Anynomous

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As promised we shall resume our Health Tip series next week after the World Cup season comes to an end. I hope you are all enjoying the exciting matches as we approach the final on Sunday. One cannot help being impressed by Croatia. A small nation of 4 million people coming up on top of the rest of the world with its 7 billion people. Their Prime Minister, a modest and beautiful young woman, travelled to Russia at her own expense to support her team and was ready to sit with ...the other Croatian supporters and not in the place dedicated to VIPs. Very impressive indeed.

So much for football. As a warm up to our Health Tip next week, I would like to share an article from Harvard Health Publishing on the question of drug expiry dates. Medical drug manufacturers are mandated by law to insert the manufacture and expiry dates on the boxes of the medicines they produce. Some research has gone into whether these medicines are really inactive by the expiry date written on the box, strip, bottle or container of the medicine. The results of a research done in 2003 and updated in 2017 will surprise you. Find out for yourself what the researchers discovered and make your own judgement.

Let me know if you want my personal opinion on this.

Stay healthy!

Anynomous

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Dear FB friends and page followers, we shall resume our 'Health Tip' series after the world cup soccer games as promised. Please inbox me on any topics you would wish us to cover. The aim is to highlight health conditions that are of concern to all of us. I would also encourage medical professionals among us to engage more actively in discussing or commenting on the topics we review.

Enjoy the rest of the football. 🙏🏾

Anynomous

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Dear friends. Our Health Tip series will take a break until the world cup matches in Russia are over. I am sure the football excitement and late nights will leave little time for other matters. May your teams play well!

Anynomous

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Health Tip 13

Our Health Tip this week is on gout and gouty arthritis. Gout attacks without warning as an intense pain in a joint, commonly affecting the joint at the base of the big toe. It is caused by deposition of irritating uric acid crystals in the joints. Uric acid is formed in the body and is found also in the food we eat. Any excess formation by the body or too much consumption in food or drink will trigger an attack.

The most common but not only dietary factor tha...t can lead to high uric acid levels and trigger an attack of acute gouty arthritis is excessive alcohol consumption, especially beer. Other known causes of gout even in non alcohol drinkers include injuries, hospital admissions, surgical procedures, stress and reactions to meat and seafood intake. Men are affected more than women and it is rare below the age of 30 years.

Besides the excruciating pain and swelling it causes, gout can lead to joint damage in the long run as well as kidney disorders. Treatment for pain control and lowering the uric acid levels in the blood are available and effective. Your doctor will advice you which medicines to take and provide dietary advice like avoiding alcohol, eating a balanced diet, drinking a lot of water and weight reduction. Stay Healthy!

Anynomous

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Health Tip 12

Our Health Tip this week is on a less scary and generally non fatal condition ( I hope I did not frighten anyone last week with the piece on heart attacks! ). Fungal infections of the skin are very common, especially in warm humid climates like in South Sudan. Most of us in the tropics will acquire this condition at one stage or another during our life times. Taenia cruris (jock itch), athlete’s foot, ringworm and yeast infections (oral thrush and candida vagini...

Anynomous

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Health Tip 10:

If you feel a lump in your breast do not ignore it but see a qualified medical practitioner. A swelling in the breast is not normal as it could be cancerous. The breast swellings in younger people under the age of 30 years, especially teenagers, are generally benign or non cancerous but still need to be examined by a doctor. People over 35 years are advised to do breast self-examination regularly as this helps in discovering breast lumps in the early stages. Ab...out 5-7% of breast cancers occur in men. Breast cancer is painless until it has attained a large size or spread to other regions of the body. So do not ignore painless swellings. Screening for early breast cancer can be done using a special X-ray called mammography. Breast ultrasound is also useful in evaluating breast swellings and compliments mammography. Screening is especially useful for people with close relatives like parents or siblings who had or have cancer of the breast.

Google the techniques of doing breast self-examination by searching for: “breast self-examination pictures/technique”.

Stay safe!

Anynomous

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Health Tip 9

This week our health tip will touch on some prostate diseases with emphasis on prostate cancer also referred to as cancer of the prostate. Research has shown that 1 in 6-7 men will develop prostate cancer in their life time. The prostate is a cashew nut sized gland found at the neck of the male urinary bladder thorough which the urethra passes. The spermatic ducts from the testes open into the urethra through the prostate gland which also secretes fluid that mix...

Anynomous

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The South Sudan General Medical Council has posted a Public Statement on its website, southsudangmc.com, and also on its FB page. The statement clearly states the position of the SSGMC on recent disturbing and clearly unethical comments by a person purporting to be a practising medical doctor in the country. The SSGMC is the regulator mandated by the laws of South Sudan to ensure the code of medical ethics is adhered to by all health care professionals. It is our duty to protect patients from harm resulting from unethical behaviour or practice by incompetent or negligent 'doctors'. Please share widely to reach all concerned, especially healthcare professionals.

Anynomous

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Health Tip 8

This week we shall again highlight a poorly understood and easily transmitted viral disease that is probably the most common sexually transmitted disease. Genital Herpes is a highly contagious and incurable viral infection transmitted sexually and caused by a virus called the Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV2). You can get Genital Herpes when your skin, private parts (genitals) or mouth touch a person who has active Genital Herpes. The other variety, the Herpes ...

Anynomous

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Health Tip 7

Our Health Tip this week is intentionally more detailed than usual. We shall address an important disease that is now frequently diagnosed and probably managed very poorly in South Sudan. The scarcity of doctors competent enough to manage this condition has opened the gates to unscrupulous ‘doctors’ claiming to be experts in its management and taking advantage of a concerned and frightened local population. Although basic diagnostic tests are available, the tests...

Anynomous

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There will be no Health Tip this week in memory of our departed brother, Gen. Ajongo Unguec Mawut, CDF, South Sudan. As we all know by now he passed on this morning in Egypt after a short illness. The President has declared a three day mourning period. May his soul rest in peace. We shall resume next week.

Anynomous

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Health Tip 6.

If you have persistent or recurring pain in the upper part of your abdomen in spite of adequate ‘stomach’ ulcer treatment, you could be suffering from gall bladder disease or a more dangerous condition. Many diseases of the upper abdomen are commonly treated as ulcers. See a qualified doctor for a proper evaluation with ultrasound scan, a special X-ray or an endoscopy (looks inside the stomach).

Next week our Health Tip will be on Hepatitis B.

Stay Healthy!

Anynomous

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Health Tip 5

Our health tip this week is on a relatively frequent condition that is often missed even by healthcare professionals. This happens because it mimics other common and dreaded diseases.

Thyrotocosis or toxic goitre is a type of thyroid disease associated with excessive production of thyroid hormones. If you are losing weight in spite of a very good appetite, sweat when others are not, your heart beats rapidly all the time, and your hands shake, you could be suffer...ing from this disease. You may or may not have a neck swelling (goitre) and your eyes may or may not noticeably bulge out. Typically the upper eye lid fails to cover the dark part of the eye in patients with a severe form of eye ball protrusion.

The sad thing is that you could be suspected of suffering from one of the common causes of weight loss like HIV and cancer (when the eyes are normal and there is no goitre). This usually causes a lot of psychological trauma until the disease is diagnosed many months later.

If you know someone who has all or most of these symptoms or you experience them yourself, please consult a qualified medical doctor as this condition is treatable.

Stay Healthy!

Anynomous

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Happy Easter to all our patients and friends who visit this page. We wish you all good health and happiness as we celebrate this holy season.

Anynomous

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Health Tip 4:

Do you have a painless swelling of both your legs and/or feet? This happens commonly during pregnancy but could be caused by:

1. Your blood pressure medicines if you are using calcium channel blockers ( e.g amlodipine and nifedipine). Surprisingly this diagnosis is often missed or overlooked by medical doctors. ... 2. Liver disease like cirrhosis caused by toxic substances like excessive alcohol consumption and liver infections. 3. Kidney disease like nephrotic syndrome and infections 4. Heart failure and 5. Other less common causes. Do not ignore . Consult a qualified medical doctor as many of these conditions can be treated if diagnosed early.

Stay Healthy!

Anynomous

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Important Communication:

To all doctors, pharmacists and Dentists as well as interested parties who may happen to visit this page.

The South Sudan General Medical Council Annual Report for 2017 is now available on the website (southsudangmc.com) for viewing. The results of the second 2017 permanent registration examinations are also out and should be available on the website by tomorrow morning. The results of the first exam were uploaded a few weeks ago. Please direct all q...ueries about registration and licensing to Dr. Margaret Betty Eyobo using the contacts available on the SSGMC site.

If you have not registered already, please do so at your earliest convenience. You need to be registered in South Sudan before you could study or work in another country. It is also illegal to work in South Sudan as a medical doctor, pharmacist or dentist without being registered. This is irrespective of whether you are doing clinical work or otherwise. This applies to nationals as well as foreign professionals. More details on the website.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Anynomous

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Health Tip 3

Good evening everyone. This is the third of our weekly health tips. Please contact us via email or messenger if you need any clarifications or require more information. You can also google some of the more difficult medical terms.

Blood in your waste when you go to the washrooms could be caused by a number of conditions:

A cut in the anal skin (fissure in Ano) due to excessive stretching from hard stools and straining. The blood is bright red and often associated with moderate to severe pain that may persist for sometime after leaving the washroom.

Bright red blood could also be due to bleeding internal haemorrhoids (piles) but with no or little discomfort. Other types of haemorrhoids present with swelling and pain but rarely bleed.

Dark blood or clots in the waste could mean a more serious condition like cancer of the large intestine and rectum. It may be associated with weight loss, anaemia, abdominal pain and change in bowel movements. Do not ignore. Consult a qualified medical doctor

Incidentally, the correct treatment of chronic or recurring constipation is an increased intake of fibre and not indiscriminate use of laxatives. Take more water, vegetables and fruits and improve general fitness through regular exercise, even brisk walking. Avoid laxatives as they often make the problem worse in the long run.

Stay healthy!

Anynomous

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Good evening, everyone. I would like to thank you all once again for supporting our new webpage. We shall also use it to promote health related activities that are not related to our clinical practise.

I am sure all medical doctors, pharmacists and dentists are aware by now that the South Sudan General Medical Council (SSGMC) has started to register all doctors practising in the country and beyond. Please do so if you have not done that already. The process has been a major c...hallenge as the SSGMC has no support staff or a permanent address due to budgetary constraints and failure to recognise its importance by the policy makers. Please get more information from our website: southsudangmc.com. You can download registration forms from there.

The South Sudan Medical Journal (SSMJ) is published online quarterly. It publishes peer reviewed articles,case reports, commentaries etc that are pertinent to the health care system in South Sudan and it is internationally recognised and listed on AJOL among other prestigious publication groups. I would encourage all health care professionals, not only doctors, to read the journal. It is available online as open access. We also encourage you all to submit articles for publication. More details are available on the journal website. www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com

Let us all work together to develop and support our health care system.

Anynomous

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Heath Tip 2:

High blood pressure is a silent killer as it can affect your heart and also lead to a stroke. Check your blood pressure regularly especially after the age of 40 years. Blood pressure treatment is often for life. Exercising and reducing weight are the best lifestyle changes in the management of high blood pressure. Do not stop taking your medicines without consulting your doctor.

Stay Healthy!