Welcome to Jerry Ogubere's blog

IT will no longer be business as usual for unregistered fertility treatment and Assisted Reproduction Technology, ART, practitioners that are operating  in Nigeria as professionals in the industry have taken steps in collaboration with government to curb the menace of quacks within the profession. President of the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health, AFRH, Dr. Faye Iketubosin, said a bill for regulatory framework for reproductive health in the country is already before the National Assembly. “The bill is designed to regulate the practice. We are putting regulation in place with government and already there is a bill for regulatory framework for reproductive health at the National Assembly,” he told Features Health & Living in Lagos. “The bill is designed to draw up the minimum acceptable standards or guidelines for practice. What it will mean is that if a clinic or practitioner is not registered with the AFRH, that clinic or practitioner would be regarded as illeg...

Kerry Dooley Young Anonymous reporting tools, such as online surveys and paper drop boxes, can help hospital officials and managers of medical practices spot cases of disruptive behavior by physicians, a consultant said in an industry-sponsored webinar on Wednesday. Many medical professionals still fear repercussions from alerting supervisors and executives about physicians and other colleagues whose behavior is hostile, despite major efforts in recent years by influential medical groups to address this long-standing issue in medicine, according to Catrena Smith, owner of Access Quality Coding and Consulting, LLC.  Speaking in a Wednesday webinar arranged by The Compliance Connect, Smith said staff in hospitals and medical offices worry about reprisals that could affect their jobs and future compensation. "We want to create an environment where they can openly discuss things," Smith said in the webinar. She cautio...

Sanitary pads become part of every girl’s life once she becomes a teenager and even earlier. Most of us have  been friends with Always sanitary pads for a long time. We meet every month and stay together for about three to five days. Are we talking about you? Or maybe your go to helper for your period is Tampax. Either way pads and tampons are part of the same family. You have to change your pads or tampons regularly. You’d think this is enough to keep you from getting stained, but no way. But what if we told you that you don’t have to use sanitary pads or tampons for your next period? Don’t worry, this is not a conspiracy to disgrace you in public, we’re being serious. If you’re tired of using tampons or sanitary pads for your period, then you can use a menstrual cup. Have you ever heard of it? What’s a menstrual cup? A menstrual cup is a soft silicone cup that you can insert into your vagina in order to collect your menstrua...

— Your Lifestyle and Kidney Cancer — How your lifestyle can expose you to Kidney Cancer?  On the reverse making healthy lifestyle changes can reduce your risk Risk Factors and Early Detection of Kidney Cancer The more you know about this disease, the more prepared you’ll be to fight it should you or a loved one ever face a kidney cancer diagnosis. 1. Men are twice as likely to get kidney cancer. Age also plays a big part in whether someone will develop this disease. Most people are in their 60s when they receive a kidney cancer diagnosis. Doctors rarely find kidney cancer in people younger than 45 years old. White Americans are slightly less likely than African Americans or American Indians to develop renal cell carcinoma, which is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. 2. Smoking and obesity are the biggest risk factors for kidney cancer. Other risk factors can be work rel...

Every time we go out at the weekend and have a tad too much to drink, we joke about the damage we’re doing to our liver. But have you ever stopped to really think about the damage you’re doing and how diet can play an important role in keeping your liver healthy? In this article, we list eight important foods that you should eat to keep a healthy liver. 1) Cabbage: Cabbage isn’t to everyones taste but if you don’t mind it, it’s well worth eating more of it as it boosts enzymes in your liver that eliminate pesky toxins. 2) Broccoli: Broccoli is perhaps more well-known as a “brain food” but it also supports your liver – just like its brassica vegetable siblings, such as cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. 3) Grapefruit: One of the most bitter fruits on the planet, grapefruit is a great way to get your metabolism firing in the morning. It’s a bit of an acquired taste but if you love it, it’s time to eat m...

Pregnant women are too be treated and handled delicately as they carry their unborn babies and there are certain things they have to avoid. Smoking. Why? It’s harmful to the developing baby. It can lead to premature birth and low birth weight, and it increases the risk of cot death. Raw or undercooked meat. Why? To prevent infection with toxoplasmosis, a parasite that can be found in meat. In some countries, pregnant women are also advised to avoid cold cured meats such as salami and pepperoni. Some drugs, medicines and herbal remedies. Why? Certain medicines – including common pain killers – can harm your baby’s health. Check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist before taking any medicine or herbal remedy. Some fish. Why? Certain fish contain high levels of mercury, which can damage the baby’s developing nervous system. So avoid shark, marliri and sword fish altogether, and limit tuna to no more than two steaks or fou...

Megan Brooks For patients with migraine, repetitive yawning may accompany or precede a migraine attack, new research shows. "Although yawning is a rather frequently seen behavior, it is a unique and reliable symptom in patients with migraine that may offer an opportunity for early treatment of migraine attacks," say Bülent Güven, MD, and colleagues from Ankara Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital in Turkey. Their study is published in the February issue of Headache. In a cross-sectional study of 339 patients with long-standing migraine (mean age, 35 years; 301 women), 154 (45.4%) reported repetitive yawning during migraine attacks; 11.2%, in the premonitory phase, 24.2%, during headaches, and 10%, both in the premonitory phase and during headaches. Migraine with aura, accompanying nausea, vomiting, osmophobia, and cutaneous allodynia and other symptoms were more common in migraine patients with yawning than without yawning. Other dopaminergic-hy...

Morning comes with rituals you might want to break, but there are some habits you just need to break, according to WebMD. Snooze. Hit the snooze button and that extra 15 minutes will help energize your day, right? Wrong. You’ll get better rest if you get up and go to bed at the same time every day. The dark. It’s tempting to stay in the quiet dark of your room with the shades drawn in the morning. Don’t do it. Daylight helps your body set its clock. That helps you sleep better and helps your body fight infection and inflammation. Sleep late. Sometimes it just feels so good, especially when you have the time and you’ve been short on sleep. But the best way to improve your sleep over the long term is to keep a regular bedtime schedule. That means you get up at the same time every day, even if you had a late night -- and yes, that includes the weekend. Shoot out. When you shoot out of bed too quickly, gravity sends blood rushi...

Watermelon is an extremely popular fruit. While we all enjoy eating this sweet refreshing fruit, we usually discard the tiny seeds scattered in it without realising or rather knowing of their health benefits. These seeds are loaded with nutrients including fatty acids, essential proteins and lots of minerals. These seeds are rich in vitamin B like thiamine, niacin, folate and minerals like magnesium, potassium, manganese, iron, zinc, phosphorus and copper. Besides, they are a great source of calories with 100 grammes of watermelon seeds providing around 600 grammes of calories. Watermelon seeds, also called as ‘ tarbooj ke beej’  in Hindi are used in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.  Roasted watermelon seeds are served as a snack or used to garnish salads. In Nigeria, they are used in certain soups. Watermelon seed oil is extracted from these seeds which are beneficial for your hair and skin. To say the least, watermelon seeds are edible and can be a healthy...

Ordinary Habits That Put The Eyes At Risk If you’re reading this, chances are you rely on your eyesight to do just about everything. As important as our other senses are, “The eye is not only the most beautiful but also the most important sensory organ of the human body; four-fifths of all the impressions on the senses come from the eye,” according to Augenklinik Stralsund, an ophthalmology hospital in Germany. Of course, people are more than capable of living and thriving without the gift of sight. However, it certainly makes life more challenging. Since vision is so important, it is in your best interest to maintain your eye health. Moreover, it’s especially important to avoid bad habits that might hurt your eyesight. We all do things every day that aren’t good for our eyes. Habits may be hard to break, but in this case, your vision is 100% worth it. Learn how you may be hurting your eyesi...

Research has even shown that there are MORE chemicals in perfume and cologne than in cigarette smoke. The Perfume Hub As odd as this may sound, especially if you’re hearing it for the first time, perfumes are not good for you because they are made of cacogenic substances that make them hazardous to your health. Call it a perfume, cologne, toilette or whatever, the truth is we've all being victimized by it. How? Do you remember having a headache or sneezing badly, because of someone else perfume? Yes, the perfume was so strong that regardless of how you tried you couldn't resist the fragrance, right? Well, it happened because you’re inhaling potential toxins and harmful substances that are causing a reaction in your body. And as weird as this may sound, it is potentially just as bad as "second-hand smoke".  Research has even shown that there are MORE chemicals in perfume and cologne than in cigarette sm...

Medical experts have observed that 80% of the general population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives. They also noted Low Back Pain (LBP) as a common cause of disability and one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal disorders related to work status and condition.  A study of Low Back Pain among healthcare workers in tertiary health institutions in Sokoto, Nigeria, showed high prevalence. It was conducted by different specialists from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria who include Dr Kehinde Awosan, Department of Community Health; Semen Yikawe, Department of Ortho-Rhino-Laryngology; Oche M. Oche, Community Health; and Muhammad Oboirien, Department of Surgery. The research indicated that 180 (56.2%) of the 320 participants have ever experienced Low Back Pain in their lifetime, 125 (39.1%) had experienced it in the last 12 months, while 55 (17.2%) had it at the time of the survey. ...

Scientists believe that the rate of high blood pressure is getting to alarming rates amongst the young and upwardly mobile the world over. And considering that high blood pressure essentially doubles your risk of cardiovascular disease, you might want to memorize your next blood pressure reading. High blood pressure means that your blood is pressing against your blood vessels harder than it should. Over time, this can damage the vessel walls and allow plaque buildup to form which blocks the arteries and deprives the body of the blood and oxygen it needs. So, how do you know if you have high blood pressure? Chances are, you won’t have a clue. While having a high BP can lead to serious or fatal outcomes such as heart attacks and stroke, it usually doesn’t present with symptoms which makes people refer to it as “the silent killer.” Undetected high blood pressure is even riskier for women because many people think of it as a ...

If you’ve found yourself in a situation where you lean in for a hushed conversation only to have your listener lean back, this is how how to get rid of your bad breath without brushing. On the downside, it could just be that you have a feeling that your teeth is grimy and you seem sure that have the foul breath that goes along with it. Whatever the signs are that you have bad breath, there are ways you can correct it without brushing immediately. You can always choose to carry around a travel toothbrush and mini-toothpaste, but sometimes you may not be prepared or have the sink for it. So, if you are without your tooth brush and you feel you have bad breath, here are a number of strategies you can try to freshen up your breath. Chew Sugar-free Gums Or Mints A lot of people use this to freshen up their breath because they provide a temporary solution. While they won’t destroy the bacteria that’s giving you the bad breat...

By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis's Sandoz division has won U.S. approval for a larger dosage of its Glatopa drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, ending a costly delay that allowed rival generics makers to beat it to market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a 40 milligrams per milliliter injection of the Novartis copy of Copaxone, Teva's blockbuster medicine, Sandoz said in a statement on Tuesday. Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries began facing competition for its 40 mg version of Copaxone from Mylan in October and has been bracing for more copycat versions of its bestselling drug. Its New York-listed shares were down 2 percent in premarket trade having been down 4 percent earlier. Sandoz began selling a 20 mg/ml Glatopa dosage to U.S. patients with relapsing MS in 2015 but missed out on millions of dollars in sales after the double-dosage version was pushed back la...