Dr David Chudi Ifekandu is a Public Health Physician. He started his education at St. Stephen's Primary School, Nnokwa, and Okongwu Memorial Grammar School, Nnewi. He got admission into Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, Cross River State but when the civil war broke out, he dropped out of school. After the war, he attended Government College, Afikpo in Ebonyi State, where he did his Higher School for two years and later gained admission into University of Lagos and graduated in 1981. As a young doctor, he worked with the Anambra State Government, from 1982 to 1987. After the civil service years, Ifekandu began what has today become a successful private practice. He is the CEO/Medical Director of Delta Hospital, Fegge, Onitsha in Anambra State. He spoke with Daily Sun.
At what age can we say somebody is old?
It all depends, but we do say from the age of 65 years and above. It is not in Nigeria alone, but a global definition.
What are the ailments associated with old age?
There is dementia and forget-fulness or what we call loss of memory. Old people also have posturing challenge, that is why they are prone to falling down.
They do have cognitive problems. And they come up with ailments like hypertension, diabetes. In most cases, they have the complications of stroke and visual impairment —that is eye problems like glaucoma and blindness.
How safe is it to have pregnan-cy after long years of break? I think it is a risk trying to have pregnancy after years of break of giving birth to children! When a woman is still within the age of procreation and has had children years back and stopped. Later, she decided to have more children. The truth is that her previous babies were delivered when she was younger, but at her present age, it poses a great risk to her life if she attempts that. There are chances of developing some complications. We try to advise ladies to avoid getting pregnant when they have attained a certain age. It is even worsened when she has stopped deliveries and decides to be pregnant again. When a lady begins to have children, she should make it a smooth run and no break, until she has completed having the number of kids she wants.
What is erectile dysfunction and measures to correct it:
This is inability for man to achieve proper erection and achieve successful intercourse. The management is not very easy. In fact, it is one of the worst cases that could come to a doctor. It is a situation where the man is expectant and the woman is also expectant, expecting a miracle from the doctor. The problem could be aggravated by certain diseases like hypertension, diabetes and stroke, etc. We introduce food nutrients and counseling for our patients who have this erectile problem. But we try to avoid drug application for them because some of those drugs may not augur well with hypertensive patients. So, we decide to go on counseling with them and introduce dietary advice.
Can ladies enjoy sex without reaching orgasm?
Ladies who may not attain orgasm could still enjoy sex. There is what is called erotic sensation, with orgasm it would have been reater. Erotic sensation is sensation that make one satisfied or makes one happy.
Can age affect fertility?
The truth is that as one grows older especially with women, fertility is reduced. It is also like that because it is obvious she does not have ovulation the way she used to experience it when she was younger. With greater attainment in age, fertility rate is reduced. A much younger person has more chances of being fertile than a lady who is much older. The implication is that it continues to go down until it gets to menopause.
How can one prevent unsafe abortion?
This could be prevented by counseling. This is because when you counsel people against abor-tion in the first instance, you tend to add bite to unsafe one. Counseling is very important and also very helpful.
What are sex hormones?
These are the hormones that control fertility. You have them in the blood of the woman, and also they are available in the blood of the man.
What is ovarian failure?
That means the ovaries have com-pletely failed to perform their usual functions in fertility and in controlling it. When it is no longer able to do that,we say the ovary has failed. We call it ovarian failure. The man has no ovary, but the testicles.
What are the effects of female genital mutilation?
The clitoris in a female is equivalent to the penis in a man. That is a basic fact. The clitoris has attracted attention for obvious reasons. For many people to have a good intercourse, the clitoris has to be stimulated. It is the stimulation of the clitoris that makes the woman to go into orgasm. That is why people are concerned on it now because there are doctors who also specialize in sexology. In this age, medical experts actually warn against female circumcision. It is even considered barbaric and unchristian. In an attempt to carry out this dastardly act, the clitoris is chopped off and some sensitive parts of the vagina are affected. The woman might end up with cervical stenosis, before you know it, various forms of complications begin to set in. During child delivery, the baby will not come out, because the whole place has been fibrosed, wounded, and mutilated. And it will take a caesarian session on the woman for the baby to come out.
By: Victor Amadi
Daily Sun News
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