Although I am aware that the most common early signs of Diabetes are frequent urination and extreme thirst, I want to know if there are other important signs of the ailment.
— Deji (by SMS)
Diabetes Mellitus is a common condition where your body loses its ability to use up glucose in the blood, also known as blood sugar. There are a number of symptoms that can accompany type 2 diabetes — and many of them start to show up early. As you rightly mentioned, the most common early signs of type 2 diabetes are frequent urination, extreme thirst. Other symptoms that may alert you to this disease include; Increased hunger, Nerve pain or numbness, Slow healing of wounds and Blurred vision. If you have any of the above, it is advisable to see your doctor for a proper check-up.
*******
I sneeze too much
Since the rains began a few months ago. I noticed that I am always sneezing particularly at night. I have tried some tablets to no avail. Kindly let me know what to do to stop this annoying problem.
— Leslie (by SMS)
Sneezing is your body’s way of removing irritants from your nose or throat. A sneeze is a powerful, involuntary expulsion of air. Sneezing often happens suddenly and without warning. Sneezing can be triggered by a variety of things, including: allergic reaction, viruses, such as the common cold or flu, nasal irritants, inhalation of corticosteroids through a nasal spray and drug withdrawal. Although, a normal body reaction, excessive sneezing can be annoying and an indication of an underlying illness which should be thoroughly investigated.
*******
Jogging at 70 years
I was a sportsman as a young man. I remained active with personal physical activities such as walking and jogging till the present time. Now that I am 70 years old, I want to know if I can continue to jog.
— Chief (by E Mail)
If you don’t have any injury or heart problems, nothing stops you from jogging at 70 and beyond. There have been cases of people in their 80s who still participate in Marathon races. However, at your age, you shouldn’t just roll out of bed every morning, jump into your running clothes, and burst out running. You need to spend the first few minutes or so to make sure that everything still works, getting blood streaming out to the extremities, and cranking up the heart rate to a somewhat sustainable level. You can do this by starting slowly with a warmup then jog for just a few minutes and stop. You can repeat this schedule for about 10 times within a one -hour period then cool down. Enjoy your jogging.
*******
Covid-19 and pregnancy
I just recovered after a four- week hospitalisation for severe Covid 19 infection. Kindly let me know when it is safe for me to get pregnant?
— Aminat (by SMS)
Since pregnant women are known to be at increased risk of severe complications during a COVID 19 infection period, you need to wait for about two weeks after a negative COVID-19 test before trying to get pregnant. You should however continue to observe all safety precautions since you can still catch the infection especially during pregnancy.
*******
Covid-19 transmission and water
I want to know if the Coronavirus disease can be transmitted through water?
— Sani (by SMS)
COVID-19 infection cannot be transmitted through drinking water or by swimming in a swimming pool or in a pond. However, if you go to a swimming pool, which is crowded and if you are close to other the people and if someone is infected, then you can be of course be affected. It is for this reason that swimmers are mandated to disinfect their hands before swimming and use a face mask while outside the swimming pool. In addition, swimming pool authorities must ensure that all hand rails and open surfaces are regularly disinfected.
