chatwithketch

Q: Hello Dr. Thanks for the selfless job you are doing. I need your help urgently. My son(4yrs) for the past 3wks has been having nasal Congestion, I have used nasal drip but to no avail. What should I do? It disturbs me a lot.

A: I’ve been asked this question several times and in different ways. But ‘why is my nose blocked all through the year?’ is the common thread that runs through all the questions. ‘Stuffy nose’, ‘blocked nose’ or nasal congestion are different names used to describe this condition. In the simplest of terms, this condition refers to a situation when there is an obstruction (blockage) to the flow of air, in and out of the nose. This may be due to swelling of nasal tissues (tissues in the nose) and blood vessels with excess fluid.
Some causes include:
Common cold. We are all familiar with this common cause of nasal congestion  This causes blockage of the sinus, which results in nasal congestion.
Allergies in which an individual’s immune system reacts in an exaggerated manner to certain foods or to pollen is a cause of nasal congestion. This ailment tends to run in families and so history of people with same condition or asthma etc in that family is not uncommon.
A nasal septum (the wall between the nostrils) that is crooked or bent to one side may cause nasal congestion. This ‘deformity’ may be from birth, due to injury or occur as a process of growth.
Excessive use of nasal decongestants can also lead to this as after the decongestant is stopped, there is rebound nasal congestion. And so, one ends up with the same situation they were trying to solve from the beginning!  So, if you must, do not use your nasal decongestants for more than three days
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses (air cavities) that line the nose. When these air cavities (which are supposed to be filled by air) become filled with fluid as a result of blockage, bacteria, fungi and viruses can thrive in this environment and cause infection. Pus-like nasal discharge, facial pain and persistence of symptoms for more than a week, maybe suggestive of this.
Other conditions include:
• Cold weather

• Foreign body in the nose
• Presence of tumour or polyp (a small growth with a stalk protruding from a surface)
• Medications for high blood pressure
• Spicy foods (remember how you start sniffling once you start on a hot dish?)
• Stress etc

There’s a pretty long list of causes, but your doctor will attempt to narrow down to what the probable cause for you is.
In the meantime,
Ø try drinking a lot of water
Ø Use saline sprays instead of the nasal decongestants, if you’ve been indulging in this 
Ø Use a humidifier which loosens the mucous. Turning on the hot water shower and inhaling the steam is another great idea.
Ø Avoid irritants of the nose like smoke
All these measures will help reduce the nasal congestion.

Good night, guys 🙂

After years of hearing the dangers of eating too much salt, could you be at risk of eating too little salt?

Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stopping-the-vicious-cycle-of-rebound-headaches-2019110718180

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Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stopping-the-vicious-cycle-of-rebound-headaches-2019110718180

Q: Good day, ma’am. My baby is 4 months old and anytime, I breastfeed my baby, I feel sad. I don’t know the cause. Should I stop breastfeeding? Looking forward to your sweet reply.

A: Congratulations on your new baby 
Everyone talks about how fleeting the pain of childbirth is once the bundle of joy is held in the arms of the mother. It then appears ‘somewhat’ unnatural when mothers experience sadness in taking care of the baby or as this mother says, sadness when breastfeeding. This was a previously unknown situation and mother who experienced this felt alienated from family, friends and even their medical personnel as nobody appeared to understand what they were going through. Was this postnatal depression? Was this a psychological problem? I daresay in our environment, people would have asked if the woman was demon-possessed ;D

Well, recent researches have shown that this situation is called D-MER (Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex). The term dysphoric refers to dissatisfaction. Usually, when a baby latches on to the nipple of his mother for breast milk, the hormones, oxytocin and prolactin are released. Prolactin acts on the milk producing cells of the breast and the oxytocin acts to let the breast release the milk (let down reflex). At this same time, the level of dopamine decreases. In D-MER, the level of decrease in dopamine is extreme leading to sadness, feelings of negativity etc. This feeling is fleeting though, lasting seconds to few minutes as the level of dopamine normalizes. This feeling may also be precipitated at times when the milk ejection reflex is activated like when you think about feeding your baby or when he cries etc. Now it is important to note that while this does not happen to everyone, it is not a psychological problem, neither is it post natal depression.

So, what can you do? Stopping breastfeeding may not be the answer as you will be depriving your baby of all the vital nutrients he needs in his first few months of life. In some instances, just understanding what is going on is sufficient to help the mothers cope with the situation as they can identify when the symptoms start and stop. I hope this works for you.

In more extreme cases, there may be need to prescribe drugs which increase the level of dopamine in the body. Your doctor will determine what makes sense. Anti-depressants have not been found to be useful in this situation. I daresay more work will be done on this condition to better understand and provide relief for it shortly.

I hope understanding what’s going on helps you deal with this. If not, please see your doctor about options open to you. This too, shall pass 

Have a great evening, y’all