Health
Birth Control: Expert Urges Medical Advice
Consultant gynecolo
gist, Dr. Uranta Ferdinand has called on women to seek the proper advice of a medical professional in their choice of contraceptive (Birth Control) methods.
Ferdinand who made the call following the critical health condition of a woman diagnosed with a wrong choice of contraceptive told The Tide that choosing contraceptive method with out medical advice has an adverse health effects.
Ferdinand said “it is dangerous to choose a birth control method without proper medical advice. We don’t mean just meeting every and any medical personnel but a professional in that field because a lot is involved and even more is that the choice depends on the medical history and health status of the individual, therefore it should not be taken for granted”.
He said that women with obesity or heart disease needed more proper counseling stating that some contraceptive methods could prove more harmful than imagined.
Ferdinand who noted that a large number of women use the implantable progesterone only as their method said however that the contraceptive should not be recommended for women who are overweight.
“The contraceptive that is good for women is actually individualised which calls for a thorough medical examination and a check of medical history. With this, the expert is guided on what contraceptive that is good, and for women who have some form of heart condition, you have to be careful in giving them the combined contraceptive which is estrogen and progesterone because of the effect it may have on the heart.
While listing some contraceptives often used to include the Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD), posterior, injectable contraceptive, deprofoveral among others, Ferdinand explained that the deprofoveral is a contraceptive that is implanted under the skin which he said can remain there for up to three years.
“The injectable ones is taken once in two or three months while the IUCD is inserted into the uterus which forms a physical barrier to pregnancy and does not distort the circle. However, those using the IUCD will experience complications such as pelvic pain, increased risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease. Sometimes this device can be dislodged or displaced in the uterus, it can puncture the uterus or even find its way to the abdomen itself. Though these complications are rare, they can still occur”.
The expert who noted that it takes the both partners to choose birth control and the method to be used said the best and non-complicated method for every type of woman was abstinence saying “the both had to agree not to have sex at the time of ovulation and this serves as the best control method”.
Some women who shared their experiences with The Tide affirmed the advice of the medical expert maintaining that formal education was not a yardstick for medical counseling on choice of contraceptive method as admitted by most women particularly in the rural areas.
Mrs. Roseline Wokoma, a 49 year old woman and mother of four children said “ignorance is the main cause. As a woman, it did not take formal education for you to get pregnant and even give birth and so, you don’t need it to get the right method to control your pregnancies. All you need to do is to meet a specialist who will conduct a test on you and give you the right method. Especially with resident doctors in the local health centres, they will speak and act in the way you will understand and all you need to do is just to adhere to the rules”.
Chidimma Jonathan said “once you do not use the right method, there is bound to be a lot of discomforts and side effects which includes swollen stomach, hormonal imbalance, fatigue and some more serious ones depending on the one you used. Let us try and seek medical advice before venturing into it for our own good health.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.