Dear Dr, The news media recently sounded an alarm on banned anti-malarials found in Nigeria. Which ones are implicated? Please throw light on the matter. Thank You
Jelil Tukur, Potiskum
Dear Jelie, It is true that some 40-odd drugs were mentioned. They include artesunate, amodiaquine, dihydroartemisinin, halofantrine, artemether, proguanil and pyrimethamine. These are medicines that are NO GOOD AS MONOTHERAPIES. They should not be used as was the practice over ten years ago, singly but in COMBINATION with artemisinin derived from the Chinese wormwood plant called Artemisua annua. This COMBINATION THERAPY works the best to kill the Falciparum malaria parasite, while single therapy not only fails but empowers the germs to resist treatment with available anti-malarials. So use ARTEMISININ COMBINATION THERAPY (ACT) and never monotherapies. Simply put, the antimalarial you want to use must contain at least TWO antimlarials, one of which MUST be an ARTEMISININ; the other one can be any of the ones referred to above. Cheers
Confused! Ultrasound scan can’t find our baby!
Dear Doc, I am a young man of 32 years and married for two years now but no issue to show for it. Our problem now is that of confusion. When my wife and I decided to really start a search for a child, we went for various tests which showed that my wife was alright but with slight fibroid, which the doctors said would not hinder her from conceiving. I was found to have a low sperm count problem and was placed on treatment. This greatly improved to up to 74 million, and was given a clean bill of health as able to impregnate my wife.
My wife took in twice and it all went out after the first month. We continued until we decided to try herbs to fight the fibroid. The herb woman told my wife the very first time, that she was one month pregnant. We rejoiced and started thinking of our baby. Lately, she went to hospital for scan after three months, and was told that there was no child in her womb. Meanwhile, her tommy is protruding, breast enlarging, she feels very heavy, experiences sleepiness and drowsiness in the early mornings, and once or twice has almost thrown up in the morning. The problem is that with all these signs, is it possible that she is not pregnant? And if not, what could be growing in her tommy, since it is not fibroid. Please, advise us before we do something stupid. Please, do reply through this mail address while sharing same in the papers for those facing the same kind of confusion.
Thanks again for your interest.
Yours truly, Dilibe Ejiofor, Anambra
Dear Dilibe, Seven things you need to note here. One, you both, as a couple have been having more than your fair share of trouble getting a baby of your own. Two full years, you have said and no baby to show for it. This is a very common scenario as we must all learn and reflect on the fact that in truth and reality, there is an epidemic of infertility out in the public right now which is point number two. Three and Four, while it was at first the fibroid from madam, you, the man were also affected with low sperm count; teaching all of us Africans that it is not only the woman who can face challenges with fertility; the man can and both man and woman can. It is not right to be feeling that all problems come from only the woman. A couple that have no child could be facing challenges from so many angles that it is wrong to be feeling it is the woman who is barren. Five, many of these conditions can be helped by medical science, so we encourage everyone with fertility challenges to go and see a good doctor/ gynecologist. Six, the use of herbs or plant medicine can help or can hinder. In your case, it would have been wiser if the herb lady had told you the good news according to her but asked you to go and confirm it with tests of blood and or urine and ultrasound scan, which was not done. Seven, now she is like growing bigger like a pregnant lady but the ultrasound scan says there is nothing I her womb. Well, medical science has always known and documented cases like that and the condition is called “Pseudocyesis” or False Pregnancy”. Pseudocyesis cases do not get resolved in medical science—there is no remedy because the woman is assumed to have serious and fundamental psychological issues with getting pregnant—as in she is too eager to get pregnant or she is too afraid to not want to be pregnant. The only remedy is to counsel her she is not pregnant, and she then does a flushing of the womb so she can be normal again (and not be getting more bloated and her abdomen getting bigger when there is nothing to be found in the womb physically).
However, there is an alternative way that gets solution for these kinds of women whom science has confined their pregnancy to the rubbish heap who follow the alternative route of engaging prayers, the spiritual and the supernatural; they discover that what was labeled “a fibroid” actually comes to be born as “a fine boy”; what was called no pregnancy eventually came out as “known pregnancy” with a baby to show at the end of the day. We can help you with this, having helped others. Call the help-lines
Before I die of staph; Help!!
Gooday Dr, Please I have been having weak erection and, I also become weak when at all I finally got the erection. Please, note that this issue has only been there since the first time I had sex. I think I need to do a test or something so as to get a better treatment
Yunus Jibrilla, Kaduna
Good afternoon, Dr. Oluranti,
My dad has been suffering from the same ailment (bloody discharge from the genitals (etc) for quite some time now and has been taking antibiotic after antibiotic but it keeps recurring. What would be your professional advice because I am currently seeking a permanent solution?
Kole Odujinrin, Ekiti
Gooday Sir…
Please sir I’m having Staph aureus infection that’s what 5 different laboratories have told me.. and currently its over 5 years now and experiencing weak erections ,high body temperature, noisy stomach at night and crawling sensation & itching…pls sir what can I do…because I’ve taken a lot of antibiotics yet its still there
Emeka Nzeribe, Awka