In a few days it will be World Heart Day (29th September) and the heart is once more in focus. Even a perceived disease of the heart will get people to seek professional care immediately but of course in all things we have the “stubborn a…
The abrofo-nkatie sized gland found only in men wants to be known and referred to as the prostate gland and not prostrate gland as many of us choose to call it. It has also made a strong case that it has more to it than the feared prostate…
I was discussing prostate cancer with an exciting team recently and I loved the level of engagement. The ladies asked more questions about prostate issues including prostatitis, BPH and prostate cancer than the men did.
A question on te…
We are seeing a number of people in some clinics with red eyes with discomfort and a sudden increase in number of people wearing protective glasses. This week I am excited to introduce Dr. Nana Kofi Osei who has been doing a terrific job o…
The majority of us yearn for a long health span filled with laughter/happiness and the good things of life including wealth. This dream is possible and the most significant influencing factor may surprise you; FRIENDSHIP. Yes making qualit…
Many of us may find it difficult to believe it, but there are people with flesh and blood who do not make any excuses to avoid exercising. I certainly wish I was in this unique category.
These exercise addicts and some professional athl…
Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the golden-fleece eludes the majority of us. Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make …
If you are like most humans, then you will come up with 1001 reasons why you can’t exercise: there is always something that appears more attractive than performing an activity that may make you break into a sweat but I doubt if there is a …
I have been wondering why I have this urge to write about constipation soon after the month of May during which we indulged in issues of blood pressure. This may have been influenced by the frequent complaints I hear day in day out about c…
Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a medical condition that affects people of all ages around the world. It is often referred to as the "silent killer" because it can go unnoticed for years, quietly damaging your healt…
High blood pressure (hypertension) is often referred to as “the silent killer” because though it may be causing a lot of harm to your body, one may be feeling perfectly well. Hypertension can only be diagnosed by taking blood pressure read…
Many nutrition enthusiasts will swear that eating appropriately solely holds the key to great health. The die-hard exercise addicts will tell you to concentrate on exercising and nutrition can take a back seat. My position is clear on thes…
You surely have come across the phrase “go with your gut feeling” and many times we consider that to be our instincts, but the gut, which is the full path that swallowed food travels may be much smarter than we think. It has even been refe…
Many of us have already packed our holiday season with so much work and back-to-back programmes we hardly have time to breathe. The little time we can squeeze out is used to stuff ourselves with food and drinks, but for this season and bey…
Our roads have been turned into battlefields. Lawlessness reigns supreme. Lives and property are destroyed or lost without anyone losing sleep.
What I am referring to as roads are in most places stretches of land where manholes and poth…
Nature has a way of consistently reminding us to keep ourselves and our surroundings clean and when we refuse to conform we get scares from conditions such as Ebola, Swine Flu, Meningitis and recently Lassa Fever. It may not be at your doo…
There are a 1001 reasons to postpone donating blood or even being an advocate or sponsor for blood donation BUT those who need blood do not have the luxury of time. Every minute counts and the only way to save lives is to keep our blood ba…
When it comes to cancer risk factors; ALL RISK FACTORS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Someone may have several risk factors and another may have only one or none yet end up with breast cancer or other cancers.
We can not say with certainty that…
The conventional wisdom has always been that we should all strive to keep our blood pressure low. Even though this is true, having really low blood pressure can be dangerous, as it can impair your body's ability to absorb oxygen, resulting…
Wellness nuggets for 2023 & beyond
This has been the shortest January I can remember. Is it a matter of perspectives or there is so much happening that time seems to speed by?
Whatever the reason may be we will continue to focus on o…
Whoever coined the phrase, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” may have been onto something bigger than he or she had intended. We can now authoritatively state that this pathway applies to women and children as well and it m…
Many of us are beginning to cheat on sleep through no fault of ours. As the year draws to a close and it dawns on you that you have spent more money than you should have, and as the extremely “long” January stares at you, a myriad of thing…
I have realized three groups of people normally make up any audience I speak to. The first group are people who already know the basics of healthy eating, another who do not know and a third who think they know. However, what all these gro…
Over the past few months I have noticed a worrying trend of people getting repeated episodes of heart burn as well as unbearable burning sensation in their bellies. Many of the “victims” seem to be in a long-term relationship with nonstero…
I am aware that a few years ago, Cuba “postponed” Christmas so that farmers could harvest produce and it appears Sikaman should be considering doing something similar in 2022. We are only a few days away from the most magical holiday in th…
When we discuss HIV, prevention is key BUT even for those who may have the virus already it is heartwarming to know that there is treatment so that you can live the life you want to live with or without HIV. Our goal in treatment is to ens…
A few decades ago when I walked the corridors of “The Grey City of The Outlaws Hill….where.. we are brothers and our mother is the School” and long before one village one dam, one district one factory and one man one wife became common par…
“Doctor, I am so tired. I still feel drained even after a 10-hour sleep.”
“I feel lonely, unappreciated and extremely tired. Help me doctor.” These are two of the numerous examples that clients complain of on a daily basis. We are in “a…
Few diseases command the “respect” that diabetes does, even atheists break into uncontrollable “tongues” once you diagnose them with this disease or merely suggest that they may have the condition. Unfortunately many of us out of fear of t…
When it comes to cancer risk factors; ALL RISK FACTORS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Someone may have several risk factors and another may have only one or none yet end up with breast cancer or other cancers.
Our best weapon in fighting breast…
1. What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the breast tissue.
Ghana is estimated to records 20.4% new breast cancer cases, majority between women 35-50yrs (2020 GLOBACAN report).
Breast cancer can cause…
Time seems to be in sprint mode. A few decades ago when we used to indulge in gutter to gutter and trekked on foot several miles to take part in major counters-ball tournaments (you know if you know) it appeared the days and nights wer…
We will limit our discussion of arthritis to osteoarthritis, which is the breakdown of the smooth hyaline cartilage inside the joint. Without a smooth articulating surface, movement in or about the joint becomes painful. It is commonly ref…
Supplements do exactly what their name implies; they supplement i.e. add to. They DO NOT replace medication that your health professional started you on to control your blood pressure or blood sugar. They also supplement what our food give…
In our culture as Ghanaians, snacking is not a big deal even though we have traditional or local snacks. Most of us don't plan to eat snacks. However, people tend to replace main meals with these snacks, giving them a bad reputation. Our “…
Exercise is often described as the wonder-pill, laughter referred to as the best medicine but these two will struggle to make their impact felt if SLEEP is left out of the equation. These days many people wear sleep deprivation like a badg…
“Me nyare n’anso me nti ap)” this is a popular akan saying that can be translated into English as “I am not ill, yet I feel unwell.” It’s that feeling when you just can’t place a finger on what is not right with you.
Today, I can confid…
Over the past three weeks, I seem to be bombarded with challenges involving the heart and mental health and it appears it’s an appropriate time to dig into the archives to reproduce an article I wrote in 2011. It is over a decade ago but t…
"Ghana has confirmed its first two cases of the deadly Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes the feared Ebola.”
As deadly as this disease is, all the 2 who tested positive for the virus d…
Over the years, I have built a store of exciting and relevant health tips from several sources. I believe that if we are able to master a few of them it will go a long way to enrich our lives.
“The doctor of the future will give no medici…
The internet may make one feel you can become an expert in a field overnight BUT DO NOT be fooled. It is impossible! Even getting the right source for the information can be dicey. At best you end up with information that gives the impress…
Vitiligo is a disease that causes the skin to lose its colour. This appears as patches which get bigger as the patient ages and this makes it a chronic condition. Melanin is what determines the colour of the human skin and hair, Vitiligo o…
There are a 1001 reasons to postpone donating blood or even being an advocate or sponsor for blood donation BUT those who need blood do not have the luxury of time. Every minute counts and the only way to save lives is to keep our blood ba…
Introduction
It was a warm day in October 2003 in San Diego, California, USA. I was attending the Infectious Disease Society of America’s annual conference. I passionately stood up at a meeting to express my thoughts about media reports…
Whenever there is a change in seasons such as the onset of rains as we are experiencing now we tend to experience a surge in number of people sneezing, coughing and generally feeling unwell. As more people stay indoors and have close conta…
“Once AGAIN, torrential rains have hit the Accra Metropolis, creating heavy floods in various parts that have caused great havoc to lives and property. The team of ministers, the mayor of Accra, officials of the National Disaster Managemen…
It is important to feel comfortable in your doctor’s presence so that you can freely discuss all your challenges including Finances since Financial Health is an important component of holistic wellness. Sometimes the malaise you are experi…
17th May is World Hypertension Day and please do not panic. This is not a stress-filled day that aims at increasing your blood pressure but rather it’s a day set aside to increase awareness of a serial yet silent killer. That is exactly wh…
Sleep comes in different shades. There are those who sleep pretty and hardly move an inch in bed. Then we have those who are virtually at war when in bed and may turn a whole 360 degrees several times in the land of the unknown. Woe betide…
Malaria for centuries has been so common in our part of the world that people tend to associate any form of fever or “bitter taste in mouth” or even general feeling of not being well as malaria. Everyone seems to be an authority on diagnos…