https://www.facebook.com/113602957089954/

Dr. obilor Health Informatics, Port Harcourt (2026)

07/03/2026

Supplements: the health damaging effects of it's abuse.

🔥A lot of people take supplements without any caution that it can be dangerous to health if abused. Some take more than 3 supplements that appear different only by names but have similar chemical compositions. Maybe they are confused by the name "supplement" and forget that these are chemicals, and that the difference between a useful chemical and a poison is the dose. The higher the dose, the more toxic a useful substance becomes.

🔥So she opened her purse and brought out a trailer load of supplements; she was taking five different supplements at a time. "This headache wey dey do me" she said, "does not stop". Ada has been taking these supplements for the past 2 months.

WHAT ARE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS?

🔥The food we eat supplies the body with essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and amino acids. These chemicals play a key role in maintaining the functions of the body. Dietary supplements are drugs that contain these nutrients and are taken to supply the body with such needed chemicals, and hence are required in conditions in which these nutrients are missing or not adequately present in the diet/body. This includes conditions like malnutrition, starvation, chronic illness, nutrients deficiency, increased nutrients demand etc

🔥🔥🔥One thing to understand about supplement is that the components are found in the food we eat. A healthy diet contains these nutrients in amounts needed by the body. Most African dish like afang soup 🍲 😋 okra soup 😋 atama, vegetable soup, ekpan ku Kor etc are highly nutritious especially in the local environment where the vegetables move from farm to pot. Therefore, not everyone needs supplements.

SUPPLEMENTS ARE DRUGS

They contain
⭐multivitamins (vitamin B1, B2, B3... Vitamin C, A, D, E, K)
⭐minerals like calcium, zinc, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium etc.
⭐amino acids like alanine, histidine, phenylalanine, threonine etc

Overdose of these drugs can produce certain health problems:

🔥Excess vitamin A causes severe headache, dizziness, abdominal pains

🔥Excess vitamin D causes frequent urination, weakness

🔥Excess copper causes Wilsons Disease

🔥 Vitamin C overdose causes abdominal pains, diarrhea and increases the risk of kidney stones

The belief that supplements, irrespective of the dosage, are safe should be "washed away" from our mind. These are drugs; and as chemicals, the right dosage makes all the difference.

06/03/2026

THE DANGEROUS MUSHROOM 🍄

It was once rumoured that an entire household of six di@d after eating a certain type of unfamiliar mushroom with the exception of one. The survivor, an adolescent, after recovery stated how she with the younger siblings, found a type of mushroom. This was prepared (into soup) and served the households in the evening.

🔥 Although the mushrooms consumed as foods are nutritious; there are some species that are poisonous and dangerous to health. Some of the toxins can withstand heat and so despite cooking, the toxins persist as they are not destroyed. One of the deadliest mushrooms, death cap, can cause severe abdominal pains, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, delirium and other end organ damage.

🔥 Don't be confused with the brilliant white colour of Amanita mushrooms. They look like edible mushrooms but are called 'destroying angels' because of how dangerous their toxins are. The symptoms appear within a few hours of ingestion and present with diarrhea, vomiting, convulsion, organ failures, coma and can lead to death. The toxin of webcap mushroom (cortinarius spp) can take a while before the symptoms manifest, its gradual onset doesn't mean it's timid; it can lead to kidney failure.

🌟⭐Over time, out of experience, people (mushroom hunters) stick to a certain species of mushroom in an attempt to avoid the poisonous ones.

⚠️Some poisonous mushrooms have unpleasant smell/odour. Well, this sends a signal that one should be wary of such mushrooms.
⚠️ Some dangerous mushrooms have bright and brilliant colours. How appealing the red and white spotted colours of the fly agari is to the eyes 🫩 But it's poisonous and can cause hallucination.
⚠️ Mushrooms that change colour (blue, yellow, green...) when pinched may not be edible. The mushroom Agaricus xanthodermus stains yellow when bruised; it's not a friend of human health.
⚠️ Mushroom with skirt ring on the stem may be an enemy. The health destroying Amanita mushrooms have skirts on their stems

It may be difficult to differentiate edible mushrooms from the poisonous ones by merely looking at the physical features as there may be an overlap in certain characteristics. The goal therefore is to avoid eating the poisonous ones. In our various local environment, luckily for us, edible mushrooms are grown and well known because such knowledge is passed down and transmitted to the local populace.

⭐😋Therefore, always eat the popular and common mushroom.
⭐😋Ask expert if you are confused

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️Don't eat uncommon mushroom, it may be an experiment not worth trying...

For more health tips, follow Dr. obilor Health Informatics. Give us 👍 and let's know your thoughts

Health Informatics Team

05/03/2026

The delicious fungi

Although the name candida rings alarm in the minds of some people mostly ladies, mushrooms and candida are both fungi 😱

Mushroom is the fruit or fleshy part of certain fungi (shiitake, oyster, crimini...) that grows out of a slender stem. The fruit bearing cap (mushrooms) carries the reproductive potential of the fungus called spores and are dispersed into the air, which germinate under a favourable condition. After germination it grows and produces a fruit bearing body called mushroom.

But unlike certain candida/yeast that produce infection and feed on sugar, some mushrooms produce medicinal substances that not only boost the immune system, but also attack and fight against candida. Mushroom producing fungi (mycelium) feed on decaying organic matters (saprophytes) and so plays an important role in recycling materials in nature.

Not all microorganisms are dangerous to health, some are beneficial to humans.

04/03/2026

World obesity day

A reminder that excess body fats can becomr an impediment to a healthy living. With obesity, the body struggles to carry the weight of the body, which increases the risk of arthritis.

Obesity increases the work load of the heart which can lead to heart diseases. Following the deposition of fat cells in the blood, the risk of heart attack, hypertension, stroke etc are increased.

Obesity is associated with conditions like snoring, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes (type 2), and it increases the risk of certain cancers.

Work on your weight with lifestyle modifications and diets. Physical activities can help. You don't have to run a marathon to achieve this: walking some distance, skipping, jogging are some physical activities that can help in controlling this silent disease. Reduce intake of junks (like burgers, meat pie, shawarma, pizza etc) and do more with fruits and vegetables. Eating small meal at a time can reduce the ability of the body to store energy as fats.

By any means possible, avoid being obesed. It's a burden too difficult to bear as it affects one's quality of life.

World obesity day 2026 "8 billion reasons to act on obesity"

04/03/2026

How edible mushrooms improve health.

Mushrooms traditionally consumed as foods are highly nutritious. Some people who eat mushrooms do not know the nutritional values of mushrooms. And if you haven't tried it, check this out:

🔥 Mushrooms are rich in proteins which supply amino acids for the repair of damaged tissues. As we grow and age, lots of damages happen to the body and proteins are needed to fix them. With mushrooms, the body is equipped with nutrients designed to repair damaged tissues.

🔥 Mushrooms are poor in fat hence offer protection to the heart and blood vessels against the complications of high blood fats and cholesterol. This means that edible mushrooms are good for those with hypertension, obesity, diabetes and other cardiovascular disease where high fats/cholesterol increase the risk of complications.

🔥 Mushrooms contain just a small amount of digestible carbohydrates. Others are non-digestible with plenty of fibers. This makes them an important source of food for those living with diabetes as it has a negligligible effect in raising the blood sugar. If we add their low fat content, it comes am excellent food for aged and those living with diabetes.

🔥 Mushrooms are good sources of multivitamins in varying proportions. These support the various metabolic functions of the body from energy production, regulation and structural support of the body. Vitamin B1, B2, B3... Including vitamin D when exposed to sunlight are contained in mushrooms.

🔥 They are a rich source of minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, selenium, iron etc. these agents are needed for proper body function. Some are needed for blood cells production, electrical signal conduction and transmission within the body system, and other metabolic processes.

There are different types that are consumed with uniqueness in taste, size and structure. Some have a thick white/brown cap while others have a soft cap. Their tastes are simply amazing as they add a certain savor to the food. "Small meat" as they are often called keep the mouth busy while eating😋

In some communities these mushrooms are given names that denote their sweetness: Eru ogba sai sai, Eru otu ku ru, Eru ochi cha ya
😋😋😋😋😋😋

Which one have you tasted from the picture below?

Follow Dr. obilor Health Informatics for more health tips

Health Informatics Team

02/03/2026

Ask the DOCTOR

Does every woman have fibroid?

The short answer is NO.

🔥 In women of reproductive age, not everyone has fibroid. The development of fibroid is a complex of genetics/familial and environmental factors. Some women who do not possess the genes can't develop fibroids. In the same way, some may have small asymptomatic fibroids that barely cause any symptoms. These people may have fibroid but would never be aware because it may not cause any problem.

🔥 Fibroid is not known to occur in women who have not started seeing their periods.

🔥 Those who have their womb removed (hysterectomy) don't develop fibroids.

🔥 After menopause, fibroid is not known to develop.

In a nutshell, a woman in the reproductive age having a womb has a risk of developing fibroids. However, this risk is an interaction of genetics and environmental factors. Some without the risks won't develop fibroids while others may, but in varying degrees and severity.

Health Informatics Team

27/02/2026

Why does beans cause my chest to burn

Some people experience heart burn after eating beans. It can be so uncomfortable that many people who experience this symptom avoid beans.

Beans contain a type of sugar that can be difficult to digest. The enzyme responsible for the breakdown of such sugar may be absent or insufficient in some persons. As a result, this undigested sugar enters the large intestine where bacteria act on it and gases are produced such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide, methane etc.

These glasses ascend upward towards the stomach and esophagus causing rumbling, bloating, belching, flatulence etc.

This buildup of gases in the stomach increases the pressure forcing opening of the band-like structure (sphincter) that separates the stomach from the esophagus. As the band opens, acidic stomach contents move upwards into the esophagus causing irritations, which are interpreted as chest burn or heart burn. This occurs because the wall of the esophagus is not designed to withstand the acidity of the stomach contents hence the separation.

Imagine beans as your favourite food and you experience all these unpleasant symptoms, how do you manage it? Or, how do you reduce these symptoms?👇👇

26/02/2026

New drug for HIV prevention, is the end of HIV at hand?

Twice yearly injection of the novel drug Lenacapavir can prevent individuals from contracting HIV. Is this not beautiful?
With this drug, there would be a decline in the incidence of HIV infected persons.

Lenacapavir is given to individuals who are not HIV positive as a pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is not a cure for HIV hence people who are already infected with the virus can continue HIV treatment with HAART

One dose injection of Lenacapavir is subsidized at 58k naira. This transforms to a total of 116k per year for hiv prevention with Lenacapavir injection.

25/02/2026

Cockroaches, a health hazard ⚠️ (section one)

Cockroaches are not just a nuisance at home because of the noise they generate, but more to their involvement as carriers of some disease causing agents. A few cockroaches at home can generate tremendous amount of uncomfortable sounds while rattling with old books and materials at home. And zoom, some are seen flying, setting vibrations in the air.

Out of anger, she picked up one slippers and waited patiently for it to land on the couch. Ngozi transferred all the energy she had to her right hand and unleashed a powerful strike on the cockroach not minding that her daughter was lying close to the couch. "God punish you there" she said after seeing the dead cockroach battered on the floor. While rolling the dead cockroach away, she held her breath because of the offensive smell produced by the cockroach

A few minutes later, her child of 6 years started coughing, and found it difficult to breathe. "My chest, my chest, I can't breathe" the child struggled to talk. The mother quickly rushed into the cupboard and brought out an inhaler; her child was asthmatic. Ngozi was so unsettled that her girl was rushed to the hospital.

The smell of cockroaches can trigger allergic reaction in individuals who are asthmatic. It is one of the causes of frequent asthmatic attacks in people who are allergic to the smell. The presence of cockroaches at home, droppings and the eggs can elicit this reaction in susceptible individuals.

When the odour is perceived, it triggers the release of leukotrienes, histamines, bradykinins..., which bind to the lungs (bronchioles) and cause narrowing of the airways. The patient therefore struggles to get air out of the lungs.

How cockroaches are killed can present some health challenges. Even though one's anger rages very high at the site cockroaches, other methods of elimination that would limit the release of the offensive odour should be tried: baking soda mix with sugar, use of repellants, insecticide (roach poison) etc.

Environmental sanitation and proper disposal of waste, closing cracks in the wall, covering the containers/pots properly, and home hygiene are measures that can prevent cockroaches from colonising the home.

Between mosquitoes and cockroaches, which of them do you prefer at home?

To see our posts again, follow us Dr. obilor Health Informatics for more. Pass to enlighten others.

Health Informatics Team

23/02/2026

The challenges in eating millipedes as a food source.

These creatures with many legs feed on dead decaying substances and help in recycling materials in the ecosystem.

In some cultures, certain species of millipedes are eaten as foods; which takes some routine processing of washing, boiling for a few minutes and drying. With the shell rich in calcium, the muscles contain other nutrients like fats, proteins and other vital nutrients. Despite these, the human consumption of millipedes is limited only to a few groups of people🤔

As gentle as they are, without any venom, millipede produce certain toxic chemicals and secretions that can cause irritations to the skin. Not only does the unpleasant secretions scare some prey away it can cause a certain degree of chemical burns on the skin. a friend once said "millipede bite my sister for bele and the place dey colour black" but she was making reference to the secretion.

Chemicals produced by some millipedes contain hydrogen cyanide and hydrochloric acid which can cause cornea scarring following exposure of the secretions to the eyes. The amount of these chemicals are so small that the systemic effect from cyanide is rarely seen in humans though it's sufficient to scare away some prey

Some animals eaten by man poses a much higher risk than millipedes yet they are hunted. The question is? With the fat, calcium and minerals that are found in millipedes, why is it not eaten by a lot more People? Are the places they are found (dirty dumps, filthy areas etc) responsible for the limited consumption of this fat and calcium rich animal?

Why do you think it's unhealthy to eat millipede?

21/02/2026

The psychology of typhoid treatment in malara

❓"Please, I have typhoid and malaria; why are you giving me only malaria drugs? You have to add typhoid medications because I have typhoid and malaria" In her mind, antimalarial treatment must go with typhoid treatment (ciprofloxacin or amoxyl).

⭐Madam, you came to the hospital to be diagnosed and treated and based on the clinical information, you have malaria 🦟 and not typhoid, the doctor said. Take these medications for three days and let's get your feedback. She felt so unhappy and unsatisfied because typhoid medication was not added despite the explanations by the doctor. As she passed through the reception, her frustration became obvious when she saw her friend.

⭐"Can you imagine?" She said to her friend "I came here to see a doctor, despite showing him the lab result (Widal test) which showed I have typhoid and malaria, he gave me only malaria drugs". The friend quickly opened the test result and saw SIGNIFICANT TITIRE and said, "your typhoid is very high, e be like say this doctor no no anything" 😂

❓The next day, she returned to the hospital with clear frustrations "doctor I am still having headache and cold, if not for my husband who insisted I come here, I for don buy ciprofloxacin". Faced with this dilema the doctor thought of what to do:

🔥The doctor was convinced she doesn't have typhoid fever despite the result of Widal which shows a significant tire. It would have been very simple to write the medication and give her but then drugs are chemicals and should be taken when the benefits outweigh the risk. All these abuse of antibiotics have made some bacteria resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics. People have abused antibiotics to the extent that they rarely work when actually needed.

🤔🤔So he added ascorbic acid, and riboflavin. There was a sigh of relief on her face 😊 and she took the medication. Two days later, she called out of excitement that she's fine..."I told you to add typhoid medication; have you seen it now? The moment I took those typhoid drugs you added, I am fine. Those two drugs are very powerful. I knew what was wrong with me all along. Thank you"🤦

🔥But do you know what? Those two medications added were not typhoid drugs: Riboflavin is simply vitamin B2 and ascorbic acid
So in reality, she had just malaria, but her psychology made the whole difference. She needed typhoid medication because the brain has been programmed that there was typhoid and needed a drug labeled 'anti typhoid medication' to soothe the thirst.

🔥Many people are battling with this psychological appeasement for typhoid built on the belief that typhoid and malaria always coexists which is wrong. Malaria is a disease caused by plasmodium while typhoid fever is a totally different disease caused by salmonella typhi (bacteria). One can have malaria without typhoid, and can have typhoid without malaria. There treatments are different. How often do you treat malaria without typhoid?

❓❓❓If riboflavin is vitamin B2, do you know the common name of ascorbic acid?

Follow us Dr. obilor Health Informatics for more health tips. Give us 👍 and pass to enlightened others.

Health Informatics Team

20/02/2026

How the use of sniper in agricultural produce endanger our lives

⭐In a way to preserve agricultural produce like beans, some farmers resort to the use of sniper - an organophosphate. This toxic chemical is consumed alongside the grain and wreck havoc to the body system. Organophosphate (like sniper) is a poison in the human body because it has no therapeutic use. And these products are sold to the people who unknowingly consume them and gradually come down with health problems that put their lives in danger.

⭐To kill plenty of fishes, sniper is often mixed with feeds and sprinkled on the water. Fishes that consume these substances become "paralyzed" and are easily picked up by the fishermen, who give thanks to God and sell organophosphate poisoned fish to the people. As the fishes are consumed the body is exposed to this chemical.

⭐ Some fish sellers also use sniper to preserve fishes especially the smoked ones from decay (crayfish, stockfish...)

DOES COOKING DESTROY THIS CHEMICAL?

A lot of people find solace in the ability of heat to destroy most substances. Unfortunately, at the temperature of the cooking range, heat doesn't degrade all the chemicals. In fact, some of the products from heat degradation of sniper appear to be toxic to the body.

THE EFFECT OF SNIPER IN THE BODY

🔥 This agent can cause headaches, blurred vision, seizures, confusion, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, coma and death.

🔥Long term effects can cause cancers as have been demonstrated in experimental animals exposed to the substance. It can cause abnormal or deformed babies in pregnancy.

the caveat is this: there is no amount of sniper that is 100 % safe in humans; it is not designed for safe human consumption

Knowing how dangerous sniper (dichlorvos) is, it is toxic for it to be used as a preservative. In human body, sniper is just a poison.

Follow Dr. obilor Health Informatics for more health tips.

Health Informatics Team

Dr. obilor Health Informatics

07/03/2026

06/03/2026

05/03/2026

04/03/2026

04/03/2026

02/03/2026

27/02/2026

26/02/2026

25/02/2026

23/02/2026

21/02/2026

20/02/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share