My husband snores so much

Dear Doctor: My husband snores a lot in his sleep and I don’t sleep well due to this. I am a married woman and cannot leave the bedroom. What can I do?

Masitula

Dear Masitula: Snoring occur when there is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the air passages at the back of the mouth and nose during sleep.
This obstruction may result from many causes including: a naturally narrow throat, too much fat in and around the throat in obese people and those with short necks, nasal swellings ( polyps), tongue fall back that blocks the throat (as one sleeps face up) and big tonsils.
Snoring is known to cause sleep deprivation to both the snorer and his or her companion, leading to disrupted relationships. The sufferer (and sometimes the companion) will experience daytime drowsiness, irritability, stress and decreased libido hence affecting one psychologically and socially.
Sometimes, snoring may indicate a serious health condition called sleep apnoea where one’s throat is almost completely blocked and one snores and stops breathing for a short while.
Almost all treatment for snoring revolves around clearing the blockage in the breathing passage. Hence, one has to lose weight in order to stop fat pressure in the throat, to stop smoking (which weakens and clogs the throat), avoid taking alcohol before bedtime and to sleep on the side rather than face up (to prevent tongue from blocking the throat).
If these fail, throat surgery or use of devices to ease breathing, may be advised.

Dear Doctor: I have a small boil near the anus. It soils my pants and though it was painful two years ago, now it is not. However, I am worried and I have to pad my pants with toilet paper.

Kasumba

Dear Kasumba: Fistula in ano is a passage that connects the area around the anus with the inside of the anus or rectum.
The fistula usually results from a badly drained boil or one which bursts on its own.
It could also be due to an abscess on the skin around the anus connecting the skin and areas inside; sometimes as high as the opening into the rectum. As a result, stool may leak through and soil the pants. The boil is the reason why the swelling was painful at first.
Since the passage develops a lining such as that in the rectum, it does not heal on its own and continues to leak stool or produce mucus and with recurrent infection, it may also discharge pus, on top of causing pain, on and off.
Doctors can operate on this fistula but they usually do this after doing an x-ray to see how high up it is. Please visit your doctor for help.

Dear Doctor: I have been using the injectaplan method of family planning but I stopped eight months ago because I wanted to get pregnant. However, I have constant bleeding.

Angella

Dear Angella: Injectaplan, a form of long-acting injectable contraceptive, has a side effect of irregular bleeding which may even happen months after discontinuing the injection.
This bleeding, however, is not usually serious and will stop with time as the contraceptive wanes.
You need to consult your family planning clinic to rule out other causes of bleeding, including cancer of the cervix. Your doctor will then give you medication to boost your blood as you prepare to get pregnant and to stop bleeding, if it is serious.
Ergometrine which is given after the birth of the baby to deliver the placenta and stop post partum bleeding, is unlikely to stop your kind of bleeding.
One can get pregnant immediately after discontinuing the contraceptive injection but in some women, one may take longer than expected to get pregnant.

Dear Doctor: Ever since I changed hair salons, I get this itching of the scalp with what looks like dry onion leaves coming off my scalp when I comb. I have used ketoconazole shampoo but the dry skin keeps coming back.
Byantama

Dear Byantama: Normally, we shed old skin without notice. However, dandruff sufferers shed too much skin too rapidly.
Dandruff occurs when three things come together; a naturally-occurring scalp fungus called Malassezia globosa, an oily scalp that provides the oils that feed the fungus to produce oleic acid which in turn causes increased skin cell turnover, and excessive skin sensitivity.
These factors cause a high cell turnover in two to seven days that would have happened in a month and hence becoming noticeable as dry onion flakes.
The scalp fungus can be destroyed by shampoo but will resurface because you may not have addressed the root cause of the fungal invasion.
Apart from the above-mentioned factors relating to irritated or dry skin, other factors such as excessive or too little hair washing reduced body immunity, stress, hygiene and overall unbalanced diet, must be considered before complete recovery is achieved.
Dandruff resembles many skin conditions so if one fails to heal with shampooing, one may need to consult a skin specialist to check it out and advise accordingly.
Many people blame salons for dandruff, but the fungus implicated in dandruff lives on the skin without causing problems and even if it was introduced onto one’s scalp by the salon, without the factors outlined above, it is unlikely to take root.Dandruff is not contagious.

DOCTOR’S word
“People are never too old to start exercising. Even frail, elderly individuals (70-90 years of age) can improve their strength and balance with exercise. After all their bending forwards does not only help propel them, it helps them see the potholes to avoid landing in them,”