I Was Proved Wrong....

When I first heard of Shinagawa my impression was it is only for people in the upper socio-economic class. I was even shy to call their number to inquire. Thank God for the internet as I was able to access their website and check the prices. I compared it with other leading skin care clinics and their price was reasonable contrary to what I expected. 

When I was given the chance to join Shinagawa, I never had second thoughts. First, my Nihongo sensei told me that Japanese people are good employers. Second, I always believed that products from Japan are made of good quality. Third, if I want to turn my career 180 degrees, I would rather do it with people well known and expert in their field. Lastly, dermatology was my first love before I trained in OBGYN, so when one of Shinagawa's building blocks- Mr Koji Miyashita invited me to join the team I felt this is the perfect moment to mold my first love and current love into one. Something I first thought was impossible. 

When I first step foot at Shinagawa, I was welcomed by the cozy ambiance and state of the art equipments. The staff were all friendly from the doctors, nurses down to the beauty consultants. Right that very moment I knew I have found my new home and family. 

All the misconceptions that I have was slowly replaced with trust because Shinagawa proved me wrong....

If your daughter writes this good...would you not be so proud?

The feeling is happier than passing the Medical Board Exams, even greater than being accepted in a job or be trained overseas. The moment I read her works it gave me a different kind of feeling. It is both exhilarating and elating. It cannot be explained.

I still remember the most memorable Ms. Universe Pageant. It was in 1994 held here in Manila and produced the first Indian Miss Universe Winner- Ms. Sushmita Sen. I cannot forget the pageant because of the common question asked to the top 5 finalists-"What is the Essence of Being a Woman?" the following are the answers of the top 3 winners:

Miss Venezuela, Minorka Mercado: "The essence that god gave us, which is to love, because we have to give love to everyone in the universe, especially our children, and that is what we do as mothers."

Miss India, Sushmita Sen: "I think being a woman, by itself, the very fact that you're a woman, is a gift of god which we all must appreciate. The origin of a child is a mother, and is a woman, and a woman is one who shares love and who shares and shows a man what love, caring and sharing is all about. Thank you."

Miss Colombia, Carolina Gomez: "The essence of being a woman is not only femininity, but the fact of wanting to live a life, and not only that, but learning out of it, and wanting very much to let your children enjoy you as a woman, and as a mother."

The final question flooded the news immediately after the pageant. I myself find it hard to answer that question as I was only 22 and I cannot totally relate to the feeling of being a mother all I know is how to be a daughter and a friend.

The TSUNAMI CATWALK- My Two Cent's worth

After the most debated upon Question and Answer portion in the Miss Universe 2011 pageant, came Oprah Winfrey's controversial comment then here comes the Tsunami Catwalk everyone is talking about.

Tsunami walk is an elegant way of gaiting with unique swaying of the hips that results to distinctive poise bearing and attitude. Ms.Supsup admitted that the term does not originated from her but from her Colombian trainor in one of her interviews on Philippine television. News said that it is Shamcey Supsup's "Signature walk" Signature means trademark that only one person has done or can do or that the person was the first to do it. I was intrigued so I searched YOUTUBE for videos of her most famous walk. So here it is a compilation of her walk.

OPRAH WINFREY's STATEMENT on Miss Universe 2011 about Ms. Philippines losing is a HOAX

 “I have reservations with the results. If the only basis is the Q and A portion, after having been trimmed down to 5, Ms. Philippines deserved to win. What made her different from the rest is that she had no seconds to rethink of her answer as she had no interpreter to break the ice. The rest had their interpreters and having breaks on seconds to think about their answers. Hands down, Ms. Philippines answered straight to the point.”


The statement was supposedly mentioned by OPRAH on NBC news but NBC news itself never affirmed it and NBC's website never have it on. Even Oprah's website doesn't have it. Come to think of it OPRAH is a very well known figure and an ICON which most of the people look up to. She is very well educated to give that kind of comment which would create confusion and would degrade the characters of the Ms. Universe 2011 Judges. She would never do anything of that sort.And if ever she does it's a big blow and all of the media people will be coming after her for confirmation and a follow-up interview but up until now there is no news about it that's what makes the statement questionable. 

Would you change your religious beliefs to marry someone with an opposite view?

Familiar lines? Yes! it's Ms. Philippines' Question in the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant. Since her answer received praises from people from all walks of life together with a hard feeling of why she was not chosen as Ms. Universe 2011. I decided to deviate from my usual medical blog to go with the flow.

First, I would like to congratulate Ms. Philippines for beating 85 candidates all over the world and that is already an honor. Ms. Philippines 2011 and I live in the same City and we attended the same IELTS Review Center- 9.0 NINER. I have nothing against her, so whatever I have written here in my blog is not intended to degrade her or hurt her followers.


Her answer to the question: “If I had to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love because the first person I love is God, who created me. I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God, too.” was very good and in fact an IDEAL answer for a person who lives in the Philippines with strong religious background. However, I believe that even if it is ideal it is NOT realistic.

The BRAT Diet

 The BRAT Diet doesn't refer to the diet of an ill-mannered annoying child (ie. Spoiled Brats). In Medicine, BRAT Diet refers to a diet consisting of Bananas, Rice, Apple Sauce and Toast .

 

This is the diet usually being prescribed by Pediatric consultants on their patients who have diarrhea. This practice has been handed down by their mentors. Many clinicians believed that during diarrhea a well- balanced diet is not always the best since the lining of the digestive tract (intestinal mucosal cells) are damaged hence it cannot properly absorb nutrients until they regenerate which is usually after 48 hours. The diarrhe patient doesnt have the appetite to eat so clinicians feel that giving a bland diet helps them progress one step at a time. The reason for this choice is Apple Sauce and Toasts contains pectin which helps the mucosal lining and bananas and rice has anti-secretory properties. Bananas also contain amylase-resistant starch which prevents non-ulcer dyspepsia.Extension to the BRAT Diet is the BRATT Diet( which includes Tea) and the BRATTY Diet( which includes Tea and Yogurt).

PREGNANCY MYTH: The Twin Bananas

In the Philippines, the elderly believed that eating twin bananas while you are on your first months of being pregnant will produce a Siamese twin babies. Obviously, there is no truth to this statement. The younger generations are much more educated knowing that Twin Pregnancy(Siamese twins) is more of a genetic issue but with due respect to the old beliefs and the very well known respect of the younger generations to their ancestors they find it hard to set aside this belief plus the stigma of having Siamese twins the pregnant woman would rather not eat a twin banana.

Twin Pregnancy (Fraternal Twins) occur when two eggs were fertilized by two sperms and (Identical Twins) are produced when a fertilized egg(zygote) splits to form two embryos. Siamese Twins( Conjoined Twins) is failure of the twins to separate at certain point in the gestation.  In the Borneo Post Online, a man believed that the banana tree in his backyard which produced 4 bunches of bananas is a blessing. We can say that having twin babies is also a blessing to the family.

Pregnant? Here is how to protect yourself from mosquitoes that is safe for you and your baby

I will not discuss on what is Dengue Fever its stages and symptoms but if you want to know about it visit this blog post. What I would like to tell you is how to protect yourself from mosquito bites when you are pregnant.

Remember pregnancy is a very delicate condition. Insect sprays containing harsh chemicals especially DEET are not allowed to be used during pregnancy. Even insect repelling lotions and Citronella oils applied on skin are not allowed.

SO HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MOSQUITO BITES ?

1. Citronella Bracelets- Citronella products are basically safe in pregnancy for as long as you don't apply it directly in your skin.

Alcohol on your Sanitary Napkin?

I am surprised to hear practices in the clinic. When patient came in for vaginal itchiness I usually ask what they do to relieve it and surprisingly a handful still practices putting rubbing alcohol in the sanitary napkin during menstruation. Some put it in pantyliners and some directly rubs it in their vagina.

In as much as alcohol acts as a disinfectant with a cooling property, it should NEVER be used in the vagina for several reasons:

Cranberry Juice and Coconut Water for Treatment of UTI

UTI(Urinary Tract Infection) one of the most common disease encountered in my Gyne clinic. Syptoms vary from difficulty in urination, painful urination, frequent urination or worst blood in the urine.

When a patient comes to my clinic I usually requests for a urinalysis and part of my treatment aside from prescribing antibiotics is patient education regarding supplementary treatments.

It is important that patient have adequate water intake. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day is mandatory for me. It helps dilute the urine. A concentrated urine is a risk for bacterial overgrowth. If the patient has extra budget for Cranberry Juice then so much better. Cranberry Juice has been proven to treat UTI based on a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM, October 8, 1998, Vol. 339, No. 13) mentioning a 1994 research study which validated the claim that cranberry juice prevents UTI's, and clarified that it is not because of the acidic nature of the cranberry juice, nor because of the Vitamin C content. It is in fact due to specific compounds called condensed tannin (specifically proanthocyanidins) in cranberries and other vaccinium fruit species which prevent the attachment of P-Fimbriated E.Coli to the walls of the urinary tract. P-Fimbriated E. Coli bacteria is a major culprit in UTI's.

Eggplant and the Color of your Baby

Traditional Filipino Belief: " Do not eat eggplants while pregnant because it will make your baby dark-skinned". First of all the color of your baby depends on you and your husband's genetic make-up and no amount of eggplant can change that. It is not true that when you eat burnt food will also affect the color of your baby but of course it is not good to eat burnt foods.

Eggplants(Aubergine) are rich in fiber, folic acid and potassium there was one study that states that eggplants helps lower down cholesterol and is effective in the treatment of high blood pressure. However, eggplants has also a bad side. Eggplants are rich in nicotine, a harmful substance found in cigarettes. A 9 kg of eggplant contains nicotine equivalent to 1 cigarette stick. It is actually minimal compared to passive smoking that is why eggplants are still not considered harmful during pregnancy since the amount of nicotine is negligible.

Yogurt and Yakult for the treatment of Vaginal Yeast Infection?

Who wouldn't want a yogurt with all the fresh fruit toppings?

Yogurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tang.

Dairy yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus subsp. In addition, Lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacteria and lactobacillus casei are also sometimes being added during and after culturing yogurt.

But aside from the nutritional value and health benefits of yogurt in supporting the digestive system, preventing diarrhea and promoting weight loss, do you know that yogurt are being used by other people as substitute feminine/vaginal wash? If you try searching the net about Candida a lot of blogs discusses the effectiveness of yogurt in treating yeast infection. Some even sell materials/books for download on how Candida can be cured by using yogurt.

CANE VINEGAR for the treatment of VAGINAL PROBLEMS

Cane vinegar is a mild vinegar that is often used in cooking. It is being compared with rice vinegar in its mildness. 


But do you know that cane vinegar can be used to treat vaginal problems?


Patients come in with complains of vaginal itching, vaginal discharge and a foul smell and some of my patients belonging in the older age group claimed to have found solution in cane vinegar. These are the population of women who were born before the advent of feminine wash. 

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)

Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is one of the common condition I encounter in the clinics. Usually patients came in with periods of amennorhea (no menstruation), irregular menstruation or dysfunctional uterine bleeding.


What I usually advise patients when they present with the above symptoms is to have an ultrasound to check for the ovaries and most of the time they came back with results of PCOS.

What is PCOS?
PCOS is a problem in which a woman’s ovary have multiple immature follicles, usually the ovaries produces 1-3 eggs per cycle but only one of the 3 eggs mature and become dominant and ready for fertilization, the rest remains inactive. In PCOS, multiple follicles appear at the same time with no single egg becoming mature or dominant . This causes increase in the production of estrogen and androgen causing imbalance between the progesterone and estrogen ratio during the cycle..this results in irregular menstruation and when the period is irregular it is difficult to get pregnant. 

How to Get Rid of STRETCHMARKS?

STRETCHMARKS or STRIAE are caused when the dermis is stretched to more than its limit. 90% of women get stretchmarks after pregnancy, other people who get stretchmarks are people who gained weight and body builders. The marks are a result of destruction of collagen and elastin, supporting structures that suppose to repair damage tissues.

Stretchmarks can never be prevented. The old school that says aloe vera extracts and cocoa butter helps prevent stretchmarks needs to be proven. It does make your skin supple but preventing stretchmarks, it has to be proven by clinical trials.

Have you found the right solution to remove your stretchmarks? In my almost a decade of practice I have not encountered a single solution that actually removes or reduce stretchmarks. There are lots of  creams in the market that promises a lot but never delivers actual result and are hard on the budget. I get depressed when patients ask for advise on how to get rid of the unsightly marks. I cannot give any advise since I too have a lot of marks on my abdomen and thighs. I searched the net on the latest and innovative product that actually reduces stretchmarks. I looked for something that is safe and effective and of course backed by clinical trials.