Rafar Wellness Tips

The harmattan season has begun in earnest in many parts of Nigeria.   Our skin requires special care to prevent excessive drying out, cracking, scaly skin and chapped lips. Check out 8 ways to care for your skin during this dry season.  It also applies to the winter season. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize    o    Did you know an adult with dry skin needs to apply at least 500 ml of moisturizer weekly while a child should apply 250 ml of moisturizer weekly to stay moisturized? Apply moisturizer following the flow of your hair follicles (don’t rub your body in all directions while applying your cream to prevent skin irritation).   Apply moisturizer immediately after having a bath to lock in moisture Always have a hand cream handy – either in your bag, the glove compartment of your car or on your office desk Avoid extremely hot baths which could dry out the skin. Vaseline petroleum jelly is super helpful – apply generously and regularly on your elbows, knees and heels

The incidence of breast cancer seems to be on the increase. It seems as if everyone personally knows someone who has died of or is currently fighting breast cancer. Even though October is breast cancer awareness month, the conversation on raising cancer awareness should be ongoing since women are diagnosed with this ailment all through the months of the year. In the bid to raise awareness on breast cancer, this article highlights some factors that increase the risks of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer occurs more in white women after menopause than blacks and Asians. However black women have greater chances of developing breast cancer at a younger age. While the exact cause of breast cancer is not known, there are certain factors that increases the chances of developing breast cancer. Below, we highlight the modifiable risk factors ie conditions that can increase chances of developing breast cancer. Weight Gain - Excessive weight gain has been associated with brea

I had a job that involved a bit of moving around for close to ten years. I had to switch jobs to something that involved a lot of sitting down as I worked more from my laptop. In the space of a few months, I realized that I had gradually put on some weight. A lot of professionals are like me. We work for long hours, sitting at our desk for long stretches everyday. Living a sedentary lifestyle causes weight gain and complications that follow weight gain. One way of leaving a healthier life is to continually make small positive changes consistently over time. I have listed some 5 exercises you could do at your desk while at work. ( This might not be feasible if you work in an open plan office though). Reach for the stars - Interlace your fingers and reach for as high as you can towards the sky with your palm facing upwards. Maintain the position for 30 seconds Squats   - Stand up from your chair, seat back down and repeat in sets of 10 Chest squeeze - While sitting, st

Physical exercise is very important in maintaining a healthy body weight - sounds like a cliche right? We have heard it so many times. We know we should exercise. We know we need to go to the gym. If you are like me, exercising regularly could be a tough call. Working an exercise routine into an already busy schedule might not be realistic for some people. We have come up with some activities that could help you stay active all through the day. Afterall, research has shown that staying active all through the day is more effective than exercising for 30 minutes to one hour at a stretch. Check them out below. Tips for staying active all through the day . Use the stairs instead of elevators or escalators any chance you get Take loads of water so you will have the urge to use the bathroom hourly - water is good for you and this will make you walk more. Park your car  a distance from where you are going so you get to walk to your destination Have walk meetings - prayer walks, c

Have you ever heard an overweight person say that he/she has tried everything and isn't losing weight or probably say that they don't eat anything and still add weight? While I know that metabolic rates vary with people, I believe also that our lifestyles contribute to a large extent to our being overweight. We should study our bodies deliberately, know what works for our system and make conscious effort to align our lifestyle with what works for our system. Since 2015, October 11 has been designated as the World Obesity Day . Being overweight or obese has a lot of serious health implications. If one goes to take a life insurance, his weight and waist circumference are among the indices taken by the insurance companies in order to determine their premium. This is because overweight people are at a higher risk of dying at a young age. This post seeks to highlight factors that could result in being overweight or obese and the consequences of being overweight. Some causes o

Photo credit: Vanguardngr.com There is a recent outbreak of Monkey pox in the Southern part of Nigeria. Here are a few things you need to know about monkey pox. We have also put together a few tips to keep yourself and your family safe from monkey pox. ·          The monkey pox virus is mainly transmitted to people from various wild animals ·          It can also be transmitted from human beings to other human beings. ·          Monkey pox is more severe in younger children ·          There is no vaccine or definitive treatment for monkey pox Transmission ·          Monkey pox is transmitted from animals to humans through contact with body fluids such as blood or fluid from the broken skin. ·          Human-to-human, transmission can result from close contact with infected respiratory tract secretions. These activities might enhance transmission o    When an infected person coughs, sneezes or blows his nose into his hands and touches someone else with it. o  

The ABC of potty training A committed mindset Be patient Create time and stay consistent Steps to quick potty training • It is important that your child is ready for potty training before you commence this exercise. Check out the article, When should I start potty training my child, to see if your child is ready. • Let your child get familiar with the potty; keep the potty where he can see it. He should feel free to sit on it with clothes on • Start first with letting him/her go for a certain length of hours in a day without their diapers. Take him to the potty every 15 minutes during this time. You could probably choose 2 – 3 hours in the morning and 2-3 hours in the evening. For example, you could choose to keep him without diapers between 8 and 10 in the morning and 3 and 5 in the evening. Make sure you maintain these times daily. Routine is always helpful for children. • Turn on the tap when you place your child on the potty, the sound of running water could stimul

Potty training is the process of weaning a child from weeing (urinating) and pooing (defecating) on their diapers. Sometimes parents rush this because they want to cut down the cost of investing in diapers. One way to make the potty training process easy for both parents or caregivers and children is to wait till the child is ready. If not, it could be a long, frustruating and tortuous journey. Children are ready to be potty trained at different ages because every child is unique. Children are generally potty trained between the ages of 18 months and three years.Generally, girls are ready to be potty trained a few months earlier than boys.                               Photo Credit: Pixababy Here are some signs to look out for, to know if your toddler is ready to be potty tr ained . ü   Your child can stand, walk and run on her own. ü   She shows discomfort when her diaper is wet or soiled ü   She becomes fidgety when she needs to pee and might go to hide in a c