Pages

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

Hair in the wrong places

In my early teenage glory days, I remember how weirdly I used to look at all those aunties who in my teenage eyes have allowed themselves transition into "Manhood". It was a great amusement for me. Many of my classmates concluded only very wicked woman were afflicted with such as a result of their wickedness, others said it was a sign of power with these women. I knew deep down that if that was a result of wickedness, I sure wont be a partaker in that sort of affliction. I also was certain that if that was a sign of power, I would rather be a hairless powerless lady:) I could never wrap my head around why a female would leave her house with a strand of hair which isn't on the eyebrow, or on her head.

You can imagine the horror when I discovered my first facial hair!!! I was Stressed. I was wondering where I had gone wrong, who I had offended to cause me this great affliction. I immediately after making this depressing discovery started the rituals of plucking stands of hair, applying excess makeup in my chin area to mask the stubborn strands of hair.

Four years after this discovery, I still pluck hair as regularly as I can, although there are days a couple of my friends be like 'hey, you are starting to grow facial hair'... and I'm like 'awwwwww' unknown to them, its been my 4yrs long journey.

I only hope it wont escalate...

source: curezone.org

Hair in the wrong places (2)- Hirsutism

Hirsutism- that's what we doctors call hair in the wrong places. Find my own personal "Hirsutistic"experience here.
Hirsutism is a condition where a female starts to grow a male hair pattern (distribution of hair)- particularly growing a beard, hair on the chest, belly or back.
Normally, hair pattern is sort of controlled by some regulatory hormones particularly the male hormones (Androgens). Little quantities of this hormone is found in women ordinarily. However, sometimes there could be a dis-balance, leading to an increase in this hormones' concentration which in turn causes this symptom.
The little amount of Androgens is what I like to believe causes the few strands of unwanted hair some females may have.
 Hirsutism is either familial, or caused by some diseases of endocrine glands.

Familial hirsutism is identified usually in a family. look for your sisters, if they have similar isolated strands of hair, great, you could rest.
Hirsutism due to diseases of endocrine glands usually is accompanied by several other symptoms including
source- curezone.org

  • weight gain
  • menstrual irregularities
  • voice changes- hoarse voice
  • decrease breast size
  • rapidly increasing hair growth
  • acne

If any of the symptoms listed above is being experienced, it would be wise to visit with your doctor and have your hairiness investigated.

There you can expect to have hormone profiles done to investigate what the issue is and treated based on whatever they discover.

For those of us who are just plain old hairy and wish to,
home remedies include

  • Shaving regularly
  • plucking hair- which is quite painful but totally worth it for single strands**
  • waxing for bulk hair
  • hair removal creams or gels
However, a long lasting solution is having either laser hair removal or electrolysis which happens to be a permanent solution, but could be painful as well.

Beauty is pain...

Find what suits you, and have a hairless rest of your week.
xoxo

Friday, 27 February 2015

Meet the world's first HEARTLESS man who is able to live without a pulse

In March of last year, Craig Lewis, 55, was dying from a heart condition that caused build-ups of abnormal proteins-Amyloidosis-, and not even a pacemaker could help save his life.
But two doctors from the Texas Heart Institute proposed a revolutionary new solution – install a ‘continuous flow’ device that would allow blood to circulate his body without a pulse.
Dr Billy Cohn and Dr Bud Frazier installed the device after removing Mr Lewis’ heart. Within a day, the patient was up and speaking with physicians.


The two doctors had developed the device some time before and had tested it on nearly 50 calves.
They removed the animals’ hearts, and by the next day, the calves were doing everything they were the day before – eating, sleeping, and moving – but this time, without a heart pumping blood through their bodies.

Mr Lewis’ amyloidosis was getting worse, and doctors feared he would die soon without necessary efforts. Doctors grimly said he had 12 hours to live
Dr. Billy Con

Dr Bud Frazier

So, with the permission of Mr Lewis’ wife Linda, Dr Cohn and Dr Frazier installed the heart in March 2011
The device works by supplying a continuous flow of blood through the body, using blades to move it along. 
Dr Cohn said it contains ‘a moderate amount’ of homemade materials

Mr Lewis’ wife was astonished when she tried to listen for his pulse. ‘I listened and it was a hum, which was amazing,’ . ‘He didn’t have a pulse.'
The Texas Heart Institute said that prior to having the revolutionary new device installed, Mr Lewis was reliant on a dialysis machine, a breathing machine, and an external blood pump.
In March of last year, Texas Heart Institute president Dr James T. Willerson called it ‘medical history in the making.’
The first artificial human heart prototype was successfully implanted in 1969 by Dr Denton Cooley

Heart Stop Beating is the story of Billy Cohn & Bud Frazier, two visionary doctors from the Texas Heart Institute, who in March of 2011 successfully replaced a dying man's heart with a 'continuous flow' device they developed, proving that life was possible without a pulse or a heart beat.

Join the conversation and tweet #heartstopbeating to have your tweet featured on the Focus Forward website. Go to http://www.focusforwardfilms.com/films/9/heart-stop-beating to see the discussion







Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Ladies,please don't bleed out! act on your fibroids now!!!

I was on call the other day, when i was called to see one of the nurses on duty. she had reported for duty that day, and was trying to change into her uniform when she started to feel dizzy. I raced upstairs to the changing room to see what the problem was.

 I was able to help her to a room nearby where i started to examine her. I noticed this bulge in the lower part of her belly, which was quite painful especially when i tried to touch it.  I further noticed she had a pad on, when i expected she was menopausal. I then asked if she was menstruating she replied in the affirmative, which precipitated my next question- "do you have a fibroid?"... it turns out she had known for almost a year, and had been experiencing the excessive bleeds, but was still temporizing on having the surgery done since she felt she would soon attain menopause.
I checked her vitals- pulse rate, blood pressure, all of which were relatively normal, and did a quick general exam. I thereafter ran a test to know her blood level, so we can have a baseline in case it dropped further.
I made it a point of duty to report her to my boss as i cant understand why someone would practice medicine and wouldn't want to use medicine.
Shes had her Hysterectomy and isn't bleeding out anymore.

Ladies dont wait till you are bleeding out. talk to your doctor about your fibroids today

xo

Fibroids and you

While in medical school, we learnt that fibroids are common in the elderly women without kids. However nowadays, that doesn't seem to be the case. there seems to be an increasing number of young ladies suffering with a fibroid.

What is it? A fibroid is a tumour (abnormal growth) of the uterus A.K.A womb.
This tumour distorts the normal structure and function of the womb, which causes the associated symptoms noticed by women suffering the disease.

Symptoms include:

  • feeling of pressure or heaviness in the lower part of the abdomen
  • bulge in the lower part of the abdomen
  • changes in the menstrual cycle- duration become shorter, i.e one could experience 2 periods in a month.
  • increased menstrual flow.
  • tiredness during menstrual flow due to excessive blood loss.
  • severe menstrual cramps. 
  • inability to achieve conception or to carry pregnancy to term.
How to diagnose
Should in case you have any of  the above symptoms, its best you checked with a doctor. Who would prescribe you have a scan done to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment
The ultimate treatment for fibroids is surgery. the procedure is called a Myomectomy (removal of the growth). However in some occasions following a myomectomy, after a number of years, a fibroid could still reoccur, hence in women who do not desire children anymore, it could be advisable to have the womb taken out a procedure called Hysterectomy.

Note, other forms of intervention given are supportive, and do not address the main problem.
The symptoms especially excessive bleeding could be very fatal if not promptly addressed.
If you or someone you know are suffering from a fibroid, please talk with your doctor, so you can choose a treatment option best for you.

xo



Vitamin D deficiency now linked with Diabetes.

Lose weight: It's the go-to recommendation for preventing diabetes.
But according to new research published in theJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, it may not be enough. Vitamin D deficiency also appears to increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes -- no matter your weight.
More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 9.3 percent of the population. Another 86 million have prediabetes (prediabetes is a condition where blood sugar is persistently high, but not high enough to be called diabetes, its also associated with high risks, and up to 30 percent of them will develop Type 2 diabetesin the next five years. In Type 2 diabetes, the body cannot properly use insulin, resulting in chronically high blood sugar levels. Blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke and loss of toes, feet or legs are common side effects.
Meanwhile, up to 41.6 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, according to 2011 a paper published in Nutrition Research. While previous research -- including one study published in Diabetes Care -- has suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency and diabetes, many experts believed obesity was the middleman. Perhaps vitamin D deficiency spurred weight gain, which, in turn led to diabetes? According to the Endocrine Society's 2012 scientific statement on vitamin D, people who have low levels of vitamin D are at increased risk of obesity as well as Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic syndrome (characterized by high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels).
However, more than 10 percent of people living with Type 2 diabetes aren't overweight, according to the Obesity Society. That might not seem like a huge percentage, but 10 percent of 29.1 million people is still a lot of people.
So, to determine if vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of diabetes -- or if it simply causes weight gain -- a team of Spanish researchers examined the vitamin D levels, metabolic health and body-mass indexes (a measure of body fat based on height and weight) of 138 adults.
The researchers classified all of the participants from two Spanish hospitals by their BMIs as well as whether they had diabetes, prediabetes or no glycemic disorders. They then measured their blood levels of vitamin D and their adipose (fat) tissues' expression of the vitamin D receptor gene. (Vitamin D activates genes throughout the body. If the gene is in the fat tissue, vitamin D affects that fat tissue.)
Results showed that obese individuals with diabetes had lower levels of vitamin D than did their diabetes-free counterparts, and that vitamin D gene expression was higher in morbidly obese individuals than in those with lower BMIs. What's more, healthy-weight subjects with diabetes were more likely to have significantly low levels of vitamin D compared to normal-weight subjects without the disease, suggesting that vitamin D deficiency may throw off metabolic health all on its own -- not just by causing weight gain. In fact, vitamin D levels correlated with insulin resistance, but not with BMI, meaning that deficiency can put you at risk for diabetes, even if you're at a healthy weight.
"Our study shows that the deficit of vitamin D is associated with diabetes and less with obesity," says study author Manuel Macías-González of Complejo Hospitalario de Málaga (Virgen de la Victoria) and the University of Málaga. "We believe that vitamin D deficiency could be a new mechanism to promote metabolic disorders, such as diabetes."
He hopes future research will examine how vitamin D and substitutes could affect blood sugar levels and metabolic health in both overweight and healthy-weight individuals.
In the meantime, he believes that -- whatever you weigh -- you may be able to reduce your risk of diabetes through a healthy vitamin D-rich diet and by spending more time outdoors.
That's because vitamin D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin," is by and large produced in our bodies when sunlight hits our skin. While it can also be absorbed from the few naturally high-D foods (think eggs and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna) as well as fortified foods (e.g., some milks and cereals), sun exposure is the largest contributor to healthy vitamin D levels. Those who suspect they're not getting enough vitamin D through food and sun exposure can talk to their doctor to see if they have deficiency and, if so, whether supplementation is needed.
Apart from Type 2 diabetes, vitamin D deficiency has been linked with rickets, weak bones and  other serious conditions including cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and depression. Learn more about vitamin D and how to get enough of the health-boosting nutrient
source: yahoo news

Monday, 23 February 2015

Fever- temperature


Please pardon us doctors when we go all medical on our patients, it's just when we learn new words, we can like to show off... it takes a while for us to learn some if them;)

So this post is just to let you know what to do to help reduce temperature at home pending when you can get to a hospital

High temperature aka fever is dangerous especially for children because it can cause them to convulse. 

Once you notice a fever in your child, you can help them cool down by:
Removing their cloth to expose them to fresh air.
Giving the child a cool bath or using a cool wet towel for them
Giving the child paracetamol syrup in appropriate dosage. (< 1 yr- 2.5 ml, 1-3 yrs- 5ml, 4-6 yrs 7.5 ml, 6-9 yrs 10ml, 9-15yrs 1 tab-500mg)
Adults- 2tabs of paracetamol not more than 3 times a day.
This steps could help bring down the child's temperature for a couple of hours till you can get to a hospital and find out the cause of the fever.

Pls note the dosages given are approximate and should be safe as children's doses are given according to weight. You could cross check with a doctor or registered pharmacist to be certain the dosage your child would maximally benefit from. Paracetamol shouldn't be used more than 3 times daily. All drugs have potential side effects! Let's be careful.

Have a fever free week!



Big, Bigger, Biggest

Comparative and superlative was an aspect of English I enjoyed in primary school.
But today, I would be attacking our weights. How big is big?


We live in an age and time where everyone is appearance conscious. Many big looking people are trying to shed the excess kilos whereas the slim looking are looking to gain some weight. This is also a period where mothers who have children with healthy appetites and are smallish in stature automatically thinks something is wrong with the kid and she's forgotten to look for the answer in her husband' small frame; or when people around you are  extremely worried you may have been terminally  ill when you shed some weight.
True there are some big boned people- the category I eagerly claim to be in when I'm not too pleased with the report on the weighing scale. However, fat is something else. Excess fat or Obesity as it's called happens to be a major health challenge as it puts it's sufferers at risk of other diseases and illnesses which include-  high blood pressure aka hypertension, diabetes, joint diseases with persistent joint pains, some forms of cancer etc.
The degree of obesity can be measured according to the persons BMI- body mass index, which tells the relationship between your weight and your height. BMI is considered normal when it's between 18-24. You are considered obese when it's greater than 30.
Tips to combat obesity
Diet change. This is easier said than done. I know how cravings can be and keeping up can be very challenging. However, there are many health forums that deal with diet. I recently found one doctor, who has recreated many Nigerian dishes to give healthier options. Drop the sugar. Challenge your self to cut sweets and excess carbohydrates for 1 week and then look at the scale afterwards, I know it works.- Instead of having rice and vegetables,  try vegetables and rice. ;)
Lifestyle change- get up, and get moving!
Find someone who can motivate you and stick with them like a parasite on a host...
I wouldn't recommend slimming pills because of some of the reported risks associated with them.
For people with severe obesity, consider talking with your doctor about surgical options (bariatric surgery). They improve chances of weight loss, then consider a diet, stick with it, and throw in some exercise.

Have a fat free week!
xoxo

Monday, 19 January 2015

I've got a Sore Throat!!! when your sore throat is more than just a sore throat....

Tonsillitis is a kind of sore throat- but its a very much severe kind of throat infection. The Tonsils are a group of swellings in the throat which fights infections basically.


When the infection becomes overwhelming, then you get a Tonsillitis.
Chances of getting a Tonsillitis is quite higher during the cold weather, especially in children.

How to recognize it:
  • If you have a sore throat, and its quite painful, its likely you have a tonsillitis.
  • You could have an extension of the pain in your ear- on the same side.
  • Pain gets worse on attempts to swallow, and sometimes speak.
  • Open your mouth wide and say "ahh" in front of a mirror, look in the corner of the back of your tongue on both sides, you may need to get a flash light for proper illumination.
  • An infected Tonsil would usually look swollen and red on the affected side. 
  • In some cases, you may see white patches as shown above.
  • You could run a fever as well.
What to do:
  • particularly if you see just a red and swollen tonsil
  1. drink lots of warm tea (twinnings does a good brand of tea) 
  2. warm water with a little bit of salt gargle as frequently as possible.
  3. use pain relief- if you have no allergies or aren't pregnant- then you can use Ibuprofen or Diclofenac. if you do, then use paracetamol which is safest.
  4. avoid kissing please. Tonsillitis isn't something you want to be sharing
  5. If you do this for 2 days and it doesn't feel like you are getting better, please see a doctor.
  • If you see white patches, then you need some antibiotics. you could see your doctor for that and follow the above listed steps.
However, if you do have more than 4 episodes of this infection in a year, then its a reason for you to see an ENT specialist to have them remove your tonsils via a Tonsillectomy, as the procedure would reduce risk of you having a recurrent infection. Note your body has other several defensive mechanism, so worrying about your tonsil should be the least of your worries.

A Tonsillectomy typically takes about 45 minutes, and the recovery is very sweet as you are on an ice-cream diet for a couple of days:) that's the best thing about ENT :D

I'm Thankful we don't have to experience pain to learn about it (my doctor-patient view point on Tonsillitis)

Ironically, I took ill after I posted tips for coping with cold. As humorous as God is, I was down with Tonsillitis- a kind of throat infection which is much more painful than a regular sore throat (that's my new definition-  I really don't care what any other text may call it). This episode of Tonsillitis has opened my eyes to the many dimensions of pain.

Pain is a very personal experience. In medical school, we are taught the characteristics of pain, but in my opinion to really understand pain we have to feel it. Imaginably, if we had to feel pain to understand pain, I definitely would have dropped out of medical school! In medical school, we learnt about different kinds of pain and their characteristics. I also learnt to ask my patients to rate their pain on a scale of 1- 10, with 10 being the most severe. However sometimes when a patient claims the 8-10 range, I give them my "drug dependent" look- like they are drug addicts :$.

  my "drug dependent" look

When we talked about radiation of pain in class, I  always imagined pain reappearing somewhere else. So when I ask my patient "does the pain go anywhere?" and they say "yes... to my arm" for example; I sometimes imagine they may have read up the symptoms on the internet and have come armed with the correct signs and symptoms. Incidentally My mother used to say - "its the person that wears the shoes that knows where it hurts"...


I must say here, I'm a pretty healthy person. I'm not sure I remember what it feels like to have a headache:) so you can imagine my horror when I woke up with a nasty pain in my throat. I've had sore throats before, and I guess I know what they are, however this was a different kind of pain. I was alarmed. I knew something was definitely wrong!!! I tried to swallow and it hurt some more. I got out of bed, and went to the mirror, picked my phone for the flash light, opened my mouth as wide as it would permit and I saw it! Lo and behold, I had the dreaded Tonsillitis!

Armed with a pre-knowledge of what to do, I began following the rituals of what I needed to do. While I was drinking my first cup of tea, as the tea hits the back of my throat, I noticed a sharp pain in my left ear. Immediately I understood... the famous question... where does the pain radiate to?... I took some paracetamol aka PCM for the pain and proceeded back to bed. The pain in my ear was rather unbearable. It felt as though I was waiting endlessly for my PCM to kick in which made me remember how another woman i had labelled drug dependent calls PCM chalk. I began to wonder if I was already drug dependent... and then it hit me, I needed to step up my pain relief tablet. which I did. Eventually I did get some sleep. I continued my warm tea, warm saline gargle and vitamin C ritual till I was able to eat solid meals again.

This ordeal has helped me understand very much the patho-physiology (medical term for disease evolution) and management of Tonsillitis. Thank you nature for this crash/refresher course. I hope I wont have any more soon or ever again... Thank you:)

Most of all, I'm thankful we don't have to experience pain to learn about it.

With this illness; I've learned a couple of things
  • pain is very personal
  • pain is quite distressing
  • pain really does radiate
  • the pain associated with tonsillitis is an 8 for me, so i guess a heart attack for me would possibly be like an 18 and maybe labour would be a 100.... and that's out of 10!!!
  • to believe some of my patients when they say their pain isn't controlled. not everyone is a junkie...
  • PCM sometimes feels like chalk
  • Doctors are really the worst group of patients!
  • Maybe experience is a good teacher. isn't it why we do a number of practicals?
Thank God Medicine is practice (practice makes perfect), I guess I would be able to empathize better with my next patient of tonsillitis
Dr Anonymous
xo

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Surviving the weather for 2 ;)

Many thanks to every one who has taken the pain to read and reach out thus far. Its really encouraging:)

Seems the harmattan this year is something else hence this post.

Because of the rather dry weather, a lot of people would be coming down with catarrh, cough, allergies etc. In order not to fall victim;

  • Wash your hands as frequently as possible- I know the weather is quite dry, you should also have your moisturiser on you, you don't want to be going about looking all ashy and dry. Hand washing goes a long way.
  • Try to have a balanced meal, it helps boost your immune system which wards off infections.


As for those of us who are already down with a cold;

  • Lots of warm drinks as frequently as possible,
  • Regular cough mixture if you do have a cough. usually it should be about a table spoon morning, noon and night. If you are coughing up something, or have an associated chest pain or trouble breathing, you may need to check up with your doctor.
  • Vitamin C -morning , noon and night
  • Throat pains- warm water and salt gargle, some paracetamol for the pain, lots of water and juice, and some strepsils should do the magic. However if your symptoms persist, you should check with your doctor.
  • Ear pains, please have your doctor look at it:)


Don't forget to dress warm, lotion deep, and gloss your lips:)


Have a cold free week. and please don't be ashy
xo

Sunday, 11 January 2015

Inappropriate medical examinations - Know the limits

So I recently watched an expose on-line about the quacks in Nigeria. That video got me thinking about the ordeals some patients go through. Hubby and I got talking after the video, and he gisted me about a certain doctor, who we have 'mutually diagnosed' with paraphillia (sexual perversion) that used to finger and do inappropriate stuff with his patients.

I understand patients are usually vulnerable, especially when there is a problem and for that reason their ignorance could be easily exploited.



The other day, I was consulting with a patient who had a rash on his penis and I told him I would need to take a look at it and this man decided he would love to come another day when there was a male doctor around. Little did he know how happy I was!- so here's your cue, I'm a woman and I don't have Paraphillia:)

So I've decided to do a post to prevent pervert doctors and quacks from performing their dastardly acts.
Tips to protect your self from paraphillic doctors
  • Know what a vaginal exam is. It is NOT fingering. your doctor is NOT meant to keep sliding in and out your vagina, a breast examination doesn't include fondling your breasts or squeezing your nipples (although your doctor would need to try milk your breast to reveal any discharges if you do have), and your penis exam doesn't include any form of stroking!
  • When dealing with a doctor of the opposite sex especially those you haven't had a previous contact with, if he/she has to examine you, particularly your breasts, vagina, penis,or anus as the case may be, have them do so in the presence of either another of their colleague or a nurse on duty.
  • Parents, please don't leave your children alone to be examined in the doctors office. Particularly teenage girls and minors.
If your doctor feels like he/she is falling in love with you or your body, let them take your number and do the right things and not exploit you. 18+
Together we can stop all inappropriate behaviours.

breast

Kourtney kardashians placenta pills- would you use some?

Being the celebrity stalker I am- I do that in my free time:)- I just stumbled upon this growing trend that mothers do, they eat their placentas!
                       Kourtney's placenta pill (dosage 2 pills after each meal)
This reminds me of a show I watched growing up. The placenta of death, it aired on AIT and I watched religiously! The gist of the show was that the junior queen cooked some placenta soup for the king to punish him for treating the senior queen favourably. After eating the soup the king took seriously ill, and the gods had to intervene to set them free. The junior queen had to be executed. Tragic story.

                                                           Some cooked placenta...
So I decided to do a little research, Some prefer to cook it and make it into a meal- maybe have Rice and placenta sauce- others prefer to make it into pills like Kourtney Kardashian just did! She's just revealed she would be feeling sad when she runs out of this pill.
In the little research I've been able to do, people have different responses to this act. Some have termed it cannibalism, others who have tried it have reported anxiety and depression with them and their baby, as well as excessive breast engorgment associated with excess milk, another group where I'm sure Kourtney belongs are reporting improved mood, increasing energy levels,hastened changes to previous state before pregnancy etc.


It even has a fancy name now- Placentophagia... Would you eat your placenta?

Saturday, 10 January 2015

Are you having safe sex?


Sharon is a 19 year old student, She lives with her Aunt and Uncle. She was rushed in to the hospital because she was bleeding from her Vagina and feeling faint. She told her Aunt who brought her in she had been seeing blood in the last 3 days as it was her periods. When Sharon got to me, she was very weak, and tired. she could barely stand without any assistance.
I admitted her, took some blood samples for tests and started giving her drips pending when she was fit to speak.
When she came around a little bit, I began taking a proper history of what had happened to her. It turned out she had missed her periods the month before because she was pregnant and her boyfriend convinced her to get an abortion which helped bring her "periods" back; but almost at the cost of her life unknown to them.
The danger with abortions include:

  • over scrapping the womb which reduces chances to get pregnant later in life.
  • over poking the womb and possibly cutting through it and potentially injuring the intestine. 
  • developing an infection in the womb.
*if the last 2 complications are not timely and properly addressed they could lead to fatal outcomes*

How to know your abortion has gone wrong,

  • the bleeding is not reducing.
  • you notice a foul smelling discharge form your vagina.
  • you start running temperature and start feeling cold after the procedure.
How to avoid unwanted pregnancy

  • Abstain :)
  • If you must, use a condom or other forms of contraceptives.
  • Make sure your man removes the condom as soon as he ejaculates.
  • "Withdrawal" method or Safe periods - having sex on the days you are less likely to conceive are some of the natural methods you could try.
  • Talk with your doctor on the form of birth control that is best for you, you would be glad you did.

Update on Sharon: She received 2 bags of blood, we helped her complete what her 'doctor' started, and I hope she's practising safe sex today.

Ebola Vaccine comes to West Africa in a month.

WHO has confirmed the Ebola Vaccine trials would be starting in a month in West Africa with the health care officials So far, the GSK vaccine has started trials in the UK for now, and the reports are looking good.

I Hope that the vaccine would be available for the general public soon, so that Ebola can be put to rest finally.

Meanwhile, please never ignore simple sanitary measures:

  • Wash your hands once as frequently as possible, particularly after an outing and before meals- develop hand washing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)- its a good type of OCD (a disorder that causes you to repeat things because of fear)
  • Cook your meals thoroughly before eating them.
  • Keep your surroundings clean so you reduce chances of having unwanted wild life tenants.
  • Monitor where your kids go and what they do, as we've been made to understand the first victim of this outbreak of Ebola was a little boy.

Friday, 9 January 2015

The dude with two penises.

So I'm online doing some research and I stumbled on something!- permit me to mention here that my knowledge of embryology (study of development of babies while they are in the womb) is pretty weak😒- so you can imagine my degree of curiosity when I made this discovery of the man with 2 phalluses or Penises!
The tell all book, if you are able to get a copy, kindly share


There's some man out there, who like 
me has chosen to not reveal his identity while he walks about with 2 penises! He put out a book which was released this year, detailing how he's coping with this condition...

So here's the gist!

He's bisexual
He claims to be in a committed relationship with one other man and one other woman.
He claims both penis work! Wow how true can that be!? :s

I have a lot of crazy imaginations about his last fun fact though; but I would rather keep those to myself! 

Lastly, the condition he has is called diphallia, Google it, I just did ;)

Thursday, 8 January 2015

Protect your Vagina!

 Ehn ehn, even soap can't clean it???Then what can? - just water😃. That's right!

A number of people these day, come down with a variety of itchy symptoms, changes in smell, generalised discomfort  etc all because of the antiseptic soap and disinfectants they use on and in the vagina :(- these chemicals are quite harsh and harm the naturally existing balance of the vagina and following a series of reactions cause those symptoms. 

Let's help or Vaginas/Virginity (whichever you choose to call it please) and let's stop overly trying to keep it clean. It's able to take care of itself.

This goes to mothers too no extra scrubbing, no extra soaping, just water is good.


Yaay for self cleansing!!! at least our soap can last a couple of days more now :)

**If you really must, there are feminine intimate wash products that are formulated to match the type of skin on the vagina, so far that's a safe option, but water is very much enough.**

That's all!

Monday, 5 January 2015

Before Help Comes- Seizures/ Convulsions

I just read a story about a man in Lagos who convulsed today on the road, till he eventually fitted into a gutter and no thanks to our poor drainage system where he almost drowned. Thank God for people who rescued him from the gutter. This story has prompted me to do a series i would tag 'Before Help Comes'- which would be an emergency/ safety guide. I would make it short and straight to the point.
For those who can not go through my new year encounter with a seizure, I would do a brief recap here.

                                  picture of guy who convulsed in Lagos. credit LindaIkejiBlog


Recognize it- Seizures are jerking movement involving the entire body- arms and legs usually, with an accompanied loss of consciousness. i.e the person is unaware they did all the drama.

Call for help!

Before help arrives-

  • Make sure the person isn't in any form of danger. Remove all sharp objects around the person allow him adequate space.
  • Protect his head. Put something soft under his head.
  • Loosen tight clothing particularly around the neck.
  • Do not try to hold the person down.
  • Do not put anything in the persons mouth.
  • Roll the person over to lay on his left side when the seizure stops.
  • after the seizure ends, its very likely the person is not aware of his surroundings and would take a short nap. so don't be very worried.
Once help comes, you could let them know what you have done so far, and feel good about helping save a life.

lets not stop looking out for each other.

Dr Anonymous.

Saturday, 3 January 2015

Guy convulses in bus on New Year's Day

My new year story!

So with the launch of the blog, I was unaware of the many adventures life had for me. So let's back up a little bit to how it started. A couple of days ago, as a result of my excess spare time I happened to do an 8 hour marathon of an American show which I just stumbled upon called 'What Would You Do'? The show is sort of like a constructive prank show, where people are faced with real life scenarios and their reactions are caught on tape. This my marathon act has left my Husband challenging my every action and inaction. Inaction  more than action. So on this New Year's Day, we happened to be at cross over service where I was challenged into nurturing a young kid whose "eyes were red and would have great difficulty sleeping". Note here, my dear husband is super convinced about his medical skills beyond any reasonable doubt. To begin the year with good deeds, I succumbed and rocked the child to sleep and I must say she did sleep off in a matter of minutes. although her parents may have looked at us like potential kidnappers...
         How her parents looked at us...


After the cross over service we spent some time visiting family and friends. Eventually, it was time to say our good byes. I had already envisaged how much sleep i could catch on our ride back home as we had travelled inter-city. We boarded our bus, I strategically picked out my comfy seat-good for view and for sleep- and as soon as the bus moved I was fast asleep. Little did I know what was coming!
            Bodi no be firewood!

In the times I've been practicing medicine I've really not been in the scene of many emergencies. I had witnessed a couple when I was in medical school for instance on a flight I once boarded a man apparently fainted. On getting there the man was up already. So when I watch shows like royal pain, and greys anatomy, I somewhat get upset by the producers level of imagination. But today, I learnt something, emergencies do happen at oddest times and a witness is crucial to helping the doctor understand.
So back to my story, while I was napping finely, I notice hubby jump out of his seat and his like "Anonymous! Wake up!! This guy is having a seizure!!!" I'm like  "yepka, work don find me come!?!?" 🏃
I fumbled with my seatbelt for an eternity and my 'self acclaimed former life doctor husband' is waiting anxiously on his 'present life doctor wife' after what seemed as an eternity of trying to get off my seat, I leapt to hold up the guys head which was already falling onto the lap of the guy seated next to him who was screaming "I think this guy is dying can someone call an ambulance" and hold it up high so he could still breathe. As he was seating position and I could hardly get him down on the ground. I undid his seatbelt, while hubby tried to make the guys seat flat. I did a quick assessment, he was foaming from the mouth, still having a serious jerking movement of his arms and legs, had a rash under his nose. He is between 22-25 years of age. He had good pulses on the neck. And then he suddenly stopped moving. In all this time, the driver had slowly halted the vehicle and rang the ambulance services. We asked a couple of questions. Although we couldn't get an accurate history as I'm positive the guy wasn't very coherent.
While we waited on the ambulance the driver, hubby and I kept a watchful eye over the guy.
I went to wash my hands and returned to my seat and started doing  possible differential diagnosis with hubby :) although I May have judged and condemned him a little. For which I'm ashamed now.
However a couple of minutes later, I did a quick appraisal of my interaction with the guy, and I thought I could have done better as the driver later became more of a doctor than I was. He was very much kind enough to check up on him every now and then as opposed to me who did a few checks and when I saw he was fine, I let him off the hook and moved on with my life and quest for sleep. The driver was quite quick to empathise  with the young man, I don't know either of their stories though. But I had to resort to conclude the driver was doing his job, and I felt I could let him be when I saw he was stable enough. But I guess my over watching of WWYD has gotten a better part of me.


Anyway  I've decided to see all opportunities as a learning point, and today I've learnt I would need to make an effort to be much kinder even while doing my job.

It turns out the young man did have Epilepsy. Meaning he didn't have any of the other scary things hubby and I imagined. 


Learning points-
People still do have epilepsy- it's not eradicated, it's non infectious.

Should you come across someone having a seizure, and you have access to some space, lay the fellow on the flat ground and turn him to lie on his left side. 

DO NOT attempt to hold them down. Make sure the area around them is cleared of anything that could cause more injury to them.

You don't NEED to give them water!!! (Hubby has a theory water cures all and even suggested we gave our water therapy. I don't know what sort of medicine they practiced in his former life) Until you are certain they are awake and can have a great a sensible conversation with you.

DO NOT put anything in their mouth- fingers, spoons, knives. Nothing please.
Transport them to the nearest hospital for proper evaluation and management.

Final notes: The paramedics came at an hour forty-five mins later. I gave them a quick review of what I saw and my examinations. They took him into their ambulance for another series of examination. After a couple of minutes, they concluded he won't be continuing the journey with us and they would need to admit him. I felt really sad and when over to the ambulance to re-assure him he would be alright.


Clinton calls. Water or Tissue?

Tissues are very handy, but how effective are they? A recent event however has made me aware of this latest development courtesy of my 'Husbandopedia'-trust me, he has every information any one needs to know!
So this day, a discussion about personal hygiene came up, particularly after taking a dump. I must say here, I've always been #teamtissue. Hubby however is #teamclean. The point however is that which makes you cleaner. Since tissues are dry, i would beg to decamp to #team wipes. But #teamclean is always right! Hence this topic.
Introducing the WC that is found in many places in Japan and a few other  Developed countries.
      The tiny rod is detachable.
It is fitted with a rod like shower-a nozzle-which helps you 'clean up' perfectly after a dump. Trust me to already condemn the hygiene of the WC. But the Husbandopedia has all answers! The fittings are detachable. And hence everyone can carry theirs. Husbandopedia knows a few friends who  have them.😳
Pros- maximum cleansing
Cons- potential trauma.
#team tissue, #team wipes or #teamclean?
Choose wisely.