Frontpage News (3254)
Piercing nipples can cause nerve damage, hepatitis B, experts warn
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Health experts have cautioned Nigerian women against getting their nipples pierced, noting that engaging in the activity increases their risk of serious health complications in the short and long term.
According to the experts, the act can lead to certain damages such as blockage of the milk duct, nerve damage, pain, and bleeding. Nipple piercing, they warned, can also cause serious infections like hepatitis B, and HIV. The experts noted that piercing a nipple is not a medical procedure, adding that it is solely done for fashion.
A Professor of Clinical Neurology and Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Ikenna Onwuekwe, has said that people with existing headaches are often more prone to having headaches when having sexual intercourse.
The health urged people who experience headaches during sex not to take it lightly but rather seek medical intervention from specialists. According to the neurologist, people who have migraine, tension, or fevers often experience a worsening of their headache when they engage in sex.
FG slams new tax on telephone calls to fund healthcare for vulnerable people
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The Federal Government has slammed a new tax on phone calls in the nation to fund free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria. This is despite recent moves by telecommunication companies to increase the price of their services as a result of an unfavourable operating climate.
The telecom tax in the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls is a part of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria. This is contained in the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021 signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), last week.
A medical health expert, Dr. Toluwani Binutu, has urged women with fishy-smelling vaginal discharge to seek medical intervention, noting that they could be infected with vaginosis – a bacterial infection.
Bacterial vaginosis, according to Mayo Clinic – a medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research – is a type of vaginal inflammation caused by the overgrowth of bacteria naturally found in the vagina, which upsets the natural balance.
Teddy bears dangerous to children, can cause serious health problems, death, paediatrician warns
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A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. Abdurrazzaq Alege, has cautioned parents against buying furry toys and teddy bears for their children, noting that they can cause serious health problems and even death for babies, especially infants.
According to the child health expert, babies exposed to fur are at risk of developing allergies, cough, suffocation, diarrhoea, and in some instances asthma.
Why women should not wear underwear for more than 24 hours —Expert
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A Medical Laboratory Scientist, Obinna Chukwudi, has cautioned women against wearing underwear for more than 24 hours. According to the microbiologist, wearing underwear for more than 24 hours is not good for feminine hygiene.
The microbiologist who works at the Department of Microbiology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, said the discharge and moisture buildup from the underwear provides a breeding ground for bacteria, and yeast infections contaminated with faecal and urine matter.
Smaller breasts can produce more milk for babies, physician says
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A medical health expert, Dr. Oluwatosin Kuku, has allayed the fears of women with small breasts who may be concerned that they may not produce enough breastmilk after childbirth, noting that the size of a woman’s breast has no role to play in the production of breastmilk.
According to the health expert, there’s no relationship between how a woman lactate and the size of her breast. She said, “In fact, a small breast can produce more milk than a big breast.”
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has signed into law, the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022. The law repeals the National Health Insurance Scheme Act, Cap N42, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, according to a statement signed by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Thursday.
Buhari said at the signing of the new law that a Fund will be set up “to ensure coverage of 83 million poor Nigerians who cannot afford to pay premiums as recommended by the Lancet Nigeria Commission.”
Teething doesn’t cause fever, diarrhoea in babies, paediatrician tells mothers
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A child health expert, Prof. Edamisan Temiye, has said that it is untrue that teething causes fever and diarrhoea in babies. According to the paediatrician, it is an infection that usually causes fever in children and not teething, noting that teething is a natural thing.
He said that some mothers have the misconception that teething in babies is associated with some symptoms, especially fever and diarrhoea. Prof. Temiye who is a Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Oncologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, said teething does not cause a problem for any baby.
Exposure of children to sun could put them at risk of skin cancer —Dermatologist
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A Consultant Dermatologist, Dr. Enechukwu Inyienu has urged parents to pay attention to how their children react after staying in the sun, noting that any child that suffers skin burns, and blisters after being exposed to the sun could be at a high risk of skin cancer.
The skin expert explained that the risk is higher in children with multi-coloured patches known as xeroderma pigmentosum, adding that they are more at risk of developing skin cancer.
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Haemorrhage, hypertension responsible for 50% of maternal deaths in Africa —WHO
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The World Health Organisation has identified complications of haemorrhage and hypertension as major killers of pregnant women in the Africa Region. The global health body said complications of haemorrhage and hypertension account for almost 50 per cent of maternal mortality in the region.
The WHO called on member states to ensure that all women and girls have access to quality and timely health services, particularly during pregnancy, childbirth, and after delivery, noting that no one should be left behind.
FDA approves Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots for children ages 5 to 11
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The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved for emergency use a single booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The booster dose, FDA said, should come at least five months after the completion of the primary vaccine series with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
“While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the Omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalised, and children may also experience longer-term effects, even following initially mild disease,” said FDA Commissioner, Robert M. Califf, M.D.
Monkeypox can be transmitted through kissing, hugging, expert says
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A professor of Public Health, Dr. Tanimola Akande says monkeypox can be transmitted by close face to face contact, hugging, and kissing. Prof. Akande also said that it can also be transmitted through body contact during sex.
According to the World Health Organisation, human-to-human transmission of monkeypox can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person, or recently contaminated objects.
Stay away from bushmeat to prevent monkeypox, NCDC urges Nigerians
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The Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa has urged Nigerians to avoid bushmeat as a way to curb the spread of the monkeypox. He said, “I think it is important that we be careful – I’d prefer to shun – but also careful in handling all bushmeat.
“The greatest risk to health security as you know is going to be zoonotic diseases and zoonotic illnesses are like Sars-Cov-2 like pathogens that primarily affect animals but acquire the capability to humans and what happens thereafter is if they change once they infect the first humans, they become more effective in person-to-person transmission. So we should be careful.”
