Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Winning the war against polio

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is a highly infectious condition caused by the Poliovirus. Children under the age of five are most often affected.

The Poliovirus is mainly spread by person-to-person contact, but can also be transferred via eating raw or undercooked food or water that’s been contaminated with the faeces of an infected person.

Most people with polio don’t experience noticeable signs. The most common indication of polio is a sudden weakness or lameness in the limbs. People who have symptoms may have minor issues like fever, fatigue, nausea, headache, a sore throat, coughing, congestion and stiffness and pain in the arms, legs, back and neck.

The majority of those who contract polio recover completely, but in extreme cases, it causes the permanent loss of muscle function, which may result in paralysis, usually in the arms or legs. It may also cause death if it decreases muscle function used for breathing or if the virus infects your brain.

Polio today

Thankfully, due to routine immunisations, South Africa has been free from polio since 1989. There are, however still cases of polio in other countries. Globally, most countries are polio-free, except for Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and certain areas in Asia. In recent years, the number of people affected by polio has decreased, but unfortunately, even a small number of infected people can put many others at risk.

What’s worrying is that the poliovirus can easily spread from an infected country to a polio-free one.

What can you do to fight polio?

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for polio, so the only way to fight it is with prevention. To fight polio you should:

Keep up with vaccinations

Ensure you have had a polio vaccination. An additional one-time polio vaccine booster is recommended for those travelling to high-risk countries. To be safe, ask your doctor or nurse if your polio vaccine is up-to-date before travelling. It’s also important to ensure your children are vaccinated. Kids should be immunised with polio drops at birth, six weeks, 10 weeks, 14 weeks, 18 months and when they’re five years old.

Watch your food

Make sure your food is always cooked properly before eating it and avoid raw food. Street vendors in some developing countries may not be safe, so always be cautious. Bushmeat is especially risky, so avoid eating it and don’t drink tap water when travelling, unless it’s been boiled or filtered. Bottled or canned factory drinks are usually safe, but watch out for bottled water that could just be regular tap water.

Practise good hygiene

  • Wash your hands often with warm water and soap. Use hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol if there’s no water or soap available.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve if you cough or sneeze.
  • Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth. If you do, make sure your hands are clean.
  • Avoid sharing utensils with sick people and avoid close contact (like hugging, holding hands and kissing). 

Good to know

  • Ask your doctor or a nurse at your local clinic or hospital about immunisation and follow the schedule.
  • Immediately report any child under the age of 15 who develops sudden weakness of either an arm and/or leg (without any injury).

References:

Do you have a viral rash?

A viral rash is, as its name suggests, caused by a virus. Like viral infections, viral rashes mostly affect toddlers and children. They generally look like splotches, red spots or raised bumps, but this can change, depending on the type of rash.

These spots can come on suddenly or develop over a few days. They form in many areas on the body or cluster together in a small section. Viral rashes often feel painful and itchy. Other common symptoms include:

  • Chills
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Body aches

What causes a viral rash?

Viral rashes come from your immune system’s response to a virus or damage to your skin cells. For example, measles is a viral rash. It develops when your immune cells react to the virus when it moves through your bloodstream.

Immune cells release chemicals to kill the virus. These chemicals also inflame your skin, which causes a rash. Some viruses can bring on viral rashes. These are contagious and are spread through the air when you inhale saliva droplets through your nose or throat.

A few common ones include:

Chickenpox

Although there’s a lower risk for this viral rash due to available vaccines, some kids are still vulnerable to it. Symptoms include a fever, a sore throat and itchy spots all over the body. The chickenpox virus is contagious.

Shingles

This viral rash is a reactivation of chickenpox. It happens when the chickenpox virus travels down from your nerves into your skin. After this, the virus multiplies, causing a rash.

Fifth disease

This virus causes a splotchy red rash that forms on the face. It looks like a mark that would be left behind after a smack. Other symptoms include a fever and body aches. This virus normally spreads through saliva and is mainly found in children. A web-like rash may also spread on the arms, legs and other body parts.

Other viral infections like the Zika and West Nile virus are caused by mosquitos, ticks and fleas. These can also cause viral rashes.

How is it treated?

Viral infections are often not treated at all and are left to clear up on their own. Since antibiotics only treat bacterial infections, they can’t be used for a viral rash. Doctors may give you some medication to help relieve your symptoms.

Soothe the symptoms by applying a cool compress or calamine lotion to the affected areas. Do your best to avoid scratching your rash. Fever and aches can be soothed with over-the-counter medication like acetaminophen or an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen.

References:

What to do about warts under your feet

Plantar warts are small growths that appear mainly on your heels or other weight-bearing areas of your feet. The pressure on these warts can cause them to grow inward, creating a clump of hard, thick skin (mosaic warts). Warts can also appear on the hands, and these are called palmer warts. Plantar warts are common, particularly in children.

Most people will have a wart at some point in their lifetime. Some corns and calluses are mistaken for plantar warts. In some warts, little black dots appear. These are called “seed” warts. The black dots are small blood vessels that have grown into warts.

Symptoms of warts:

  • Hard, thickened skin.
  • Small, fleshy grainy growths on the bottom of your foot.
  • Pain or tenderness when standing or walking.
  • Little black dots on growths.

What are the causes?

Plantar warts are skin growths caused by a viral infection in the top layer of skin. The virus that causes these skin-growths is called HPV. HPV enters your body through little cuts or weak spots at the bottom of your foot. Plantar warts spread from person to person. For example, if a child has a wart on his hand and touches a surface that is then touched by another child, that child is likely to get a wart.

Another example would be if someone with warts on their feet uses a shower without flip-flops and then whoever uses the shower after them will develop a wart. If your immune system is weak, your risk of getting a wart is increased as the virus has a better chance to enter your body.

What to do about them

Prevention is better than cure, so lowering your risk of getting plantar warts is your best bet.

  • Avoid touching warts, including your own warts.
  • Wash your hands carefully after touching a wart.
  • Keep your feet clean and dry. Change your shoes and socks daily.
  • Avoid walking barefoot around swimming pools and locker rooms, always wear flip flops
  • Don’t pick at warts.

Plantar warts shouldn’t raise serious alarm bells because they usually go away without treatment. Still, here are a few self-treatments you can try at home.

  • Stick a small piece of duct tape over your wart and leave it on for six days. Remove it and soak the wart in water and then gently remove it with a pumice stone. This could take a few months to work.
  • Ask your pharmacist for over-the-counter helpers like gels, ointments and lotions. Ask for ones with salicylic acid to help peel the wart. Freezing spray can kill the wart tissue. These remedies work about 50% of the time.
  • If home treatment doesn’t help, see your doctor. Medical treatment includes removing the wart with surgery and injecting medications to help clear up the wart.

See your doctor immediately if:

  • The discomfort caused by the wart prevents you from doing any activities.
  • Treatment isn’t working.
  • The growths are bleeding, painful, or changes in colour.
  • You have diabetes.
  • You aren’t sure if you have a wart or another kind of growth.
  • You have a weak immune system because of an immune disorder or immune-suppressing drugs.

References:

3 Vital secrets about flu

Winter is here! Warm clothes, an excuse to wear that scarf, hot chocolate and nights in front of the fire sound really great, and they are! However, it’s also the season when viruses declare war on your immune system. This year we bring you 3 key secrets to preventing and beating the nasty influenza virus.

1. Rest really is the best medicine

Do you think rest is for the weak? Guess again! Bedrest is one of the best weapons against the flu. The only way to beat the flu is to let your immune system do all the work. However, if you’re not resting, your body needs to fight the infection AND do whatever it is you’re doing. So it’s best to rest and speed up your recovery.

2. Try not to spread it around

Did you know that you can still pass on the flu virus even after the symptoms are gone? Yes, you’re still technically infectious for 5 – 7 days, even though you feel much better. What should you do for these few days? If your doctor has already booked you off, stay in bed so your body can fight the virus a little more. If you’re not booked off, ask if you can work from home or take another sick day. If you can’t, then don’t feel too bad if someone else gets sick, you did try your best.

3. Strengthen your immune system

If you want to prevent Flu, you need to make sure your immune system is strong. Even if you catch a cold, supporting your immunity can help that it doesn’t last too long.

Take about 1000mg of Vit C daily; make sure you get at least 6 – 7 hours of sleep a night, and try to stay fit throughout the winter. By moving, your blood pumps through your system, your immune-cells are more energised, and your internal ‘security’ is much more alert – catching the virus before it wreaks havoc.

So, are you geared-up and ready to tackle the flu this winter? If it hasn’t caught you yet, make a plan to get your flu-shot: you don’t want to spend your student-holiday in bed, now, do you?!

Don’t forget that you can contact our doctors anytime you want! You can ask them for advice on the flu, how to boost your immune system or how to take care of someone with the flu. All you need to do is subscribe to our Hello Doctor service. Visit the “Buy Now” to get started.

Source: sfdcp.org

Home remedies for colds and flu

It’s hard to escape cold and flu germs during winter – unless you hide away from open plan offices, public transport, gyms and crowded places like shopping malls and cinemas! The next best thing is to boost your immune system and keep it strong.

Some of your options

A lot of people opt to get a flu jab every winter. It’s especially recommended for:

  • those with weakened immune systems
  • elderly people
  • pregnant women.

Others tend to double up on immune boosters such as vitamin C and anti-oxidant supplements. You could also try natural home remedies, which are effective at keeping colds and flu at bay, and aiding a speedy recovery.

With that in mind, here are a few of the best home remedies and treatments for colds and flu.

Flu-fighting shooters

Ingredients:

  • One part fresh lemon juice or orange juice
  • Honey to taste – one or two teaspoons
  • A quarter teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
  • A good pinch of finely diced raw garlic
  • A sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)

Mix everything together in a shot glass and drink. All of the ingredients listed are known for their flu-fighting and immune boosting properties. When should you drink it?  As soon as you first start feeling a cold or flu coming on.

Recovery tips

If you’re recovering from a bout of flu, then try the following. It will help ease symptoms and speed up recovery:

For a stuffy nose:

  • try an aromatic steam inhaler. Simply add a few teaspoons of fresh grated ginger to a bowl of boiling water. Drape a towel over your head and lean over the bowl, breathing deeply for a few minutes. Steam works wonders for opening up the nasal passages, and you can do this a couple of times a day until you’re feeling better.

For sinus headaches:

  • try a hot compress. Simply microwave a damp towel for between 30 seconds and 1 minute, and place it across the top of your nose and cheeks for a few minutes.

To clear mucus from your nose:

  • Mix quarter of a teaspoon of salt and the same amount of baking soda with 200ml of warm water. Use a bulb syringe or Neti pot (a great investment if you suffer from colds and flu every winter) and squirt the saline solution up each nostril, one at a time. Allow the liquid to drain and finish by blowing your nose. This isn’t a very comfortable treatment, but it’s one of the most effective – and it will definitely leave you feeling better at the end of it!

Are we close to finding a vaccine for Ebola?

The Ebola outbreak that is slowly creeping its way across Africa is beginning to spread panic amongst its citizens. Here in South Africa we’ve had our own share of concern after hearing rumours of Ebola cases throughout our country. Fortunately those rumours were proven to be false, but the threat of Ebola remains. Scientists are working round the clock to develop a serum or vaccine that could stop the disease in its tracks, and according to reports it seems they may be on to something. Continue reading “Are we close to finding a vaccine for Ebola?”

Should we worry about EBOLA?

Somehow Ebola doesn’t seem real. With symptoms like internal and external bleeding, often from the nose, eyes, or mouth, it sounds more like a scary illness you expect to see in a Hollywood blockbuster such as “Contagion”. But Ebola is real, and the current death toll stands at 672, with a total of reported cases numbering 1203. Continue reading “Should we worry about EBOLA?”