Dr Karla Hechter-Schulz Medical Practitioner : GP and Aesthetics

28/02/2024

Doodle by Richard Price

28/04/2023

Ok thanks 💁

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"does anyone have a home remedy for the darkness within that is slowly overcoming your will to live? I tried apple cider vinegar"

06/12/2021

The importance to get yourselves vaccinated as soon as possible

06/11/2021

This is very beautiful and worth thinking about for a moment or two

✨Expected Death ~ When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breadth away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Credit for the beautiful words ~ Sarah Kerr, Ritual Healing Practitioner and Death Doula , Death doula
Her original video link is here ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mG0ZAym0w

Beautiful art by Columbus Community Deathcare
Always With Love

31/10/2021

30/10/2021

So beautiful…

“When pregnant, the cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby, it’s called “fetal-maternal microchimerism”.⁠

For 41 weeks, the cells circulate and merge backwards and forwards, and after the baby is born, many of these cells stay in the mother’s body, leaving a permanent imprint in the mothers tissues, bones, brain, and skin, and often stay there for decades. Every single child a mother has afterwards will leave a similar imprint on her body, too.

Even if a pregnancy doesn't go to full term or if you have an abortion, these cells still migrate into your bloodstream.

Research has shown that if a mother's heart is injured, fetal cells will rush to the site of the injury and change into different types of cells that specialize in mending the heart.

The baby helps repair the mother, while the mother builds the baby.

How cool is that?

This is often why certain illnesses vanish while pregnant.

It’s incredible how mothers bodies protect the baby at all costs, and the baby protects & rebuilds the mother back - so that the baby can develop safely and survive.

Think about crazy cravings for a moment. What was the mother deficient in that the baby made them crave?

Studies have also shown cells from a fetus in a mothers brain 18 years after she gave birth. How amazing is that?”

If you’re a mom you know how you can intuitively feel your child even when they are not there….Well, now there is scientific proof that moms carry them for years and years even after they have given birth to them.

I find this to be so very beautiful.

14/09/2021

The “or” should be “and” and then just @ me

24/08/2021

It's Thursday, so we thought we'd share another throwback!

Vaccines have been around for a long time. They have helped increase our life expectancies and reduced the risk of devastating diseases. Check out some of the diseases you may have forgotten about thanks in part to vaccines.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/forgot-14-diseases.html WHOOPS,
Mariposa County Public Health strives to provide the most accurate information possible, there are a few noticeable typos and some missing information in our graphic! Please note that the link provided in the caption will take you to accurate information regarding diseases that are managed thanks to vaccines, thank you!

02/08/2021

Well said

Getting your Covid-19 vaccine is a duty not a right
Dr Daniel Israel




The drop in cases of new COVID-19 infection in the community in the past week is like the loosening of a noose around the necks of my colleagues and myself, and though we’re still diagnosing new cases daily, fear of a further exponential increase has abated.

As we start to sigh the first breaths of relief, our imagination has started to venture into the prospect of a fourth wave, which as professionals, perhaps we wouldn’t mentally survive.

During this week, when my mind has wandered into these overwhelming thoughts, I’m instantly reassured that we now have a vaccine for COVID-19. It’s our golden armour in this disastrous pandemic, and the single most effective tool we have to get our lives back to normal.

Yet, I’m intrigued by the number of people I still consult on a daily basis who are truly undecided as to whether or not they will be enrolling for a COVID-19 vaccine. Some cite well thought-out arguments that deter them from enrolling for vaccination. Others have, in fact, enrolled, but an emotional barrier with fear at its foundation prevents them from taking the next step.

To date, there has been no scientifically robust data that has called to question any of the readily available vaccines. When I’m posed a question like, “Is it worth the risk of having a COVID-19 vaccine if it can cause blood clots or infertility?”, my logical reply is almost always with the counter question, “Have you considered the risks of COVID-19 pneumonia or being a conduit for COVID-19 pneumonia in someone else? Have you weighed those risks against that vaccine risk that concerns you?” Life is fraught with daily risks, and we navigate the best balance of these risks in our daily routines. For example, we wouldn’t accept the risk of going without food against the risk of crossing a busy road to collect the food, even though both risks are real. The same logic should be employed here.

Six months into worldwide vaccine deployment, just less than four billion doses have been given. This sample size certainly allows us to quantify risks. One in 100 000 Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca recipients developed a clotting disorder called thrombocytic thrombocytopaenia. The occurrence of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) in Pfizer patients has been pitched at about one in a million. These numbers are statistically so insignificant, it’s almost more responsible not to mention them at all in my opinion. The risk of complications of the anxiety caused by their discussion alone may be higher than the original risks themselves.

So, why are we still struggling to convince a significant proportion of the larger community to get the jab? German psychologist Professor Cornelia Betsch proposed five c’s as factors that deeply affect vaccine uptake. All of these are important here.

Confidence: trust in the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, and confidence in the people rolling them out. We are making great strides here, particularly with community and religious organisations now opening vaccine centres. We need to produce more paper reading material about vaccine safety in different languages, and rely less on digital education only.

Complacency: whether the disease is considered a serious risk. The third wave and its devastation has shifted most minds here. We need to focus on the appreciation that healthy young people can become significantly unwell too.

Calculation: weighing up the costs and benefits. We need to encourage those reluctant to be vaccinated to do this exercise themselves. The risks of COVID-19 complications are big. The risks of vaccines are, at most, little.

Constraints: availability and ease. Justifiable or not, we have failed here. However, South Africa can be proud of its catch-up and current stock availability.

Collective responsibility: the willingness to protect others from infection through one’s own vaccination. I will focus the rest of the article on this responsibility.

COVID-19 has taught us the paramount lesson that we are responsible for one another. This spans from the responsibility of informing contacts if you test positive, to the responsibility of supporting infected individuals with medication to prevent them from infecting others, to the responsibility of emotional support for bereaved families, to now, the biggest responsibility of getting vaccinated. This is your greatest moment of responsibility to others in COVID-19, even if you believe you are taking on “vaccine risk”.

It’s so clear to me that the only way out of this pandemic is for us to stop framing our COVID-19 lives as individuals, and embrace the responsibility of being a member of a community. We need to take up our duty to protect others. Getting vaccinated to protect others shouldn’t be seen as a mere act of altruism. In fact, it’s the only way we will rebuild our communal life and develop population immunity. Ironically, it’s this focus on others will that will enable us as individuals to resume our own social interactions and a normal lifestyle. The true test of COVID-19 is seeing beyond one’s own immediate protection.

If you are in still in doubt as to whether or not to get vaccinated, you aren’t alone. You have every right to ask questions. But COVID-19 vaccinations aren’t about rights. They are foremost about a deep responsibility and personal duty to society as a whole. No formidable soldier has stood at the frontlines of a battleground worrying about his rights. You have a responsibility to go out there now and fulfil your duty. Otherwise, you may want to consider “staying home and saving lives” for the rest of your life.

05/06/2021

So you have COVID, now what?

Dr Karin van der Merwe and Dr Varanna Dogan



COVID numbers are increasing in South Africa and it is inevitable that many of us will get infected. Some will be diagnosed by having a positive COVID test while others may have typical symptoms and a false negative test or no test at all. What should you do if you are pretty sure you have COVID?

1. Keep calm

Most people will be asymptomatic and at least 95% of those infected will recover completely. Only 10-15% of symptomatic people will need hospitalisation, which means 85% of symptomatic people will experience a mild flu-like illness at home. The chance of hospitalisation increases with age and in those with chronic medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, particularly if these are poorly controlled.

Avoid information overload by limiting the number of articles and posts that you read on the internet about COVID. Not all of these will be from reputable sources and many will cause undue fear. Some trusted sources include the Department of Health (sacoronavirus.co.za); NICD (National Institute of Communicable Diseases) and WHO (World Health Organisation). If in doubt, ask your GP which sources you can trust to give reliable information.

2. Monitor yourself

Take note of how you are feeling daily and what symptoms you experience. Symptoms you may experience include loss of taste or smell, fever, sore throat, dry cough, muscle aches, headache, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fatigue. It may be useful to take your temperature daily. If available, you could measure your oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter. This is a handy device which clips onto your finger, telling you the percentage of oxygen in your blood. The level should be more than 90%. These are available at pharmacies and are covered by some medical schemes.

The natural progression of COVID is that the first week of illness generally presents with flu-like symptoms and from about Day 6 respiratory symptoms may start. In patients at risk for complications, the doctor will probably order blood tests on Day 6 or 7 to monitor inflammation levels and risk of clotting and add medications like cortisone or anticoagulants according to the results.

3. Check in

Make sure you have a GP or clinic that you can check in with - preferably by phone. It is especially important to contact a doctor or go to hospital if you have any of the following - difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, new confusion, inability to stay awake, bluish lips or face or oxygen saturation less than 90%. Do not hesitate to contact your doctor if you have any concerns. The doctor will ask you questions about how you are doing and decide whether you need to be admitted to hospital or continue to recover at home. Treatment at home may include supportive measures such as paracetamol and supplements such as Vitamin B3, VitaminC, Vitamin D and Zinc. Please discuss any other treatments with your GP and do not stop any chronic medications.

4. Self-isolate

Be responsible. Isolate yourself from others. This includes your family members. Isolation refers to separating people with a contagious disease from those who are well. You need to stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom if possible. If you are sharing a bathroom it needs to be disinfected after use. Eat your meals in your room and when having any contact with others, including your close family members, wear a mask and keep 1.5m away. The person handling your laundry and dirty dishes should wear gloves or thoroughly wash their hands afterwards. For very detailed information on how to self-isolate see
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html

How long do you need to isolate for?

If you were asymptomatic, you need to isolate yourself for 10 days from your positive COVID test. If you have a mild infection, you need to isolate yourself for 10 days from the start of your symptoms. If your infection was more severe, you need to isolate for 10 days from the time you no longer needed oxygen. You do not need to have a negative COVID test to come out of isolation. If any doubt exists, discuss when you can come out of isolation with your healthcare provider.

5. Enlist help

Ask your family and friends to assist you with your physical needs whilst you are self-isolating. Getting food, medicine and other essentials delivered is advisable. If you live alone, ask a friend to call and check in with you daily.

6. Notify your contacts

Anyone who has had recent contact with you without a mask OR at a distance of less than 1.5m for longer than 15 minutes is called a contact.

For instance, this may include those living with you, work colleagues in the same office space and classmates of scholars. Contacts need to quarantine themselves for 10 days from their last contact with you to make sure they don’t spread the infection. Quarantine is different from isolation because it refers to separation of well people exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. It is important for limiting transmission as some contacts may be asymptomatic carriers of COVID.

Contacts only need to be tested for COVID If they become symptomatic. At this stage a positive test would mean a definite COVID infection but a negative test does not mean the contact is clear of infection so quarantine must continue until 10 days after the start of symptoms.

If contacts have no symptoms they do not need a COVID test but even if they were to test negative for COVID, they would still need to complete the 10 days of quarantine as false negative tests are common.

The above rules apply whether the contact has been vaccinated against COVID or not.

Update or Sign up for the COVID alert App which will notify those people who came within a certain distance of your phone thereby alerting them of possible exposure:

https://apps.apple.com/za/app/covid-alert-south-africa/id1524618326

Or

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.gov.health.covidconnect

In closing

We hope these guidelines will help you to remain calm and know how to handle getting a diagnosis of COVID. By monitoring yourself and keeping lines of communication open, your recovery can be optimised. Once you have recovered it is likely that you will have a measure of immunity from the virus. The exact extent of this protection is still under study.

On the other hand, If you know someone who has been diagnosed with COVID, hopefully these guidelines will help you empathise with them and prompt you to be kind and offer to assist in whatever way you can. Be one of the voices that care!

NOTE: At the initial time of writing this post the isolation and quarantine times were 14 days. These have subsequently been reduced to 10 days.

12/05/2021

We salute you. Happy international nurses day ❤️

05/04/2021

3 factors can help you make safer choices in areas where COVID-19 transmission is widespread:
📍Location
↔️Proximity
⏲️Time

04/04/2021

Unacceptable...

20/03/2021

Stay strong ...

27/02/2021

Cannot wait !

Join us for this important info session on Thursday 04 March at 19h00. Meet our Dean and some of the programme faculty, and find out how to take a medical practice online quickly and effectively. Henley Business School Africa is excited to announce the launch of Future-proof your Healthcare Practice...

21/02/2021

29/01/2021

Read it ... it may save a life...

Can we do more as individuals to help slow the spread of coronavirus? We ask the experts