Medical Republic
THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BLOCKED EAR
Why do bad things happen to good people? He said to himself,Kai! His mind raced back to all the people he met the previous day. Who did I offend? He had prepared very well for this clinical exam but with what was on ground, he knew he was going home empty handed . In the past two months he had been told not to wear a particular ward coat by a certain consultant.
The ward coat had the name of a drug printed boldly on it, of all drugs ‘Sildenafil’ was boldly imprinted on the breast pocket of the ward coat. The first day the consultant saw him with this ward coat, the consultant sternly warned him not to wear it again.
Few weeks later during another ward round the consultant sighted him and behold he was with the ward coat again, this time the consultant said nothing.
Fast forward to the day of the clinical exam, he was so busy reading that he forgot to get another ward coat. He went through the pile of ward coats in his room and only the ‘forbidden’ ward coat was clean.
He went to meet his friends to borrow their ward coat but it seemed there was a ward coat scarcity that day and then he ironed the ‘forbidden’ ward coat, he would not miss the mark allotted for good dressing and hygiene he said to himself.
He got a badge with his matriculation number and covered the breast pocket the ward coat. The forbidden ward coat suddenly became converted to a cute ward coat. He went to the ward for the exam and clerked the patient allocated to him, he was done and was waiting for his examiner when suddenly the consultant who had scolded him for wearing the forbidden ward coat appeared.
He was his examiner for the case presentation and for reasons we still cannot explain, the badge had a fracture or was it a dislocation or translocation. He noticed his badge was missing when he saw that throughout his presentation the consultant was looking at his chest.
He knew his fate was sealed when he noticed that his badge was no longer in position. His diagnosis was Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and he waited patiently for the questions that would follow.
Doctor the consultant said, I will ask you simple questions are you ready? Yes he said. His first question was what is the risk of COPD in this patient? He smiled as he answered.
Cigarette smoking, he said. Very correct his examiner responded. Can you explain the economic impact of this cigarette in your patient’s life? He asked. Excuse me Sir, I did not get you he replied.
The examiner repeated the question and as the candidate was still thinking, he asked him another question. What is the price for a stick of cigarette? The ground around the student was visibly opening.
What brand does your patient smoke? He knew 2 cigarette brands and without thinking blurted out “Rothmanns and Benson & Hedges”. He actually forgot to ask the patient.
On the bed side the patient responded with a loud voice ” I no dey smoke that one oh, na Marlboro and St Moritz I dey smoke” He suddenly remembered he did not pray in the morning after he saw masquerades chasing him when he dreamt at night.
He was now visibly sweating even when he was under the fan. He was still thinking about the impact of the last question. When he suddenly heard another one Doctor have you been coming around during your posting? Yes Sir he said. The examiner then asked” What is the admission fee into the ward?” Why do bad things happen to good people he thought.
Just then the bell rang, his time was up, yeah his time was up, the time of the forbidden ward coat was also up. Rumours have it that it was burnt. In the next exams he got a new ward coat and did not meet his previous examiner and yes masquerades no longer chase him at night.
Disclaimer
E be like say some animals were killed in the making of this movie.
By Ovundah Nyeche
Many times I jokingly tell my friends I have triplets. Well when you have 3 children which includes twins below the age of 5 what else is that called? Lol
Truly speaking, many times I do my reading and prepare for many of my seminars and presentations at work or even in the library, because once daddy steps inside house na full time work don start.
Remove your eyes from your kids and boom something…
We try our best to keep our home as safe as possible, but with kids, safety is also of the Lord.
Years ago, while doing my NYSC in Ekiti State, an unconscious child was brought into the hospital with a crowd following him.
My duty was to wake up the child by fire or by force, unfortunately, those who brought the child were not giving me any useful information.
How long has this child being unconscious… Today!
Fever… Kosi!
Trauma to the head… Kosi!
Vomiting… Kosi!
Convulsion… Kosi!
Last meal… Recently!
It was obvious my talk was taking me to no where, I had no glucometer to check the child’s blood sugar who was barely 3 years old, I decided to treat as a case of cerebral malaria, and I set up everything.
On a 2nd note, the smell from the child’s mouth was somehow, somehow… It was smelling kaikaish.
No…. Wetyn pikin go dey do with Kaikai?
No information was coming forth…
Treatment started and boom grandmother shows from nowhere with an empty Kaikai bottle…
My little patient had looted one full bottle of alcohol and the effect was him lying on the bed unconscious…
Few minutes after commencement of treatment… He was awake.
Handling children is not beans and this brings me to a very important topic “Kerosene Poisoning”.
Wetyn be Kerosene Poisoning?
I am sure we all know what kerosene is, kerosene poisoning without getting too technical is harm as a result of accidentally drinking kerosene.
Kerosene poisoning is very common, as many homes still make use of kerosene and unfortunately kerosene looks like water and unlike petrol is stored in attractive containers, many times bottled water containers or even soft drink bottles.
It is the commonest form of poison amongst children.
Then?
Usually when it happens parents panic and have to do things.
Some of the things include giving the child palm oil, palm kernel oil, crude oil, olive oil, groundnut oil, or putting their fingers inside the child’s throat.
Why?
They do this to neutralize the kerosene, but most especially so the child can vomit the kerosene gulped.
Facts.
Kerosene is poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the fear is in the kerosene getting to the lungs and this usually happens when the child vomits.
Medical people call this “aspiration pneumonitis”, which is big grammar for the lung tissue reacting to the kerosene in the lungs.
This reaction can lead to fever, the child being breathless, cough, as well as noisy breathing.
The kerosene can also affect the heart, GIT or even the brain or bone marrow.
What do I do then?
- First don’t panic.
- Secondly don’t allow the enemy to use you.
- Thirdly, do nothing at home, yes including suggestions from neighbours except the neighbour is a qualified doctor.
- Fourthly, halele, go to a hospital, irrespective of the quantity of kerosene swallowed.
In the hospital, the child would be observed, and if needs be a Chest X-ray would be requested and treatment given to the child as needed.
Don’t play a doctor if you are not one, life is not Nollywood.
How do we prevent this?
Let’s call it the 4 As
reduced Accessibility : Hide all kerosene from children. Keep if far from children.
reduced Attractiveness: Don’t store kerosene in attractive containers, and lock the containers properly.
reduced Availability: If you can don’t use kerosene, apart from the issue of poisoning, the issue of burns is a story for another day. Also use only quantities needed.
increased Awareness: Now you have heard tell others.
Again what do I know?
This is the end of my story.
#HearWord #HearWordseries
Medical Republic
Presentations: 58th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the NMA Rivers State.
The well attended conference which held in the NMA House Port Harcourt, had 3 Scientific sessions as well as Panel discussions.
Presentations which were presented include:
Environment and Health: Confronting Challenges in a Sustainable Way
by
Professor Precious N. Ede
Institute of Geosciences and Space Technology
Rivers State University
Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt.
Health Care Financing: Confronting Challenges in (Achieving) Universal Health Coverage and Service Delivery
by
Dr. Anikara S. Atamunotoru
Health Financing Specialist, USAID Health Finance & Governance (HFG) Project.
Human Resources For Health: Pillar Of Health Systems Strenghtening
by
Dr Claribel Abam
Pioneer Executive Secretary, R/S Primary Health Care Management Board, 2011-2015
The Keynote address: Health Delivery in Rivers State: A Situational Analysis was presented by Dr Charles Ibiene Tobin-West a renowned Public Health Specialist.
Medical Republic
Abstracts for the NMA Rivers State 58th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference.
List of Abstracts Accepted for Oral Presentation
| SNO | ABSTRACT No | TITLE | PRESENTER |
| 1 | NMA/ABS/2018/01-OR | Audit of patients aged 60 years and above presenting in a tertiary Hospital in south-south Nigeria | Bell-Gam HI
|
| 2 | NMA/ABS/2018/03-OR | The Cost Effectiveness of Including Hepatitis C Antibody Screening in Routine Antenatal Tests-A Single Centre’s Experience | Dan-Jumbo A |
| 3 | NMA/ABS/2018/08-OR | Endoscopic posterior urethral valve excision using hysteroscopic scissors- Colworths experience. | Ovunda Jack Omodu |
| 4 | NMA/ABS/2018/13-OR | Association between cooking fuels and peak expiratory flow rate among rural women in the Niger-Delta. | Ofori S |
| 5 | NMA/ABS/2018/24-OR | Improving Child Survival in Nigeria And the Revised Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding | Alice Nte |
| 6 | NMA/ABS/2018/25-OR | Prevalence of Gallstone Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Using Ultrasound in Port Harcourt, South-South Nigeria. | UGBOMA E.W |
| 7 | NMA/ABS/2018/28-OR | The Quality of Public Sources of Drinking Water in Oil Bearing Communities in The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria | Omosivie Maduka |
| 8 | NMA/ABS/2018/29-OR | The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes: Its Implications to the Nigerian Medical Association | Alice Nte |
| 9 | NMA/ABS/2018/30-OR | Arthroplasty-The Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital Experience. | Friday Aaron |
The International Code Of Marketing Of Breast milk
Prevalence of Gallstone Disease in Pxs with Type II DM
Improving Child Survival In Nigeria And The Revised
Drinking Water Quality in Niger Delta
AUDIT IN 60YEARS AND ABOVE PPP BELL-GAM & AMADI (4)
The Prevalence of HCV Among pregnant women Oral Presentation
-
Sexual Purity2 years agoHold Your Fire
-
Inspirational4 years agoThe measure of life is not its duration, but its donation
-
Inspirational4 years agoNCCF SHALL NEVER DIE…TALES FROM EKITI II
-
Faith4 years agoHEART TRANSPLANT
-
Healthy Living2 years agoDealing with stress in the face of a pandemic.
-
HearWord4 years agoTHE THERAPEUTIC SLAP
-
Features3 years agoApologies My Dear Melanin Umbrella.
-
Healthy Living4 years agoPlease help me…I am enthralled by Tramadol
5 Comments