I have constant backaches, is this due to a lack of sex?

Dear doctor, I want to know the truth about my backaches. Could it be because I take long to have sex? If so, can playing sex then deal with my backaches? Will backache cause me failure to get babies?
Anna

Dear Anna, many non-medical people and even a few medics in Uganda are known to prescribe sex for women who have back pain saying that lack of sex could have been the cause of the pain.

But this has no scientific basis as back pain may result from problems with structure of the back or from conditions remote from the back such as kidney disease.

Obesity and poor back posture are other causes. A bad chair, soft bed or even high-heeled shoes may be sources of this pain. Unless the cause of the back pain is addressed, sex will not take the backache away.

Please note that backache from infection of fallopian tubes and the inner lining of the womb can be associated with infertility and requires to be addressed quickly.

Dear doctor, I feel like I have flu always especially in the morning and when I am around a person who is smoking. Can I get drugs to kill the germs once and for all?
Annie Nsalasata

Dear Annie, “flu” is a common word for a viral nasal infection, which leads to fever, muscle pains, a running or even stuffy nose that culminate into a sore throat and then a cough.

This is actually called a common cold, which may be caused by any of more than 200 viruses. Flu is a short form for influenza, a serious and many times fatal condition of which the recently known are the swine or bird flu viruses.

A person may have a running or stuffy nose because of nasal allergies but not due to infection with a “flu bug”. So what you call flu everyday is likely to be a reaction to substances breathed in leading to symptoms similar to those of a common cold.

This so-called allergy requires identification and avoiding the irritants. If they are not identifiable, you need to see a doctor, ideally an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, instead of taking drugs like Prednisone, which if taken daily may have serious side-effects.

In Uganda, there are no drugs that are used to kill the “common cold bug” but there are drugs given to control symptoms such as a running nose or headache.

Usually, the body fights the virus and gets rid of it within two weeks. If symptoms persist after this time, it is usually because of development of complications such as sinusitis.

Dear doctor, I pass a lot of urine during the day and at night. Even if I try, it is difficult to hold back. Someone has told me it is because when I was young my mother did not clean me properly. Those were not days of plenty and I do not blame her since she was a single parent. But what do I do now?
Georgina B.

Dear Georgina, the urinary bladder which stores waste produced by the kidneys makes us feel like passing urine when it is stretched to fullness. When one has to wake up many times at night to urinate, this may indicate bladder inflammation or infection, diabetes, taking lots of fluids at night or may happen when one lacks sleep especially related to stress.

Sometimes, there may be formation of normal quantities of urine but frequently need to pass urine even when the bladder is not yet full, is a usual symptom of Urinary Tract Infections or stress. Since inflammation reduces the bladder’s capacity to hold urine, even small amounts of urine cause discomfort and have to be passed. This can be detected by urine tests but, in some cases, the tests may be normal in what is called urethral syndrome that afflicts many post-menopausal women.