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A healthy drink, milk is the first food a baby takes upon birth. Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants during their first months of life. Children are encouraged to drink so that they can grow up big and strong. Does one need to stop drinking this nutritious beverage as one grows older?
For decades, research has continued to emphasise the importance of maintaining bone health as one gets older. Gradually throughout our lives, our bones are constantly changing. Hence, when one’s intake of Calcium-rich foods is low, the body ‘steals’ the calcium it needs from the bones – which can cause them to become weak.
Severe chickenpox in pregnant women may cause stillbirth, deafness – Dermatologist
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What is chickenpox?
Chickenpox is an infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It is part of the herpes family group of viruses and it is a highly infectious disease. It is usually transmitted through contact with people who have the disease or through droplets; unaffected people who come in contact with the droplets containing the organism can become infected. It forms a rash on the body.
The Itori general hospital was built by former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel to provide quality healthcare to residents of the Ewekoro area and adjoining communities. The hospital which was strategically located along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway was expected to serve more than 50 communities in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun state.
Years after, the hospital has become abandoned and dilapidated. PUNCH HealthWise investigation revealed that the hospital which is supposed to be a facility helping to care for patients with emergency health issues is in poor condition and lacks needed facilities and health workers.
Early detection of kidney disease helps prevent complications —Experts
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Medical experts have stressed the importance of early detection of kidney disease, noting that it is crucial in preventing associated complications of the health condition and helps to save lives.
They noted that late detection of kidney issues often results in the progression of kidney disease to chronic kidney disease, urging Nigerians to embrace regular health checks to enable them to detect health issues early.
The ability to pass urine whenever you want to without even being conscious of the processes leading to it is one of the true mysteries of nature. It seems quite routine that we drink water or some other kind of liquid and after about half an hour, we are feeling the urge to pass urine and we just believe that it’s the way things should be.
That to them is not a huge thing to be achieved in nature but when you come across people who are not able to engage in this activity on their own, be they little children or elderly men and women, you will have no choice but to appreciate the miracle of God’s creation.
The World Health Organisation has released a first-of-its-kind global report on sodium intake reduction. The report showed that the world was off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30 per cent by 2025.
The report released on Thursday said that sodium, an essential nutrient, increased the risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death when eaten in excess. According to it, the main source of sodium is table salt (sodium chloride), but it is also contained in other condiments such as sodium glutamate.
Eating right crucial to preventing kidney failure —Nephrologists
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Nephrologists have urged Nigerians to embrace healthy eating, noting that it remained crucial to preventing kidney failure. Nephrologists are medical experts in the care of kidneys. According to the kidney care experts, wrong lifestyle choices, especially concerning diet could lead to kidney failure.
The experts noted that while most foods and drinks are safe for the kidneys, too much salt increases the workload on the kidneys in controlling hypertension and can be harmful to the kidneys. They also stressed that harmful substances from certain herbs and concoctions are bad for the kidney, urging Nigerians to be careful with the way they consume herbal products and the way they take unprescribed over-the-counter medications.
Handwashing, also hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning the hands with soap and water or handwash to remove viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. Handwashing will also remove dirt, grease and other unwanted substances that got stuck in our hands. It is very crucial in preventing the spread of infectious diseases and it is one of the surest ways to prevent sicknesses and ensure that we stay healthy.
For example, when we blow our nose, cough, or sneeze into our hands, our hands become contaminated with germs and when they are not immediately washed and we use these
The science of getting pregnant and having healthy babies is such a complex process that those who get pregnant and bear live healthy babies with ease are indeed lucky. Being in good health, with balanced and synchronised hormones, minerals and vitamins, organs, and systems, is essential to achieving pregnancy, carrying the pregnancy to term, and giving birth to live and normal babies.
Obese women experience impaired fertility in both natural and assisted conception cycles. A person is obese if their BMI (Body Mass Index) exceeds or exceeds thirty kilograms per meter (kg/m2 ). There are degrees of obesity: class 1 (30.0–34.9 kg/m2), class 2 (35.0–39.9 kg/m2) and class 3 (more than or equal to 40 kg/m2).
Profit-driven interests: How patent medicine outlets dispense unauthorised, deadly drugs
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Patent medicine stores in Nigeria are only authorised to sell over-the-counter drugs. Investigations by PUNCH HealthWise, however, revealed that many of the stores in Lagos and Ogun communities not only sell prescription medicines but are also dealing in spurious and expired drugs. SODIQ OJUROUNGBE who visited about 15 patent medicine stores in Lagos and Ogun communities report
If only Akintola Sulaiman had known that the medicine combination he was given by the owner of a patent store in the Oke-Ira neighborhood of Ogba, Lagos State, would cause him to lose his sight, he would have gone to a medical facility to seek treatment from a competent health expert.
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Why women with irregular ovulation may suffer infertility — Gynaecologist
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A professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Solomon Avidime, says women experiencing irregular ovulation should go to the hospital for proper evaluation by maternal health experts. According to Prof. Avidime, irregular ovulation could lead to infertility if not properly treated.
The gynaecologist disclosed this in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise. He urged women with the condition to avoid self-medication and seek help. Prof. Avidime identified polycystic ovarian syndrome — a hormonal disorder, premature ovarian failure, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, and excessive weight gain as some of the health conditions that are associated with irregular ovulation.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 68 more cases of Lassa fever, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 531. The NCDC, in its Lassa fever situation report for week six released on Monday, revealed that the disease killed 15 persons in one week as the death toll rose to 85 from January to February 12, 2023.
According to the report, the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022. The suspected cases of the infection for week six in 2022 were 1631 while the suspected for week six in 2023 are 2,244.
A new study has suggested that people who drank two or more cups of coffee per day had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than those who did not. The World Health Organisation described hypertension also called high or raised blood pressure, as a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure.
The global health organisation acknowledged that hypertension is a serious medical condition that can raise the risk of developing heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases, adding that it is a leading cause of premature death globally, affecting up to 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women, or more than a billion people.
Eight years after the Federal Government signed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 into law which banned Female Genital Mutilation practice in Nigeria, investigations by PUNCH HealthWise confirmed that many girls are still subjected to the illegal harmful practice as many survivors groan in silence.
Mrs. Nnenna (surname withheld for fear of intimidation) is unhappy that her three-year-old daughter underwent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She is unhappy because she is a survivor of the harmful practice and so really knows how much it hurts.
