Health Blog by YinTeing

The Western world may not be familar with the many rites that accompanies a woman who had just given birth. In the Eastern world, at least in the Malay and Chinese traditional, there are endless rites to follow. A woman who had just given birth and given 60 days of maternity leave is just not staying at home to bond with her newborn. She is also required to undergo many difficult procedures that requires patience and resillence. The mother-in-law or the mother herself may personally supervise the entire procedures- often, a knowledgeble woman cum nanny are engaged for about 2 months to cook special meals and prepare specific items required for the confinement.

However, this practice is slowly fading off- many of my friends who became mothers no longer abide by these procedures. The effects will not come immediately- but will start to show themselves when the woman is in her 40s or 50s- I am now able to see the effects of my mom’s friends who had chosen not to follow confinement procedures and are now in their late 50s and 60s.

You may find it hard to believe that traditionally, a woman who undergo a ‘proper’ confinement have to adhere to the following:

1. No bathing and washing hair for one month (for some stricter mother-in-law, it is 2 months). If she cannot stand it and had to bathe, then a black strong smelling mixture containing ginger, and other herbs are used to bathe. They have powder to put on the hair and body to prevent itching

2. For Chinese, they take very little vegetables/fruits as it is considered ‘yin’ or too cooling for the body. Daily diet consists of pork leg/ chicken cooked in ginger, liquor and vinegar. The food is taken everyday. Yes, some new mothers eat until they had grown phobic of the food- sometimes for life. 

Strictly, very strictly, no cold food or drinks can be taken like cool water or anything straight from the fridge.

continue reading…

Today, I went to my dentist again for checkup. Again, food had somehow gotten stuck in my molar areas, resulting in infection- I was developing mild throat discomfort, ear pain, eyes discomfort and a little headache- just like my previous article that I’ve mentioned- pain at the throat, sinus, watery eyes, ear pain happening at the same time could be related to an infected tooth.

Yet, this problem is getting a bit annoying because it happens about once in every one or two months. Sometimes, it goes off by itself, sometimes, it gets very painful. I had to be very careful when I eat and brush my teeth many times a day to do my best to avoid having food stuck anyway. And it is not problem with filling because all my molars are filled.

I thought perhaps another round of cleaning and antibiotics- I don’t take antibiotics when I have fever but when I have conditions like this, I will make the exception.

But today, my trusted dentist told me that it will be the best of my interest to have the molar extracted. According to him, my molars are somehow too big for my jaws. As the result of the teeth structure and size, there is a small gap in between 2 of my molars making it easy for foodstuff to enter via the gap. I’ve done all my filling so foodstuff does not enter via the filling. Then, the foodstuff eventually rots and causes bacteria infection. Now, the condition had gotten worst that the roots of the affected molar is already infected- and that brings repeated reoccurance of infection and pain. And if I don’t want to extract the molar, it will be infecting the molar next to it eventually.

So I made the decision to have the molar extracted- even though I was not prepared and the idea is terrifying. When I saw the long needle of the anasthetic that he was about to inject to my gums, I nearly chickened out. Then, I tried to calm myself and close my eyes and let him do the injections. After that I saw him got the pliers and I close my eyes- better not see and get frightened. I guess the years that I have been seeing him also help as tooth extraction is a scary experience for many and it is much easier if you trust your dentist. My earliest records with him according to the patient card was when I was 2 years old.

Here are some important guidelines to follow during tooth extraction:

1. Don’t rinse your mouth after the tooth extraction, even though it’s bloody. Just swallow the saliva and blood. The reason is because if you rinse your mouth, you will rinse off the anaesthetic and the pain will be very very bad after that. Most people suffered after pain extraction because they quickly rinse and clean their mouth after tooth extraction. It has been almost 4 hours since I extracted my molar and I’ve not taken any water or rinse my mouth- the pain is tolerable.

2. Avoid taking hot meals or drinks on the day after the extraction- because hot meals will improve the circulation. With improved circulation, the pain gets worst.

3. Avoid being active, doing chores, being out in the sun- because again, all this warms up your body and improve the circulation. So it makes it more painful.

4. Take cool water and use a straw to sip your drink slowly- try to make the fluid go straight to your throat. You probably guessed it- so that it does not wash off the anaesthetic.

5. Try to stay away from noisy places as ear ache/headaches as referred pain may occur. I was trying to get some rest when my neighbour was blasting some Chinese New Year songs- I never liked these songs in the first place so I could not relax. If you find that resting makes you more aware of the pain, try to do things that you like to take your mind away (that does not involve physical exertion)- as for me, typing this article helps to distract my mind  

If you have reoccuring tooth infections- you must always consult your dentist to have the condition treated immediately. Else, I’ve seen cases of a few people – who because of fear of the dentist, ended up losing most of their teeth because of just one bad tooth.

Many women suffer from PMS during that time of the month. Common signs:

• bloating
• excessive stomach pain (especially at the lower area)- the pain is similar to a mild labor pain
• lower back pain
• tired
• sometimes headaches or migraines

I used to have PMS during the years when I was inactive and not exercising. However, after I started exercising, the time of the month feels just like any other day. The only problem I would encounter is if I eat the wrong kind of food. The older generation had taught me about some food to avoid- no harm trying.

• avoid iced drinks- especially real ice ones like smoothies. In Eastern beliefs, ice makes the womb cold and so, weakens it and increases the pain
• reduce tea and coffee intake. If you must have coffee, stick to lower caffeine doses and try to avoid strong ones like lattes and expressos.
• certain ‘cooling’ fruits such as watermelon, honeydue, pineapple and sometimes mango
• too much starchy/ hard to digest food that will further encourage bloating such as creamy soups, cakes with lots of creams.
• chillies

continue reading…

From my personal experience, caffeine intake right before exercise affects exercising in the following ways:

• heart beat much faster than normal
• dizziness
• gastric
• weakness in limbs— especially if you drink Ceylon tea prior to exercising
• sometimes headache

The signs are felt more strongly especially if the caffeine dosage is high, for example in latte or expresso. I felt these signs even though I am so used to caffeine that I have no problem sleeping even right after a latte from Starbucks at night.
continue reading…