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One Bite Could Be Deadly: The Truth About Rabies 🐕⚠️

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a deadly virus spread to people from the saliva of infected animals. The rabies virus is usually transmitted through a bite.

How Do You Get Rabies?

Rabies is most commonly found in bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes, but other animals — including your pet dog🦮 or cat — can become infected. If a break in your skin comes in contact with the spit of an infected animal, you could get rabies.

⚠️Risk Factors

1. Traveling or living in developing countries

2. ⁠Activities that are likely to put you in contact with wild animals that may have rabies, such as exploring caves where bats live or camping without taking precautions to keep wild animals away from your campsite

3. Working as a veterinarian

Working in a laboratory with the rabies virus

4. Wounds to the head or neck, which may help the rabies virus travel to your brain more quickly

What Happens When You Get Rabies?

Rabies virus gets into your body when the saliva (spit) of an infected animal gets into an open wound (usually from a bite). It moves very slowly along nerves into your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord). When it reaches your brain, the damage causes neurological symptoms. From there, rabies leads to coma and death.

How Does Rabies Affect Your Body?

Rabies moves from an infected wound to your brain over time. There are several phases that most people go through: incubation, prodromal phase, acute neurologic phase and coma.

🔵Incubation:

Rabies virus can spend days to weeks in your body before it gets into your nervous system (incubation). You don’t have any symptoms during this time. If you receive treatment early in the incubation period, you won’t get rabies.

🔴Prodromal Phase:

Rabies virus travels through your nerve cells into your brain and spinal cord, causing nerve damage as it goes. The prodromal phase starts when the rabies virus has entered your nervous system. Your immune system tries to fight back, causing flu-like symptoms. Nerve damage might cause tingling, pain or numbness where you were bitten. This lasts two to 10 days. There aren’t any effective treatments when rabies reaches this phase.

🔴Acute Neurological Phase:

In this phase, the rabies virus starts damaging your brain and spinal cord. About two-thirds of people have furious rabies, with symptoms like aggression, seizures and delirium. Others have paralytic rabies, with weakness and paralysis progressing from the bite wound to the rest of their body. Furious rabies can last a few days to a week. Paralytic rabies can last up to a month.

🔴Coma:

Many people enter a coma in the final stages of a rabies infection. Rabies eventually leads to death

Symptoms

🔴The first symptoms of rabies may be very similar to those of the flu and may last for days.

🔴Later symptoms may include: fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, agitation, anxiety, confusion, hyperactivity, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, fear brought on by attempts to drink fluids because of difficulty swallowing water, fear brought on by air blown on the face.

💉Management

There’s no approved treatment for rabies once you have symptoms. If you’ve been exposed to rabies (were bitten by or been in contact with an infected animal), contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible.

👉Clean the wound gently but thoroughly with soap and water. Ask your provider for additional instructions on cleaning the wound.

👉Your provider will give you a series of shots (vaccinations) to prevent the virus from causing rabies. They’ll also give you an antibody treatment(Human Rabies Immunoglobulin) directly to the wound if you’ve never been vaccinated before.

✋Prevention

1. Vaccinate your pets

2. ⁠Keep your pets confined

3. ⁠protect small pets from predators

4. ⁠Don’t approach wild animals

5. Keep bats out of your home

6. ⁠Consider the rabies vaccine if you are traveling or often around animals that may have rabies.

7. ⁠Report stray animals to local authorities.

As always, your well-being is our priority.

Dr Mike

Southern Gem Hospital

Health, Live Well, Research admin

The myth of insulin usage in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes – saving the cells

 

We all know about type II diabetes as the one that occurs with people of the older age group. This is very common with people with risk factors such as family history, obesity, use of steroids, and other drugs.

It is also very notable practice not to prescribe Insulin for such group with type II diabetes as first line medication at diagnosis.
However, studies show that the introduction of an “ideal” insulin prototype solves the lack of Insulin, saves the cells and further slows progression of the disease.

I would like us to explore the possibilities that abound with early insulin usage but first, let’s talk about what an ideal insulin is.

An ideal insulin is that insulin that mimicks the body’s way of producing insulin and works to steadily provide insulin needed for both fasted states and post-meal states.
So, it’s safe to say that if we find an insulin like this, we have solved the problem.
I mean let’s say you don’t have money and then someone gives you money. What do you have now? yes! you’re correct!
You now have exactly what is missing and that solves the problem of lack.

Another very important thing about early commencement of insulin is that you don’t need to take medications that continually force the pancreatic cells to produce more insulin than they would normally do, as they are worn out from excess positive feedback caused by prior insulin resistance.
To explain this, imagine you give 50 men the work of a 100 men. What do you think of the outcome? Oh yes! in the begining, you will get what you want but in the end, you will have worn them out. I hope this explains why stimulant drugs for type II diabetes are a waste of time. The only underrated and supposed medication for patients with this condition is Metformin which does so well with reducing the peripheral resistance seen in type II diabetes, making it possible for available insulin to do it’s work efficiently.

Now, this translates to a regression of disease by protecting the cells from undue work excesses. infact, complications are kept at bay as blood glucose is well controlled and poly pharmacy is no longer indicated.

For me, I think that the major challenge among others should be, reducing the cost of insulin to allow more people access the “wonder drug”. But we are faced with challenges such as poor knowledge of medical practitioners in the use of insulin, the fear of injectables by patients and the idea that they are dying soon if their condition involves daily dose of insulin to be administered themselves.

Dr Agboyinu M.D.
Southern Shore Hospitals

Geriatrics, Health, Live Well admin

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis affects millions of individuals around the world. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down over time.

Although osteoarthritis can affect any joint, it is most typically seen in the hands, knees, hips, and spine.

For some people, the symptoms can be mild and may come and go. Other persons may have more persistent and severe issues that make it difficult to carry out daily tasks.

Typical symptoms include
pain, stiffness, swelling, grating sensations and loss of flexibility in joints.

What are the causes of osteoarthritis?

Although the actual cause of osteoarthritis is unknown, some factors are likely to raise the risk, including:

Older age
joint injury
family history
Obesity

Unfortunately, osteoarthritis is a long-term condition and cannot be cured, but it doesn’t necessarily always get worse over time. In fact, it can sometimes gradually improve.

There are a variety of therapies available to help alleviate the symptoms.

For instance, mild symptoms can sometimes be managed with simple measures including:

Regular exercise, weight loss in overweight patients,
wearing suitable footwear
And using special devices to reduce the strain on joints during your everyday activities (knee brace)

Moderate cases may require additional treatments such as painkillers and a structured exercise plan with a physiotherapist.

In a small number of cases, where these treatments haven’t helped or the damage to the joints is particularly severe, surgery may be done to repair, strengthen or replace a damaged joint.

It’s not possible to prevent osteoarthritis altogether.

However, by avoiding injury and leading a healthy lifestyle, one may be able to reduce the risk of having the disease. Regular exercise, good posture and weight loss can go a long way in preventing osteoarthritis.

Stay healthy and stay safe.
Dr Aboderin.
Southern Shore Hospitals.

Children's health, Health, Live Well admin

Be Careful what you eat

Be Careful what you eat. Especially if you are Hypertensive, Diabetic or Suffer from chronic diseases.
If you are diabetic, common fruits like watermelon, pineapple, orange and even apple can and would cause a spike in your blood sugar.
Carrots and Cucumbers wouldn’t.
If you are Hypertensive Avoid salty meals and salty snacks, reduce your salt intake and try as much as you can to prepare your own meals as salt will cause an increase in your blood pressure.
If your Cholesterol levels are elevated: Reduce your red meat ( Beef, Goat meat, Pork, Ram) intake, Use more of Olive oil for cooking and try Grilling or cooking rather than frying what you eat.
Stay Healthy and Stay safe.

Dr Dosunmu Jubril
Southern Shore Hospitals.

Advice, Health, Live Well, Mental Health admin

10 Medical Facts and Advice

1. The Commonest cause of fever in Nigeria is not Malaria it is Gastroenteritis.
Avoid eating out, be sure of where you eat and what you eat.
2. If you are Hypertensive or diabetic, Diet and exercise are as important as your daily medications.
Avoid Salt and Sugar, Exercise for 40 minutes at least 3 times a week.
3. Cervical cancer can be prevented by giving teenage girls HPV vaccine by the age of 15.
4. Ivermectin is not an antiviral drug, it does not cure Covid19, nor does it prevent COVID-19.
5. Your gut Bacteria ( The local bacteria in your intestines) Plays a huge role in your immune system, protecting them is vital. Eat a variety of healthy food and avoid taking antibiotics unnecessarily.
Greek yoghurts are rich in probiotics.
6. Tetanus vaccine lasts for 10 years, Always document your vaccination history.
7. Alcohol can and will damage the liver when taken excessively. Care should also be taken to avoid interaction between alcohol and certain drugs ( Antibiotics, pain killers, sedatives amongst others) as this could lead to Cardiac arrest, Suppression of respiration or acceleration of liver damage.
8. Stress is a major factor in all chronic diseases. Always avoid stress and find time to relax.
9. Your ear is connected to your throat through the Eustachian tube, an untreated ear infection will likely give you a throat infection and an untreated throat infection can cause an ear infection.
10. Multiple drug-resistant Gonorrhea is known to be resistant to all known antibiotics.
This strain of Gonorrhea which was previously found in Asia, the Uk and South Africa has been isolated locally, it is said to exist in clusters.
Practice Safe sex always.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Dr Dosunmu Jubril Adekunle
Southern Shore Hospitals
Advice, Health, Live Well, Mental Health, Research admin

Drug Abuse is a healthcare problem today in Nigeria.

Drug Abuse is a healthcare problem today in Nigeria. It is a problem because of the easy access to drugs and the escalating rate at which younger people are becoming afflicted by drug addiction. 10 Years ago the commonest drug used to be Marijuana, Doctors had to manage the complications of Marijuana use, which is not very addictive. Today Nigeria is a net importer of Class A drugs and these drugs are used in Nigeria. Cocaine, Heroine, Methamphetamine, Crack cocaine, and many other highly-addictive Class A drugs are available and easily accessible. Today a community clinic would probably manage between 3-6 cases of recreational drug-induced mental and medical conditions monthly, When an individual is afflicted by addiction recovery is always very slow and never guaranteed. Recovery from addiction can take between 6 months to 10 years however a huge percentage of addicts never fully recover. Watching out for signs of drug consumption is very important in preventing addiction. Discuss with a psychiatrist or a psychologist for help and most importantly keep the person close. Remember consumption of recreational drugs is a choice but drug addiction is not a choice. Addicts are patients and they require specialist care. Let’s keep our community Safe and Sane.

Dr Dosunmu Jubril

Southern shore hospital

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