days progress. You could be encouraging someone else who wishes to quit! Let’s show that this can be done!

For a related post, please click on this https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/02/24/daily-health-tips-im-trying-to-stop-smoking-pot/

Have a good night, y’all 😀