Random Musing of a Doctor: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Pneumonia: Causes and How to Prevent this Deadly Infection

Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. Scientists say the lungs are made up of small sacs called alveoli, which fill with air when a healthy person breathes. “However, when an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and difficulty breathing. It makes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake,” says General Practitioner, Dr. Abiola Lanre-Iyanda.

The World Health Organisation notes that pneumonia is the single largest cause of death in children worldwide.

The story

The pregnancy was unremarkable. The beautiful baby girl was born well, without any health concerns. At about two months of age, she developed an infection which was treated with antibiotics. As usual in Nigeria, she was also treated for malaria. Anyway, soon after, the mother noted that the head of the baby started getting bigger. Just like that! What could be going on?

Laughter is The Best Medicine E10

So I'm young, intelligent, supposedly very beautiful and sexy. I'm also very single and every time I meet someone, the standard question is 'why are you single?'

Here's why. A connection on the physical and mental must be had for me to consider any man an option and believe me, there are too few combinations like that. I meet men who I connect with physically but not mentally and vice versa. It makes me tired just being out with them, at least this is the excuse I give them.

Fake Nets

Even as malaria remains prevalent in Nigeria, the counterfeiting of anti-mosquito nets remain on the increase, exposing more citizens to the deadly effects of malaria.

Despite repeatedly receiving anti-mosquito nets, Remi Olatunde knew next to nothing about deploying or maintaining the malaria-preventive covers. When she got new ones from the hospital or shops, the nurses or sellers had no useful information to help her. Each night, she set the nets up her way, and not being able to write or read instructions, she ended up exposing herself and her children to deadly mosquito stings.

So when she gave birth this year, and was given another net at the Mascara Primary Health Centre, Ketu, Lagos, Mrs Olatunde pressed a nurse for clear instructions on how to use it.

Epilepsy in our Society is a dark, lonely and silent world of Shame

Renown Bahamian preacher, Dr. Myles Munroe feels the cemetery contains the largest deposit of dreams, potentials and aspirations the world never experienced.ANGELA ASEMOTA says an understanding of epilepsy and the world of people affected by the condition would help our understanding of Munroe’s philosophy. She spoke withKINGSLEY OBOM-EGBULEM on her work at the Angie Epilepsy Foundation and shares more heart rending picture on the need to confront epilepsy and the stigma it attracts.

The Abuja Healthcare Directory was created in 2011 but has been redesigned and updated for 2012. It contains the names of many of the hospitals in Abuja. It also contains the names and telephone numbers of quiet a few specialists and specialist services in the FCT. The directory is a small contribution in improving access to vital healthcare information. It provides easy access to specialist services and hospitals. Patients and their relatives can now go directly to the hospital where the needed services can be provided without having to waste time going around in a circle.The Abuja Health Directory 2012

Regular Blood Donation Enhances Good Health

A nephrologist at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, southern Nigeria, Dr Ebun Bamgboye, said on Friday that regular blood donation could make people live in good health and look younger.

Bamgboye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, that rather than having side effects, regular blood donation could prevent haemochromatosis, a genetic disorder associated with iron overload in the body.

A nutritionist with the Wuse General Hospital in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, said yoghurt is good for the prevention of various diseases such as typhoid and coronary heart problems.

Hajiya Jummai Abdul said yoghurt can not only prevent heart diseases but also lower the risks of many ailments, including colon cancer.

“Yoghurt is a rich source of calcium and mineral that contributes to colon health and decreases the risk of colon cancer,’’ she said.
Yoghurt is also a great source of protein, calcium, Vitamin A,
and Vitamin B12 which were important for bone health, she added.

Dr. Eva Selhub shares how belief makes anything possible.

I would want you to believe that anything is possible, especially if we unite and stand together. Love is the key.

Remember being children? Remember when our imagination allowed us to believe that anything is possible? What happened?

A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Boise, Idaho after its pilot suffered a mid-air heart attack from which he later died, an Airline spokesperson said on Friday.

United flight 1603 was en-route from Houston, Texas to Seattle, Washington when the incident occurred.

The National Agency for Foods, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday destroyed fake drugs and other regulated products worth N210.76 million seized from states in the South-South zone.
The Director-General, NAFDAC, Dr Paul Orhi, who was represented by the NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Mr Macdonald Garba, performed the exercise in Odukpani, near Calabar.

According to him, the exercise is aimed at eliminating counterfeit products in the country.

Tip of the Hour: Cook Some Carrots

Forget about vitamin A pills, ok maybe not forever. With this orange crunchy powerfood, you get vitamin A and a host of other powerful health benefits including beautiful skin, cancer prevention, and anti-aging. Read how to get maximum benefits from this amazing vegetable.

Benefits of Carrots

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arraigned the owner of Sahal Eye Specialist Clinic, Hussaini Arugaya, before Magistrate’s Court One in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Arugaya was charged with three counts of parading himself as a medical practitioner, carrying out a surgical operation on the right eye of one Elder Ndarake Akpe, and using the title, ‘Dr,’ which showed that he was authorised by law to practice as a medical practitioner.

The American Heart Association recommends that people with type 2 diabetes get two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week. You’ll get more benefit if you spread your exercise hours out over the week — say, 30 minutes a day, five days a week. You can even break up your 30 minutes a day into shorter intervals, such as a brisk 10-minute walk after each meal.

A good exercise program for people with diabetes should include:

As part of efforts to improve health information management in the nation’s hospitals, PFIZER Nigeria and East Africa Region has completed the e-pharmacy project at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.

The company, in a statement in Lagos on Monday, stated that with the provision of the e-pharmacy, which is equipped with facilities that support internet connection for efficient drug information service, the hospital is now prepared for the transition from a paper-based system to an electronic health system.

I Have never been successful enough to finish a tot of "agbo" even though i had to fight my curiosity to taste it. I have been told that there are the types that treat Malaria, and some other illnesses, in my humble opinion, i think belief plays a major role in the effects of "agbo". I read this story in Punch and thought you should read through this interesting interview.

Pls share your take on "agbo" the Juice of life... lol

By Dr Sylvester Ikhiesemojie

Fever is a very common symptom of illness in our environment. It is indicative of many different types of ailments. While it is nearly always present in common diseases like malaria, not every fever is caused by malaria.

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State has declared automatic jobs for doctors and nurses that are interested in working in the state.

He made this assertion Tuesday, when he visited the Maryam Sani Abacha Maternal Hospital in Damaturu.

Gaidam directed the state Head of Service, Alhaji Dauda Yahaya to open the door of employment to interested medical personnel.

Nigeria has some of the world’s worst health statistics but few specialist hands to help treat her millions of poor, sick people.

In March 2013, when the pains in Ogaga Akpojaro’s breast, ankles and wrist became unbearable, she rushed to a private hospital in Ozoro, Isoko North local government area of Delta state where she lived.

A doctor, whose name she recalled only as Dr. Ben, treated her with antibiotics and a painkiller, and explained that the pains were symptoms of fatigue.

That made sense since Mrs. Akpojaro spent all her days, except Sundays, on the farm and sold garri during evenings in the local market. So she took the drugs as directed, stayed away from work for weeks, but her condition worsened. By early May, her breast had become swollen and rigid. Her ankles became taut. She rapidly lost weight and could barely walk.

“When all the pain killers Dr. Ben prescribed refused to work, he said we should take her to Ughelli General Hospital,” her only daughter, Ifoghale, recalled recently.

No fewer than 80, 000 school children from three local government areas of Ondo state are to benefit from the mass de-worming programme organised by oil giant, Chevron.

The programme organised in conjunction with the Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) drew beneficiaries from Akure South, Akure North and Ilaje local government areas of the state.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has begun talks to explore posting of medical doctors who are on national assignment to local health departments and primary health care facilities at the grass roots level.

This was part of the focus of discussion during a courtesy call on the Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General Okore Affia by the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad.

DJ Black Coffee breathes new life into his music. A heavily pregnant woman's water broke on Tuesday at the Botanic Gardens in Durban whilst jiving on the dance floor.

In a rather unique and unusual turn of events, a 23 year old concert goer at the Old Mutual Music at the Lake show went into labour and gave birth to a little girl at the concert venue inside the medical facility.

As DJ Black Coffee made an appearance on stage, Nonhle Makhoba from Inanda who was 10 days away from delivery, went into labour and was immediately moved from the concert area to the medical compound on site.

Motherhood; No Age Restrictions....

The long-held biological fact that child bearing by women ended with menopause is now old wives' tale as science has broken that barrier, with no more age limit to the reproductive capacity of the female gender.

A consultant gynaecologist and vice-chairman, Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Ibrahim Wada, stated this while answering questions from THISDAY recently. Wada, who spoke against the backdrop of the Nigeria Fertility & IVF Conference coming up on 27 September, said with assisted conception, women in their 60's had given birth.

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has signed the State Water and Sanitation Law, with an assurance to increase access to portable water to 80% by 2014.

Signing the law in Ado Ekiti in Ado-Ekiti, the Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to laying a solid foundation for the efficient management of a functional water supply and sanitation sector in the State.

The wife of the Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, on Tuesday had a town hall meeting with stakeholders from Lagos Central Senatorial district on maternal and child mortality reduction at Surulere Local Government.

While giving her keynote address, Mrs Fashola noted that such meeting is key to achieving the goal of bringing the level of child and maternal mortality in the state down to the barest minimal.

By Lara Samuel

For the third time this year, health administrators, educators, researchers and advocates from within and outside the country will come together to brainstorm on cerebral palsy.

The meeting, aimed at providing effective management regime for persons with cerebral palsy in Nigeria according to a statement issued in Lagos by the founder of Benola Cerebral Palsy, Air Vice Marshal Femi Gbadebo (Rtd), would hold on Thursday, September 26, 2013, at Peninsula Hotel, Lekki.

Modern lifestyle is fraught with all sorts of hazards, beginning with the food we eat, the household products we use, and the environmental pollution that attends most of our activities.

Of utmost concern are the chemicals that have become a part of modern existence, what with the fact that virtually every manufactured product we use contains one chemical or the other!

How to Rid Yourself of Blackheads

The Joint Health Professionals of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Teaching Hospital, Osogbo have raised alarm over their continuous abandonment by the Oyo State government, which jointly owns the institution with Osun state.

The workers alleged that the Oyo State government has failed to contribute its quota to the teaching hospital against the edit which established the institution, as Governor Abiola Ajimobi refused to pay salary of LTH staff.

By Femi Ogunyemi (Dr)

Last week a patient called me in distress. “My Doctor”, he yelled over the Lagos traffic. “I need to see you. I’m begging you; you must get rid of this pain TODAY!” “How long have you had the pain?” I asked. “Two years now….” he said. I got out my magic wand, and waited for him. Pain can be quite an irritating aspect of life. Its magnitude or severity doesn’t always correlate with a level of tissue damage. It may be severe yet have no significant underlying body tissue damage. It may be minor and barely noticeable yet associated with serious tissue damage.

Maiduguri

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) yesterday said it prepared to lend a helping hand to Borno State particularly on primary health care in selected local government areas to fight the mal-nutrition.

Nigeria Country representative of UNICEF Miss Jean Gough who made this pledge during a visit to Maiduguri yesterday said the organization had been following women and children related issues in the state.

Laughter is The Best Medicine E07

The doctors had been on strike for three weeks.

Resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, on Tuesday suspended their three-week-old strike over non-payment of their backlog of salary.

Dr Emeka Ugwu, the President of the doctors’ association, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the suspension of the action was informed by the doctors’ concern for patients.

“We decided to suspend the strike in the interest of our patients which we consider paramount.

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson has returned to Seoul’s Olympic Stadium – 25 years to the day after the steroid-assisted 100m final victory that destroyed his career and reputation.

The runner revisited the site of his stunning triumph and downfall to bring an anti-doping message for a sport still struggling to rid itself of banned substance use.

“It feels good to be back,” Johnson said as he stepped out onto the track where, at 1:30 pm on Sept 24, 1988, he lined up for a 100m final that would become known as the “dirtiest race in history”.

In commemoration of the World MSA Day on October 3, Nigerians are set to participate in creating a chain of illumination for those who have lost their lives to Multiple System Atrophy worldwide by holding special candle lighting.

The Nigerian special candle lighting will take place by 8pm at the St. Saviour’s Hall, Onikan Lagos. This would also be observed across the world to create an unbroken chain of illumination reaching every corner of the earth for 24 hours.

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has extended by four weeks the ultimatum it earlier issued to the Federal Government to review the irregularities in the remuneration of her members occasioned by the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

President of the Association, Doctor Osahon Enabulele who presented the communique of the association at a news conference in Abuja says the National Executive Council of the Association, at an emergency meeting resolved to extend the ultimatum.

The University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) said on Tuesday that it has joined the league of teaching hospitals in the country that have successfully carried out Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, Chief Medical Director of UITH said that a 33- year-old woman’s eggs was fertilised through a process known as Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

Substandard hospital care caused nearly 17 million cases of harm in high-income countries, and nearly 26 million cases of harm in low- and middle-income countries.

In high-income countries, the most common type of substandard care involved harm from medicines, which occurred in 5 per cent of hospital stays. In low - and middle-income countries, blood clots were the most common issue, occurring in 3 per cent of hospital stays, the investigators found.

A Nigerian medical doctor, Quincy Atohengbe, has advised Nigerians to stop self-medication whenever they experienced headaches to avoid liver damage.

Atohengbe, who is of the Department of Family Medicine, Central Hospital, Benin, advised that people consult doctor for proper diagnosis before taking medicines.

The physician, who is also the Secretary of the Edo branch of Nigeria Medical Association, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Monday.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris has warned health workers in the State against the practice of selling the Maternal and Child Health Booklets including the Mama’s Kit – a delivery pack produced for pregnant women by the State.

Idris who urged Lagosians to report such cases, said the items were meant to be distributed free of charge to mothers.

By KOSISI UDEMBA & MODINAT AMINAT

SIX-YEAR-OLD Rahaman Ajana is currently battling a congenital heart deformity described described as symptomatic congenital heart disease. A pupil of Success Crown Nursery/Primary School, Oworonshoki, Lagos, Rahama has been in and out of hospital so many times, she misses school.

The girl has a lifetime history of illness and falls sick so often, she has to see a pediatrician ever so often.

By Chioma Obinna

No fewer than 400 babies affected by neonatal jaundice are managed successfully at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi Araba, Lagos, every month. To aid the management of the babies,the Year Book Class, YBC, (final year medical students) of College of Medicine, University of Lagos, CMUL, has donated two phototherapy machines to the Neonatal Unit of the hospital.

Neonatal jaundice, according to an Associate Professor of Paediatrics, CMUL, Dr. Chinyere Ezeaka, is a medical emergency capable of damaging a baby’s brain for life.

By CHIOMA OBINNA, MODINAT AMUSAT & KOSISO UDEMBA

With less than 10 percent of Nigerians donating blood voluntarily, the country is currently reeling under the onslaught of serious shortage of safe blood and blood products, even as opinion leaders in the country, particularly, those in the rural communities have been urged to lead by example by donating blood voluntarily.

Nigeria is currently faced with a situation, whereby 60 percent of all blood donations are from commercial donors and 30 percent from family replacement.

ONE of the secrets of living to a ripe old age is to prepare for it right from infancy and even while in the uterus during pregnancy.

A public health physician and Former Adjunct Professor in the Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Professor Muriel Ayodeji Oyediran, who gave this assertion, urged Nigerians to adopt the kind of lifestyle in their youth that would enable them live healthily in old age.

By Solaade Ayo-Aderele

Have you ever been around someone who sneezes on end, especially when they step into bright lights and you end up getting tired of saying “bless you” each time they sneeze, in addition to being worried about the implications for your health?

Well, the medical world has a name for the condition — it is called photic sneeze reflex.

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother — Lin Yutang

The desire to sustain and nurture human life is one of the most basic instincts of the female species. The ability to do this is made possible through a series of complex processes, beginning with ovulation, fertilisation, implantation, established pregnancy and eventually, labour and delivery.

Random Musing of a Doctor Headline Animator

Monday, September 30, 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Thursday, September 26, 2013

DJ Black Coffee breathes new life into his music. A heavily pregnant woman's water broke on Tuesday at the Botanic Gardens in Durban whilst jiving on the dance floor.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

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