DrugXpert Blog

Cough is a symptom of a disease while common cold is a disease. Both are common and endemic around the world. Cough and common cold Cough Cough is a reflex action that clears the throat. When mucus in the throat becomes excess or too thick or when there is presence of a foreign element, the body's natural defence is to get rid of it. It does this through coughing. It can be voluntary. It begins with an initial gasp that draws air deep into the lungs. Next the glottis snapped, putting a lid over the trachea or windpipe. The chest case, abdomen and diaphragm contract forcefully creating a strong pressure on the lungs. Finally, the glottis swing open and air rushes out at the speed of sound. Read Also : Management of common cold Cough is triggered by stimulation of two different classes of afferent neurons; myelinated rapidly adapting receptors and non myelinated C fibres with endings in the lungs. Cough lasting less than three weeks is called acute cough. Cough that span across 3-8 w...

Weight gain drugs There are so many body weight gain solutions. They are literally all over the internet. Majority of these solutions are drugs or supplements. The best method to gain weight is natural process. However, information on these products are in almost every blog or social media platform out there. The reason the proliferation of such information is the financial gains attached to it. Many people, especially young girls in Nigeria, are ever ready to try out these body weight gain products. This is because they are at the age they are more aware of their body structure. This is unlike men who rarely consider that and married women who don't bother to impress their husband with shape. These products are not very popular in some places like Ghana. It is believed that society's idea of body structure plays an important role in this. Read Also: Danger of weight gain supplement There are so many weight gain supplements. They mostly contain multivitamin. Majority of them do...

'Don't eat unripe guava or eat the seed,' warned mama. 'It can cause appendix', she continued. What she meant to say is that eating unripe guava or its seed can cause appendicitis. To her, appendix is the name of the disease called appendicitis. She was not only the one with such theory. All my siblings grow up with the same belief maybe from her. It is also common among the community. As I grew older, I realised that this sentiment crosses many nations 'avoid guava and its seed to avoid appendicitis.' Read Also: Why rice with stone does not cause appendicitis I don't blame anybody that accepts that idea. There is no confirmed cause of appendicitis. Even the use has been highly debated until recently the use was discovered. That left room for many theories. What Is Appendicitis Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix. The appendix is a long narrow sac like tissue that protrudes from the proximal (upstream) end of the large intestine. It was onc...

Oral dexamethasone is a popular drug in Nigeria. Many will not know what I am talking about now except I call it yodi or xasten. That is the most popular brand of oral dexamethasone in Nigeria. It is made popular by the theory that it causes an increase in body weight. Yodi or xasten side effect Yodi Or Xasten Indication Yodi or xasten is a corticosteroid of the glucocorticoid group indicated for treatment of certain types of cancer, autoimmune disorders, anti inflammatory and painkiller. The drug is an over-the- counter drug (OTC) that is currently abused using its side effects of increasing body weight. Read Also : Danger of using apetamin as weight gain supplement The theory is popularised by line sales who promote the product as a magic body weight gain drug. They want to sell, so they leave out the side effects. Many people don't bother to ask questions as to what the drug is truly all about. With so much information on the internet and little knowledge about drugs, people jus...

Pneumonia is an acute respiratory tract infection that affects the lungs. The lungs get oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide. This happens during breathing. When you breathe in, air travels down the back of the throat and passes through the voice box and into the windpipe (trachea). The trachea splits into two air passages (bronchial tubes). One bronchial tube leads to the left lung, the other to the right lung. You breathe 12 to 20 times per minute when you are not sick. The lungs are made up of small sacs called alveoli. They get filled with air during the process of breathing. Pneumonia is characterized by pus and fluid filled alveoli. This prevents oxygen from getting to vital organs and makes breathing difficult. Pneumonia is a deadly disease if not treated well. According to the world health organisation (WHO), pneumonia killed 808694 children under the age of five in 2017. That is about 15 percent of children under five. That places pneumonia as the cause of the highe...