₦airaland Forum

What a beautiful and vulnerable post. My heart goes out to you. HIV is a terrible 'concept' to have happened to humanity in the last 50-80 years depending on what evidence one bases one's opinion on, causing divide and stigma that has transcended culture, tradition, love and family (politics, music and media).

Any of us could contract HIV in this world we share in the course our lives so essentially it is something that shouldn't be stigmatised. There are many reasons why it shouldn't be but anyone who understands the situation agrees, once informed.

Medically, however, it is simply another virus that requires managing. It can be managed, it can be monitored and viral loads can be totally brought down. We work with specialist HIV units with public health efforts to try to dispel the many myths about this virus. Let's also remember the common cold is a virus, as are flu, and covid as well as the many other coronaviruses. We, humans, live with viruses in our lives and actually humans would not exist without the coexistence of bacteria, viruses and fungi. It's just another one and it can be managed.

Support organisations should be protected and our trust in them looked after. You're doing great.

Dr TPC @ Koyo • Download Koyo today to chat directly to a doctor for personalised medical advice

Let's first take a moment to extend empathy to the patient. She is suffering.

There is a number of pieces of information required here to obtain clarity on the situation.

Oncology is a complicated field of medicine and often provokes debate amongst physicians. This is for a diverse range of reasons - affordability of treatment, availability of investigation, availability of treatment, ability to adequately monitor the patient, to name but a few.

On a systemic level, yes, the Nigerian health system is struggling and the discrepancies between public and private are experienced every day but all relevant stakeholders, the ultimate stakeholder being the patient and their loved ones. The majority of doctors in Nigeria work very hard to do their best for their patients but they are working in hard circumstances, often improvising on a guideline to meet the needs of the patient given some of the issues outlined above.

Some of the above comments suggest obtaining 2nd opinions and this seems like good advice, pending affordability, time availability, and simply knowing where to go alongside the relative opportunity cost of not going... hard decisions to make.

Let's start with listening to empathise. An online corroboration tool is available at Koyo: https://koyohealthtechnigeria.com/

However, in the meantime, do seek second opinions, do ask questions of your doctors - the best doctors should be happy to have their plans questioned and stress-tested.

Let's get the test we can together from a struggling health system and hope this lady gets the clarity she needs on her situation

It is important to be holistic in your understanding of the image slightly provocatively posted. So I'll add some ratified information to the thread here with a strong emphasis on safe and unsafe health concerns with respect to bodybuilding (I should also caveat that this is under the assumption that the pictured men are successful bodybuilders).

In bodybuilding, performance-enhancing substances are often used to boost muscle growth, strength, or recovery — but there’s a big difference between safe, legal supplements and unsafe, banned drugs. Safe options like creatine, caffeine, and protein supplements work by supporting the body’s natural processes, helping you train harder and recover faster without altering your hormones. n.b. each should be taken under qualified advice and in an informed and balanced way. These are well-studied, legal, and effective when used responsibly alongside good nutrition, sleep, and training discipline.

By contrast, unsafe performance-enhancing drugs — such as anabolic steroids, growth hormone, insulin, and SARMs (Selective androgen receptor modulators) — artificially push the body’s limits and can cause serious long-term damage. While they may rapidly increase muscle size and strength, they often lead to hormonal imbalances, serious heart, liver and skins problems to name but a few, as well as psychological side effects. In short, the safest and most sustainable route in bodybuilding is to build naturally, using legitimate supplements and consistent training, rather than risking your health for short-term results.

However they're doing it, they've certainly succeeded in building muscle, I don't think anyone could argue with that! However, it is important to remember health is mind and body as well as longevity however you choose to take responsibility for and optimise your overall health.

However, do so informed - information is power. Take care

Love800:
Sorry for my late reply.
Thanks so much for this information from you.

So in other words, you saying a medical doctor is just a consultant?

Hi Love800, no problem. I tend to use the term medical doctor to distinguish between doctors of clinical medicine and those of other things e.g. PhDs of astrophysics. A medical doctor is someone qualified to see patients, registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. A consultant must pass further exams in their specialty, classically referred to as membership exams, so the terms are not interchangeable although there is overlap. A consultant is also a medical doctor, unless a surgeon, in which case, they're a surgeon. This is also the case for GPs who require further training, although this is variable between different countries.

In general, I simplified my explanation to ensure a 'catch all' umbrella term for general doctors to ensure a generalist doctor was consulted to ensure the wider health complaints are considered in this case, which is very important. I hope that explains it a bit more and you're right to ask, it's super confusing. A recent survey of hospital employees established that even staff weren't certain of the different roles & responsibilities of doctors in the hospital.

However, it's not an easy system to make simple. Thank you for your questions : )

Love800:
What's the difference between a medical doctor and ophthalmologist?

A medical doctor is a qualified doctor who can see all patients - any presenting complaint. Classically a GP can see all patients of all ages no matter the medical problem. This is relevant because not all eye conditions are confined purely to eye problems. The potential issues may be wider than the eye itself, e.g. episcleritis which may present as eye tenderness, localised redness and watering of the eye is commonly associated with autoimmune conditions, the most common of which related to episcleritis being rheumatoid arthritis. That is one of a number of reasons I mention medical doctor here so that they can think about the patient holistically.

An ophthalmologist specialises in eye conditions. Good ophthalmologists will be able to associate eye conditions with more systemic issues but it should be noted that they are primarily specialists of the eye therefore the wider issues often don't get adequately explored.

I have engaged with this great forum to aim to set the story straight as much as possible for people seeking qualified reliable healthcare advice where misinformation can be all too prevalent and I sincerely hope that answers your question. However if you would like a more personalised conversation with a qualified medical doctor over text in Nigeria, please consult https://koyohealthtechnigeria.com/

hi all, we have a new blog series coming soon on such topics, the important concepts around the beautiful but often extremely challenging journey of pregnancy and important related topics - https://koyohealthtechnigeria.com/articles

A spot diagnosis based upon a low resolution photo of this skin change is not reliable here.

A medical management plan in this case should be made based upon a good visual representation alongside a well-taken medical history: i.e an understanding of factors such as whether this is changing over time, when it emerged, what you noticed first, what you do for a living, whether it is associated with other symptoms such as itching/generalised lethargy/pain, amongst other factors. Overall seeking health advice in this forum here may land you with some poor advice leading to overconsumption of unnecessary medications and all the harmful effects that can come with that. A doctor would need to examine this skin change in order to be able to make a sensible medical plan that has your interests at heart.

I sincerely hope that this resolves soon and you have your concerns adequately listened to by a qualified medical practitioner

Hi @demetrix,
This is a great way to call for help from the community for health trained people and otherwise.

In terms of a single painful eye if I have understood the issue correctly, especially painful upon movement of the globe (the eyeball) or upon blinking, this could be explained by a number of potentially serious medical issues.

Overall, there is enough that is concerning in this to suggest the best course of action is to see a qualified doctor for this. As a brief suggestion of what pain upon eye movement can indicate, there are conditions such as glaucoma, scleritis, episcleritis, some of which may be linked to more general medical conditions which may need to be considered. Each of these requires medical expert management and examination.

It may also be simple things like foreign objects in the eye (e.g. sharp metal from using industrial tools or dust from prolonged wind exposure - which over time may lead to other issues such as pinguecula or pterygium), dry eyes or a localised infection in that eye. Lastly, and this is a generic reflection based upon what you said so please do not take it as medical advice but merely an indication of context upon your description.

Overall, it's certainly prudent to be seen by a medical doctor here or, if specialty advice is an option, an ophthalmologist.

Thank you