Frontpage News (3249)
All pregnant women should be counselled, tested for HIV –Pediatrician
Site Admin
Associate Professor of Paediatric Respiratory/Infectious Disease, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Dr. Atana Ewa, has advised all pregnant women to go for counselling and be tested for HIV during antenatal.
Ewa gave the advice in Calabar on Wednesday at a three-day workshop to reinvigorate and produce a work plan for journalists on the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission. The workshop was organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF.
Legalising cannabis will turn Nigeria into drug Armageddon, NDLEA warns
Site Admin
The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Marwa (retd.), has said the call for the legalisation of cannabis sativa cannot succeed in Nigeria because the proliferation of illicit drugs often leads to crime, chaos and conflict.
Marwa asked those calling on Nigeria to legalise cannabis and join the league of countries taking economic advantage of the substance if they would be happy to see their teenage children having free access to the substance in the name of national economy.
Late detection of endometriosis may reduce success of fertility treatment –Study
Site Admin
A new Australian study has found that delayed and undiagnosed endometriosis may affect the success rate of fertility treatment among women trying to conceive. Researchers from the University of Queensland in the study found that women diagnosed with endometriosis late were four times more likely to do a lot of fertility treatment cycles, sometimes up to 36 cycles before success.
According to the researchers in the study published in ScienceDaily, diagnosing endometriosis before starting fertility treatment has a lot of benefits. In Australia, the researchers said one in nine women were diagnosed with endometriosis, noting that 40 per cent of these women experienced infertility.
Why antidepressants may not be best treatment option for depression
Site Admin
A resident mental health physician at the LiveWell Initiative, Dr. Motolani Oyerinde says antidepressants may not be the best solution for depression. Oyerinde said the best way to address depression is to recognise the mental health illness, analyse one’s strengths and weaknesses and see a specialist who will decide if there is a need to see a psychotherapist or use an antidepressant.
According to her, depression is common but it is not easily detected. Speaking during the Health Response and Wellness Webinar Series organised by the PUNCH Newspapers on Monday, Oyerinde added that depression is different from the feelings or emotions of the current occurrences.
Lagos nurses kick against N20,000 demand for retirement celebration
Site Admin
Some nurses in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State have kicked against the demand of N20,000 from apex nurses in the area as contribution for the retirement celebration of the Directorate Apex, Kudirat Odunoye.
According to the aggrieved nurses, Odunoye allegedly threatened to deal with anyone that does not make the contribution, as she allegedly instructed heads of primary health centres in the LGA to compile the names of defaulters.
Oral sores, blisters symptom of herpes, not malaria –Microbiologist
Site Admin
A Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, says herpes, not malaria causes oral blisters in people who experience it even when they are having from malaria. Professor Terver stated that herpes blisters can occur in other parts of the body like the mouth and not just on the genitals.
According to an article published by Mayo Clinic, an online medical site “Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus.” Speaking in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise,
Penis enlargement creams don’t work, have side effects, physician warns
Site Admin
A health expert, Dr. Aigbe Eghosa, has cautioned Nigerians against using penis enlargement creams, noting that such creams do not increase the size of the penis and have side effects. Eghosa, however, said some techniques, including weight loss, may help a man’s penis to appear bigger because of the reduction of fat around the base of the penis and the belly size, but stressed that such techniques do not increase the size of the penis.
He explained that penile enlargement creams or injectables are used in children that have small penises and are going for surgery but noted that they are used for a short period and have some side effects.
WHO recommends world’s first malaria vaccine for children
Site Admin
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children.
The decision followed a review of a pilot programme deployed since 2019 in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi where more than two million doses were given of the vaccine, first made by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987.
Tying legs after snakebite wrong, fueling amputations, deaths
Site Admin
Health experts have cautioned Nigerians against the practice of tying the legs of victims of snakebite with a cloth to stop the movement of the snake venom. According to the experts, the practice and other crude management of snakebite are fueling avoidable mortality and morbidity.
The call by the medical experts is coming after the Federal Government called for renewed vigour among stakeholders in snakebite management. One major harmful practice of snakebite management that should be discouraged, according to the experts, is the tying of the leg of victims after snakebite.
Using hot water, lantern heat, toothpaste for umbilical cord care dangerous, can cause death
Site Admin
Consultant paediatricians have warned against the use of toothpaste, heat from lanterns and hot water for the care of the umbilical cord. Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise in separate interviews, the paediatricians also warned that using cow dung and mentholated ointment for the care of the umbilical cord can lead to infections and neonatal death.
A Consultant Pediatrician and Head of Department at the Massey Street Children Hospital, Lagos, Olanike Olutekunbi, said cord care starts at birth. She noted that after birth, the cord is clamped and cut but a short stump that is left must be well taken care of, to prevent infections.
More...
Breast cancer spreads faster in men than women, affects older men more
Site Admin
Breast cancer in men is not as common as it is in women, it, however, spreads faster in men, health experts have said. The experts also warned that despite the wide gap in the occurrence of breast cancer in men compared to women, men should also be alert to the health condition because it spreads faster in men.
They, however, noted that the condition is seen more among older men than young men. Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise in separate interviews, the experts, Professors Abiodun Afolayan and Emmanuel Ezeome, noted that there is no difference in the pathology of breast cancer in men and women.
Fully vaccinated 74-year-old SAN, Williams, dies of COVID-19
Site Admin
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oladipupo Williams, was on Sunday reported to have died of COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated with the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine. Oladipupo was the first child of the late legal luminary, Chief Fredrick Rotimi Williams.
A Facebook post by Oladipupo’s son, Kunle, revealed that his father died on Sunday at a private hospital in Lagos. He wrote, “My father passed away this morning from COVID despite being double vaccinated with Oxford AstraZeneca.” Oladipupo was called to the Nigerian bar about 48 years ago and he became a SAN in 1995.
Stop eating placenta after childbirth, gynaecologist warns new mothers
Site Admin
An obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Akinsola Akinde, has cautioned women against consuming their placentas, saying there is no medical evidence to support its health benefits to new mothers. Akinde, former Chairman, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Lagos.
The placenta is an organ that delivers oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s blood to the fetus. It also removes waste products from the baby’s blood. NAN reports that the act, known as placentophagy, is simply the practice of consuming the placenta after birth, and is gaining popularity among more women after childbirth.
Nerve disorder listed as ‘very rare’ side effect of AstraZeneca vaccine
Site Admin
The European Medicines Agency has listed the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis, as a “very rare” side effect of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
A causal relationship was “considered at least a reasonable possibility,” the EMA said in an update on Wednesday after a total of 833 cases of the syndrome had been reported worldwide by July 31, from about 592 million doses of the AstraZeneca “Vaxzevria” shot administered.
