chatwithketch

Q: Hello doc. thanks so much for the educating info that you keep feeding us and also responding to our inquiries – so much appreciated. Doctor my wife is having her first pregnancy and these first two months have proved to be hell for her. She’s having abdominal pains every now and then. It started with the lower abdomen and now it’s all over. it’s often after moving sometimes its just.
we went to the hospital for scan but there was nothing at all worrying that much in her womb or anywhere cos the scanning was thorough. Our worry is the pain is not reducing at all. What could it be and what should we do? Please help!

A: Hi dear, thanks for writing in and thanks for your kind words.

Abdominal pain in pregnancy may or may not be serious.

Harmless causes include:

·      Constipation

·      Gas

·      The growing womb (uterus)

·      Braxton-Hicks contractions (these are ‘fake’ contractions preparing the womb for the main even :D)

Serious causes of pain during pregnancy include:

·      Ectopic pregnancy. To learn about ectopic pregnancy, please click on this link https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/08/07/daily-health-tips-what-are-my-options-after-ectopic-pregnancy-and-failed-ivf/

·      Pre-term labour. To learn about this, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/07/28/daily-health-tips-am-i-leaking-amniotic-fluid-liquor-amnii/

·      Miscarriage. To read more on miscarriage, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/07/23/daily-health-tips-im-scared-of-getting-pregnant-after-two-miscarriages/

·      Placental abruption. To learn more, click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/03/26/daily-health-tips-placental-abruption/

·      Urinary tract infection. To learn more, please click on this link https://chatwithdrketch.com/2016/02/19/daily-health-tips-re-visiting-chronic-utis/

·      Pre-eclampsia. To learn more, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/10/23/daily-health-tips-protein-in-urine-during-pregnancy/

Having said all these, you probably have no way of knowing what is harmless or not. So err on the side of caution and see your doctor if ‘it just doesn’t feel right’.

All the best!

Stroke as the name implies refers to an incident that happens suddenly…without warning. It usually occurs when the brain is deprived of some of its blood supply and consequently oxygen supply. This can happen when there is a blood clot in a vessel in the brain or due to a burst blood vessel leaking blood onto the substance of the brain or around the brain. This blood leakage can lead to undesired pressure on the brain.

Oftentimes, people refer to a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), as a partial stroke. This condition occurs when a blood vessel is partially blocked. This would usually be resolved within 15 minutes and is a sign that a major event (a stroke, proper) may not be far off. This is a warning that should be taken seriously.
It is important to know the signs of a stroke because if action is taken immediately, it can prevent permanent damage from being done. If the brain is deprived of its blood supply for about 4 minutes, irreversible changes begin to occur in the brain. If this deprivation continues beyond this time, permanent changes would have occurred that may affect different facets of the individual’s functions.

The signs of stroke to look out for are known by the acronym FAST.
• F stands for drooping of a side of the face. Ask the patient to smile and you will observe that the smile looks lopsided.
• A stands for weakness of one side of the body. Ask patient to lift both arms and it will be seen that one side is being ‘dragged’ or lagging
• S stands for speech difficulty like slurring. Patient cannot enunciate words properly again
• T stands for time. Once these symptoms are noticed, it’s time to call for help. In climes where there are emergency numbers like 911 or 999, please call these. Otherwise, efforts should be made to take the person involved to the hospital immediately.
Patients may also complain of sudden inability to move legs, feel confused, have blurred vision etc

There are risk factors for stroke and they include:
• Age: The older you are the more prone to stroke. People from age 55 years are more likely to have a stroke, though this can also happen in children eg those born with heart defects and those with Sickle Cell Anaemia etc
• Race: Africans and Asians are more at risk
• Sex: Females are more at risk…as if we don’t have enough problems
• Family history of stroke: The presence of this increases risk
• Previous history of a stroke.

Other risk factors:
• Hypertension
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Overweight
• Sedentary lifestyles
• Not eating healthy
• Smoking
• Drinking Alcohol

The rate at which one recovers from stroke and indeed the degree of symptoms experienced, depends on the area of the brain affected, how serious the damage to the brain is etc and so recovery will be different for different people.

Patience is key. Speech therapists may be needed to help the person re-learn the art of speaking. Physiotherapists will help improve motion on the affected side and indeed, mobility. Other therapists may help with eating…if swallowing is a problem, relearning the art of reading and reasoning etc

Usually, people who visit find it difficult to understand their speech during recovery and this can put even more pressure on the patients. Speak slowly and listen carefully so you can understand what they are saying.

Generally eating healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables, cutting out the white carbs (pastries etc), exercising (at least 150 minutes weekly), ensuring you are not overweight and quitting smoking help with reducing bad cholesterol and also preventing strokes.

One may need to walk with a stick as they re-learn the art of walking. Recovery may be long and tedious but the person has got to keep at it.

For more tips on preventing stroke, read!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/8-things-you-can-do-to-prevent-a-stroke

Q: Dr. Good evening. I have this problem for long now. Anytime I go to toilet or fart, It smells so bad. I am taking more fruits now but there is no change. Please has anything gone wrong in my system?

A: Hallos! Happy New Year!Farting is normal. Everyone farts…even those that look like they don’t 😀 Typically, farting could be up to 15 times a day. Some fart more and some less 🙂 What you need to do is observe what’s normal for you. If you observe a significant change in terms of smell or frequency, try the tips below. If they don’t help, then see your doctor.

Farting is your body’s way of getting rid of excess gas.‘Excess gas’ is produced in the body when we swallow it or when our body produces it as a result of what we have eaten. This is usually caused by the twin factors of what you have eaten and how you chose to eat it.

For what you have eaten, easy culprits are rich, fatty foods, beans, dairy (especially in lactose intolerant people), high fibre foods (if lots of water is not taken afterwards) etc.

How can the way you eat cause you a problem?If you tend to over-eat or rush your food (eat it very fast or like a friend of mine would say, ‘inhale’ it :D), then you are a target for bloating and farting. The reason is that you eat so fast that you don’t give enough time for signals to travel to your brain from the stomach confirming that you are full. By the time that signal arrives, you are all stuffed up and bloated to boot! Note that it may take up to 20 minutes for those signals that confirm fullness to get to the brain…sounds like a long journey 😀

Other causes of farting are swallowed air (which can happen when we eat too fast or drink too fast) and smoking.

Prevention?

This is really simple: Reduce portion sizes, limit Reduce portion sizes, exercise to improve how your body digests food, eat slowly, quit smoking and limit your intake of foods that cause this, if all else fails.

If your farting is caused by swallowed air, avoid carbonated drinks (most soft drinks fall into this category) – try peppermint tea, don’t drink with straws (at least on a regular basis) avoid chewing chord…oh, sorry! 😀 I meant to say, avoid chewing gum and stay off your candies that you suck so hard and suck in quite a bit of air too!

I hope these tips help. If they don’t, as I mentioned earlier, please see your doctor

Have a good night, y’all 😀

There are some things that are really not just worth your time…and yet you spend so much time on them! 😀 This post suggests how to apportion your time and efforts and ranges from A effort (100% effort) for things really important to you to F effort (0%) for things that are just time wasters! You figure out what activities fall into these groups and those in between! 😀 Read!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/trying-to-be-perfect-can-cause-anxiety

Q: Good morning, Doctor and God bless you much for always being there. I’m the lady that told you about my baby’s Mumps. She’s very fine now. Thank you so much

Doc I was wondering,..what should I teach her to call her Vagina? I don’t know if it’s proper and polite to use the real words as Vagina or Penis especially in public places. She’s my first child and I’m pregnant with my second child now.

Please help me out. Thanks a lot.

A: Hey you. Thanks for writing in. I’m glad your daughter is better.
Interesting question and I’m sure lots of parents will have lots of different views about what makes sense and what doesn’t.
Before I weigh in, I’ll tell you a story that I heard when in medical school. One of our professors was trying to explain why it was very important to ensure that in teaching couples about contraception, there should be no ambiguity. Say exactly what you mean and show it clearly with models or call precise names. So, the story was told of a medical doctor who was trying to explain to a couple how to use condoms. He didn’t have a model to use and show, had no pictures and probably figured that it didn’t make sense to ask the man to strip  So, he told them to assume that his (the doctor’s) thumb was the patient’s penis. And he then proceeded to show the couple how to insert the condom over the thumb. It appeared communication had taken place. Everyone was happy, hands were shaken and everyone departed.

A few months later, a visibly upset and confused couple returned to the clinic to see the same doctor. In summary, despite following the doctor’s advice and doing exactly what he’d told them, his wife still got pregnant. The worried looking doctor mentally tried to review what he’d told them while scanning through the pages of the couple’s folder. He asks the man how exactly he used the condom. The man thrusts out his thumb and tells the doctor that he put the condom on his thumb in exactly the same way the doctor did it during their hospital visit!  The rest as they say is history!

What am I saying? It is important to be very clear about what each body part is called and what can happen when inappropriate contact happens there. In these days where uncles, aunties and even parents have turned child molesters and pedophiles, it is important that children can adequately communicate what, if any inappropriate contact has taken place. It also helps the children to be comfortable in their skin and not feel that there is anything wrong with those parts of their bodies. They are private parts and should not be indiscriminately touched by anyone, even parents especially after a certain age, but they are also normal parts of the body.
Teaching the right name helps make the children comfortable with their bodies. Be matter of fact and remember that this is just a prelude to the even more cringe-inducing conversation that you are going to have in a few years about sex education  So start your practice with this and try not to look embarrassed.

I know that the greatest fear is the embarrassment that one would feel if one’s child got up in public to scream ‘mum, my vagina hurts!’. I know. I would literally want to die too And why is that? It’s because we’ve literally made these words sound like bad words. They are not. They are names of body parts like nose, ankle etc. And if we all felt comfortable about it, there would probably be no shame.

When I give health talks in some places and the conversation veers towards reproductive organs, grown men and women start giggling. I find it really fascinating! Really? What’s so cute about the names? Nothing! They are just not used to hearing it and this is most likely a hang-up from early childhood.

Finally, if you don’t teach your child the right name, she will probably learn it from the internet as soon as she’s able to use a computer. And from then, all the other information you pass on may also become suspect 😀

That’s my take. What’s yours?

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Q: Hi Dr. Ketch, I really need your help so bad because I have a huge problem every time I go to sleep. Every time I sleep, I always experience “SLEEP TALKING”. How can I prevent that illness? Doc please help me! Thank you!

A: Thanks for writing in!

Sleep talking refers to talking during sleep without being aware of it. This is medically referred to as somniloquy. Sleep talking may be spontaneous or triggered by conversation with the ‘sleep talker.’ The sleep talkers may mumble simple sounds/gibberish or long speeches; they may talk for a few seconds per episode or several times during the night; they may whisper or shout; they may appear to be talking to themselves or other people; voice and language may be similar to or different from normal etc. The list goes on…

Sleep talking is common in children and appears to run in families although it could also be brought on by fever, stress, sleep deprivation, certain medications, substance abuse, alcohol, depression etc. It is not typically considered a medical problem especially when it occurs by itself but it could also be the sign of a more serious medical disorder. This condition could occur with other sleep disorders like sleepwalking, sleep apnea, nightmares etc.

What can you do on your own to reduce this? No treatment is usually required but if this is severe or goes on for a long time, then an intervention is needed. A good place to start would be a review of the listed causes above to understand which of them could be responsible for this problem in your own case. For instance, if you’re not getting enough sleep, are stressed, are abusing drugs or alcohol, work on those. Review your medications (including the times you take them) with your doctor and seek help for depression. If none of these appear to help, then a consultation with a sleep specialist is in order. If you do not know one, your doctor will be able to refer you to one.

In the meantime, ensure that you let your partner know that you are working on getting help for this condition. A stop-gap measure that could help them get more sleep (if your sleep talking is depriving them of much needed sleep) is to get ear plugs and also use ‘white noise’ like the sound of a fan to drown out the noise of your sleep talks.

All the best! J

Family history, age and lifestyle (food you eat, exercise or lack of it, alcohol intake and smoking) are some of the factors that affect our predisposition to cancer. So watch out y’all!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/cancer/factors-that-increase-your-risk-for-a-secondary-cancer

Happy New Year! It is 2019! Wow! My prayer for you this year is to dream big, commit your actions to God and your plans will succeed! 😀
And now, as we all get busy in the kitchens serving up mouth-watering meals, a timely reminder to prevent food poisoning and accusations thrown at ‘village pipu’ 😀
Wash your hands before and after handling food
Use separate chopping boards. 1 for Fruits and fresh vegetable for salads, 1 for poultry, seafood and meats and another for all other produce. This prevents cross-contamination of foods.
Wash your knives, boards and other utensils before using on a different set of produce. Again, this prevents cross-contamination of foods.
Freeze/refrigerate meats you are not going to use immediately.Constantly bringing out your meats, thawing them and then freezing them back again, provides an opportunity for bacteria to thrive. So, if you buy a lot of meat, put them in small packs according to how much you use every time. This way, you ensure that you’re going to use everything in a pack you bring out.
Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetable before cutting and serving. You can use salt and/or vinegar water to wash vegetables
Be sure to wash your kitchen napkins and dish towels in hot water often. I wash mine at the end of the day and next morning they are nice and fresh!
Remember that hygiene is two-thirds of health! So, don’t be caught napping 😀

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDWhoAFdVj/