Health benefits of vegetables

Written by Dr Sylvester Ikhisemojie
~Punch Nigeria. Sunday, August 26, 2018.

Written by Dr Sylvester Ikhisemojie

People have known in much of their lifetimes that it is beneficial to take vegetables in our food. For some, it serves as a mere condiment used to garnish the food and make it look more appealing. Others have often used it to improve the taste of their food. Some others use vegetables as a dietary supplement to provide extra nutrients, vitamins and to act as a bowel cleanser. All the above reasons are correct in various degrees in the use of vegetables. However, there are also some people who cannot stand the addition of vegetables to their normal meals.

These sorts of people miss a lot in terms of the tastiness of any particular type of food and what they could stand to gain from its consumption. There are many various types of vegetables but certain ingredients are common to them and in seeking to understand how they positively impact on our overall health, it is better for us to examine what these features are.

Vegetables contain cellulose, a spongy compound which the human stomach is not even designed to digest. Cellulose is the remarkable substance that mostly makes up the fiber in the diet. That compound is able to improve the sheer bulk of our stools and therefore, ease its way through the alimentary canal and get passed out as faeces. Such fiber in the diet helps to flush out waste effectively from the alimentary tract and gastric irritants. By doing this also, they help the body keep various diseases at bay and fight bloating. Cellulose is a complex material which herbivores like goats, sheep and cows are particularly able to digest. These creatures and other similar ones are known as ruminants. Such animals live almost exclusively on these substances and they almost never fall ill. This ability is also replicated in man; as most vegetables help people fend off chronic diseases and to lose weight.

Vegetables are also constituted of about 85 to 95 per cent water which helps hydrate the skin and reduce wrinkles. Besides, they contain substances called phytonutrients which help to guard against premature aging. They accomplish that by preventing cell damage caused by stress, sunshine, environmental pollution and toxins. Brightly coloured vegetables which could be red or orange will usually give the body an added boost of beta carotene which is protective of the skin from the sun's damage while giving it a healthy glow. One common example of an orange vegetable is the carrot and a red one is the tomato. The latter contains a substance known as lycopene which has been proved to act virtually as a natural sunscreen.

HERPES: The infection called herpes

Topics:
- The infection called herpes
- Seek treatment for herpes

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The infection called herpes
Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
~Punch Nigeria. Sunday, February 19, 2017.

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Herpes is an infection caused by a very resourceful kind of microbe known as a virus. It is a clever virus too which finds it easy or convenient to adapt to their respective hosts. The virus causing herpes is of two types which are named the Herpes simplex Type 1 and Type 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2). The former is mostly involved in causing lesions around the face or more broadly, around the head and neck. In some cases, it causes a severe kind of gum inflammation called gingivostomatitis. This is often seen in children. The Type 2 is mainly found in association with disease in the genital region. This broad categorisation is sometimes wrong especially among certain population groups in whom the Type 1 is found more in association with genital diseases than the Type 2.

Herpes is not a new disease although it was not properly understood until the last two decades of the twentieth century. It dates back to more than 2000 years when the ancient Greeks in response to the creepy nature of the disease named it a creeping or crawling disease. In the Type 1 disease in which the face and lips are primarily involved, the skin problem it causes often resembles a bleeding gum. Most of these infections are not associated with any notable condition or illness. In the majority of cases, there is in fact, no disease status. However, when there is such a disease condition developing in association with this infection, significant illness, incapacitation and even death can occur.

This disease condition has increased in importance and spread in the last quarter of a century. It has therefore become a major public health concern and even though there is no immediate association with this virus of dramatic images of suffering and disease and death, the conditions exist without doubt. There is much ignorance about this virus and what it causes and there is so much else in terms of what damage it can cause especially among those people who already have a compromised immune status as a result of another condition like cancer treatment or long-standing kidney or liver disease. It is also more likely to occur in people with AIDS. In the United States, herpes is the most common cause of genital ulcers.


Both strains of the virus can cause disease in man as has been mentioned above. In addition, they are able to penetrate the unique kind of tissue prevalent in nerves and induce those cells to allow them to reproduce and multiply. It tends therefore, to follow the various nerve routes prevalent in the areas of the body where it mounts its attacks. It can complicate the wounds associated with burns and certain other skin conditions that would result in an inflammation of the skin known as dermatitis. The virus is found everywhere in the world and no age group is exempt from its effects. It is endemic in the human population and human beings are its only known reservoir. The virus also has no known natural vectors but it is liable to perform periodic reactivation which is the reason why so many sufferers of the infection become depressed and poorly motivated when they are exposed to repeated infection. The virus is speedily inactivated by drying and at room temperature so that it quickly loses its potency once it is outside the body. As a result of that weakness, it is not common to get the infection by droplets or in the form of aerosol.

Dear Aunty Julie (Relationship, Romance, Healthe and Fitness) -|- My husband’s friend is destroying our marriage

Topics:

Dear Aunty Julie,

• My husband’s friend is destroying our marriage
• I feel guilty about cheating on him
• Help! I had anal s3x and started bleeding
• I'm in love with my husband's best friend
• How do I forgive his sexting
• My husband's friend is destroying our marriage
• My friends want me to sleep with an older woman
• He doesn't like sex during my period
•  Sex with my husband is painful
• I love sex but I don't want anything serious
• My husband’s friend is destroying our marriage
• I feel uncomfortable around my father-in-law
• Aunty Julie, I have a crush on my best friend's brother
• I'm sexually attracted to a man at work, I'm married
• Wetness from my vagina dries into tiny crumbs, smells funny
• Dear Aunty Julie, Help! I am developing feelings for my teacher
• He's scared about sex during my period
• We had sex and I'm itching
• I was raped
• Her parents think we're too young
• My mom is too protective
• Is my lover’s passion strange?

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Dear Julie, My husband’s friend is destroying our marriage

Written by Aunty Julie
~Vanguard, Nigeria. November 11, 2016.

Aunty Julie,
My husband of two years is very sociable and has many close friends that we meet up with for dinner. But he also has clingy friend who comes to our home every Friday and stays until Sunday afternoon. I am often lying around in very little or feeding our baby. One morning he bumped into me naked in the bathroom.

I feel as though my privacy is being invaded. My husband just expects me to chat to him but I am getting angry and we end up having huge fights. If I blame my husband, his friend jumps in and ticks me off. When we went to his house he put on a pornographic film and both he and my husband started grinning at me.

Even on our first anniversary supper this man turned up at the restaurant and joined us for coffee. My husband promises to talk to him but nothing has changed. He texts and telephones my husband every day. This man is nice and he loves our daughter, but I feel as if I am in competition with him for my husband’s attention. How can I stop him coming around all the time.
Anonymous, Lagos.

Dear Anonymous,
Neither your husband nor his friend are being fair to you. To use Princess Diana’s much quoted phrase, there are three of us in this marriage. No wife would want another man there all weekend, leaving her little time to be with her husband. It is difficult enough to find time to just be a couple when there is a new baby, let alone when there is someone else there all the time.
So talk to your husband once more and ask him to tell his friend that you want more time as a couple. It would be fine if he stayed over once a month or came for supper sometimes, but not nearly so frequently. If your husband does nothing then you should talk to his friend yourself. Explain that you like him but you want more time as a couple.

You could offer to find him a girlfriend to keep him occupied . He should definitely not be joining you on your next wedding anniversary. I assume your husband and this man are not in a relationship.

---------------------------------------------------

Dear Julie, I feel guilty about cheating on him

~Vanguard, Nigeria. Friday, September 2, 2016.

Aunty Julie,

My guy and I have been together for the past 10 years. We have been living together but we are not married and my family is kicking. I have always felt like we had a pretty good relationship and although I am away for work quite often, I have never felt tempted to stray.

But last year, I met another guy at a conference and we clicked well and ended up talking for hours. However, one thing led to another and things happened that I never intended to happen. I's not really a big deal but I'm actually dying inside over the guilt I have now.

I haven't seen the guy again but I am struggling because on one hand, I want to tell my partner but on the other, I feel like it will hurt him so much.

I don't know if it's the right thing to do. At the same time, I also wonder to myself why this happened and if I'm happy in my relationship, what made this so available and easy? Is there something more, is there a reason this happened?

Laila, Kogi

Dear Laila,

You are feeling guilty and confused. You seem to care but wonder how you could do this at the same time. The truth is, when our feelings, thoughts and behaviours don't match, we enter the state of cognitive dissonance, which is usually difficult until we get aligned by either reassessing our values or changing our behaviours, so that things line up again.

You are struggling because you are evolving and growing from the situation inside you. But I'm curious if you are more troubled by telling your partner the truth or feeling the judgments. The biggest judge is the person in the mirror. Just like you can love someone but not everything they do, you can love yourself but not everything you've done. That might be a starting point.

Happiness is key to good health

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

~Punch Nigeria. Sunday, November 6, 2016.

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

When people set out in life, they have dreams of living in fantastic houses and driving around town in fast cars and around the world on epic journeys to romantic corners of the earth. Such dreams meet a spectacular shipwreck during the reality of adult life. For the few people who realise such dreams, they soon find out that the associated material possessions do not bring them either happiness or good health.

The key things which have been found to guarantee good health are relationships garnered from community associations, family connections and marital harmony. People who are unhappy and are denied good community bonds tend to be isolated individuals with steadily declining brain function and memory problems. They have a harder time trying to properly control their cholesterol levels during middle age and generally have a more difficult emotional status to control than people who are in happy relations with their neighbours and their communities. In the same way, people who are in toxic marital relationships tend to develop deep personality problems and an instinctive distrust of people around them. Family feuds belong in this category with premature aging, heart disease and chronic sadness completing the toxic combination. Add alcoholism to all these factors and you will have put together a dangerous brew that will guarantee premature death.

The clear message from the foregoing is that good social connections to family, friends and community make happier people and more satisfied individuals than those who are not as well connected. The brains of the poorly socially connected folks deteriorate earlier and faster than among people in the other group. 

Properly integrated individuals live longer and have a healthier muscle bulk and cardiovascular status than those who tend to be unhappy most of the time. This is true even if they are stupendously wealthy. The people with toxic family relationships have a poorer control of their cholesterol levels than those who do not have similar entanglements. Loneliness kills, as we discussed on this page about a year ago. People who are more disconnected from others are more likely to die prematurely than are those who engage well with people around them. You can be lonely in a crowd or in a marriage and thus be unable to mentally engage with the people around you. Close personal relationships that are warm and happy provide emotional stability to those who engage in such relationships. This helps reduce the level of anxiety and conflict than in those individuals who are aloof and distant.

Understanding pain

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
~Punch, Nigeria. Sunday, June 26, 2016.


Pain is an intense and unpleasant feeling which occurs at some part of the body usually as a result of injury or disease. It is frequently localised in some part of the body and that enables it to be easily characterised with the specific part of the body as a reference point. Occasionally, however, it may also be generalised. It is conveyed to the brain by various sensory neurons where it is interpreted and the level of its intensity determined. Pain can thus be definitely pointed out to relate to a painful finger for example or a painful ankle.

It may also refer to some emotional distress or mental condition such as when an individual has been publicly humiliated. This type of pain leaves one with deep psychological effects. Sometimes, pain may be specific in making reference to a particular condition such as childbirth or hunger or may refer to a situation in which real care or effort has been expended in bringing to fruition a particular situation such as in describing a painstaking operation.

This essay, however, is about those kinds of pain that are physically felt in relation to certain conditions or associations that may be related to injury or disease. This refers to particularly unpleasant situations like stomach pains or the pain of arthritis and the effects of a fracture occurring in any of the bones of the body. Pain is a frequent condition seen in various forms in all branches of medical practice. The treatment of the various types differs accordingly. Today in many western countries, the management of pain in its various manifestations has become a huge industry. In the United States for example, there are more than 80 million people who suffer pain in one form or the other and are thus in need of various types of medications to control their distress.

As a result, this has evolved into a huge pharmaceutical industry as well with the potential for the abuse of some of these medications. In many cases, such abuse has taken a malignantly dependent form with sad sequelae resulting. There may be addiction or the tragedy of loss from resulting misuse of such medicines. That is a problem even in those nations that have a strict regime of dispensing and procuring medications. In our country where one can obtain almost any drug without a prescription, and across any kind of counter no matter the place, one can imagine the potential for addiction and death.

Constipation

Written by Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Constipation is the inability to open the bowel less frequently that normal. This is a common problem that has fascinated people of all races throughout history. It is traditional for some people to desire to have bowel motions every day. In some cases, such people want to have it every morning. They feel something is fundamentally wrong with them when they are unable to do so. Perhaps their worry is justified but most times it is not.

Some individuals have been known to take extreme measures to ensure they empty their bowel in the morning before they set out for the day's business. And yet, it need not be looked upon as something like an obligation. Understanding the facts that make it a problem should liberate many people and perhaps help them to focus less intently on the need to pass stool. Sometimes, these anxieties are passed on even to little children. Every individual will experience some form of constipation at some point in their lives. Most of the time, it is not at all serious and will correct itself with a slight change in diet or the use of vegetables and fruits.

The normal bowel motion takes different patterns in everyone. Some people use the toilet once a day and that is fine for them. Others use the toilet three times a day and that also is their pattern. Some others go to the toilet once in three days or twice a week. Between all these variants, however, fall the vast majority of people. It is essential to understand very clearly what one's pattern is and to take necessary action when that pattern seems abnormal. When the interval between two bowel motions is longer than three days, the stools become a lot harder and more difficult to pass.

However, it is not all the time that constipation is innocent. On some occasions, it is actually a product of some of the things we are engaged in doing. Therefore, I will endeavour to itemise the various situations in which constipation might be evident.

1) When people have eating disorders as a result of emotional challenges or because of pressures at work, they also will tend to pass out stools irregularly. This is a common thing to be seen in people who have stringent targets to meet at work and therefore do not find the time to eat as a result of that. Sometimes, bereavement and personal loss could also take away one's appetite, as a result, such people are unable to eat properly and consequently use the toilet.

2) Frequent movement from one location to the other may dislocate one's emotional balance so much so that they are unable to make use of the toilets available. Often, this is also caused by the fact that certain people are unable to use toilet facilities in their new environment despite their cleanliness. It just represents a psychological attachment to their homes.

Birth control practices

Written by Dr Sylvester Ikhisemojie - The Punch, Nigeria.

Sylvester Ikhisemojie

In much of Africa today, there is a burgeoning population made possible by explosive birth rates and the endurance of a majority youthful population. This has many evident positive advantages, not the least of which is the presence of a virile population of people in the productive age group.

The obverse in the problem here is that feeding this large population and finding adequate jobs for the large population will remain a challenge well into the twenty first century. It therefore means that efforts must now be made from this time forwards, in all countries of the region, to slow the rate of population growth to more manageable, more sustainable levels.

As a result, it is incumbent on health authorities throughout the region to teach women of all socio-economic groups about the immense benefits of birth control and child spacing. It is because of all these interwoven facts that issues of contraception and other efforts at birth control must now be examined and propagated.

While birth control and contraception do not necessarily mean the same thing, both of them are geared towards controlling the appearance of unwanted pregnancies. This is because it is possible to engage in birth control without engaging any means of contraception to achieve this aim. Our focus today must therefore centre on birth control. With this clarification, it can be seen that birth control practices will not always involve the use of means, devices and medications to avoid pregnancy occurring but can in fact be achieved naturally by following the natural rhythm of the body itself.

This means that birth control and contraception make up what is known as family planning. As a result, it is important for us to examine some of these methods.

Ovarian cysts

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie - Nigeria

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie 

This is one problem that is not always a disease. Ovarian cysts develop in many women who do not even realise that they have them. The reason for this is that at about the period of menstruation, the ovary which has released a follicle, the very structure that is responsible for fertility occurring, would have developed such a swelling. Many of these cysts would regress on their own causing the woman no harm at all, and no obvious signs.

What often makes a woman become aware of these problems is the fact of having some difficulty with getting pregnant or frank infertility. It is thus an important topic for many women.

In all normal women, the ovary is a part of the reproductive system located in the pelvis. There is also the uterus, fallopian tubes and vagina. None is able to guarantee a pregnancy without the other and all must work in tandem to bring a pregnancy about. As a result, there is a point at which an ovarian cyst passes from a harmless growth into a problem. The usually harmless swellings mentioned above are things which would usually resolve on their own. This is the story all through the child-bearing years during which a follicle is released into the adjacent fallopian tube for onward transportation into the uterus, about once a month.

This describes the normal menstrual cycle. With modern ultrasound machines, this activity can be monitored and timed precisely so that those couples who have challenges with fertility can be advised accurately about when to try for a conception, failing which the timing is seen as equally vital to be successful in assisted reproductive efforts.

If a follicle develops and fails to release its egg into the fallopian tube, it can form a cyst which should disappear within a few weeks at the most. Sometimes, a different kind of cyst forms after a follicle has been released. This is called a corpus luteum cyst. Such cysts bleed a bit into a cavity in the pelvic region and would cause some pain for several days that are not usually serious. The pain and the spilled blood tend to resolve spontaneously.

Why people have bad breath in the morning -Study

Written by Tunde Ajaja- Nigeria. 

When it comes to personal hygiene, apart from body odour, there are a few other things that can be as repulsive as having a bad breath, or simply put, mouth odour. Even the sound of it is distasteful, and not only does the smell nauseates, it goes ahead to present such a person in bad light, giving a vivid impression of a dirty human being. It could sometimes make the individual a lone ranger as people try to avoid such persons.

But as disgusting as bad breath is, it is amazing to find that most people experience it every time they wake up; mostly in the morning. It is also known as halitosis. In fact, it could be as repulsive to the owner of the mouth, not to even talk of others. Noteworthy is the fact that this case is independent of the chronic mouth odour, the product of which could make the listener (victim) puke.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to find that when people wake up in the morning, they tend to avoid close contact discussion, or better still maintain some distance or even cover their mouth while talking to others. The simplest cure would be to have a toothbrush. It could cure it all, only if done properly.

An expert in dental matters and periodontist, Sally Cram, said, "Everyone has morning breath to some degree. Here is the simple reason why: When you sleep, your mouth dries out and your normal flow of saliva decreases. When your mouth dries out, odour-producing bacteria multiply. That is why your breath can be worse in the morning."

However, for those who do not have mouth odour but wake up to find that they have bad breath, studies have shown that the trend is basically traceable to the fact that when a person is asleep, the mouth also goes into rest mode, leading to a drop in the rate of metabolic activities. And this form of bad breath is not limited to aftermath of waking up, it also happens when people close their mouth for too long without opening it.

I’m suspicious of my wife

Written by KEMI ASHEFON - PUNCH, Nigeria

Dear Kemi,

I am in my mid 30s and married to a woman, who is of same age for about five years. I am based abroad while she is in Nigeria. The problem I am having is that I just don’t trust her and I always feel she is sleeping around. Really, I don’t have any concrete proof for my suspicions but it has always been there. This was from the beginning of our courtship before I left the country and returned from my base outside Nigeria to marry her. When I told her about my suspicions, she denied all the allegations and always had ready-made answers to every question. Sometimes, I wonder if I was charmed into marrying her. Is this normal? Please, help, I am really troubled.

A.K, 

Lagos

Since you have not caught her with any man or got reports from anyone about your wife, I think you have to dismantle the mind-set of infidelity in you. In any relationship, especially where the two partners are not living together in the same place, there are cases of suspicions and rumours. It is now left for those involved to be determined to make the relationship work. Why not learn to trust your wife? Or are there things you have not divulged to me? That you even feel you were charmed into marrying her is wrong and could cause cracks in your home. Give her the benefit of the doubt and stop accusing her. I have discovered in most relationships, infidelity could spring up from unnecessary accusations. A faithful partner could be encouraged to have affairs when accusations abound. Trust is a vital virtue in marriage, do all you can to inculcate it in yours. But this should not stop any form of inquiries when you get suspicious of your partner.

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I was jilted for eight years now…

I was in love with a lady some years back but she left me for another man. Now, eight years after, she is back and begging me to marry her. But I am now married with two kids. I am so confused. What do I do?

P.O

Benue

I don’t see why you should be confused on a matter like this. Are you driving away your wife and children to start life with her? Even if you do, what is the assurance that she will not run away again with another man? I believe you should hold on to your wife and children. Don’t fall prey to a philandering woman’s wits. She is like a serpent, she will always bite. Tell her you are no longer interested in her and that you are happily married with kids. Don’t give her audience again and never entertain her calls.

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Another man took my baby

I am 29 years old and dated a 26-year-old girl for over four years. We planned having a proper wedding by December. Last year, she told me she was pregnant. According to her, she was raped at a party she attended and I accepted the pregnancy due to the love I had for her. I was taken to her parents to be introduced and was even asked to come for a formal ceremony after the baby was born. My girlfriend told me that the man who raped and impregnated her was dead and had not been found.

Care of the teeth

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie - Nigeria

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Many people in this part of the world do not give a hoot about the routine care that their teeth deserve not to mention the overall care of the mouth. However, what many should recognise is that the appearance of the teeth and the absence of any unpleasant smells from the mouth are important attributes of a healthy personality. That appearance is not any different or less important than any other aspect of health which we have treated on this page over the past two years. It is that realisation that has prompted this essay this week. Here then are some of the most important aspects of that kind of care that should be considered.

The development of plaques is the most common dental problem to afflict the majority of people. Plaques develop within some thirty minutes of eating a meal. The bacteria that inhabit the mouth soon move in to degrade and alter the composition of the food particles that are left behind in the mouth soon after eating, turning them into the early building blocks for the hard tables of substance that are laid over the teeth. As a result of this realisation, no one should eat a meal without rinsing the mouth copiously with water afterwards. This helps a lot to deal with the initial material that is laid down on them. The immediate cleaning of the mouth should be a deliberate process, not to be hurried at all because it is so important. As for those people whose dental arrangement is the sort that leaves them with gaps between the teeth which trap food particles and meat, for example, they should deploy the use of tooth-picks to get rid of the nuisance.

Sometimes, even the use of this instrument is not enough to do this and other means have to be employed. Some people, if they are still at home, would employ their tooth-brushes to deal with this. Occasionally, this also fails thus promoting the usage of some more desperate measures that could even harm the gums. Some people would use pins. Others would use strings of cotton, such as twines, deployed like pulleys that are pulled across the gap to dislodge the offending piece of food. The well-healed in the society would use a dental floss for this nuisance. This should not be their preserve, however, because dental floss is cheap and very available. With immense surprise, I have found that not many people have even heard about them, not to mention use them. The dental floss is a plastic hook with a cotton cord linking its two closest arms in a way that resembles a guitar. The plastic end can always be deployed to into corners to remove food particles, while the string can be placed between teeth in even closely apposed teeth to get rid of those materials. It is a good habit to use the dental floss once a day, and to do so especially before brushing the teeth in the mornings so that the fluoride in the toothpaste is able to reach the deep recesses between the teeth.

The brushing of the teeth is another good habit which should be done twice a day ideally. It is properly done with up and down strokes, rather than across the teeth, and should be done for at least two or three minutes to ensure proper cleaning. The tongue and the roof of the mouth should also be brushed to ensure complete all-round cleaning.

It may be time to accept Marijuana

Written by Sylvester Ikhisemojie - Nigeria

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

The spectre of decriminalising various things that we have become used to viewing as abnormal may finally be upon us. In many Western nations, there is a raging debate over the pros and cons of uplifting such a ban on this particular substance. For one, there is no objective evidence that its use contributes significantly to an upswing in crime. There is no evidence either that it is always subject to abuse. In many local farming and mining communities in Latin America, the plants are grown as normally as we grow the bitter-leaf plant here at home, and leaves are abundant in the countryside. As a result, the product is consumed openly in its raw form in those places. The same happens for coca leaves from which cocaine is derived. But let us limit the arguments to Marijuana and agree about its effects on our social relationships. In many places, marijuana is called different names. Some call it 'weed.' Others call it 'gbana.' Yet others call it 'grass' and some still call it 'hashish.' Among the youths, 'igbo' is the preferred name while in urbane circles; the name is properly called cannabis or Indian hemp.

The botanical name is Cannabis sativa and its active agent is Tetrahydrocannabinol, an extract that is in use as a psychoactive substance and is also believed to expand the mind. It is not for nothing that this particular substance has, therefore, not met with the necessary approval in many circles. It is believed that its consumption would lead to an increase in various criminal acts and so is by its nature, an antisocial object. The evidence does not bear this out. In the Netherlands, where there has long being a programme like this where there are recreational bars in which marijuana is a part of the menu, there has been no spike in crime from 1978, when the experiment began, till date. In fact, there was an increase in tourism as a result of this liberalisation with many young people seeking to experience the opportunity to legally smoke hashish.

Now of course, there is talk of recreational marijuana, not any different from the drinking of beer and stout. Not to mention the routine consumption of brandy, vodka and other spirits with far more profound effects on the society.

The main producers of marijuana come from several different continents. It is a flowering plant produced in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, India, Thailand, Lebanon, Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Jamaica, Colombia, Mexico, the US, Canada, and Morocco. It is likely also, that Nigeria would be a significant producer of this commodity.

Decriminalising it ensures a transparent trade in it thus positioning it to become yet a significant foreign exchange earner for the nation. Different variants of the plant are also processed to make ropes and hashish oil which are used in various industries. Ropes are often processed from an abundance of fibre known to be produced by other variants of the cannabis plant. Its fibre was one of the first recorded natural suture materials used in surgery. Without the knowledge gained from that early use, much of modern surgery would not have been the way it is today.

Cleft lip and cleft palate

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

This is a developmental anomaly involving the face and nose which occurs very early during a pregnancy. It is one of the most common birth defects seen in new-borns and it refers to a deep defect occurring in a ridge between the nose and the mouth such that it is often deep enough to involve the floor of the nostril. This is known as a cleft lip. It may occur on one side of the face or the two sides. When the two sides are involved, it gives a baby the appearance of a big cat often referred in the past to as a "hare lip". That suggests a closer resemblance to a rabbit but it is a term that has now been discarded because it is considered offensive. 

Sometimes, this defect involves the palate in which the deep groove may also involve the floor of the nose. This is thus known as a cleft palate. Either of these problems may occur alone or together. Sometimes, it affects the centre of the face extending from one nose to the middle of the upper lip. It is a range of defects that a baby may be born with as a result of certain factors which make it impossible for the various plates of tissue that form the face to meet perfectly in their designated places. The result of that failure to integrate properly is what we are talking about this week. The cause is not known.

Cleft lip is described when the split in the lip does not affect the palate in the roof of the mouth. It may be complete or incomplete but the approach to its repair either way is the same. It can occur separately from a cleft palate because they develop separately. When the palate is cleft, the uvula in the centre of the throat may also be split in two. It assures a direct connection between the mouth and the nose.

Loneliness as a new disease

Written by Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

Old age is one fraught with a lot of challenges in every society. Many people are plagued by chronic ailments such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Others suffer from other ailments like arthritis, dementia, tuberculosis and cancer. Many of such people are frequently brought from the village to stay with their younger relatives in the towns and cities where they are also able to assess better medical care.

In the western world, such people are taken to stay in hospices, homes for the elderly and sanatoriums. Here in Nigeria, they are taken in by their extended family so as to feel the warmth of close family relationships.

However, as the wheel of human progress finally turns decisively towards the African continent, there is an increase in the cases of elderly people who are abandoned to their fate. They are left alone in the villages or even now in the cities as their sons and daughters become too busy, too career-conscious and too ambitious to have any time for them. In some cases, an entire brood has emigrated abroad, leaving the elderly man or woman at the mercy of more distant relatives.

Their children abroad send money to them at home,but without a live-in helper, they are often at the mercy of unscrupulous people and, in some cases, neighbours. Increasingly, there are reports of occasional wrong-doing and even murder being perpetrated by usually unknown persons in such circumstances with grief for all the relatives ensuing.