INFO, HEALTH TIPS AND NEWS

For many, the first port of call when urinary tract infection hits is a box of cranberry juice. However, new research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that while cranberry capsules can help, cranberry juice may be little more than a panacea. The team studied 160 patients aged 23-88 years who were likely to develop a UTI following a gynecological surgery. Half of the patients received two cranberry juice capsules twice daily - the equivalent in strength to two 8-ounce servings of cranberry juice - for 6 weeks after surgery. The others took a placebo. Cranberry capsules lowered the risk of UTIs by 50%. However, the researchers point out that since a cranberry capsule provides the equivalent of 8 ounces of cranberry juice, a patient would need a lot of pure cranberry to prevent an infection. One of the researchers explained that it takes an extremely large concentration of cranberry to prevent bacterial adhesion and this amount of concentratio...

Dirty hands A friend of mine took his girlfriend out for dinner. They had sweet, hot, succulent suya at one of those Yahusa places in town. I only heard about it later. That was after his girlfriend was rushed to the emergency room complaining of heat in her private part. It turned out that he did not wash his hands after the suya before touching her private part. It’s a familiar story that reminded me about sexually transmitted diseases and the myth surrounding some of them. It always begged the question, ‘How did the first person get the infection?’ I mean, yes, infections can be transmitted once your partner has it, but, how did your partner get it in the first place? In fact, some young women who are not yet sexually active also blame the toilet for developing infections. Some of the explanation and the myth had been that women get the diseases from the toilet seat. I know women who, because of this, do not sit on basins of public toilets! The truth, of course, ...