Frontpage News (3254)
Persons abusing paracetamol at increased risk of kidney, liver, blood cancers, expert warns
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A pharmaceutical scientist, Tony Oyawole has warned Nigerians against the indiscriminate use of paracetamol, noting that it could damage the liver and kidney. According to Oyawole, people engaging in the indiscriminate use of paracetamol are also at increased risk of blood cancer.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, the community pharmacist, urged Nigerians to refrain from self-prescription of the pain killer, noting that using it indiscriminately can cause serious health problems. He said while paracetamol is a simple drug, it is also a very dangerous drug when not used according to prescription.
Dried goji berries may protect age-related vision loss -Study
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A new study has found that eating a small serving of dried goji berries may help prevent or delay the development of age-related macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that may get worse over time. It’s the leading cause of severe, permanent vision loss in people over age 60. It happens when the small central portion of your retina, called the macula, wears down.
The research, conducted by the University of California, Davis, suggests that a small serving of dried goji berries may help prevent or delay vision decline among healthy middle-aged people.
After a six-week surge, Africa’s fourth pandemic wave driven primarily by the Omicron variant is flattening, marking the shortest-lived surge to date in the continent where cumulative cases have now exceeded 10 million.
As of 11 January, there have been 10.2 million COVID-19 cases in Africa. Weekly cases plateaued in the seven days to January 9 from the week before. WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville in a statement said Southern Africa, which saw a huge increase in infections during the pandemic wave, recorded a 14 per cent decline in infections over the past week.
Why heart attacks occur at night, early in the morning –Cardiologists
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Cardiologists have urged Nigerians living with hypertension to always ensure that they have good blood pressure control, especially at night and early in the morning. The cardiologists said studies have shown that heart attacks occur more in the early hours of the morning, noting that ensuring good blood pressure control at night and early in the morning could help prevent it.
They explained that heart attacks in the early hours of the day are usually fuelled by some hormonal changes that tend to occur at that time of the day. According to the heart care specialists, the surge in hormones during the early hours of the morning could lead to a heart attack which could also lead to cardiac arrest if not managed promptly and properly.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency has given a vaccination waiver for individuals aged 16 and 17 to enable them to receive coronavirus jabs. The agency said this in an advisory made available to journalists on Thursday.
“The NPHCDA has given a waiver for persons aged 16 and 17 to receive COVID-19 vaccines if required for educational purposes,” the advisory read. The PUNCH had reported that the Federal Government, through the NPHCDA, had earlier recommended that only eligible Nigerians from age 18 and above would be allowed to take the vaccine.
Lassa fever breaks out in Kaduna, two killed, residents fight over dumped fish
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The Director of Disease Control, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Hamza Ikara, on Wednesday said an outbreak of Lassa fever has claimed two lives in the state.
This was as residents of Narayi, in the Chikun Local Area of the state scrambled for suspected toxic frozen fish dumped at a cemetery in the area. Meanwhile, Ikara said the two Lassa fever cases involving a female and a male were recorded in Kubau and Chikun Local Government Areas of the state.
WHO recommends two new drugs for treatment of COVID-19 patients
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The World Health Organisation has recommended two new drugs for the treatment of severe and non-severe COVID-19 infections. The global health body said the recommendation is based on new evidence from seven trials involving over 4,000 patients with non-severe, severe, and critical COVID-19 infection.
According to the WHO, the new drugs are baricitinib and sotrovimab. The drug baricitinib (a type of drug known as a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis) is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19 in combination with corticosteroids, a WHO Guideline Development Group of international experts said.
Man claims his penis shrunk by 1.5 inches after contracting COVID-19
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A heterosexual man in the United States has claimed his penis shrunk by 1.5 inches as a result of vascular damage he suffered after contracting COVID-19. The man in his thirties said the issue has had a ‘profound impact on my self-confidence and abilities in bed’. Speaking on the sex advice podcast ‘How To Do It’, the victim revealed his troubling affliction.
The man said he contracted a severe bout of the virus in July last year, but after being discharged from the hospital upon recovery, was left with a strange case of erectile dysfunction, DailyMail reports.
Man becomes first recipient of heart transplant from pig
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In a groundbreaking procedure, a 57-year-old American man has become the first to receive a heart from a genetically modified pig. The patient is said to be doing well according to the surgeons who performed the surgery.
The operation was performed by surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Centre in Baltimore and took eight hours. According to a report by the New York Times, the patient, David Bennett Sr is being monitored closely for signs that his body may reject the new organ but the doctors say the first 48 critical hours have passed without any incident.
World Health Organisation experts warned on Tuesday that repeating booster doses of the original COVID-19 vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants and called for new vaccines that better protect against transmission.
An expert group created by the World Health Organisation to assess the performance of COVID-19 vaccines said simply providing fresh jabs of existing Covid vaccines as new strains of the virus emerge was not the best way to fight the pandemic.
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UI medicine dropout who removed his testicle needs urgent help, says physician
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A Medical Director of a Lagos-based hospital, DE-ELLZ Women & Children Hospital, Olarenwaju Ekujimi, said that the 500-level medicine dropout, Terhemen Anongo, who castrated himself, needs urgent medical psychiatry and psychological help.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that Anongo had performed a medical procedure on himself for the second time to remove his second testicles. Anongo claimed that he did it because he needed to do away with his sexual urges since he did not have a wife, and did not want to go against his religious beliefs.
COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase risk of premature births –Study
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A new study has indicated that the COVID-19 vaccines do not increase the risk of early delivery or a low-birth-weight baby. This study suggests that the vaccine is safe in pregnancy.
The study examined the pregnancies of just over 46,000 women, about 10,000 of whom received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during their pregnancy between December 2020 and July 2021.
Consuming yoghurts exposed to sun dangerous, experts warn Nigerians
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Nutrition experts have warned Nigerians against consuming poorly preserved yoghurts, especially those stored under the sun, noting that they could cause serious health complications including food poisoning.
According to the experts, while yoghurt consumption is often encouraged because of its nutritional benefits, consuming those stored in the sun, as commonly found in local shopping marts and on the streets across the country could be very dangerous.
People who eat heavy meals prone to food coma –Nutritionist
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A nutritionist, Dr. James Oloyede has cautioned against the consumption of large portions of foods, noting that people who take heavy meals may be prone to postprandial somnolence also called food coma.
According to the nutritionist people who consume heavy meals are most likely to fall asleep after their meal due to the subsequent feeling of fatigue, and sleepiness induced by the large quantities of blood diverted from the brain to the gastrointestinal tract to facilitate digestion.
