chatwithketch

Q: Hi, Good day ma’am! Thanks a lot for the way you have been helping lots of people with their problems. How does one stop a child from sucking her thumb always in a healthy way?
A: Interesting question!
Children suck their thumbs at an early age as a means of soothing themselves or coping with stress/anxiety or even when bored. Usually, this habit would stop between the ages of 2 to 4 years old. If it continues longer than that your baby’s teeth start to give way to accommodate the thumb leading to a situation where your baby’s upper teeth no longer align properly with the lower teeth. It can also lead to speech problems.How do you stop a child from sucking his thumb? Hmm, I’m sure that lots of people can share a lot from their personal experiences eg tying up the thumb, putting terrible tasting stuff on it like vinegar, mustard, bitter leaf, nail polish etc. In some instances, these harsh methods get children to stop this habit but they probably latch on to another habit, like bedwetting. So, we do not advocate any of these.
What can you do as a parent? Well, if the child, is not 6 years yet, ignoring the thumb sucking is an option. Don’t go into a big fuss and fight about it. He’s more likely to stop because some children teased him about it that the fact that you screamed about it.
Talk to him about why sucking his thumb is a bad idea. Talk to him about germs that he’s giving free access into his body etc and be sure to praise him when he’s not sucking his fingers/thumb. In fact, you could go as far as providing a reward to re-enforce this good behavior.Remember that before the age of 6 years, we still believe that your baby will kick this habit all by himself. He usually does about the age of 4-5 years.
Now that was my answer some years back. The post below suggests that there may actually be benefits to this habit! :O Read!
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/upside-thumb-sucking-nail-biting-2016071910032

Q: Dr my daughter is 4 years old and her eyes always have this red colour that comes and goes – sometimes on its own, sometimes after washing it with warm water and she feels no pain in her eyes. What could be the cause?

A: Thanks for writing in. Although your question is about a 4-year old, I will be addressing red/pink eyes in any age group, generally.

A red eye can give you cause for serious concern especially if it happens when you can’t really attribute any event/trauma to it…and then it’s also not painful. What on earth could it be?! 😀

Usually, the white of the eye (sclera) is covered by a transparent membrane with a rich blood supply, called the conjunctiva. This membrane can be infected/ irritated or blood vessels under it can burst leading to painless red eyes.

Irritation of the conjunctiva (conjunctivitis) could be due to an infection, allergy, chlorine (remember those blood shot eyes after swimming? :D), dust etc

Conjunctivitis due to viruses tends to affect one eye first and then spread to the other eye…helped along by people rubbing their red eyes and then touching the other eye.

Conjunctivitis caused by bacteria can usually be recognized by the presence of sticky eye discharge which crusts around the edges of the eye.

Conjunctivitis caused by allergies usually affect both eyes and causes significant itching.

A burst blood vessel causes a condition known as sub-conjunctivial haemorrhage (this simply means bleeding under the conjunctiva). This can be caused by coughing or straining.

Treatment of conjunctivitis may involve the use of eye drops. Remember not to prescribe them for yourself…that’s what your doctor is there for 😀

Other measures include placing cool face towels or flannels to the eye to soothe it, not sharing towels, pillows/pillowcases, staying away from make-up at this time (I feel you, girl friend! Imagine going out without putting your face on! Whaaat!!!!), staying of contacts, if you use them and don’t forget to keep your hands off your face.

Burst blood vessels would usually resolve on their own.

Burst vessels usually require no treatment and resolve within 7 to 14 days.

Now, if you develop pain or find that your vision is affected, please see your doctor. It could be any number of issues including glaucoma, sty ( a small lump/boil at the edge of the eye lid), foreign body in the eye etc.

So, be sure to see your doctor so he can make a diagnosis of your condition and I’m sure you’ll be bright eyed in no time!

Sleep tight, y’all…and don’t let the bed bugs bite 😀

Losing weight and keeping it off means that you have to be intentional about what you eat and how. This holiday season, be intentional! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/yes-you-can-avoid-weight-gain-over-the-holidays-2019112518309

Q: Can you tell me about endometriosis?

A: In endometriosis, the tissues of the uterus (womb) are found outside of the uterus. They are then found in different areas of the body including:

• Ovaries
• Fallopian tubes
• Tissue lining the pelvis
• Bladder
• Bowel

The ovaries and fallopian tubes are the more common areas for endometriosis. This tissues of the uterus found outside the womb continue to act like what they are: uterine tissues. And so they thicken, break down and bleed with every menstrual cycle. Trouble is, the broken down tissues and blood now, does not have an outlet to flow out from. So, if this happens in the ovaries, cysts form. Cysts are sac-like collection of fluids, semi-solid or gaseous materials.

The symptoms of endometriosis vary from person to person, ranging from no symptoms in some people to excruciating pelvic pain, usually associated with menstrual periods.

Symptoms, generally include:

• Painful periods
• Heavy periods
• Pain during or after sex
• Bleeding in between periods
• Lower abdominal, pelvic and/or lower back pain

Other symptoms include:

• Tiredness and fatigue
• Constipation
• Blood in stool

People with endometriosis may also present with infertility or ovarian cancer.

People at risk of endometriosis include:

• Those who start having their periods at an early age
• Those who start menopause at a late age
• Those who have never had children
• Those with family history of endometriosis
• Those who have low body mass index
• Those who consume alcohol

Once a diagnosis is made, treatment typically depends on severity of symptoms and whether woman still desires to have children.

Pain relief focuses on reducing the pain associated with this condition.

Hormonal therapy works on slowing down the growth of the endometrial tissue and prevent new implants. However, once therapy is stopped, symptoms could return.

Surgery which may be to remove endometrial tissues wherever they are found (through laparoscopic or open surgery) or removing the uterus, cervix and ovaries to ensure that the primary source of estrogen which stokes the thickening of endometrial tissue is eliminated. This latter surgery is better suited for women who have completed their families.

I hope this helps you understand some more what options are available to your mum. Please speak with her doctor for a clearer picture.

I hope this helps.

Have a good night y’all 

Q: Good evening ma’am, I have been doing the water therapy thing until I came across a certain post on opera saying too much water is not good for the body. Ma’am, please which should one follow – drink water or not?

A: Thanks for writing in. Certainly, drink water! 😀 The trick is moderation in all things!

Water is important for life and we use it for very important functions daily: taking a bath, washing clothes, washing dishes, cooking and of course, drinking. The water we drink is very critical for a lot of bodily functions like digestion, excretion (when we urinate, pass faeces and sweat), movement of nutrients all around the body, keeping your joints nice and supple etc. If you also consider the fact that a healthy body contains about two-thirds, water, then it is clear that we can’t joke with our water intake per day.

So how much should we take every day? Though, there are recommended amounts to take daily, it really depends on your activity level (notice how much more water you appear to need after a hectic workout?), where you live (notice how much water you also seem to drink when you live or visit the tropics as opposed to when you live in or visit a temperate region) and your health condition (for instance, people with UTI need to drink some more water).

Generally, we are encouraged to drink 8 8-ounce glasses of fluid per day. This is approximately 2 litres of water per day. Honestly, though it breaks my heart to admit it 😀 any fluid counts e.g. fruit juices, beverages etc. But try to remember that these other fluid sources, other than water, may contain calories that you probably don’t need 😀 So, this is a definite positive for your water therapy!

The flip side of being adequately hydrated is water intoxication, where massive amounts of water are taken in a short time, giving the kidney way too much work to do with resultant headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, brain swelling later etc.  It’s certainly not a great idea to drink too much at any given time. Space it out all through the day. Be guided by your thirst. Drink until you no longer feel thirsty and stop. An easy way to check whether your body is getting enough water in a day is to check your urine colour. If it’s dark yellow, you’re probably not getting enough. If it’s pale yellow in colour, you’re doing good 😀

If you don’t like the taste of plain water, you can jazz it up with a slice of lemon or lime 😀

When you first start trying to drink more water, you may observe an increase in your bathroom visits. This should stop after a short while. If it doesn’t, please see your doctor. It may be an over-active bladder, a Urinary Tract Infection etc. Please click the link below to read my post on over-active bladder

Daily Health Tips: Train That Leaking Bladder!

All the best!

It is officially ‘Onwa December’ (the month of December). That month where we rejoice and make merry. That month when we also forget all those resolutions we made at the beginning of the year and focus on breaking them all 😀
Well, to help you keep the ‘health’ and ‘eating right’ part of those resolutions, I reproduce this post that I typically put out at this time of the year. Enjoy!

Q: I want to stop sugar because I’m addicted. What can I do doctor?
A: Thanks for writing in. Don’t we all struggle with this???I’ll reproduce here a post I had made on healthier alternatives/substitutes to foods we generally love which may not be so healthy. This includes sugary foods and those loaded with bad fats. Enjoy…
First, commit to reading labels in supermarkets. For all the foods that you will buy from shops, read the labels and be sure that they contain wholesome nutrients. Look out especially for trans fats, sugars, salt and lack of fiber. Avoid foods that have them…as much as you can!
Try these substitutions:Substitute white rice with local rice like Ofada, Abakaliki rice or brown rice etc
While shopping for pasta (eg spaghetti, macaroni or the like), look out for whole grain pasta. It will be written on the pack.
Instead of buying white bread, go for whole wheat bread.,,noting that even wheat bread has a significant amount of salt. So, if you can lay off bread once in a while, please do 😀
Remember that just because it’s brown, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s whole wheat. Ask the grocer/baker/whoever you’re buying from.
If you need a sugar fix, don’t get it from a pack of sugar-filled fruit juice, juice your own fruits or opt for fruit slices
You know those sugar filled cereals that tell you that it’s just honey and whatever else, read the pack, you’ll see how much sugar is in them…plus of course, the honey. Substitute with oatmeal or other whole grain cereals. If you hate oats, try this recipe for overnight oats I learnt while shooting my half hour show.
Overnight oatsPut some oats in a bowl, add some milk and unsweetened yoghurt. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning, add some fruit slices (I like apple and banana slices), add a sprinkle of cinnamon and if you want a little bit more ‘sugar’, add a couple of raisins/currants/dried fruit. Mix it all up…tastes fabulous! 😀 Or you could just make your oats the way you make other cereals. Just pour on the milk (warm or cold, as you like it) in your bowl of oats and enjoy.
Stay off soft drinks/soda as much as you can. Substitute with water 😀 or sparkling water which has some drops of lemon in it or you can do same with still (regular) water.
Instead of red meat, go for chicken and fish.
Substitute butter for cooking with healthier oils like Olive oil.
Substitute butter on bread slices with healthier spreads like peanut butter or even mashed avocado pear.
Try shopping for reduced fat mayonnaise and salad dressings to take the place of the regular goods. You could also try balsamic vinegar as a dressing for salad.
In recipes that need sugar, you can significantly reduce sugar to be used by using some cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla.
Blend up some fruits and add them to low fat, sugar-free yoghurt…and dare I say, use that as a substitute for ice cream??? 😀
Reduce salt intake by using other herbs and spices like ginger, garlic etc
Replace pounded yam with oatmeal and serve up different varieties of vegetable soups.
Remember that while making your stew, the oil should not be visible on top of the stew when you’re done cooking. If we can see it, it’s too much!
I hope this helps!