Africa-Press – Cape verde. My wife and I were recently tested for Hepatitis and she was found positive while I am okay. Is this a cause for concern, especially since we have three young children to take care of? Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which may be caused by viruses, bacteria, alcohol, drugs and poisons, among others.
What you are referring to as Hepatitis could be the now rampant Hepatitis B virus infection which may be transmitted by fluids such as semen, blood or vaginal fluids during sex with an infected partner, mother to child during delivery, unsafe injections or blood transfusion.
When you are found negative for the hepatitis virus, you may be free from the virus or you may be having the virus but it has not yet shown itself.
The virus may be detected within 30 to 60 days after infection, meaning that you are required to have safe sex using a condom until after 60 days when you can go back for another blood check.
If you are still found negative you will be required to be vaccinated (if you are not yet vaccinated). If you were fully vaccinated before, this could be the reason you are negative, requiring that you do not need to be vaccinated again and can even have unprotected sex without getting infected.
Immunisation in Uganda is by three injections but until around one or two months after the third vaccination jab, you are required to use condoms for sex to avoid getting the infection. If you are a non-rural person, then tests to find out whether you developed enough protection against the virus can be carried out before you abandon using condoms for sex.
Does mobile phone overuse cause acne?
Recently, while speaking on 93.3 KFM, you said mobile phones can cause pimples which I doubt because although my wife uses the phone a lot, she does not have pimples. I do not use the phone often but I have pimples. Enos
Dear Enos,
Acne or pimples usually affect adolescents and are mostly blamed on male hormone upsurges that occur at this time. For many people, pimples may follow a family line, sparing some while affecting others.
Both males and females have male hormones but the hormones are more in males, one reason why male adolescents more than females get acne.
The face, outer ear holes, pubis, chest and back are the usually affected areas but any skin area that has oil glands can potentially get affected.
Though acne may clear after adolescence, in some people, it may not or it may clear and later reappear due to the appearance of conditions including pregnancy, stress, polycystic ovary syndrome, use of some cosmetic products or certain medications ( such as steroids, hormonal contraception, anti-epileptic drugs and smoking.
Acne mainly results from skin pores getting clogged by excess skin oil, debris, and dead skin cells with skin bacterial infection resulting in more severe acne.
The cell phone may cause rubbing or pressure on the skin and this combined with cell phone heat can irritate and inflame oil glands, causing acne around the cheeks. Phones in addition harbour germs, which are attracted by skin oil so that they invade and plug oil pores, leading to acne.
Women are known to use cell phones much more than men but you may not have developed acne because she is no longer an adolescent, and may not have other acne-risking factors including a family history, pregnancy and polycystic ovarian syndrome among many others.
Also, your wife, much as she uses the phone a lot, could be wiping the germs off using sanitisers, and using headphones to not only avoid skin-phone contact which reduces pressure or phone heat on the skin but also avoids germ introduction.
You may be having pimples while your wife is spared despite her using a phone a lot because you are genetically prone or you have another factor causing pimples, which your wife may not be having.
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