DrugXpert Blog

There is a difference between sickle cell disease and sickle cell anemia. This post will explain it all. Sickle cell Sickle Cell Disease Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious group of conditions which are inherited (genetic). It affects the red blood cells in the blood.There are several types of sickle cell disease. The most common are: Sickle Cell Anemia (SS), Sickle Hemoglobin-C Disease (SC), Sickle Beta-Plus Thalassemia and Sickle Beta-Zero Thalassemia. Read Also :  Best blood tonic for sickle cell anemia Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle cell anemia is the name of a specific form of SCD in which there are two sickle cell genes. It affects the normal red blood cells. In people with sickle cell anemia, hemoglobin – a substance in red blood cells – becomes defective and causes the red blood cells to change shape. The faulty hemoglobin is called hemoglobin S (HgbS), and it replaces normal hemoglobin which is called hemoglobin A (HgbA). Over time, the red blood cells become rigid and shape...

The difference between sickle cell and iron deficiency anemia is thin in some ways but wide in others. However, this post will go deep in explaining how the two are similar yet far apart. But before we do, let us take a look at what both are. RBC Sickle Cell Anaemia According to Cleveland, Sickle cell anemia is a blood disease that affects red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are round. In people with sickle cell anemia, hemoglobin – a substance in red blood cells – becomes defective and causes the red blood cells to change shape. Read Also:  Best blood tonic The faulty hemoglobin is called hemoglobin S (HgbS), and it replaces normal hemoglobin which is called hemoglobin A (HgbA). Over time, the red blood cells become rigid and shaped like crescent moons or sickles. The sickle-shaped red blood cells: Clog blood vessels, causing episodes of pain and cutting off oxygen to tissues and organs. Get trapped in the spleen (an organ that gets rid of old cells) where they are destroyed. ...

Nigeria is burdened with many diseases. Some are common with low mortality. Others are rare with high mortality. In this post, we shall see the most common cause of death by disease in Nigeria. Internal organs List Of Common Cause Of Death 1. Neonatal Disorders Neonatal disorders mean disturbance of normal state of body, organs and abnormal function of a newborn. In some cases, the condition is inherited from one or both parents, or the child has an abnormality in his or her chromosomes. Other factors that sometimes contribute are maternal health and toxin exposure, prematurity, labor and delivery complications, genetic disorders, and infections. Read Also :  Four prescribing consideration They are most often caused by viruses and parasites. Congenital infections include: HIV (which causes AIDS); rubella (German measles); chickenpox; syphilis; herpes; toxoplasmosis; and cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common congenital infection and the leading cause of congenital hearing loss. In ...

The post is all about the list of common diseases in Nigeria. Communicable diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), malaria is currently the biggest threat to Nigerians. It accounts for 20 percent of deaths annually. Disease Though still a dangerous disease and endemic in Nigeria, malaria is on the decline as new cases have been more infrequent. Young children and pregnant women are the most affected groups. Read Also :  Vaccination programme in Nigeria Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) are the world’s two deadliest infectious diseases. Moreover, these epidemics are tragically interconnected, as TB is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV. However, though we have many common diseases, most of them are not the leading cause of death in Nigeria. Most of the leading causes of disease related death are from rare diseases. List Of Common Disease In Nigeria There are no...

Acute kidney failure (acute renal failure) is a condition whereby the kidney suddenly fails to filter waste products from the body. This waste accumulates in the body at dangerous levels. It's lust from 4 hours to 3 days. It can be fatter and reversible. The kidney is an organ in the body responsible for removing extra fluid from the body. This helps to regulate blood pressure, electrolyte and activate vitamin D. Read Also:  Treatment of nephrotic syndrome Symptoms Of Acute Kidney Failure (AKF) Acute kidney failure sometimes comes without symptoms. Some symptoms may include; 1. Reduce urine output 2. Fluid retention 3. Shortness of breath 4. Fatigue 5. Confusion 6. Nausea 7. Weakness 8. Irregular heartbeat 9. Chest pain or pressure 10. Seizures or coma Acute Kidney Failure (AKF) Complications 1. Fluid buildup in lungs can cause cough and difficulty breathing 2. Chest pain 3. Acidic blood 4. Muscle weakness 5. Chronic kidney damage 6. Death Cause 1. Damage to the kidney cause by blo...

Covid-19 New Strain Some few days ago, news about a new variant of the virus causing covid-19 surface in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa. Much is not known about this variant. The buzz about it generated a lot of questions in the minds of millions of people. I will clear the air with this post. Read Also:   How to prevent covid-19 Just like they say humans evolve, changing to adapt, so too, microorganisms like coronavirus do. Viruses change as a result of genetic selection through mutation or recombination. But the frequency depends on many factors including how the change occurred. How Virus Mutate Mutation occurs when there is an error in the viral genome or recombination when co infecting viruses exchange genetic information, creating a new variant. Mutation can be due to physical mutagens such as chemical, natural behaviour of the bases that make up nucleic acids of the virus or through friability of the enzymes that replicate the nucleic acid. Effect Of New Viral Vari...

Human immunodeficiency virus ((HIV) is the virus responsive for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) disease. It is a global endemic and epidemic that has affected over 34 million people worldwide. It is transmitted from person-to-person through sex, sharing of sharp objects or blood transfusion. There is no current drug or vaccine for treatment. Available drugs are for management of the disease. And many people with the disease are not aware. This is because the time from getting infected and experiencing symptoms is long. Read Also: Sex with HIV/AIDS patients is not automatically lead to HIV infection The common method to know HIV/AIDS status is through Western blot/enzyme linked immunoglobulin specimen assay (ELISA) using blood in a diagnostic laboratory. Since many people are not aware they have HIV/AIDS, they don't bother going for the test. A greater percentage of people want to know their status but they fear their data may get to the wrong hands in those laboratories...

Loss of taste and smell is a common complaint by sick persons now. The surge in this symptom coincided with when it was added as one of the symptoms of covid-19. As a community pharmacist working in Lagos State which is the epicenter of covid-19 in Nigeria, the fear is always about covid-19. This line of thought is causing more harm. This is because most of those sick are usually advised to go for a covid-19 test. And it takes a long time for covid-19 result to be made available. And it could be dangerous if it is not covid-19 all the while. Read Also : Treatment for covid-19 patient in isolation centers Loss of taste has always been around. It is just that many people don't seem to know it. The covid-19 awareness brought it out to limelight as many people now know that it can also be a symptom of a disease. There are so many causes for the loss of taste and smell. It can be due to aging which affects those above 60 years of age. It could also be a symptom of another disease. Some ...

Isolation There have been doubts about covid-19 in Nigeria. The major debate was the identity of those infected. However, as news of it's spread keeps increasing daily, other questions have been raised. Many Nigerians are unsure how the fatality rate in Nigeria is so small compared to other countries. They wonder what is the treatment in Nigeria and if it is different from other countries. This blog post will find an answer to that. Read Also : Why choose 14 days for quarantine Covid-19 is a viral infection that can infect the lungs. Not everybody that is infected will develop symptoms. The body has a natural immune system in place to fight off infection. The body develops most of these immune systems from previous infection. Some people have a stronger immune system than others. There are various reasons for that. The major thing is a healthy lifestyle and good health. Those with weak immune systems can boost it with drugs. When a person is infected with covid-19, the b...

Covid-19 (coronavirus) is a pandemic in many countries including Nigeria. It was discovered in 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China. There is no cure or prevention for it yet. The only solution is to test and isolate positive persons while managing their symptoms. Covid-19 test Since many people are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, it may be difficult to know those who are infected. Such ones can go about spreading the virus to more vulnerable groups. To avoid this, it is good to test as many as possible. Read Also : Steps to stop to spread of covid-19 around the world In the beginning due to the unavailability of test kits, the test was available for free to those who come in from high risk countries or have had contact with a confirmed case. However, community transmission on the rise test has made them to expande it to include those who are having covid-19 symptoms in high risk areas. The first test was designed in January, 2020 by the center for disease control (...

The covid-19 disease is spreading and spreading real fast. It has spread across over 200 countries killing people on the way. With little information available to health care workers about the virus, prevention methods have revolved around hygiene. Washing hands with soap and running warm water has been the golden advice. However, in cases where there is none available, other options like the use of hand sanitizer could prove helpful. Read Also : Prevention tips for covid-19 (coronavirus) Some other prevention methods include sneezing into disposable tissue paper or a folded arm and social distancing. Facemask and handglove is used by health care experts. Some prevent infection from droplets while others include the more small aerosols. Some countries are enforcing the use of these medical materials for every person coming out of their home. Some people who live in countries that have no law on the use of these materials still use them. Many prefer the more expensive ones. Because ...

Since the beginning of the covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, scientists have been working on a solution. Focus is on either a drug to cure it or a vaccine to prevent it. A drug for a cure relies on either existing drugs or research and development of a new candidate. Research into existing drugs takes a shorter time when compared to research and development into a new candidate. However, many of the existing drugs are not giving a perfect result. Although chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine has shown some degree of success. Developing an existing drug is time consuming and difficult. The development follows several processes. However many pharmaceutical companies are on it. Read Also : Drug development and production process As for vaccine development, they are products that produce immunity from disease. The key ingredient in a vaccine is an inactive or weakened form of an organism such as bacteria and virus. They are relatively safer than the infection itself. Now, many people a...