Rafar Wellness Tips

The average child would not eat a salad,  neither would she have greens. Children generally tend to love things that are unhealthy like candy, chocolates, pastries etc. We parents more often than not overindulge them. However, children need fruits and vegetables, as do adults. It is advised to take at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables daily. This seems like an impossible task to achieve but here are a few tips on how to get your children to eat fruits and vegetables.  Let them see you eat and enjoy fruits and vegetables.  Eat with them as much as possible. Make fruits readily accessible at home eg by placing a basket of fruits - bananas, apples, grapes - within reach. Photo Credit: harrods.com Introduce a fruit in every meal eg a banana with breakfast, orange juice with lunch, pineapple cuts with dinner. Some fruits are sweet because of their natural sugar content; find out the ones they enjoy and give it to them. Introduce veggies in meals the children l

It is a new school session, after a very long holiday. I don’t know about you but one thing I have noticed is that once school resumes, it seems as if the children develop an unending cycle of colds, cough and other illnesses. This is especially true for the younger children. Children miss a lot of school days due to illness.  This could probably be because children come in close contact with other children who might have one infectious disease or the other. It could also be because the stress of school resumption as well as not eating as well as they should, bring down their immune levels. Thank goodness, it is not just bad news all the way. I have also noticed that if we could put a few things in place, chances of our children coming down with flu like symptoms – catarrh, cough, head heaviness, fevers etc and other illnesses would be reduced.  So what do I do to protect my child? ü Simple – build up his/her immunity. Yes, I know it sounds like the same old story

Right from when I was growing up, I have had it drummed into my ears on so many occasions that it is very important to wash our hands before we eat, after we use the bathroom, after blowing our nose or coughing and after handling dirt. However, I am not too sure I was put through the wonder steps in proper hand washing. Yes, even hand washing has its own special technique and not just the regular 5 second stint that a lot of us practice. While washing our hands, we need to target some key areas, where germs gather, which we normally forget. It is also important, that we do not spend less than 20 seconds, washing our hands. Check out the steps to follow while washing your hands from the Health Promotion Board. Kindly share this information. It could be a life saver. Look good, live healthy. Rafar+ Pharmacy, Metropark Mall, Plot 6B, Sani Abacha Rd, GRA, Port Harcourt 07046172460 Grace Pavilion, 2, Nsirim Street by Ada George Rd

I remember when hand sanitizers expired on the shelves of a lot of pharmacies and supermarkets. Some people didn't know what it was used for while others didn't feel it served any useful purpose since they could always wash their hands with soap and water. However, the hand sanitizer business experienced a boom in Nigeria from July when the first case of the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) was reported in Lagos. The demand greatly surpassed the supply. I began to wonder if all the people scrambling for sanitizers were just adding it to their acquisitions or if they were actually making good use of them. This post serves to remind us of why beyond EVD, hand sanitizers are must haves and also how and when to use them. Hand sanitizers should not replace hand washing,  but should be used when one does not have access to soap and water. They are portable and this makes it easier for one to maintain good hand hygiene at all times. Having hand sanitizers in schools help reduce cases o

I must applaud all the key players in Nigeria that helped to quickly curb the EVD outbreak. However, one should not rest on his/her oars, knowing that this outbreak is still ravaging other parts of West Africa. While we do not necessarily have to go about with gloves and masks, it is very important that high levels of personal hygiene are maintained in every quarter. I have never seen people more conscious about hand hygiene like I have observed in the past few months. This is indeed a welcome development. It is important to note that what we have learnt in the course of the EVD outbreak, if continuously practiced, can reduce the number of times we come down with infectious diseases. A lot of infectious diseases are transmitted through person to person contact and the hands are key in the transmission of germs, because they harbor a lot of them. Be it the cold virus or conjunctivitis – the hands remain a key player in its transmission. Therefore, let us embrace the practic

Breast milk is said to contain all the essential nutrients necessary for the baby and also helps protect a new baby from illness by providing antibodies that fight diseases. This is very true and mothers as much as possible are encouraged to breastfeed their babies. What a lot of people do not realize is that breast milk does not contain adequate levels of Vitamin D. When children lack Vitamin D, they could likely develop a disease called rickets (which affects the child’s bones). Some people believe that babies get adequate Vitamin D from sunlight. However, the truth is that a lot of babies are not exposed to adequate sunlight or a large part of their bodies are covered up when they are out in the sun. Moreover, people with dark skin are not really able to absorb much Vitamin D from the sun; therefore blacks generally do not absorb much vitamin D from the sun because of their natural skin colour. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other bodies, re

A client once came to our pharmacy and told me that their baby was not being breastfed because the mother’s nipples are inverted. This has not been the first time someone has complained about this condition.  For those that do not know what inverted nipples are, inverted nipples are nipples that are turned inside instead of pointing out. Most people think it is a problem without a solution and believe that once their nipples are inverted or flat, they can never breastfeed. Breastfeeding has too many benefits; both for the mother and the baby, and no child should be deprived of this because of inverted or flat nipples. The good news is that there is a simple solution for inverted/flat nipples. Niplettes are the simple solution to inverted or flat nipples. Through gentle suction, which is controlled by the user, the Niplette pulls the nipple out into a small plastic thimble-like cup. The Niplette is a discreet, non-surgical solution that is clinically proven to he

The most common cause for sore or cracked nipples while breastfeeding is as a result of poor latching of the baby’s mouth on the nipples while breastfeeding. When a good breastfeeding position and the proper latch is achieved, then it is unlikely that you would develop sore nipples. So, how do I get the proper latch? The picture below shows how a baby should latch properly while breastfeeding. Your baby’s mouth should cover the entire dark area of the breast, called the areola; your baby’s chin should also touch your breast. This measure helps prevent cracked nipples. So what if my nipples are already cracked? Well, if your nipples are already cracked, you will have to resist the urge not to breastfeed your baby. It is in breastfeeding that it will eventually get healed. Here are a few things you could do to help ease your pain and encourage healing: ·          Before you start breastfeeding, express a little breastmilk and apply it over the areola, ·      

There's this saying from the book, the Animal Farm, that all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. This is very true for the supplement, Vitamin E. There are a lot of Vitamin E brands in the market, almost all of which are touted to be natural. However, two Vitamin E brands might appear to be the same at face value,but could actually differ a whole lot in their structure and how effective they are in our bodies. Let me digress a little, what is all this hype about vitamin E? Why should one be interested in it? I'll tell you what -  Vitamin E is a must have vitamin.  For the woman, it promotes healthy and youthful skin. For both genders, it mops up toxins that would ordinarily build up in our bodies and increase chances of one becoming very ill with cancers and other terminal diseases, it boosts our immunity thereby fighting disease, it protects our brain and heart, finally,  it boosts fertility!! Quite a number of people that take vitamin E supplements

So, on the 22nd of March, 2014, Rafar+ opened her new branch at Metropark Mall, Plot 6B Sani Abacha Rd, GRA, Port Harcourt. This branch launches the new face of Rafar. The new pharmacy has a wonderful ambience, trained pharmacists and health care assistants at hand to offer professional services and all the trappings of a 21st century retail pharmacy. One would wonder, what is all this frenzy about opening a new pharmacy; it is not as if I am sick or anything.  However, Rafar+ Pharmacy comes with a different message - the message of wellness.  At Rafar+ pharmacy, our key message is this - look good, live healthy. We carry lifestyle products, natural health and wellness supplements, organic skincare products, vitamins and other everyday essentials. We offer such services as regular health checks, home and office deliveries etc. We also have some packages like special discounts for expectant and new moms, older people on chronic medication and also - Rewardplus - our loyalty progra

Here's introducing Rafar Tips, the information arm of Rafar+ Pharmacy. First of all, Rafar+ Pharmacy is an integrative retail pharmacy that preaches wellness.  We are not your conventional pharmacy, that just basically "fills prescriptions'.  Rather, our focus is more on promoting healthy lifestyles and prevention of disease. We are interested in your entire wellbeing - your health, beauty etc. And we want to encourage you to develop healthy lifestyles that will reduce your chances of falling ill. Follow us on RafarTips and you will find out amazing stuff -  Discover a lot of information on how not to develop high blood pressure, how to maintain a trim figure, how to grow your hair, maintain youthful skin, deal with acne, make the right choices for your baby's nutrition and so much more. We promise you, it will surely be worth your while !!!!