Archive for September, 2008

For people who suffer from diabetes, going on vacation can be a challenging experience, as change in meal patterns, time zones and activity levels affects blood glucose levels.

It is therefore essential for you to plan accordingly and implement a routine in your journey to ensure better health.

Tips to manage diabetes while traveling

1. Consult your doctor

Before you go on vacation, make an appointment with your doctor and discuss your holiday plans. Your doctor will check your blood glucose levels and suggest appropriate medication.

Ask for a prescription for diabetes pills and insulin in case of emergency. Also ask for a letter which details what you use for diabetes, like syringes, insulin shots or any other devices, as well as allergies, foods and medications and food to which you are sensitive.

2. Schedule diet and medication according to time zones

If you are traveling to places with different time zones, draw up a meal and medication plan that keeps your body in balance. It is believed that jet lag can have a significant impact on diabetics.

So, it is essential for you get your meals as close to your usual schedule as possible. Adjusting to time zones takes time, so try to be methodical and don’t panic.

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The liver performs hundreds of important functions in the body, from aiding absorption of food to eliminating toxic substances. Normally, an adult liver is about the size of a small football.

However, if your liver enlarges, it usually warns you of an underlying health issue like cancer, hepatitis or congestive heart failure.

If you have an enlarged liver, various disorders such as liver cirrhosis, fatty liver and liver infections usually manifest. When the liver becomes inflamed or infected, it loses its ability to perform many important bodily functions.

As a result, you’ll probably experience many health problems like jaundice, nausea, loss of appetite and diarrhea.

Many conditions are responsible for enlarging your liver size. These are the most common:

• Hepatitis: Hepatitis A, B and C are contagious viral infections which enlarge your liver and lead to various liver complications. If you have been diagnosed with any form of hepatitis, take necessary measures to reduce the severity of the viral infection.
• Alcohol abuse: Excess intake of alcohol or abusing alcohol disturbs the normal functioning of the liver and can lead to enlargement. In addition, too much alcohol can also lead to other health problems like heart disease, sleep problems etc.

When a bone expands or enlarges, it becomes deformed and can result in a chronic condition, commonly known as Paget’s disease.

This irregular enlargement of bone leads to bone pain, arthritis, bone deformity and also bone fractures.

Normally, Paget’s disease involves only one bone, but there is no guarantee that more than one bone of your body won’t be affected. Usually, the bones of pelvis, spine, skull, shin, upper arm and thigh are the most vulnerable.

The cause of abnormal remodeling of bone is unclear, but it is believed that genetic factors and viruses play a major role in the development of the disease.

Is it dangerous to have Paget’s disease?

In most cases, Paget’s disease of bone develops slowly and can be managed effectively. Fatal conditions are very rare. The most possible complications involved in this particular bone growth disorder include:

Sarcoma: A very rare complication, commonly known as bone cancer. It occurs in less than 1% of people with abnormal bone growth. Usually, it doesn’t develop until many years after the onset of Paget’s disease.

Osteoarthritis: This degenerative joint disorder is the most common long-term complication associated with Paget’s bone disease. The earlier the condition is diagnosed, the easier it is to prevent degenerative joint disorder.

Pelvic pain is extremely common and has many underlying causes.

If you were asked to locate the pain, you’d probably sweep your hand over the entire lower abdomen area rather than point to one specific spot. It can be steady or it might come and go.

If you have severe pain, it is likely to get in the way of your daily activities, and cause you confusion and concern, so here are a few facts to help you understand the condition and erase your fears:

Gynecological problems are the main source of pelvic pain

Several gynecological problems are actually root causes of chronic pain. In addition to gynecological problems, other health disorders which cause pelvic pain include irritable bowel syndrome and interstitial cystitis.

Other common causes of chronic pain include tension in pelvic floor muscles, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian remnant, pelvic congestion syndrome, endometriosis and fibroids.

Pelvic pain is not absolutely restricted to one specific spot

For most people, this is a very common pattern with pelvic pain. If your pain moves from one part to another, over time, it doesn’t mean that it is not real. Many sufferers think that they are imagining that the pain is moving to another place.

Rett Syndrome is a severe genetic disorder that mainly affects the development of the brain. It almost always occurs in girls and produces symptoms which are similar to autism.

This particular neurological disorder leaves sufferers profoundly disabled, and totally dependent on others throughout their lives.

The gene responsible for Rett syndrome is MECP2 and it is situated on the X chromosome, which is why females are the most common victims of this rare genetic disorder.

However, it can occur in males as well. In most cases, a child born with Rett syndrome is the only sufferer in the family, as the responsible genes are not genetically inherited.

Rett syndrome only affects 1 in 10,000 to 23,000 people world-wide.

Effects of Rett syndrome

Most babies with this rare genetic disorder develop normally at first. But progress in their growth slows when they reach 18 months of age. Over time, children with Rett syndrome experience increasing problems with their motor functions, which can lead to inability to use their limbs, inability to speak, chew and even breathe.

For some children, the symptoms develop quickly, while others develop the disease gradually and symptoms appear over time. The most common symptoms are:

Have you been repeatedly told that you whisper in your sleep? While it can cause much amusement to those who hear it, this common sleep disorder may worry you that you are letting out your deepest, darkest secrets or disturbing your room mates.

The good news is that it is rarely violent or harmful or a sign of some other health problem.

Often inherited, sleep talking is experienced by about 50% of young children and 5% of adults. Contrary to ancient belief, in most cases, sleep talking is not necessarily related to mental or major sleep disorders.

Is there any specific reason for sleep talking?

Scientists are still not sure how dream chatter is linked to night-time reveries, but many people consider sleep talking  as part and parcel of dreaming and believe it is often a problem-solving device.

Most sleep talking occurs during the arousal from non-REM sleep, but can occur during REM sleep. If the talking is overly dramatic or emotional, it may be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder, like REM sleep behavior disorder or sleep terrors, which usually involve loud shouting.

When it comes to eating on holiday, many fall prey to the philosophy, “no limits”. While it is great to unwind and eat whatever you want, try not to overdo it too much and keep a check on your health.

If you battle to strike a balance between fun and good health on your vacation, here are few helpful tips:

4 tips to stay healthy while traveling

1. Plan Ahead

Planning is the key element to ensuring a successful trip. The same goes for food. Try to avoid being stuck in a position where there is nothing to eat but high-fat foods.

Scout supermarkets for low-fat [Low fat diet] food options and carry low-fat snack packs with you. If you can’t avoid high-fat foods, try to restrict yourself to smaller portions.

2. Drink Fresh Juices

Whenever they are available, drink fresh fruits or vegetable juices with no sugar. Besides making you feel full, they will give you good, healthy energy. Go for greens as much as possible. Juice bars offer a wide variety of green juices like spinach and parsley. Be careful, however, of consuming excess amounts, which can cause dehydration.

3. Eat Salads

Uveitis mainly involves the inflammatory process of the middle layers of the eye, called the uvea.

The uvea, which includes the iris, choroid, ciliary part of your eye, is very important because many of its veins and arteries transport blood to other parts of your eyes.

Depending on the area of inflammation in your eye, Uveitis is classified into four different types: anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis Uveitis.

It can be acute and short-lived or it can be chronic and recurrent. One thing is certain; however, if left untreated, it will seriously damage your eyes [Eye Problems] and even cause loss of eyesight.

Are you at increased risk?

Women are at greater risk of developing uveitis. People aged between 20 to 50 years are mostly at risk of developing uveitis. It is estimated that almost 280,000 people in USA are affected with uveitis every year. It is also estimated that it is the main reason for 30,000 new cases of blindness each year.

Many cases of uveitis are chronic and can cause many complications for the affected person like cataract, glaucoma, and elevated intraocular pressure and retina problems. If you suffer from these complications, you are at risk of losing your normal vision.

Are you taking necessary precautions to avoid vaginal infections? As a woman, it is very important for you take proper hygiene and better care for your vaginal regions, as they are very crucial in better reproductive health.

Improper hygiene mainly leads to various vaginal infections. Trichomoniasis is one among the most common vaginal infection that takes place in women.

Not only women, even men can get urethral infections because of trichomonas vaginalis, parasite responsible for trichomoniasis. But, it is very rare in men compared to women.

Trichomoniasis is usually passed sexually and also spreads from damp cloths, wash towels and bathing suits used by infected person. But, don’t worry; trichomoniasis is perfectly curable infection, once if you identify it.

Trichomoniasis symptoms that goes undiagnosed!

The symptoms of trichomoniasis usually appear after 4 days of your sexual intercourse with the infected partner. More often, this kind of vaginal infection disappear without hurting you and you can’t even know that you had an infection.

But, if the infection persists, you can experience abnormal and frothy vaginal discharge ranging in color from gray to green and yellow with a watery milky consistency.

Are you worried about tooth abscess? It is a preventable condition if you take better oral care. Tooth abscess can happen at any time to any one irrespective of age and gender.

Infectious bacteria that grow in your tooth cavities because of improper oral care causes tooth abscess. When an infected tooth doesn’t receive appropriate dental care, it certainly grows into tooth abscess and gradually it will spread to the surrounding gums and adjacent areas.

A tooth abscess will not go away on its own without appropriate treatment. If the abscess ruptures, you can get some relief from the pain, but proper dental treatment is always recommended.

If the abscess doesn’t drain completely, there is a chance for the infection to spread to other areas of head and neck and eventually turns into life-threatening disease for you.

Identify the infection!

Throbbing and persistent tooth ache are the main symptoms of tooth abscess. At the initial stages of infection, your teeth can become sensitive to heat and pressure with biting or chewing the food.

Gradually, you may develop fever along with swelling in your face and cheek. You can also experience tender and swollen lymph nodes in your neck or under the jaw.