https://mailchi.mp/947c10507b87/care-of-diabetes-mellitus-without-medications

Nathaniel Health Consulting, 23 B, Badaru Street, Agbo Igbala Bus Stop. Matogbun, Ogun (2025)

17/06/2024

Every adult has at least one risk factor of hypertension that cannot be changed. They include:

Family history of hypertension.

Male gender. Men are more vulnerable to hypertension than women.

Getting older.

Black skin (as in Africans).

Meanwhile, there are many risk factors of hypertension that can be changed. They include:

Dietary Choices
Inactivity/abstinence from exercises
Obesity
Smoking
Excessive intake of alcohol
Stress
Persistent poor sleep

Lifestyle Approach to Stop Hypertension is an e-book that details how hypertensive individuals can adjust their
habits to achieve good blood pressure control.

You have the opportunity to preorder the e-book at a discounted price of 1500 naira till 25th of June 2024. Afterwards, the e-book sells at 2500 naira.
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Payments should be made into

Nathaniel Health Consulting
Zenith Bank
1015491689.

Proofs of payment should be sent to 08137846411.

All pre-orders will be sent from the 26th of June 2024.

Cheers to your good health.

07/05/2024

Improving The Health Indices in Nigeria: Should the Government Compel Citizens to Have Health Insurance?

To drive your vehicle in Nigeria without fear of being accosted by law enforcement agents, you must have at least a Third-Party Vehicle Insurance. The insurance company pays for the damages incurred by the victim if you accidentally hit him/her. To get some compensations, you need to pay a higher premium as provided by Comprehensive Vehicle Insurance.

Most law-abiding Nigerians pay their vehicle insurance premiums every year whether they get compensation or not.

Those who have had accidents attested to the fact that Insurance Companies paid them some compensation after carrying out due diligence assessment of the accident.

I am of the opinion that the same compulsory vehicle insurance can be applied to health insurance.

Maternal and Childhood mortalities are still high in Nigeria. Nigerians still die unnecessarily from diseases that should not kill them because they do not have access to quality healthcare providers in time.

As at the time of writing this article, you can get health insurance for treatment of common medical problems in Nigeria with a premium of 15,000 naira per annum under the Voluntary Health Insurance plan regulated by National Health Insurance Scheme. This is a public scheme managed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Several private health insurance companies also offer similar Voluntary Health Insurance plans. The cheapest I know requires you to pay 2,000 naira a month. If you want to pay a lump sum per annum, you get some discount. This means that a Nigerian can enjoy quality healthcare under the private health insurance scheme by paying a premium of 24,000 naira or less per annum.

As a private medical practitioner in Nigeria, I have attended to (and still attend to) clients who have either the public health insurance plan or the private alternative. Both work well. Just pay your premium in advance, and you save paying huge sums of money out-of-pocket when sick.

Quality healthcare is not cheap in any country, to be honest. Tax payers pay or you pay.

The common argument is, what if I am not sick and do not go to the hospital, would they refund my premium at the end of the year? My answer is also a question - does the vehicle insurance company refund your third-party or comprehensive insurance premium at the end of the year because you didn't have any vehicular damage?

The low uptake of Health Insurance is majorly due to the cynicism of Nigerians; we don’t believe that things work well. The government can do better by organizing more orientation programs. This is where the Skit Makers and Artistes in Nigeria can be put to good use. Jingles should be heard on TV or Radio every day educating people about the benefits of health insurance.

How can the government force Nigerians to pay this token premium and enjoy quality healthcare?

Very simple; no phone number should work in Nigeria if the owner does not have active health insurance. Every year, we should be required to upload our health insurance policy number into the Apps owned by Airtel, MTN, or Globacom to continue to use our phone numbers.

I am optimistic that this suggestion will create more jobs for everyone in Nigeria if we can open our minds.
Cheers to our good health.

Dr Ademola Orolu FWACP
Consultant Family Physician/Medical Director, Nathaniel Health Consulting.

17/04/2024

There is No Love in Sharing

I have written on this once. Since it is a recurring issue in medical practice, I will recapitulate.

Similar complaints can be caused by many diseases. Eg, weakness can be caused by more than twenty diseases or diagnoses. No weak person has all the twenty diseases at the same time.

The doctor takes time to assess which of the different diseases causing a particular complaint affects different patients.

That you have been satisfactorily managed for weakness or headache doesn't mean your medication will help another person who has weakness or headache.

Some persons have shared their prescription medications with family members and friends resulting in a complication in the latter.

Let's be guided; there is no love in sharing our medications.

01/03/2024

Marital Status: Its Importance in Healthcare

That morning, the doctor walked into the ward of the woman he admitted the previous day. Her diagnosis was Acute Pyelonephritis, an infection of the kidney. It was his routine daily ward round.

The woman looked dull. Despite being ill, she looked brighter the previous day. The doctor was worried that he might have missed something while evaluating her.

"How are you today?" he asked her.

"Doctor, please don't allow my husband to enter my room. I don't want to see him!" she blurted and broke into tears.

The doctor was surprised by her inappropriate response to his question.

To ensure she got well, the doctor had to commence psychosocial evaluation which revealed her poor relationship with her husband...

The job of the healthcare provider is not limited to making diagnosis and prescribing medications. Many times, the quality of patients' social relationship with people directly or indirectly affects their health.

Therefore, the relationship status of the patient is relevant to the doctor or nurse.

Broadly speaking, relationship statuses are single/separated/divorced, engaged, married, or widowed.

Amongst others, the healthcare provider is interested in your relationship status for the following reasons.

1. Is there any significant person (blood relative or spouse) from whom support can be obtained to help your recovery from any disease?

2. If yes to above, can adequate and dependable support be obtained from them?

The patient described above was married but did not enjoy good support from her husband.

In some diseases, patients who enjoy good psychosocial support often do better than those without such support.

When a patient with supportive relationship is encountered, the doctor can easily relate with their loved ones to counsel them on ways they can help the patient's healing process.

As much as possible, patients should be frank about their marital status when the health records officers ask about it.

A divorced person should say "divorced" when asked about marital status and not "single." This simple information guides the expectations of the doctor or nurse in managing the respective patient.

Your information in the clinic is confidential and is only used to help you.

Cheers to your good health.

23/02/2024

Occupation: Its Importance in Healthcare

"What's your occupation, sir?" the health records officer asked the man while registering him during his first visit to the hospital.

"Factory worker," the man replied.

During the consultation with his doctor, the man was asked to be specific about what he did in the factory. His complaints of recurrent cough, mild chest pain, and catarrh could be due to his work.

The man hesitated. He didn't see the need for further inquiry about his job. "I work in a cement factory," he said.

"Thank you, sir," the doctor responded.

The doctor gathered that the man did not use the protective face mask regularly.

After a detailed physical evaluation and investigations, the doctor diagnosed the man with Occupational Respiratory Disease.

His repeated inhalation of cement dust irritated his respiratory system and caused other unhealthy changes, leading to his complaints of cough, chest pain, and catarrh.

Without the accurate information on the man's exact job, the doctor could have diagnosed him with incorrect diseases. The outcome was that the man would not get well.

So, you see that in some cases, your doctors may not be able to help you if they are not well informed about your job.

Cheers to your good health.

06/02/2024

Religion/Spirituality: Its Importance in Healthcare

A true story - A pastor had a surgical operation in a hospital. Just before he was cut, his wife approached the theatre to request that his bible be placed underneath his head during the operation.

The doctor collected the bible from his wife and asked few questions.

"Ma, does your husband read this bible regularly?"

"Yes, he does," she replied.

"It means the word of God is inside him?"

"Yes, sir."

"That's all he needs, ma. We don't have to put the bible under his head if he reads his bible regularly. Also, the bible under his head will not allow us to place his head and neck properly to allow him to breathe," the doctor reassured the woman and returned the bible to her.

The woman was convinced with the doctor's soothing words.

The surgery was successful.

We have our fundamental human right to practise any religion. Our spiritual beliefs are meant to add positive values to our lives.

In healthcare, certain religious or spiritual rites may not do us any good. For example, fasting for too long duration and skipping essential medications is unhealthy. Only a living person can fast. Discuss your fast with the doctor. He or she may recommend alternative medications that will not interrupt the duration of your fast.

When in the hospital and the doctor recommends treatments to us, if we have unique spiritual activities that the doctor does not know, it is safe to discuss them with the doctor. It's the doctor's job to listen to you and help you appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of your beliefs as they relate to your health.

Don't ignore medical counsel for spiritual alternatives. In some cases, both can be combined to achieve a healthy result.

Your doctor is your friend. Remember that.

Cheers to your good health.

02/02/2024

Address: Its Importance in Healthcare

During the registration of clients in the clinic, we routinely ask for their home address. In some cases, work address or school address is also required.

Why is your doctor interested in your home address?

There are several reasons. I will touch on a few.

1. From one's address, the healthcare provider may get information on why a disease keeps recurring. A child who lives in a community, where dangerous fumes (from burning of rubber and other items) are always present in the air, may have recurrent diseases of the airway. In this context, giving the correct address in the hospital helps the caregiver to make the right judgement that will positively impact the patient's health. We sometimes counsel a patient to leave a residential neighborhood to get well.

2. Home Visit. In some cases, the reasons why a patient has a particular disease may be unknown despite thorough evaluation in the hospital. The clinician and/or the social health worker may need to visit the residence of the patient to examine the environment for the risk factors that influence the disease.

During these home visits, identified health and health-related issues are discussed with the aim of getting the person to enjoy good health. A correct address is required to conduct a home visit.

3. Disease Surveillance. During outbreaks of diseases (eg, Covid-19, Lassa Fever, Cholera, etc), the residential address helps in contact tracing of apparently infected persons who may or may not be experiencing symptoms yet. Disease surveillance was useful in management of the last Covid-19 pandemic.

Your information is handled with the utmost confidentiality in the clinic. Provide your correct and complete address always.

Cheers to your good health.

30/01/2024

Sex/Gender: Its Importance in Healthcare

Until the last two decades, the s*x of an individual was obvious. We could tell a male or female by their social grooming.

It's not that straightforward anymore.

Common in developed countries, and now being observed in Africa, we have introduction of different s*xual orientations like binary, transgender, crossdresser, etc.

To avoid litigation in some countries, a medical record officer or clinician needs to exercise caution when classifying an individual into male or female.

We now see "others" in addition to male and female as options of s*x in questionnaires.

The fact remains that whatever subjective gender an individual identifies as, the genetic/chromosomal gender (XY for male, XX for female) cannot be changed, hence, nature will still override their s*xual orientation.

Therefore, any man who identifies as female should regularly screen himself (or is it herself) for Prostate Enlargement/Cancer at the appropriate time. Same applies to a female who identifies as male. If the female reproductive organs and breasts are not removed, the fellow may have diseases of the organs "true females" experience.

To thyself and thy creator, be honest...

Cheers to your good health.

28/01/2024

Age/Date of Birth: Its Importance in Healthcare

A very important detail in biodata is our age. Of course, it is deduced from our date of birth.

On rare occasions, we can have two or three persons who bear Ms Chidinwa Arike Muhammad. It is very unlikely that all three are of same age or have the same birth date, month, and year.

So you see why Age or Date of Birth is an identifier in the hospital.

The correct age of the individual must be declared in the hospital because, amongst many reasons,

- Some diseases have been observed in certain age brackets. The doctor needs to be assured that your documented age is what it is to guide him or her.

- At and above certain ages, screening for some diseases begins. Eg, in black men 40 years old and above, screening for prostate cancer begins. If a man who is 45 years old claims to be 38 years old, he has delayed by several years opportunity to diagnose a disease that may affect his health.

If your birth certificate states an incorrect age, don't worry, still tell the medical record officer your true age. The hospital is not a moral institution. There is no way the healthcare workers will know the age discrepancy until you confess it.

Cheers to your good health.

28/01/2024

Importance of Your Name in Healthcare

Mr Adekola Ahmed Chinedu is not the same person as Mr Adekola Chinedu Ahmed.

The orders of the names above make them two different persons.

When providing information on your name, cooperate and provide the names accordingly. It is a simple request.

Different hospitals use different identification methods - names, folder numbers, etc.

Medical errors can be made if the folder of a patient with the health information inside it is used for another patient because they bear the same first name and surname.The middle name comes handy here to separate them.

Yes, there are other information that can be used to identify patients who bear similar names. Nevertheless, the hospital staff and patient must ensure that the full names are entered in the right order during the registration process.

Also, when asked for your full names, it doesn't matter if your certificates have only two names, to avoid medical errors, provide a third name for proper identification.

Cheers to your good health.

28/01/2024

Importance of Biodata in Healthcare

It is surprising to observe that many people take for granted the need for them to be frank and transparent with their personal details when asked in the hospital.

Medical records staff, nurses and doctors hear things like,

"Why do you need my middle name? My first name and surname are enough."

"Why do you want to know my date of birth?"

"Why do you need the phone number of my next of kin?"

The hospital is a safe place to tell the truth about yourself even if you lie elsewhere.

The doctor is your friend. In the next series of write-ups, I will be discussing the health importance of our biodata.

Stay tuned.

21/01/2024

5 years after, we are still growing and bringing positive health impacts to lives beyond borders.

Nathaniel Health Consulting

17/06/2024

07/05/2024

17/04/2024

01/03/2024

23/02/2024

06/02/2024

02/02/2024

30/01/2024

28/01/2024

28/01/2024

28/01/2024

21/01/2024

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