chatwithketch

Q: Hello Dr Ketch! I’ve been suffering from pile for the past 3 years and earlier this year I’m feeling much to the extent that I can’t sit down very well. Please, I need help

A: Piles, known as haemorrhoids in medical lingo are swollen veins in the anal canal. They can be internal, external or both internal and external can co-exist. Internal haemorrhoids occur when veins swell within the rectum and external haemorrhoids are found under the skin around the anus.

These haemorrhoids develop when there is undue pressure in the pelvic and anal area as can occur when people strain to pass faeces (if they have diarrhoea or are constipated), in pregnancy (especially the last 6 months), in obese people, people who eat diets low in fibre and people who practice anal intercourse. When women strain in labour, haemorrhoids can also be made worse. For those who love to visit the toilet with their newspapers and spend ages reading them in there, well, you’ve got breaking news! 😀 Sitting on the toilet seat for prolonged periods can also cause haemorrhoids. As people grow older, the support structures for these veins also grow weaker…naturally 😀

Some internal haemorrhoids can be small veins which stay within the rectum. Usually these internal haemorrhoids, stay inside the anus causing no problems. Other internal haemorrhoids can be big veins that sag and protrude out of the anal canal. Straining would cause their delicate surfaces to bruise and bleed. Sometimes, the straining is sufficient to cause the haemorrhoids to protrude out of the anal canal. This is probably what has been described above in the question. When the haemorrhoids are compressed by anal muscles, the pain is made worse and the pressure can lead to cutting off of blood supply to the haemorrhoids.

External haemorrhoids can clot due to irritation forming a hard, painful lump under the skin around the anus.
People with haemorrhoids will complain of streaks of blood in the stool after stooling, blood on the tissue after cleaning up, anal pain, anal itching or a lump around the anus.

Treatment involves the use of ointments to relieve pain, inflammation and itching. There are other minimally invasive and surgical options available that range from rubber band ligation to surgical removal of the haemorrhoids.
You can also limit the discomfort you have by keeping the anal area clean, using wet wipes (non-perfumed) to clean up after using the loo, sit on a bowl of plain warm water for about 15 minutes about twice or three times per day and also use some pain relief, if in pain.

To prevent this, ensure that your diet has sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables. Remember that if you take a regular flat plate, half of this should be filled with fruits and vegetables, half of the plate with complex carbohydrates and the last half with proteins.

Limit the time you spend sitting on the toilet seat (read your newspapers elsewhere :D), use the toilet as soon as you feel pressed (that way the fluid in the stool is not absorbed making the stool hard) and then don’t strain when you do go. Drink sufficient quantities of water daily, exercise (to keep everything moving along nicely :D)

Remember though that there are other causes of blood in faeces. That’s why this case has to be checked out in the hospital so that a proper diagnosis can be made.

Have a great evening 😀

‘Over-the-counter pain medicines that contain caffeine can be effective at stopping some headaches. But drinking a large amount of caffeinated beverages might actually trigger a headache for some people with migraines, according to a study published in the August 2019 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.’

Do you want to know more? Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/troubled-by-migraines-cut-back-on-your-caffeine-drinks

Q: Dr Ketch, there is something I want to tell you. Many years ago I had abortion. After the abortion, I do see surgical threads in my private part when I am menstruating. I went to the hospital to complain about it but when the doctor inserted his finger inside my Private part he didn’t see anything. Now that I am married am still seeing it. Please, what should I do?

A: Hello!

It is strange that you are seeing surgical threads years after surgery. Do you have any other symptoms? Pain? Discharge? Swelling? I suggest you go to another OBGYN for a second opinion.

Q: Can abortion prevent me from conceiving?

A: Some abortions (termination of pregnancy) involve instrumentation (like Dilatation and Curettage – D and C). In a situation where the procedure was too ‘vigorously’ done or even in situations where the placenta attached too deeply into the womb making it difficult to remove retained tissue). a condition called Asherman’s syndrome can occur. This manifests as reduction in menstrual flow. Severe forms of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can also cause Asherman’s Syndrome. For more on PID, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/09/22/daily-health-tips-what-is-pid/

In Asherman’s Syndrome, adhesions/scar tissue form inside the womb or mouth of the womb, cervix. This leads to stocking together of the front and back walls of the womb. Asherman’s Syndrome can lead to infertility, miscarriages, growth retardation of babies in the womb, placental problems etc

So, yes…abortions may lead to infertility if instrumentation like D and C is involved.

Have a good night, people!

‘A study published in JAMA provides some insight into the degree to which 10 specific foods and nutrients affect the risk of dying from cardiometabolic disease like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke’

Want to know the 10 foods and how they protect you? Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10-foods-that-may-impact-your-risk-of-dying-from-heart-disease-stroke-and-type-2-diabetes-2019100717965

‘You hear it all the time: the advice to “eat less processed food.” But what is processed food? For that matter, what is minimally processed food or ultra-processed food? And how does processed food affect our health?’

Want to know more? Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-are-ultra-processed-foods-and-are-they-bad-for-our-health-2020010918605

Q: Dear Dr. I don’t know how to thank you enough for all your advice. Please ma’am, what is ‘routine drugs’? Why is it important to a man and a pregnant woman? Please explain its usefulness.

A: Thanks for your kind words.

Routine ‘drugs’ are those prenatal medicines given to pregnant women. The iron tablets are important to prevent anaemia (blood shortage) in pregnant women and the folic acid ensures that baby’s spine develops well with no defects. In fact, it is advised that women who wish to get pregnant should start taking folic acid about 3 months before they conceive.

Q: Good evening Doctor, I am 30 weeks pregnant and unfortunately my house help left for school about 3 week ago. Now all the house chores such as sweeping, washing, mopping etc. are on me now. Please, will this have any negative effect on the baby? I am very worried.

A: Hi dear. Thanks for writing in and congratulations on your pregnancy. I assume that it’s your first from your question: D

So, pregnancy is not a death sentence or an illness, really. It is a natural condition and so, potentially, you can do a lot of things without any problem. Now there are caveats…if you have threatened abortion (miscarriage), your doctor will advise you to be on strict bed rest and not to lift a finger, literally 😀 There are a few other conditions that may limit what you can do, but your doctor will definitely be the one to issue those orders. In any case, whenever in doubt, please consult your doctor.

Having said that, bending to sweep or mop is okay in pregnancy but it has to be done the proper way…bending at the knees and not twisting your body while at it 😀 I suggest that you use the long-handled brushes/mops for sweeping/mopping as opposed to the local/native brooms/scrubbing brushes that require bending…in probably uncomfortable ways.

Pregnant women get lots of advice: from friends, mothers, mothers-in-law, colleagues, husbands etc. Sometimes it’s confusing to know what’s true and what’s not.
As a follow-on of my post a few days ago, I give you some more pregnancy myths and my take on them:

Advice
The first breast milk, colostrum, should be discarded as it is dirty and causes rashes in children

Fiction (False)
Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mother and is loaded with antibodies and nutrients needed by the baby. Babies should not be deprived of this milk.

Any other ones you know?

Have a great evening 😀

We typically advise people to measure their blood pressures at home but sometimes, this makes people to report some false high blood pressure readings! Do you know what could be responsible? Make you just took a cup of coffee before taking the reading. Or perhaps, you were talking and/or gisting with a friend before taking the measurement? Well, read the post below to find out what you could be doing wrong when measuring your BP and get it right! 

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/tips-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-correctly