It's SteeTime!

In the last couple of weeks Southern Africa has been experiencing extremely hot weather with temperatures as high as 44'C in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. It has affected everyday life and comfort and concerns for health safety have come up. The Heat is On Risks from hot weather include: DEHYDRATION - Under normal circumstances the sweat we produce when we get hot keeps us cool when it evaporates from the surface of our skin. However, on extremely hot days, when we become dehydrated, or when we over-exert ourselves, this system can fail, and body temperature can start to climb to dangerous levels. This leads to heat stroke or exhaustion. HEAT STROKE   - This can cause headaches, dizziness and muscle cramps, but it can also be life-threatening. Heat stroke is particularly dangerous because symptoms can come on very rapidly, and - unless you are watching for the signs - with very little warning. BURNING OF THE SKIN - Not only is sunburn painful, it can accelerate the a...

I wasn't going to blog today because I really had nothing to say. But this afternoon some representatives from Danone, an Infant Nutrition Company came to talk to us at the hospital about their Cows-and-Gates Infant Formula. Actually they tricked us into that talk. The notice said it was a Continuous Medical Education about 'Preterm Feeding'. Me, being in Paediatrics Department was quite interested in attending such a teaching...but noooo, it was just some suited up Sales-reps telling us why Danone is better than Nestle. It reminded me of the movie 'Love and Other Drugs'. It is a hopelessly romantic movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway set in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Gyllenhaal plays the charming, lady's man drug rep and he is really good at his job. Instant success strikes when he is given the wonder-drug 'Viagra' to sell. You can imagine how it ends. The DVD cover The Pharmaceutical Industry develops, produces, ...

This morning there was a grenade attack in a Nairobi discotheque by suspected Al Shabaab militants. This was in response to Kenyan Militia invading Somalia after kidnappings of tourists to Kenya in the recent past. This is not the first terrorist attack in East Africa and certainly not the first worldwide as attacks of this nature have become a common tactic in today's war-torn world. Bomb Blast Victim in Hospital I don’t like to dwell on politics, but whether we like it or not when the elephants fight the grass will suffer. Bombings and explosion incidents directed against innocent civilians are the primary instrument of global terror. What should you know about bomb blasts? Is there anything you should do if involved in one which could aid your survival or people injured around you? The extent and pattern of injuries produced by an explosion are a direct result of several factors including : ·          the amount and composition of...

The perk of being a Media Medic (me) is that there is so much interesting content to blog about. I usually choose topics related to things which I have personally come across, something trending in social media related to health, something a friend or patient is stressed about or whatever Dr Oz is talking about! So, as you can imagine, I had reservations about doing yet another cancer post. It is Breast Cancer month though so I have to mention that recently one of my favourite E! presenters and reality stars Giuliana Rancic admitted on TV of suffering of breast cancer. Wow. Just comes to show, it can happen to anyone. Take Home Message: Monthly self-breast exams are important! On to something else, over the weekend I witnessed some people getting totally sloshed (cool talk for inebriated). And the following day instead of acting like normal hungover people they just began drinking again that morning till the next morning! Names and location will remain confidential of course. I wil...

Cancer seems to be coming up a lot in the last few weeks. Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai and Apple CEO Steve Jobs both battled cancer till their recent demise. So obviously, no matter how much money you have or how educated you are, it can still get you. The cancer ribbon colors represent A little depressing, huh? No, it doesn't have to be. Commencing this October 2011, as part of the Cancer month activities, The Nairobi Hospital will be holding Cancer Walk on 15th October 2011 in Nairobi and be subsequently holding similar walks in Mombasa Kisumu and Nyeri in the same month. The theme of the walks is ‘ Taking Strides Against Cancer ’ and the walk’s objective is to create awareness on the importance of early detection as the best prevention of cancer. A cancer cell Cancer Signs and Symptoms Cancer gives most people no symptoms or signs that exclusively indicate the disease. Unfortunately, every complaint or symptom of cancer can be explained by ...

RIP STEVE JOBS 1955-2011 We woke up to the sad news that Apple Icon Steve Jobs had passed away. Inventor of the iPod (music in your pocket), iPhone (cool phone) and iPad (really cool computer thing in your hands). He died after battling Pancreatic Cancer for some time. A friend of mine asked me how you get this cancer and I decided to blog about it so that you may look out for the symptoms and avoid the risk factors.   Pancreatic Cancer Causes The main recognized risk factors for pancreatic cancer include the following: Smoking Advanced age Male sex - The male-to-female ratio of pancreatic cancer is 1.3:1. Chronic pancreatitis - Inflammation of the pancreas, usually from excessive alcohol intake or gallstones Diabetes mellitus Family history of pancreatic cancer Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms The main symptoms of pancreatic cancer include the following: Pain in the abdomen, the back, or both Weight loss , often associated with the fol...