ObettaHealthblog

The Packed Cell Volume (PCV) Test 1. Objective: This is one of the oldest tests done in medical practice. The objective of this test was to determine the percentage of red blood cells (RBCs) in whole blood. It  also helped to assess the blood’s capacity to carry oxygen. ________________________________________ 2. Principle: The test was based on the principle that when blood was centrifuged, the red blood cells settled at the bottom of the tube, forming a packed column. The ratio of the packed RBC column to the total blood column gave the packed cell volume (PCV), expressed as a percentage. ________________________________________ 3. Materials: • Microhematocrit capillary tubes • Microhematocrit centrifuge • Plasticine or sealing clay • Microhematocrit reader • Lancet • Alcohol swab • Cotton ________________________________________ 4. Procedure (Microhematocrit Method): 1. The fingertip was cleaned with an alcohol swab and pricked with a sterile lancet. 2. Blood was collected into ...

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A WOMAN TO GET PREGNANT WHILE ALREADY PREGNANT? The answer is YES! It is a phenomenon known as superfetation–in which a new pregnancy occurs during an initial pregnancy within days or weeks after the first one, according to Healthline. It is an extremely rare phenomenon that occurs when the body releases a second egg even though an embryo has already been implanted in the uterus. This second egg is then fertilized and implants, leading to a second, simultaneous pregnancy.  The result is two separate pregnancies happening at the same time. It's such a rare occurrence that medical experts have only been able to identify a few confirmed cases of superfetation in pregnant women this is because normally, a pregnant woman's ovaries temporarily stop releasing eggs(ovulation). So, while yes, you could get pregnant while you're already pregnant, it's probably not something to worry about. To have a double pregnancy, you’d have to either ovulate while pregnant ...

MONKEYPOX DISEASE: SOURCE, EPIDEMIOLOGY, PREVENTION 1.ORIGIN OF MONKEY POX: IS IT A VIRUS, BACTERIA, FUNGI? WHERE WAS IT FIRST DETECTED? 2.THE PATHOGEN: MONKEYPOX VIRUS. WHAT IS THE VIRUS'S NATURAL HOST? IS MONKEYPOX DISEASE TRANSMISSIBLE? IF YES, HOW IS IT SPREAD? 3.OUTBREAKS IN RECENT TIMES. EPIDEMIOLOGY, SOURCES OF INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION PATTERNS 4.TRANSMISSION, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, DIAGNOSIS. 5.WAY FORWARD? THERAPEUTICS AND VACCINATION. STRATEGIES TO ENSURE PREVENTION. Study proper: WHAT IS MONKEYPOX, IT A VIRUS, BACTERIA, FUNGI? Monkeypox virus is an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus that belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family.Monkeypox virus (MPXV) causes monkeypox. Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. WHERE WAS MONKEYPOX FIRST DETECTED? Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958,at a facility in Copenhagen, D...

What problem could one encounter while consuming livestock? First, antibiotics are used to prevent,treat and control bacterial infections in livestock. Just like humans, animals can contract infections, such as pneumonia. As a case study,Pork is the world's second most consumed meat, accounting for roughly 35% of total meat consumption. China, the United States, and the European Union are the world's largest pork producers, accounting for roughly 80% of total pork production. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that pork had significantly higher levels of antibiotics than chicken, beef, and lamb. https://bringsconserve.com/qp970858?key=0b6d33fbbd24ee17ba922b2bfaf034ef  Antibiotics are used in the breeding process primarily because they reduce disease and mortality in pigs while also rapidly increasing pig weight. In the United States, roughly 27.1 percent of Medically important antibiotics are used in the pig industry, and...

PHAGE THERAPY; A RENEWED APPROACH TO COMBAT ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE Antimicrobial resistance as discussed in earlier write-ups is the situation where bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. Picture of a bacteriophage attaching to bacteria cell. As a subset; Antibiotic resistance refers to bacteria resisting antibiotics.  Penicillin, the wonder drug of the early nineties (developed from P. rubens in 1928 by Alexander Fleming), quickly earned worldwide applause following its use in treating infections from injuries sustained in battle during the second world war. It was said that infections had killed more soldiers at war than battle injuries. The discovery of penicillin decreased the death rate from bacterial pneumonia in soldiers from 18% to 1%.  Then over the years–and of course–people turned to this 'miracle drug' as a...

METHAMPHETAMINE USE IN NIGERIA Methamphetamine use (abuse) by youths is fast becoming a trend in Nigeria with most bars and joints having "special corners" where addicts can indulge their cravings without fear of Clampdown by law enforcers. According to a study released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–abusers are predominantly youths between the ages of 18–26. A 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report estimated that 89,000 Nigerians were taking meth. Addicts can take methamphetamine by smoking, swallowing, snorting, or injecting the powder that has been dissolved in water or alcohol. Methamphetamine among people of the South East is called 'Nkpurummiri'—which loosely translates to "drops of water" owing to its crystal-like looks hence the name. WHAT IS METHAMPHETAMINE (NKPURU MMIRI, CRYSTAL METH, ICE)? Methamphetamine is used legally as part of a treatment program to contro...

COULD THIS BE A CURE FOR CANCERS? DOSTARLIMAB CURES ALL PATIENTS IN DRUG TRIAL FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER A cancer cell about to split Recent reports have it that for the first time in history, a drug under testing has managed to completely remove every trace of cancer in patients partaking in the drug trial. The course of therapy was estimated to be six months long, involving a total of 18 patients, all diagnosed with rectal cancer and by the end of the program every one of them, on testing, had no trace of rectal cancer in them. After six months or more of follow-up, the patients continued to show no signs of cancer — without the need for the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy — and cancer has not returned in any of the patients, who have now been cancer-free for a range of six to 25 months after the trial ended. This is truly remarkable feet and applauds are raining down on researchers at the Memorial  Sloan  Kettering Cancer Center where the research ...

HEALTH BENEFITS OF REGULAR WATER INTAKE What if i told you proper intake of water is the answer to most of your health issues? Hilarious right? Well... Water as we know makes up about seventy percentage (70%) of the human body. I mean, your muscles are 75% water; your blood is 82% water; your lungs are 90% water; your brain is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water. Water is in fact a class of food! Water helps dissolve minerals and nutrients, making them more accessible to the body. It also helps remove waste products. Adequate intake of  water helps in carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells. flushing bacteria from your bladder. aiding digestion. preventing constipation. 1. It helps create saliva. 2. It regulates your body temperature. 3. It protects your tissues, spinal cord, and joints. 4. It helps excrete waste through sweat and urine Drinking more fluids, especially water, may help prevent bladder stones because water dilutes the concentration of minerals in your bladde...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RECEIVE BLOOD FROM AN INCOMPATIBLE DONOR? If you receive blood that is not compatible with your blood, your body produces antibodies to destroy the donor's blood cells. This process causes the "transfusion reaction" [AKA ABO incompatibility reaction]. Blood that you receive in a transfusion must be compatible with your own blood. WHAT IS AN ABO INCOMPATIBILITY REACTION? An ABO incompatibility reaction can occur if you receive the wrong type of blood during a blood transfusion. It is a rare but serious and potentially fatal response to incompatible blood by your immune system. The four main blood types are A,B, AB,and O. If you are type A, your red blood cells have proteins attached to them known as A antigens.Type B blood cells carry B antigens.Type AB blood has both A and B antigens,and type O blood has neither A nor B antigens. Your immune system will produce antibodies against any blood antigens you don't have in your own blood. That means peo...

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE The use of antibiotics has changed our lives forever. Diseases that in the past could cause death (such as pneumonia, malaria, typhoid fever etc) nowadays can be cured through an antibiotic therapy prescribed by the doctor. However, the increasingly widespread antibiotic resistance represents, as the WHO has stated, slow tsunami that threatens to wipe out a century of medical progress. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) causes an estimated 700,000 deaths annually worldwide, and every country is potentially affected. If not properly addressed, the number could grow to 10 million per year by 2050. Causes of antimicrobial resistance; AMR occurs when bacteria and other microbes adapt and become less susceptible to medical treatment. \[i.e same medicines that once completely eradicated an infection caused by a certain strain of bacteria/virus become ineffective because such strain is now resistant to that medicine\]. This AMR can be passed on from generation to generati...

 Autoimmune diseases are those in which the body , for unknown reasons begin to fight itself and lead to major health consequences such as muscular and CNS degeneration, internal bleeding, severe damage to body tissue, abnormal growth that affects organs, and changes in the way body organs function e.t.c. Coined from the words "Auto" and "immune" it stresses that the condition generates internally–for unknown reasons–abd harms it's own system. Think about a snake swallowing its own self from the tail end! Some common autoimmune diseases include; Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis,Celiac disease,Type 1 diabetes mellitus,Graves' disease,Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOUS  Systemic lupus erythematous is one of such auto immune diseases. It is a group of autoimmune disease with an unknown cause. It affects many organs, especially skin, joints and kidneys. Lupus results in the immune system attacking the body's cells and tissues...

 PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE (PUD) Peptic ulcer is a sore that develops on the lining of the oesophagus, stomach or small intestine. To better grasp the concept of ulcer, imagine having a sore or wound,but on the inside of your body where it is continuously eroded by acidic elements—yes,that's how bad it is! Now,there are three types of peptic ulcers; GASTRIC ULCERS: ulcers that develop inside the stomach. ESOPHAGEAL ULCERS: ulcers that develop inside the esophagus. DUODENAL ULCERS: ulcers that develop in the upper section of the small intestines, called the duodenum. Ulcers occur when stomach acid damages the lining of the digestive tract. This damage on the digestive tract could be as a result of prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen e.t.c as these drugs are acidic in nature. However, the major cause of PUD, is a gram negative bacteria known as helicobacter pylori. This bacteria causes almost all peptic ulcers, accounting for 80 percen...

PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE(PUD): MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT Read till end❗ It is important we understand that ulcer is indeed curable and symptoms can be managed effectively for better outcomes.   Signs and symptoms of PUD For quick recovery, these few steps should be adhered to by all suffering from peptic ulcer disease; 1.Consume food at regular intervals, in general, take small meals every 3 hours. Since presence of food in the GIT stimulates acid production which could errode existing ulcers, it is best to take small portions at intervals to reduce acid corrosion at wound sites. 2.Take meal 2 to 3 hours before bed time. This is because lying down immediately after a meal could result in acid reflux, causing heartburns and exacerbate oesophageal ulcers. 3.Eat food slowly and chew it properly. Take fresh fruits, salads and vegetables in adequate quantities. 4.Avoid intake of spicy and sour food like pepper soups, pepper sauces and chillis 5.Cut down intake of coffee, tea and other caffei...

 MALARIA PREVALENCE IN WEST AFRICA Malaria is a life threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasites with plasmodium falciparum being the most common human causative agent. A malaria-causing mosquito vector. Over 200 million people fall victim to Malaria each year and over half a million people die from this disease. Malaria has been the leading cause of death for many centuries. In the African continent, Malaria is still the most common, fatal and expensive disease. Outbreaks of malaria are common in West Africa. See the chart to see prevalence in West Africa. Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitoes. It can be dangerous or even fatal if not treated. Fortunately, symptoms can be easily managed with medications. It is estimated that over 40 percent of people living in rural areas of West Africa have malaria. More and more people have died from Malaria in West Africa. Malaria is a preventable disease caused by mosquitos carrying Malaria. To help prevent Malaria in West Afric...