chatwithketch

Have you ever recovered from a bout of illness and found it difficult to get your appetite back? You know that situation where everything you eat tastes like sawdust? Most of us have probably gone through this. The question below typifies someone going through the same experience and then you get some great tips for dealing with this, the next time it dares come your way! 😀

Q: Hello Dr Ketch, I have just recovered from a bout of malaria. I have not had malaria for over two years and so this really destabilized me. I was really ill for about two weeks. Even when the fever resolved, I struggled to get my strength back. It’s been about a week after my illness, but my appetite is still not what it used to be. I basically force myself to eat every day. Is this appetite loss normal and what can…

Today is World Polio Day with the theme, ‘One Day, One Focus, Ending Polio.’

In honor of this day, I repeat a post I had made on polio a while back.

A couple of years ago, I was notified of a case that involved one of the hospitals on our private Health Insurance scheme and the child of one of our enrollees. This child had a fever that had been on for a couple of days and so the parents were not comfortable anymore and decided to go to the hospital. Predictably, the hospital decided to place this child on antibiotics irrespective of the fact that nothing pointed to the fact that this anything more than a viral infection.

This child could take orally and could very well have taken this unnecessary antibiotic by mouth, but for some reason (whether by request from the child’s parents who wanted something they…

Being overweight can lead to a host of health problems, from high blood pressure and heart disease to arthritis, gallstones, and sleep apnea. It can also contribute to foot problems in two ways.

First, excess weight contributes to the misery of common structural problems such as heel pain and arthritis. Any foot ailment is more painful the more weight you put on it. Second, excess pounds increase your chances of developing atherosclerosis, poor circulation, and diabetes — all of which can damage your feet.

Never quite thought of it this way, did you? To learn more, please click on this link:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/want-healthy-feet-keep-a-healthy-weight

Q: Please Doc, can you talk on tuberculosis and can it go on forever, if treated?

Tuberculosis (Tb) is a bacterial infection that mainly affects lungs. The infection could be active in which case the person is sick and can transmit the infection to another person or the infection could be inactive, in which case the infection is present in the body but does not cause infection neither can it be transmitted to another person. However, this latter case needs to be treated as it can become active.

The issue of Tb has come more to the front burner with the advent of HIV/AIDS which causes a depression of the immune system such that the Tb infection can hold sway. Other conditions that depress the immune system include cancer treatment, some cancers, malnutrition, Diabetes Mellitus, extremes of age (very young or very old) etc

Symptoms of Tb include fever, cough…

Q: Doc thanks for all those helpful health tips. My wife has given birth. Ever since, going to 4weeks now, the baby has been drinking food. Within 3weeks she had finished 4 tins of Nan 1. Her mother’s breast milk is not dropping…at times little like a spit. Hundreds of advice has been given and used; yet, no significant change. Please please Doc, what can we do??? Thanks.

A: Congratulations on your new baby! May she grow to do great things in her generation.

She does sound like one hungry child 😀 which is good. The truth is breastfeeding is touted as being best for baby because of the nutrients it contains, the bonding time it affords mum and baby and also because it is cheap! You need no money to feed your baby as often as needed…beyond the monies required to ensure mum feeds well. There’s also the challenge…

Q: Good evening ma’am, I must commend. You’re really doing a good job by enlightening people. I pray God will richly bless ma’am. But please ma’am, I want to ask, what can I do to get rid of premature ejaculation? I’ve been battling with it now for like 4-5 years without taking any medication for it. I thought it is just temporal, but now seeing that the symptom still persists, I don’t know what to do. Please advice.

A: Premature ejaculation is the most common type of sexual dysfunction in men younger than 40years. Premature ejaculation is uncontrolled ejaculation either before or shortly after sexual penetration, with minimal sexual stimulation and before the person wishes. In most cases the cause may not be identified.

It may be due to anxiety, guilt, depression, or if it has been a long time since last ejaculation. It may occur with a new partner…

Q: How do I stop pus from the ear?

A: Thanks for writing in.

Ear infections could lead to discharge of pus from the ear:

Otitis media

Otitis media with effusion

Otitis externa (swimmer’s ear)

In otitis media, there is an infection of the middle ear and happens when an upper respiratory tract infection introduces bacteria into the ear. The infection could also be viral. Fluid builds up in the middle ear.

In otitis media with effusion, pus forms as the body tries to fight the infection. This leads to more fluid collection and this pushes against the ear drum. This pressure can build up to the extent that the ear drum ruptures, leading to drainage of pus. With this, the symptoms of pain and problems hearing, disappear and the infection clears.

Middle ear infections are common in children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, children who…

Q: Hello Doc, l am 1 month pregnant now but I have been experiencing loss of appetite. So please may I know what food do pregnant women eat? Thank you.

A: Early pregnancy can be a trying time for a number of women as they go through tiredness, breast tenderness, loss of appetite, nausea etc

Loss of appetite may be due to the nausea of early of early pregnancy where it appears the tummy cannot seem to keep anything down. If you feel nauseous, the following tips may help:

The standard teaching is to try eating some bland foods like Crackers biscuits or dry toast. That personally didn’t work for me. I preferred tart things…which some may want to avoid. I loved lemons during my pregnancies. They were the one thing guaranteed to ‘wake up’ my mouth and chase nausea far away. I also had a particular brand of very…

I was in church on Sunday….unfortunately, not early enough to snag my favourite seat in the house. There’s really nothing special about the area I like to sit in…just that I like the aisle seat. As I got to church this Sunday, this seat had been occupied by a young lady.

As I sat down, I started to fan myself…all of that racing from the car park to the church was taking its toll! The young lady in question turns to me and informs me that she’s cold and so I was to stop fanning myself! And I looked at her like, ‘can’t you see what I am dealing with here?’ I answered with, ‘But I’m hot’. I however, proceeded to change the general direction of my blowing such that it wasn’t getting to the left (hopefully) where she was seated. So, all in all, it wasn’t a great start…