HRF HEALTH ANGLE: The Dilemma of Sex and Unwanted Pregnancies, the Way Out!

Everyday, millions of Nigerian youths get trapped in the dilemma of enjoying sex and at the same time avoiding its associated risks, especially pregnancy. While some are shy to discuss it with their healthcare providers and are therefore misled by wrong counsel from peers, many believe they are ‘experts’ themselves. This has led to many unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, death and diseases which could have otherwise been prevented. This short piece will educate you on the basis of pregnancy and how it can be safely prevented. Guess what! The knowledge which is about to be shared is equally important to the male as well as the female gender.

How is Pregnancy formed?

Many ladies would remember when they saw their first ‘show’ of blood- the gesture of initiation into motherhood. Mummies are so concerned. You would recall some mums saying: "Now, you are a woman; do not allow any boy touch you unless you become pregnant". So funny, isn't it? I'm sure most of us believed that the touch also included things like a handshake. The first confirmation of pregnancy is usually the "missing of your period" and it's the easiest if not the simplest way of affirming pregnancy. It has been used from time immemorial and it's not likely to become outdated. What bring about this “missing of period”? Then, a very good knowledge of the female menstrual cycle is crucial. Let’s review it; seize this opportunity to know it better. Please note that a good knowledge of the menstrual cycle also tells how healthy you are e.g a woman's menstrual cycle can become affected if she has hormonal imbalance, goitre, pituitary tumor or even emotional disturbances.

            Menstrual cycle- it is a series of changes that occurs in the uterus (womb) and the ovaries (organs that produce eggs) for the purpose of sexual reproduction. This cycle often ranges between 21 and 35days but 28 days on the average. They are round-the-clock events that are only interrupted by pregnancy or menopause and are regulated by hormones. Simply put, it’s like the tyres of a bicycle; they go round with no gap along it's circumference unless they are torn. Four stages (phases) make up the cycle. First, Menstrual Phase: It occurs because the womb is “weeping” as a result of failure of implantation (planting of new ‘baby-to-be’). It does this by shedding off the wall that has been prepared for receiving it and this "tears" come out as blood since it is no longer relevant. It lasts between 3 to 5 days. During this period some people may experience pain called Menstrual Pain.. Proliferative Phase: The wall of the womb that was shed earlier on begins to heal, without scars though. This occurs from day 3 or 5 to day 14 of the menstrual cycle. Meanwhile, the ovaries are preparing to release eggs around this time. Ovulation is the third phase during which there is release of egg(s) from the ovary (ies). Generally, it is said that ovulation occurs around day 14. Usually the days before ovulation, you'll notice creamy whitish discharge which is usually watery, a gradual rise in your body temperature which tends to be highest on the day of ovulation. You can feel this by gently placing the back of your hand on your forehead or by using a thermometer. Other signs include breasts tenderness, a sharp pain on either side of the lowest part of your tummy depending on which ovary is releasing the egg(s) at that point in time. Some ladies may spot a little in their panties. The secretory phase: this is the stage in which the healing processes of the walls of the womb is complete and these walls thickens in preparation for receiving the new ‘baby-to-be’. It helps to nurture the egg(s) released especially if fertilization (fusion of sperm and egg), an aftermath of unprotected sexual intercourse, occurs. It lasts for 12 to 16 days after ovulation after which the uterus bleeds again if fertilization fails to occur.

Common Mistakes Women Make

Many ladies miscalculate their cycle: The day you start bleeding is day 1 of your cycle. So, count from that day until you get to day 14; do not count fourteen days after you stop bleeding. Ovulation takes place on the 14th day. This day 14 may not apply to every woman but there are some signs that can help with that. A few have been mentioned earlier. You must also bear in mind that it is not only on the day of ovulation that a woman can become pregnant after intercourse. Ovulation lasts between 12 to 24 hours i.e. once the egg is laid, it can only survive a maximum of one day. But the sperms for the males can survive within the female reproductive tract for up to 72 hours. For some, it can last for as long as five days...stubborn little fellas! So, if you engage in unprotected sexual intercourse few days before you ovulate, you are likely to become pregnant. Don’t get confused!

Contraception

It means methods or devices used in preventing pregnancy. Obviously, the rate of unwanted pregnancies amongst the youths is alarming and this has led to huge setbacks- increase in the number of school dropouts, single parents, illegal abortions, maternal morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, Nigeria ranks 10th in the world in these. Therefore, a good grasp of fertility and contraception would go a long way in reducing this decadence. Some of the means include: diaphragm, cervical cap, spermicidal foams, oral contraception, injections, implants, patches, Intrauterine Devices and sterilization. I must clearly state that Dual Protection is very important in other to prevent pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections; it involves the use of condoms and pills. Fertility awareness (good knowledge of your menstrual cycle) should also be borne in mind, especially by the females, since they are at the receiving end of any ‘error’ that ensues. To all ladies, "if you can't bear the thought of carrying his child, why let him lay hands on you".

            Above all, there is a method that offers 100% protection from unwanted pregnancies and numerous sexually transmitted infections. With it, you’ve got no worries at all. It’s no other method than ABSTINENCE. Remember, Life is beautiful and the future that lies ahead of YOU is precious!

                                  EDUCATE YOUR NEIGHBOUR, FRIENDS AND FAMILY

For questions and enquiries, contact us:

                   hrfnigeria@gmail.com            @HRF_Nigeria              08148327860

HRF Health Angle: “Will Drinking Milk Help Cure Your Peptic Ulcer Disease?”

Miss AA, ND 2 Polytechnic student shared her experience on Ulcer. Here is an excerpt:

“I started taking felvin about two years ago to relieve my menstrual pain. I never knew it had caused many damages to my stomach until I was diagnosed of Peptic Ulcer Disease in July, 2013. Funnily enough, I didn’t notice anything until 3 months ago when I started feeling pain in the upper part of my tummy; eating was always making it worse. Mehn, the feeling was not pleasant at all. But the good news is that I’m actually free now after receiving proper   treatment.” 

What is Peptic Ulcer Disease?

Please, let’s take a look at this question very quickly. "Which of these wounds will heal faster: the one on your back where your touch is within limit or the one on your chest which you can easily reach and take care of?” Peptic Ulcer Disease abbreviated as PUD, is therefore a wound found mainly on the walls of our stomach and duodenum. Hmmm... the duodenum! It’s the pipe that connects to the stomach and channels food contents to the other parts of the digestive tract. This time, the wound is neither within reach nor visible to the eye, it’s deep down there.

What are the causes?

It the end result of an imbalance between the digestive fluids in the stomach and duodenum. This is mostly caused by some bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. These bacteria cause more damages in the duodenum compared to the stomach. Your risk of infection with these organisms is high when you consume food prepared under less than ideal conditions/exposed to contaminated water or soil, when you don’t observe adequate sanitation practices amongst others. Another major culprit is Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs. They are a group of Pain killers such as Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Felvin and a few others. PUD could also be a result of tumor in the stomach or duodenum.

Symptoms

Ø  Dull aching pain or peppery sensation which is usually on the upper part of your abdomen (tummy) or even under the left rib cage. It is mostly associated with hunger, relieved upon eating or even worsens with food. Sometimes, it might wake you up at night.

Ø  Heart burn

Ø  Other symptoms include weight loss, bloating, water brash (the sour taste of acid in your mouth), nausea, vomiting. There may also be blood in stool or the stool may appear tarry dark and foul smelling. In fact, there may even be back pain.

Diagnosis

There are other medical conditions with similar clinical presentations to those above. If you are having any of these symptoms, visit the hospital. Your Health Care Professional will ask you certain questions, might run some tests on you as well.

Who are those that are more likely to develop PUD?

You have a greater risk if you belong to any of these categories:

·         Family history of Peptic Ulcer Disease

·         Regular consumption of alcohol

·         Smoking of Cigarettes

·         Avoid overuse of Aspirin and/or other NSAIDS.

·         Stress

·         Eating food prepared under less ideal conditions

Treatment

The GOOD NEWS is that PUD can be treated and this is only a matter of compliance with the required drugs for a maximum of two weeks. You will be given some drugs which help to reduce acid levels and allow your ulcer to heal. They are called Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI). You may also be given certain antibiotics as well as tips on lifestyle changes. Taking milk cannot cure your ulcer. In fact, milk can make your ulcer worse. It provides brief relief of pain because it coats the stomach lining. But, milk can also stimulate the stomach to produce more acid and digestive juices, which can aggravate ulcers.

Prevention Tips

o   Don’t smoke

o   Avoid alcohol

o   Curb the use of over the counter NSAID use

o   Reduce Stress

o   Good hygiene practices

o   If you have symptoms of an ulcer, contact your health care provider.

If you are already suffering from PUD, ensure that you:

o   Eat slowly.

o   Eat 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones.

o   Don’t eat or drink anything for at least 2 hours before going to bed and if you take naps, try sleeping in a chair.

o   Avoid spicy foods, caffeine and coffee.

There is no doubting the fact that wounds eventually close up and heal on their own provided the ‘indicting’ agent has be dealt with. The lining of our alimentary canal particularly the stomach has a very great tendency of shedding and generating newer cells. Despite this, the end result of a wound is nothing but a scar. The message is this:

 So far H. pylori keeps its territory within the stomach, NSAIDs are used without prescription, you wait to feel pain before you eat, then, these scars will open up and even form worse scars……And you must realise that Peptic Ulcer Disease can be fatal if not treated. It is fatal in the sense that it can become complicated and this could result in: Perforation of the intestines, blood in stool, blood in vomitus, and blockage of the stomach outlet.

At HRF Nigeria Health unit, we are always at your service. You may want to leave comments here. For questions and enquiries, contact us

                    08148327860      hrfnigeria@gmail.com       @HRF_Nigeria

OUR LEGEND OF THE WEEK #6

We grew up to hear people say: “What a man can do, a woman can do it better”. Surprisingly, a young lady has modified this to: “What a man cannot do, a woman can do it excellently”. She is Nigeria’s latest personage. Who is she?

The last time Nigeria won a medal in the world championship was in the year 1999. On August 11, this 25 year old Nigerian-born athlete, Blessing Okagbare, made the headlines of all National Dailies when she ended the country’s 14-Year wait for Medal at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia. It was a tremendous moment for the nation; she is indeed a champion!

            Okagbare was born in Sapele, Delta State where she faced so many challenges in life. She did not give up. Instead, she turned her challenges into great successes through hardwork and determination. Blessing is a long and triple jumper and short sprinter; she is an Olympic and World medalist in the long jump, World medalist in the 200m, and the African record holder in the 100m. She says she started jumping in 2004. “I actually was not a long jumper back then, I was a triple jumper. I won a gold medal in long jump and bronze medal in high jump as a Junior athlete for Delta State at the 2004 National Secondary Schools Games in Owerri, Imo State and later that year I attended the 14th National Sports Festival held in Abuja and won a bronze doing the triple jump.” This marked a turning point for Okagbare as she went on to represent Nigeria at the 2006 World Junior Athletics Championships in Beijing, China, but did not make it past the qualifying round.

  

At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Okagbare won the silver medal in the long jump. Her jump of 6.99m put her in second place behind Brittney Reese of the United States by only 2 cm. In the 100m final, she placed sixth with a run of 11.04.  The 2010 graduate, University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP) also placed third in the Women's 200m race. She is a winner of many medals at various levels of athletic competitions such as Olympic Games, World Championships, All-Africa Games, African Championships, Continental Cup, USA Collegiate and other Athletic Championships. Having achieved such a laudable feat, she was recently rewarded by the Nigerian government with a sum of #3 million and #3.5 million for her coach. She is also expected to receive a National Honour later in the year.

          Blessing Okagbare is a huge source of motivation to people of the younger generation, within and outside Nigeria. She has proven to all and sundry that “what a man cannot do, a woman can do it even excellently”. Blessing has blessed Nigeria with medals.

           Gender or Socio-economic background is not a barrier to greatness. You must endeavour to leave indelible footprints on the sands of time just like Blessing Okagbare.

                       hrfnigeria@gmail.com          @HRF_Nigeria          08148327860

You may also want to read: HRF LEGEND OF THE WEEK #5, TUNDE KELANI http://hrfnigeria.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/our-lrgend-of-week-5.html?m=1

 

OUR LEGEND OF THE WEEK #5

“He is not a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, a sports man or an actor. Yet, he has proven to the whole world that when you are diligent at whatever you do, you will wine and dine with the most successful people because you are one as well!” 

We are about to reveal to you the brain behind some of the notable blockbusters in the Nigerian film industry. He is the masquerade behind the cameras of those ground-breaking movies with a second-to-none quality graphics even at a time when Nollywood was non- existent. You will definitely remember masterpieces like THUNDERBOLT MAGUN, SAWOROIDE, TI OLUWA NILE, OLEKU, THE NARROW PATH, ARUGBA, and MAAMI. But, you know what! He has never appeared on screen as an actor. Let’s meet the legendary cinematographer, movie director and producer, TUNDE KELANI.

Born in Lagos and raised in Abeokuta, T K as he is fondly called has played a central and pivotal role in Nigerian cinema. He has contributed to most of the feature films that have been made in Nigeria on celluloid in his capacity as a Cinematographer since the 70’s. He became an apprentice photographer in the Lagos studios of Dotun Okubajo from 1969 to 1970. Shortly after, he joined the newly established Western Nigerian Television as trainee cameraman and started on a career path that would lead him to being one of Africa’s most prolific filmmakers.

Tunde Kelani believes that “whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well”; he holds a Diploma in the Art and Technique of Filmmaking from the London International Film School, London. After many years in the Nigerian Film Industry as a Cinematographer, he now manages MAINFRAME FILMS & TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS, an outfit formed to document Nigeria's rich culture. He also does newsreel, shorts and documentary work for BBC world service and other international news organizations in Nigeria and Africa, including, the M-Net New Directions initiative as cinematographer, director and producer. TK has been involved in various movie productions as the cinematographer/director such as: Ireke onibudo, Efunsetan, Vigilante, Iya ni wura, Ogun Ajaye, Mosebolatan, kannakanna, Eri okan, Ti oluwa nile, Ayo ni mo fe, koseegbe, Oleku, A place called home, The White handkerchief, Twins of the rain forest, Saworoide, Thunderbolt, A barber's wisdom, Agogoeewo, The Campus queen, The Narrow path, Abeni, Arugba and Maami. TK will wow every mind once again as he is set to release a new movie on the peculiar blood genotype – Sickle cell. DAZZLING MIRAGE is the title. Don’t miss it!!!

Tunde Kelani is a recipient of numerous national and international awards. Some of these include: 2013 AMAA (African Movie Academy Awards) Lifetime achievement award; AMVCA (Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards); the prestigious 2012 Africa Reel Award at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF), California, USA; Heart of Africa Awards; several AMAA ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best picture’ categories amongst others.

Tunde Kelani is passing a message across to you. Can you hear him loud and clear? He’s saying this: “Do not follow the multitude, follow your heart”. Get a direction for your life and don’t regret studying that course or being in that profession/job because your future is very bright so far you can DREAM BIG and WORK HARD. Don’t be discouraged, IF YOU CAN THINK IT, YOU CAN DO IT!

                  hrfnigeria@gmail.com          @HRF_Nigeria          08148327860

 You may also like to read this: HRF Legend of the week #4, FELA DUROTOYE                 http://hrfnigeria.blogspot.com/2013/08/our-legend-of-week-4.html?=1