OBSTRUCTED GUT

                         OBSTRUCTED GUT

A gut is the long tube in the body of a person or animal, through which food moves during digestion.

An acute abdomen may be caused by something that blocks or ‘obstructs’ a part of the gut, so that food and stools cannot pass.

More common causes are:

-         A ball or knot of roundworms (Ascaris).

-         A loop of gut that is pinched in a hernia.

-         A part of the gut that slips inside the below it (intussusceptions).

Almost any kind of acute abdomen may show some signs of obstruction. Because it hurts the damaged gut to move, it stops moving.

Signs of an obstructed gut:

-          

     Steady, severe pain in the belly.

-         The belly is swollen, hard, and very tender.

-         It hurts more when you touch it.

-         When you put your ear to it, you hear no sound of normal gurgles.

-         Sudden vomiting with great force.

Get this person to a hospital as fast as possible. His life us in danger and surgery may be needed.

THE MENOPAUSE (WHEN WOMEN STOP HAVING PERIOD)

THE MENOPAUSE (WHEN WOMEN STOP HAVING PERIOD)     

The menopause or climacteric is the time in a woman’s life when the menstrual periods stop coming. After menopause, she can no longer bear children. In general, this ‘change of life’ happens between the ages of 40 and 50. The periods often become irregular for several months before they stop completely.

There is no reason to stop having sex during or after the menopause. But a woman can still become pregnant during this time. If she does not want to have more children, she should continue to use birth control for twelve months after her periods stop.

When menopause begins, a woman may think she is pregnant. And when she bleeds again after three or four months, she may think she is having a miscarriage. If a woman of 40 or 50 starts bleeding again after some months without, explain to her that it may be menopause.

During menopause, it is normal to feel many discomforts, anxiety, distress, ‘hot flashes’ (suddenly feeling uncomfortably hot), pains that travel all over the body, sadness, etc. After menopause is over, most women feel better again.

Women who have severe bleeding or a lot of pain in the belly during menopause, or who begins to bleed again after the bleeding has stopped for months or years, should seek medical help. An examination is needed to make sure they do not have cancer or another serious problem.

After menopause, a woman’s bones may become weaker and break more easily. To prevent this, it helps to eat foods with calcium.

Because she will not have any more children, a woman may be more free now to spend time with her grandchildren or to become more active in the society.

MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN (INFERTILITY)

MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN (INFERTILITY)

Sometimes a man and a woman try to have children but the woman those not become pregnant. Either the man or woman may be infertile (unable to bring about pregnancy). Often nothing can be done to make a person fertile, but sometimes something can be done, depending on the cause.

COMMON CAUSES OF INFERTILITY:

1.     STERILITY: The person’s body is such that he or she can never have children. Some men and women are born sterile.

2.     WEAKNESSES OR A NUTRITIONAL LACK: In some women severe anemia, poor nutrition or lack of iodine may lower the chance of becoming pregnant. Or it may cause the unformed baby (embryo) to die, perhaps before the mother even knows she is pregnant. A woman who is not able to become pregnant, or has had only miscarriages, should get enough nutritious food, use iodized salt, and if she is severely anemic, take iron pills. These may increase her chance of becoming pregnant and having a healthy baby.

3.     CHRONIC INFECTION: Especially pelvic inflammatory disease due to gonorrhea or Chlamydia is a common cause of infertility in women. Treatment may help if the disease has not gone too far. Prevention and early treatment of gonorrhea and Chlamydia means fewer sterile women.

4.     MEN: Sometimes unable to make women pregnant because they have fewer sperms than is normal. It may help for the man to wait, without having sex, for several days before the woman enters her fertile days’ each month, midway between her last menstrual period and the next. This way he will give her his full amount of sperm when they have sex on days when she is able to become pregnant.

WARNING: Hormones and other medicines commonly given to men or women who cannot have babies almost never do any good, especially in men. Home remedies and magic cures are not likely to help either. Be careful not to waste your money for things that will not help.

                 DAVID AMANGI TENDE- tendsdavid1@gmail.com

ENLARGED PROSTATE GLAND

                        ENLARGED PROSTATE GLAND

This condition is most common in men over 40 years old. It is caused by a swelling of the prostate gland, which is between the bladder and the urinary tube (urethra).

-         The person has difficulty in passing urine and sometimes in having a bowel movement. The urine may only dribble or drip or become blocked completely.

-         If he or she has fever, this is a sign that infection is also present.

-         If the person cannot urinate, he or she should try sitting in a tub of hot water. If this does not work, a catheter may be needed.

-         If he or she has fever, use an antibiotic, such as ampicilin or tetracycline.

-         Get medical help when serious. Chronic cases may require surgery.

Note: Both prostate trouble and gonorrhea (or Chlamydia) can make it hard to pass urine. In older men it is more likely to be an enlarged prostate. However, a younger man, especially one who has recently had sex with an infected person, probably has gonorrhea or Chlamydia.

DAVID AMANGI TENDE- tendsdavid1@gmail.com