Daily Health Tip: Bad breath

Posted on November 27, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Readers’ choice topic

Bad breath, also called halitosis, may be as a result of poor hygiene habits, eating strong smelling foods or could be a sign of other medical conditions.

If adequate dental hygiene is not maintained, food particles can remain in our mouths, encouraging bacterial growth bacteria in our mouths can break down food particles and raise a serious stink. Proper dental hygiene habits includes:

Brushing your teeth twice a day (this sounds like a ‘no-brainer’ but the right technique is important. Mentally divide your mouth into four quadrants and spend at least 30 seconds on each quadrant. This way, you spend a minimum of 2 minutes brushing)

Brushing your tongue (if you finish brushing and you can still see all that whitish residue on your tongue, you haven’t done a good job. Some of the smell comes from there. Some tooth brushes come with a tongue scraper at the back of the brush…use that. If not, buy one or just use your brush)

Flossing your teeth everyday. Ask for this in your local super markets. This gets rid of the food particles between your teeth where your tooth brush can’t reach.

Using a mouth wash can also help the prevention of mouth odour.

Eating strong smelling foods like onions and garlic could also cause mouth odour which may not be taken care of by brushing. This is because these ‘foods’ are absorbed into the blood stream and excreted through the lungs. So, the smell will persist until excretion is complete. The small can be masked with mouth wash etc

Disease conditions that can lead to bad breath include mouth infections, Diabetes Mellitus, sinus infection etc.

Other conditions like use of tobacco (chewing or smoking), some drugs and dry mouth (which is the reason for morning breath :D) are also culprits.

Prevention is focused on the tips given above and ensuring that you visit your dentist at least twice a year, brushing at least twice a day (if not after every meal) with a fluoride tooth paste (remember that fluoride is not recommended for children less than 2-3 years and even then, only a pea size is recommended), change your tooth brush once every three months and drink lots of water.

Let’s keep the pearls shining and the breath smelling really fresh.

By the way, would you tell a friend, if he/she had bad breath?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Dark under arms

Posted on November 26, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Have you ever wanted to wear that nice, sassy dress and changed your mind halfway about wearing it because you feared it would show up your dark under arms? Have you spent time wondering what happened to your perfectly normal under arms before they suddenly turned ‘black’?! 😀

Well, let’s help you out with causes and treatment.

Causes of dark under arms could be a build up of dead cells, over-exposure to the sun (listen up Africans :D), irritation in people who wear coarse fabrics or shaving. It could also occur in people who use oral contraceptives and in disease conditions like Diabetes Mellitus, etc.

Solutions depend on the cause. Gentle exfoliation using a pumice stone can remove dead skin cells and wearing loose cotton clothing may also be helpful and less abrasive to your under arms. If you use shave sticks, try using a shave foam too and throw away disposable shave sticks after each use. Depilatory creams, if used, should be rinsed off thoroughly with warm water. Other helpful measures include not spraying your deodorant directly on to your under arms (maintain a distance of about 6cm) and using sunscreen. Obesity can lead to excess under arm skin which also become darkened. Solution to this is weight control with portion control and exercise.

Creams with fruit acids could help lighten the under arm or home remedies using a lemon slice rubbed on your under arm and washed off thoroughly after about 15 minutes could be helpful. Otherwise, get your dermatologist to provide other options for you.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Keeping your energy levels up

Posted on November 25, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

It’s a brand new week (the last in November…Hurray :D) and depending on how you spent your weekend, you’re either raring to go (bring it on, boss :D) or you’re exhausted wondering how you’re going to get through a week that has barely started!!!

Well, here are three ways to keep your energy levels up during the week:

Organize and pace yourself: Make a list of all you need to achieve this week or today. Break them up into manageable daily tasks or for each day, break up your tasks into morning, afternoon and evening tasks. Take breaks in between and keep your eyes on the ball 

Take a walk: When you feel your energy levels going down, take a brisk walk. This helps rejuvenate you and of course adds to your ‘exercise’ count for the day.

Make your food count: Remember to focus on healthy snacks like nuts and fruits (which give you a sustained energy level) rather than sugary pastries which give you a quick sugar high that is followed by even more tiredness.

Have a productive week 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Daily Health Tip: Adult Bed Wetting

Posted on November 24, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Readers’ choice topics

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 great week y’all.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Bloating

Posted on November 23, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

As part of our readers’ choice, our health tip today is on bloating…you know that feeling of ‘gassiness’ with abdominal discomfort that you get after a meal? Have you found that it is associated with some meals? Do you know the cause(s)?

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 (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 you attend that party today, go easy on the food. Take a small serving and eat slooowly 😉

Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Menstrual Cramps

Posted on November 22, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Hello everyone, for the next two weeks or so, I will be writing on ‘readers’ choice’ issues, that is, issues that fans of this page have written in to ask me to discuss. So, do you have a burning health issue? Send me a message and let’s talk about it.

The first in this series is a question on menstrual pain. How do we relieve menstrual pain?

Anticipate the pain before it actually arrives by taking some analgesics in the same class as ibuprofen called NSAIDs. These drugs have to be taken with food because they can cause peptic ulcer and so it is important NEVER to start using them without confirming from your doctor that this is fine for you.

Avoid foods that contain caffeine, salty foods, alcohol, smoking and sugary foods. You’ve probably heard the story about alcohol being a great idea during periods…I’m just not sure whether it’s meant to put you in a stupor so you don’t really feel the pain or for some other reason. I can tell you though that it helps you none, during your period Focus on complex carbohydrates during this period (and other times too: whole grains, fruits ans vegetables)

Rest up when you need it and you could also use a hot water bottle on your lower abdomen.

Drinking warm fluids and exercising are also very helpful.

Remember to maintain the greatest sense of hygiene during this period (bath at least twice, change sanitary towels and panties often and ensure you smell nice….just don’t pour the whole bottle of perfume over yourself. That makes it smell like you’ve got a secret you’re hiding :D)

Usually after having had a baby, the cramps from period totally disappear or reduce significantly. In other instances though, it may be a good idea to see your doctor as fibroids and some other conditions can make menstrual cramps really painful and heavy.

Have a great day and here’s to a healthier you

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Epilepsy Triggers, Treatment et al

Posted on November 21, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Still on epilepsy….some people may have found out that a seizure is usually provoked by certain things or situations. These triggers include flashing bright lights, stress, sleep deprivation, during monthly menstrual cycle, certain foods, alcohol or certain drug use, poor feeding etc. Sometimes, it is not very easy to recognize these triggers if you are not looking out for them. So, paying attention to the ‘possible’ triggers is important so they can be avoided.

Treatment can range from taking drugs to surgery…or perhaps other forms of treatment. These drugs can either get a person to the point where they never have seizures again or to the point where they have fewer seizures. But please, do not discontinue the drugs. This can be done only with your doctor’s advice as it has to be timed right.

To cope with this long term, ensure that drugs are taken as prescribed and discuss with your doctor if you feel dose needs to be amended. Get enough sleep and generally avoid other triggers of seizures, exercise regularly and make healthy lifestyle choices.

If you are not epileptic or if you don’t know anyone with epilepsy, you probably don’t think you have an action point here. But you do! Epileptics suffer all manners of indignity. They are accused of witchcraft, their feet are burned to get rid of the witchcraft etc. But none of this is true. Help spread the story that epilepsy is NOT witchcraft, is not contagious and epileptics are normal human beings who have suffered enough exclusion and need our love, support and care. We need to teach our children this too as epileptics in schools suffer severe emotional, mental and oftentimes, physical torture/bullying from other kids in school. This could very well be because their parents have told them to steer clear of any child with a seizure. You and I can change this!

If you are an epileptic…it may not look like it right now, but guess what? There is most certainly light at the end of this tunnel!

Have a great day y’all

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Epilepsy

Posted on November 20, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Good morning, everyone! Ever heard of epilepsy? You probably have. You have also most likely heard that it is contagious and so sharing cutleries, hugging and sitting close to epileptics puts you in the direct path of the problem, right? Wrong! Epilepsy is NOT contagious!!!

What is epilepsy? It is a problem of the nervous system where the cells of the brain ‘fire’ or behave abnormally leading to abnormal sensations, symptoms, behaviour and sometimes loss of consciousness. This is called a seizure but not every seizure is due to epilepsy. Seizures can occur in high fever (especially in children) and also due to dehydration. A seizure needs to have occured at least on two different occasions without provocation for epilepsy to be suspected.

Symptoms of epilepsy would depend on the type of epilepsy (yes, there are different types). So, the person may not lose consciousness at all but may have altered taste, smell etc, there may also be jerky movements of limbs, staring gaze etc.

What are the possible causes of epilepsy? It could be due to genetics (having a relation with epilepsy places one at a higher risk. Also some genes are more likely to be affected by the other risk factors of epilepsy leading to seizures), infections like meningitis, antenatal conditions like poor feeding and infection in the mother, Trauma the head like in head injuries and other brain conditions like stroke. Other risk factors are extremes of age (Early childhood and adults more than 60 years are more likely to have this. However, this is not a hard and fast rule as this has been observed across different age bands) and prior history of seizure in childhood.

Tomorrow, we will discuss triggers, treatment and how to cope with this.

Have a great day 😀

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Healthy Snacking

Posted on November 19, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Hallos! Do you find yourself getting sort of hungry around 3pm…even if you’ve had lunch? Do you usually give in and get a doughnut or meat pie or take a soft drink perhaps? Well, none of those things are part of a healthy diet and indeed could cause more problems than the one they are trying to solve.

Healthier options to take about this time (or to use as snacks at any time, really) are nuts (try a mix of different nuts: peanuts/groundnuts, almonds, cashew nuts…you could even throw in some currants. Remember though that though nuts contain heart healthy oils, a little goes a loooong way. So stick to a handful, only), Avocado pears, fruit slices (try to make yours or refrigerate or buy from a vendor you can trust. The type prepared by fruit sellers on the street usually sit out there baking in the sun for a long time before it’s bought) etc.

Have a great day

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Daily Health Tip: Prematurity Awareness

Posted on November 18, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

November is prematurity awareness month.

What is prematurity? A premature baby comes into the world before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Babies born prematurely have to be in intensive care (Special Care Baby Unit) so as to give them a fighting chance. They are prone to having problems like apnea(where the baby sometimes stops breathing), anaemia (shortage of sufficient number of red blood cells to carry oxygen round the body), respiratory problems and low blood pressure etc.

Who is at risk of having a premature baby? Sometimes we don’t really know the cause, but it has been observed in mothers younger than 19 years of age and older than 40 years. Some cases can be brought on by chronic diseases which the mother already had before pregnancy like hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus or could be due to Urinary Tract Infections, other diseases of the heart or kidney, due to abnormal positions of the placenta in pregnancy or due to multiple pregnancy (carrying more than one baby in the womb eg twins). Smoking, drinking alcohol, drug abuse and failure of the mother to feed well during pregnancy are other factors that can lead to prematurity.

So, once you get pregnant start your Antenatal classes asap and let your doctor know if you have any of the mentioned risk factors. In the developing countries like Nigeria, our survival rates for prematurity (depending on number of completed weeks of pregnancy) are not as good as in advanced countries. Let’s give our babies a fighting chance.

Have a great day

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment