Medicine is not an exact science.

While it is unfortunate, the truth is that people die. There is no surgery without possible complications. In fact, there is no drug that is devoid of complications. The duty of the doctor is to know what is the necessary step, determine if the benefits outweigh the risk or harm and advice the patient. The patient then makes an informed decision and gives consent.

Doctors are not gods. Don't forget that. Doctors are highly trained professionals. Be that as it may, you can never predict the outcome of amy course of management.

Appreciate doctors. They have saved thousands of lives and have lost some. The same applies globally.

The irony is that most Nigerians would prefer if the doctor makes a decision for them since the doctor is more knowledgeable. And then blame the doctor if anything goes wrong. No doctor can force you to receive treatment without your consent except in rare cases where decision making ability is impaired.

The Nigerian health care definitely needs some reforms. And the populace needs to be informed.

FrontPageLawyer:


Depending on individuals application, decisions are reached within 14 working days.

Thanks. I thought it was faster than VI UKVI.

Hi,

What's the processing time at Ikeja UKVI?

Thanks.

abnot:


Kindly explain what you mean by posting letter , letter of introduction and leave letter. Also are your salaries paid into the bank account whose statement you submitted? Thirdly what countries have you been to in recent years?

Posting letter: letter from my employer (a government agency ) posting me to my present place of work

Letter of introduction : letter from my place of work addressed to the UK embassy and identifying me as an employee

Leave letter: letter from employer showing that I'll be on leave during my proposed period of travel

Yes. The account showed the salary being paid in.

I also supplied payslips for 6 month period.

I need your advice.

My visa application was refused because the ECO didn't believe I was employed.

I provided the following:
Posting letter
Letter of introduction
Leave letter
Statement of account

What other evidence can I provide?

FrontPageLawyer:


You can reapply same day if you can address reasons for refusal.

Okay. Thank you.

Gurus in the house, how soon can one reapply for a visa provided that the reason for the refusal can be countered with evidence.

The story is admittedly humorous. However, it also reeks of ignorance and misinformation. I hope someone won't read it and based on the story make a decision that will lead to loss of life or worse. If that happens, then the blood is on your hands. The post will do better in the Jokes section.

Masterly inactivity.
Stay calm. Keep safe. Watch over. Call for help.

Most of the patients I've seen sustained injuries from people trying to help and not from the convulsion itself e.g. Broken teeth, burns, aspiration (herbal concoction entering the lungs), infected scarifications, wheals from caning, eye injuries etc.

I understand the feeling. No matter how many times you see it, seeing a person convulsing looks scary. The truth is there is nothing you can do to stop the convulsion. It will either stop by itself or with medication. It is in an attempt to help, so as not to feel helpless, that people do some of the things mention viz put feet in fire, spoon in mouth, restrain the person convulsing etc.
These actually harm the person which is why I mentioned things not to do. I believe it is better to do nothing than to do something that is harmful.
However, things you can do are:
1. Keep calm
2. Prevent injury by removing dangerous objects or moving from dangerous areas e.g. Close to fire, machinery, stairs etc.
3. Loosen clothes
4. Turn gently to one side. This will help with keeping the person breathing.
5. Call for emergency service or take to hospital if it is the first seizure, pregnant, sustained injury, suspected stroke, lasts for more than 3 mins
6. Watch for at least 20 minutes after recovery.

My job is to save lives. Yeah! I do that on a daily basis. I’ll like you to assist me with saving lives. Whose? you ask. Yours. Your friends. Your family. Or a total stranger.

“Get a spoon! Get onion! Carry him!” Those are the cries and shouts you hear when a person has a convulsion.

I wonder where people got these ideas as they are not helpful and are mostly injurious to the victim. It seems the knowledge is passed down from
generation to generation.

Well, permit me to break this tradition. I’ll tell you 10 things not to do when a person has a convulsion.

1. Do not panic. Keep your cool.
Keep calm. That’s very important. Though it looks scary, reassure people around. If the person has been having seizures before, it’s likely it will resolve in some minutes.


2. Don’t move the person.
The only exception is if the person is in a dangerous area. Otherwise, don’t carry the person. However, remove dangerous objects like stones, glass etc.

3. Don’t hold down.
Restraining the person movement can cause injury such as dislocating the shoulder. Or you might get a punch.

4. Don’t put a spoon or stick in the mouth.
Don’t put any object into the person’s mouth. There’s a myth that a person having a seizure can swallow the tongue. This is false. Putting objects in the mouth can chip the teeth. Or your finger could be bitten off. Cannibalism.

5. Don’t put feet in fire.
I wonder why people do this to a person that’s having a seizure. It has no benefit whatsoever. The burns that’ll occur on the other hand…..just don’t.

6. Don’t give herbal concoction or cow urine.
This is another one I can’t figure out why people do it. The dangers are numerous: the stuff can enter the lungs and kill the person, it can reduce blood sugar level.

7. Don’t beat up.
It’s not caused by an evil spirit. No need to beat it out.

8. Don’t give put onion or pepper in eyes.
Like seriously! Why do people do this?

9. Don’t ostracise or leave alone.
Seizures are not contagious. It’s a disease that can be treated. Don’t run away and leave the chap alone.

10. Don’t keep away from hospital.
Once the person is stable, he should be taken to a hospital if it is the first seizure, not on medications, lasts longer than 5 minutes, cannot be awakened, was injured or is pregnant.

Be a good Good Samaritan. Help when you want to help. Don’t harm a person in the name of helping.

Do you have questions? Feel free to ask.

Hmmm...I believe I'm permitted to do copy and paste since I wrote the article. Good relief for running stomach? I can tell you it's not. I'm a doctor. Tetracycline is one of the drugs abused by my fellow Nigerians. It's particularly saddens me when I see people with complications from it's use: bad teeth is one obvious one from it's use in a child.

Have you ever passed watery stool (aka faeces, aka shit) before? Then you’ve probably taken tetracycline before (or have been advised to take it).

Tola is a ten years old boy. He woke up this morning with ‘stomach pain’. About half an hour after he woken up, he still had the pain, then rushed to the toilet. There, he passed copious quantity of watery stool after which the pain subsided. He had been at his friend, Sola’s birthday party yesterday where he ate jollof rice. By afternoon, he had defecated five times, each time passing watery stool. He is weak but his body is not hot nor is he vomiting. His mother notices his reduced activity and gives him tetracycline after getting details.

Okay. Let’s stop here. Now, let’s start from where most stories start from – the beginning.

Diarrhoea is a condition in which a person has frequent and watery bowel movement. The faeces is not well formed. There is a myriad of causes of diarrhoea ranging from infections (bacteria, viral, protozoan) to taking something very sweet:-)

Tetracycline is an antibacterial medicine. It stops infections caused by some bacteria, not all. It prevents formation of proteins essential to bacteria so that they die and the body kills off the remaining bacteria.

Tetracycline has no direct effect on the consistency or frequency of stool. Not all cases of diarrhoea are caused by bacteria. In fact, most bacteria that cause diarrhoea cannot be killed by tetracycline. However, tetracycline is very useful in treatment of cholera where it reduces the transmission of cholera to others but does not affect the bowel movement.

The abuse of this drug might be ignored (naa) if not for the fact that it poses a danger when used by certain portions of our population. This include pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children less than twelve years old. This is because it distorts teeth formation in children.

Funny enough, one of the side effects of tetracycline is diarrhoea. Others are nausea, vomiting, difficulties with swallowing, skin reaction, liver disorders and blood disorders to mention a few.
The question now is what should be done or used by a person who has diarrhoea. Well, the most important thing is to remain well hydrated. Yes, take lots of fluid. Preferably, get Oral Rehydration Salt, make it into a solution as instructed and take it, liberally. Then go see a doctor:-)

Do you have any question? Please contact me.

Source: http://iambola./2014/10/26/myth-buster-tetracycline-does-not-stop-diarrhoea/

Diabetes Mellitus, also simply known as diabetes, is a condition that affects a significant proportion of the population.
It is a condition in which the body cannot appropriately manage sugar (as well as fat and protein) causing high level of sugar in the blood. This in turns spills to other organs of the body manifesting as passage of large quantity of urine, drinking more water, gaining or losing weight etc.
Drugs used in treating diabetes reduce the level of blood sugar. However, on some occasions, the sugar level can be too low (this is bad).
A device called a glucometer is used to determine the blood sugar level. It is a portable and easy to use device that every diabetic should have and know how to use. It provides a rapid way of checking your blood sugar in the convenience of your home.

The following are the steps to take to use the glucometer:

1. Get a glucometer.
There are different brands. I’ll recommend the Accu-Chek (I’m not getting commissions :-)), but any other will do.

2. Get other materials you’ll need. Be a boy scout.
Other materials include glucometer strips (appropriate for the glucometer), lancet (used for pricking the finger though a sterile needle will also do), cotton wool, methylated spirit (we don’t want any bugs), paper and pen.

3. Load the strip in the glucometer
This is where most people make errors. Don’t be one of them. Don’t switch on the glucometer. Simply insert the glucometer strip into the appropriate slot. The device will come on, check the strip code and give you a go ahead. The nature of the go ahead depends on the brand of the glucometer. Just check the display. It should be obvious. As long as it’s in a language you understand :-)

3. Prick the finger
Now to the fun part :-) But wait! We don’t want any bugs do we? So, make sure you clean the selected site with cotton wool soaked in spirit before you prick it. Choose a finger. Any finger will do. Clean the tip of the finger. Let it get dry. Get the lancet (or needle). Then prick the finger tip, on the soft fleshy part. No need to go deep. You need just a drop of blood :-)

4. Put the blood on the strip
The glucometer strip has a space for the blood. Remember, the glucometer is loaded already. Pick it up and place it such that the strip comes in contact with the blood. The blood will flow into the space provided. A beep will let you know when enough blood has entered the strip. The glucometer will then check the sugar level. The value should be out in some seconds.

5. Don’t forget to stop the bleeding. Put a piece of dry cotton wool and the puncture site and apply pressure.

6. Record the results
You can do this on paper or any other storage medium. Some glucometers store some results in memory.

7. Follow your doctors instruction on what to do based on the result.

With this I hope you can successfully check the blood sugar level. It shouldn’t fall below 70 mg/dL (or 3.9 mmol/L).

How did you find it?

http://iambola./2014/10/27/how-to-use-a-glucometer/

Diabetes Mellitus, also simply known as diabetes, is a condition that affects a significant proportion of the population.
It is a condition in which the body cannot appropriately manage sugar (as well as fat and protein) causing high level of sugar in the blood. This in turns spills to other organs of the body manifesting as passage of large quantity of urine, drinking more water, gaining or losing weight etc.
Drugs used in treating diabetes reduce the level of blood sugar. However, on some occasions, the sugar level can be too low (this is bad).
A device called a glucometer is used to determine the blood sugar level. It is a portable and easy to use device that every diabetic should have and know how to use. It provides a rapid way of checking your blood sugar in the convenience of your home.

The following are the steps to take to use the glucometer:

1. Get a glucometer.
There are different brands. I’ll recommend the Accu-Chek (I’m not getting commissions :-)), but any other will do.

2. Get other materials you’ll need. Be a boy scout.
Other materials include glucometer strips (appropriate for the glucometer), lancet (used for pricking the finger though a sterile needle will also do), cotton wool, methylated spirit (we don’t want any bugs), paper and pen.

3. Load the strip in the glucometer
This is where most people make errors. Don’t be one of them. Don’t switch on the glucometer. Simply insert the glucometer strip into the appropriate slot. The device will come on, check the strip code and give you a go ahead. The nature of the go ahead depends on the brand of the glucometer. Just check the display. It should be obvious. As long as it’s in a language you understand :-)

3. Prick the finger
Now to the fun part :-) But wait! We don’t want any bugs do we? So, make sure you clean the selected site with cotton wool soaked in spirit before you prick it. Choose a finger. Any finger will do. Clean the tip of the finger. Let it get dry. Get the lancet (or needle). Then prick the finger tip, on the soft fleshy part. No need to go deep. You need just a drop of blood :-)

4. Put the blood on the strip
The glucometer strip has a space for the blood. Remember, the glucometer is loaded already. Pick it up and place it such that the strip comes in contact with the blood. The blood will flow into the space provided. A beep will let you know when enough blood has entered the strip. The glucometer will then check the sugar level. The value should be out in some seconds.

5. Don’t forget to stop the bleeding. Put a piece of dry cotton wool and the puncture site and apply pressure.

6. Record the results
You can do this on paper or any other storage medium. Some glucometers store some results in memory.

7. Follow your doctors instruction on what to do based on the result.

With this I hope you can successfully check the blood sugar level. It shouldn’t fall below 70 mg/dL (or 3.9 mmol/L).

How did you find it?

The world is changing. Definitely.
Things are not the way they were before.
Sachet water (aka pure water) now goes for 10 naira in some places :-)
When power is restored, shouts of ‘up Nepa’ has ceased (wait! That still happens :-) )
Okay, enough with the comic relief.
There was a time when the craze, particularly by the female portion of the population, was to become slim. Sometime in the last 20 years, this is gradually being surpassed by people who want to become fat (okay maybe not fat but fatter than they are now).
For some, being skinny makes them self conscious, feel weak and puny and slighted as being younger than they actually are.
Well, if you fall into that category (or know someone that does), I have good news for you.
I’ll be sharing, free of charge, the top 10 tips on how to gain weight.
Okay, here it goes.

1. Accept that the weight gain is a gradual process. It won’t happen overnight.
Seems obvious? Maybe. However, one of reasons people don’t gain wait is lack of consistency in following weight gaining advice or regimen. This is on most occasions because the desired result is not seen immediately. Just remember to put things in perspective. Rome was not built in a day. If you think it was, kindly hook me up with the contractor. Like seriously.

2. Calculate the number of calories you use of in a day…then take more than that in a day.
You may say “thank you captain obvious :-)” but I’m serious. Calculate it. Here’s a link to how you can calculate your daily calorie requirement. The calculation requires your sex (I guess you know that), age (that too), height, weight and level of activity. Once you know this, you know your daily target. Just add 500 calories to the value. So…chow away! :-)

3. Eat frequently. Food is your medicine.
Duh….Another obvious one. Eat more and you gain weight. This is very true though. Instead of sticking to the traditional three meals in a day, why don’t you eat say six or seven times in a day. Yes you heard (or rather read) right. Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner…plus after-breakfast, after-lunch, after-dinner and a midnight snack. Yes, it’s official. Remember, you are just taking your medicine :-D

4. Eat calorie-dense food. It’s good for you
Don’t forget to check the bottle, tin or box, whatever the packaging before you eat it. You must actively seek high calorie containing food. That means you should go for things like potato :-) Check here for other examples.

5. Don’t forget your drinks. Increase the diary and juice.
Water has zero calorie content. Why waste a perfectly good opportunity? Just substitute milk, juice or protein shakes for water. I’m not saying you should make soup with milk:-). However, when eating, take a cup of juice.

6. Add fat to your meals. Use that butter spread.
Fat provide more calories than carbohydrates or protein – nine calories per gram as opposed to four by carbohydrates and proteins. Don’t forget to spice up your meals with fat.

7. Take more protein. Build those muscles.
Protein helps build muscles. When aiming at adding weight, muscle bulk is important. Muscles are denser than fat. This means that muscles contribute more to weight than body fat. Examples of sources of protein are: milk, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, fish, meat, poultry, beans. Bon a petit

8. Exercise exercise. Pump those irons.
Yeah..it seems counter-intuitive. Exercise can cause weight loss. However, in this case, you focus more on building muscle bulk and cardiovascular exercise. This will help gain weight and stimulate appetite at the same time. It also improves lung and heart health. Dont forget to supplement your diet with more calories when you start exercising. In addition, always take a snack before commencement of the exercise.

9. Never skip meals. Comply with your drugs.
Remember, your food is your drug in this case. I recommend you never go four hours without a meal. Always have snacks in your bag e.g. chocolate bars, nuts.

10. See a doctor. We care.
There are some medical conditions that can cause failure to gain weight. If you fail to gain weight after two months, I suggest you go see a doctor :-).

What do you think?

http://iambola./2014/10/25/top-10-tips-for-gaining-weight/

The hospital exists primarily because of patients.
How does appointing consultant nurses, pharmacists etc. help with or contribute to patient care?
What is the job of a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist etc.?
I believe we should try to answer these questions. Go check your job description. Efficacy and efficiency will be improved by doing what you are supposed to do. Activity is not the same as accomplishment. Don't do another persons job.

It is true that some of these churches have seemingly fetish practices.

Hilarious

Lol

Smh

While some people are just throwing insults soma are patiently trying to explain with facts.

This is sad. Medicine is a noble profession and doctors used to be well respected. Yet, when doctors stand up to fight for themselves and the general public that needs their services they are being insulted. I hope one day all you ignorant people would not experience firsthand the effect often follies of the government and learn the hard way. It is really pitiable and pathetic. Striving to attain equal status as doctors?! Why not strive to be proficient in your field? Demand that the government fulfil its responsibility.

@phantom thank you for educating them....or at least attempting to. I'm sure some or maybe a lot will stolid refuse to understand and appreciate what it means to be a doctor. Humanitarian? Maybe in a society that works. If the people want free health, we should clamour for government funding not expect hardworking doctors who are parents, husbands, wives etc. to shortchange themselves all in name of humanitarianism for a public that scorns you and a government that doesn't appreciate you. Let's set our priorities right!

Contrary to popular belief, a child with measles can take injections with no problems. The misconception possible arose from mistaking cases of paralytic polio with measles.

I know flagyl is an over the counter drug people take to supposedly stop lose stools. However, flagyl is an antibiotic not an antispasmodic or antimotility drug.

'Teething' in children has been blamed for a lot of symptoms in children ranging from fever to cough to virtually anything. What symptoms does it actually cause?

Shey the 'foreign' toothbrush and local toothbrush are the same?