Archive for September, 2007

The Royal College of Physicians and British Association of Dermatologists advised holidaymakers to look for changes to their skin on return from holiday, particularly the growth of new moles or changes to existing moles. Being alert can save lives, as these changes can be signs of skin cancer, and patients have a better chance of being treated successfully if melanomas are found early.For information on moles and its relation to melanoma, visit:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Moles are the pigmented cells that appear as small, dark brown spots on your face, torso, arms and legs. But, moles can develop anywhere including your scalp, between your fingers and toes, and under your armpits.

New moles can appear in the adulthood and some moles can disappear as you age. Majority of moles are harmless, but some moles can become cancerous. When you return from holiday, you have to observe the changes in the skin, particularly the growth of new moles, change in color or size.

Many people are not exposed to sun most of the time. But, when you are on holiday trip, you are at more risk of developing melanoma, a skin cancer, because of exposure to sun all the time. Many people take sunbath and spend most of the time near beaches, which is the main cause for the occurrence of moles.

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The decline in cervical cancer is a success story of cancer research. Although there are reasons to be optimistic about even further decreases in cervical cancer incidence, there still remain some women who are not screened.For related information on cervical cancer screening, visit:

http://www.sciencedaily.com

Cervical screening is most important because you can prevent cervical cancer from developing in the first place. This cancer can be preventable because pre-cancerous call changes can be picked up before they have a chance to go to a full blown cancer. But, many women have not been screened with pap smears and are undetected of the cancer.

Risk factors for cervical cancer:

• You are more likely to develop cervical cancer if you have multiple sex partners or if you become sexually active at early age. Sexual activity at early age increases the risk because during puberty cervical tissues undergo many changes which make the area more susceptible to damage.
• Infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) increases your risk from 20 to 100 times. HPV is sexually transmitted disease, quite common in young women.
• Cigarette smoking increases the risk of cervical cancer.
• A family history of cervical cancer

Hepatitis is a liver disease which occurs due to the presence of inflammatory cells in your liver tissue.

It is characterized as acute and chronic hepatitis. Acute hepatitis lasts less than six months, whereas chronic hepatitis persists for longer periods, may be life long also.

The main reason for this disease is group of hepatitis viruses which cause liver damage.

It can also come from some toxins like alcohol, other infections or due to autoimmune process.

Hepatitis viruses are from A to G and some other viruses include cytomegalovirus, Epstein - Barr virus, yellow fever, etc.

Hepatitis A and vaccine:

It is an acute and self-limiting disease of the liver. In youngsters, this infection is generally asymptomatic, but it is a symptomatic disease in adults.

The vaccine used to treat hepatitis A is completely different from the immune globulin (IG) that most of you receive after an outbreak. Only for short-term, IG can be used and it helps in boosting your immune system to keep you away from getting sick and with hepatitis A after exposure.

Today is world Alzheimer’s day. World Alzheimer’s day is a day on which Alzheimer member associations concentrate their efforts on raising awareness about the realities of life with dementia.

Alzheimer’s associations are growing in size and number around the world as Dementia is becoming one of the greatest health and social challenges, which is often going unnoticed across the world.

Dementia affects 1 in 20 people over the age of 65 and 1 in 5 over the age of 80. Worldwide there are 24 million people with dementia according to the estimation. By 2040 the number will rise to 81 million. Individuals below 65 years also are diagnosed with this disease and medical practitioners refer these types of cases as “early onset of Alzheimer’s disease”.

World Alzheimer’s day events help to raise essential funds and awareness, which can help to:

• Educate society to understand and accept people with dementia
• Promote Alzheimer’s awareness so that people can understand the early dementia symptoms to seek help
• Promote researching to develop better understanding and treatments of the disease
• Provide information for people with dementia and their families for understanding and support

The patients who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are on the rise.

It is a degenerative disease of the brain that is the most common form of dementia from which you won’t get recovery.

It is one of the most challenging diseases of the modern age.

Once you are attacked with disease, it will spread to all parts of the brain and finally you will lose your memory and mental functioning.

Old age is considered as the main cause of the disease. Once you cross 65 years then the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease are doubled for every five years. If you are suffering with the diseases like diabetes [Risks of diabetes], heart disease, hypertension, and have high cholesterol levels then you are more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease.

An estimated of 18 million people around the world are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Among them 50 percent of the people are from well developed countries only.

Role of cognitive activities in protecting Alzheimer’s disease:

According to new research, it is found that among all the life long activities, only a high level of cognitive or mental activity protects the patients against the distressing memory loss of Alzheimer’s disease. High levels of physical or social activities are not enough, along with these cognitive activities can only make a difference in person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Don’t get confused with whether vertigo is a disease or symptom.

It is a symptom but not a disease. Vertigo is also termed as chronic dizziness.

It refers to the sensation of spinning that occurs as a result of unbalanced condition.

This condition is mainly related to balance and equilibrium.

Vertigo is also described as a feeling of dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness and unsteadiness. There are two types of vertigo, one is subjective vertigo due to the sensation of movement and the other is objective vertigo due to the perception of movement in surrounding objects.

A disorder in the vestibular system results in vertigo. The vestibular system can cause the integration of sensory stimulus and movement and also to maintain the objects in visual focus as your body moves. Though vestibular system is a common cause for vertigo, in some people migraines can also cause dizziness in them.

Vertigo is mainly due to the problem in your brain or inner ear. The most common form of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This is described as the consciousness of motion initiated by rapid head movements. In BPPV, the small otoliths split themselves from the gel and shift into the canals thus causing sick with spinning sensation.

The protective membranes which cover the central nervous system get affected with some ineffective agents, injury, or some drugs.

These agents can cause inflammation of these membranes. This condition is called as meningitis. It is mainly due to the organism Neisseria meningitides.

Meningitis is a serious condition due to the proximity of the location of the brain and spinal cord.

This condition causes serious damage to the motor control, thought processes, or even death. This is a serious inflammation of the brain and spinal cord which can also cause paralysis.

Meningitis is mainly due to microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, or viruses. Sometimes cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus and some drugs can also lead to meningitis.

Viral meningitis is the most common form of this condition and it lasts for few days. After that the second most frequently occurring type of this condition is bacterial meningitis. It is a serious and life-threatening condition.

If you are suspected of having this condition, then you should consult your doctor. Sometimes lyme disease turns into meningitis.

The risk factors which contribute to the development of meningitis include: smoking, viral respiratory infections and crowded conditions. Meningitis readily spreads in crowded population, sometimes it is referred to as epidemic meningitis.

When people get older, the most common problem from which they suffer is leg cramp.

The term cramp is used to illustrate different pains, but generally it is used to refer a painful tremor of the muscles.

You can find many causes for leg cramps.

Some of them include: dehydration, diabetes, pregnancy, alcohol use, lack of potassium, prolonged sitting, muscle overexertion, neuromuscular disorder, and some medications.

Most of you are overwhelmed by leg cramp.

If you experience leg cramp, you can get relief by making some simple steps. They include:

• Gentle walk on the affected leg
• Massage the affected leg muscles
• Take a hot bath before going to bed
• Apply a cold pack to the inflated muscles

Night leg cramp is also a common problem from which most of you suffer. If you experience severe and frequent leg cramp at night, you should talk with your doctor. In order to get relief, you need to do some simple things like:

• During the day, drink as much fluids as possible
• Before going to bed, stretch your leg muscles [Stretching exercises]
• Consume adequate potassium in your diet

Two studies presented at the annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) in Stockholm have revealed that obesity surgery (known to specialists as bariatric surgery) may have important advantages beyond its primary objective of major weight loss.It can significantly reduce, or even eliminate, interruptions to breathing (apnoea) during sleep. Sleep apnoea can cause snoring and is a recognised risk factor for cardiovascular disease.For related information on obesity surgery and snoring, visit:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Severe or morbid obesity is a condition that is difficult to treat through exercise and diet. Therefore, gastrointestinal surgery or bariatric surgery is the best option for morbidly obese people who cannot lose weight by traditional means.

Bariatric surgery types:

The surgery can be performed in three ways: restrictive, malabsorptive and combined restrictive/malabsorptive. In restrictive type bariatric surgery, weight loss by food intake restriction is done by creating a narrow passage from the upper part of the stomach into the large lower part.

This process reduces the amount of food the stomach can hold and slows the passage of food through the stomach.

GERD or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease is a condition when stomach acid seeps into the esophagus. Esophagus is a tube which leads from throat to the stomach and causes heartburn symptoms, bitter taste in the mouth and regurgitation.

If you eat highly acidic foods like tomato sauces, fatty foods, fried foods, your stomach has to process overabundance of acid. Too much acid pushes back through a valve between stomach and esophagus called lower esophageal spinchter (LES).