chatwithketch

Q:Dr., can u enlighten us about autoimmune diseases pls. A lot of people are good through dis condition and they don’t know what exactly is wrong because in Nigerian, they don’t really call patients attention to it unlike in America. Kindly help discuss about it.

A: Hi dear, thanks for writing in. You are correct. Many people do not know about auto-immune disorders. So what is an auto-immune disease? This condition refers to a situation in which the body .for some reason, turns on itself and starts to attack itself. It sees healthy cells and tissues as unhealthy and infected cells and starts to attack these healthy cells.

Some common examples of this condition include:

Graves’ Disease in which the body no longer recognizes the thyroid gland as part of it and produces antibodies to fight it. In response, the thyroid gland produces excessive amounts of thyroid hormones.

Rheumatoid arthritis…

Q: Hello Doctor, my wife is 27 yes old and cannot conceive after a number of visits to the gynaecologists, we’re told everything is fine except hormonal imbalance. We’ve bought every sort of drugs from the chemists but to to avail, we’ve even visited the traditionalists for the herbs, but no success. She can go for many months, like 7or 8 without experiencing menses, how do you assist?

A: A collection of tissues called the endocrine system is responsible for the production of hormones which control various functions in the body like metabolism, sexual reproduction, mood etc. Sometimes, these hormones are produced in excessive or too little amounts throwing the whole body off.

Treatment of hormonal imbalance is dependent on the cause. Excess weight can lead to high estrogen levels. So, exercise and weight loss can be beneficial here. High levels of thyroid hormones can be treated with drugs, radioactive…

Q: DR Ketch,My daughter is Nine months,but she sticks out her tongue. Her tongue is always out & her mouth open (Ikpu Ire na onu…in Ibo). How do I stop this? Thanks

A: Tongue protrusion happens when the tongue hangs out beyond the lips.

The causes of tongue protrusion in children could be a couple of things:

First, it could be absolutely and completely natural and occur during the period of breast feeding when the sucking reflex is strong.

Then it could be due to a pretty small mouth with a normal sized tongue or a big tongue in an otherwise normal sized mouth.

In instances where there is loss of normal muscle tone in the body, this could also affect the tongue leading to tongue protrusion. Muscle tone is the normal resistance to movement in muscles. If the tone is lost, the muscles become flaccid. Masses or swellings on…

Happy International Women’s Day for all my ladies! I hope you wore a touch of purple today signifying your royalty, dignity and willingness to fight for justice? I had a great but very fulfilling day! It’s always great to spend a day with ladies thinking about how we can turn things around and change the world.

I hope y’all had a great day too.

Now to our question for the day….

Q: Greetings Doc, I pray you are well. I have a problem. each time I take pain killers I get serious stomach pains. I am even afraid to take meds. What could be the problem?

A: Hello dear. Thanks for writing in.

What painkillers are you taking? There are a group of painkillers called Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). These meds reduce inflammation (which is the body’s reaction to injury characterized by swelling, redness, ‘hotness’ of that area of the…

It’s International Women’s Day! And today, the theme is Press For Progress!

Today I celebrate my sisters! Today, I celebrate all women!

I celebrate this woman…yes you!

The one who cries herself to sleep at night…so her children won’t see her tears;

The one who starves herself just so there’s enough for others to eat…and when you ask her why she didn’t eat, she says she wasn’t hungry anyway;

The one whose salary is spent, even before the money hits her bank account, not because she’s buying things for herself, but because she’s paying off debts or saving for that child to have a little extra;

The one who holds it all together, even when it looks like it’s all falling apart…

Yes, you! I celebrate you!

The one who has great ambitions and the world judges her for it because she’s a woman and not a man;

The one…

Q: Good day Dr, please I need more enlightenment on child circumcision: is it also for female child? And what is the reason for it? Is there any negative effect?

A: Thank you so much for writing in. Circumcision is a no-no for the female child. This procedure called Female Genital Mutilation has been recognized as a violation of the fundamental human rights of the girl child and it has absolutely no medical benefit. Indeed, it subjects poor, defenseless and innocent children to needless pain and torture!

For those who don’t know, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also referred to as female circumcision is a procedure in which there is partial or complete removal of the female genitals or any other injury to the female genital organs for reasons other than medical. So, practices like cutting off all or part of the clitoris, cutting off the surrounding lips of the vagina…

Q: Hi doctor, please how can I treat stomach ulcer and what are the foods I need to eat and the ones to avoid eating? 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…

Q: Hello Dr, I have been having swollen legs since I traveled almost 17hrs by air. All tests been done, no fault discovered. What shall I do?

A: Hello dear, thanks for writing in.

Swelling of the legs and feet during flights is common and usually not suggestive of a more serious problem. It happens when blood pools in the leg veins due to long periods of inactivity as can occur during a long-haul flight. This swelling usually lasts for a few hours. If the swelling persists, occurs more in one leg and is associated with leg pain, please see your doctor immediately as it may be suggestive of a more serious problem, like a blood clot in the leg.

I repeat a post I made some years back on preparing for flights. It focuses on preventing the condition you already have. However, if you already have swollen legs due…

Q: What does it take to build blood?

A: Anaemia occurs when the amount of red blood cells in the blood is not enough. Simply put, a shortage (deficiency of red blood cells). To confirm this diagnosis, a Full Blood Count (FBC) or Packed Cell Volume (PCV) test is done.

Iron is needed to produce new red blood cells. Folic acid and Vitamin B-12 are also important in the process.To make up deficiency of red blood cells(or to build the blood, in the words of the gentleman that asked this), iron and vitamin intake should be increased. Supplements are an option, however, as I always say, supplements are meant to plug holes that exist in the diet and not be the main stay of the diet itself. So, it’s much better to eat iron rich food like: eggs, shellfish, beans and other legumes, green leafy vegetables, lean red meat, iron-enriched…

How come you feel sad or cry when a sad song is played? Think about it…that’s right. It’s because you heard the lyrics and perhaps it tugged at a memory. What about the pain you feel when that person you care about hurls some really nasty words at you? It’s almost like your heart is going to break, right?

All these emotions can be xperienced through one gateway only…the ears!

Have you ever wondered whether you’re taking good care of your ears? Weird question, right? Like, what can go wrong with your ears? They generally mind their business on the sides of our heads and more often than not, we don’t even notice them. That’s kind of why when you take the pains to look behind them, especially for children, you find ‘amazing’ stuff behind them…disgustingly smelly stuff, that much I can tell you!

Well, I never used to pay…