Archive for the ‘Common Diseases’ Category

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What are cardiovascular diseases CVD

Saturday, September 24th, 2011


In partnership with World Health Organization WHO, the World Heart Federation organizes World Heart Day every year. This year’s theme is “One world, one home, one heart”. Cardiovascular diseases are the world’s largest killers, claiming 17.1 million lives a year. Risk factors for heart disease and stroke include raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, smoking, inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include:

*coronary heart disease – disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle
*cerebrovascular disease – disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain
*peripheral arterial disease – disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs
*rheumatic heart disease – damage to the heart muscle and heart valves from *rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria
*congenital heart disease – malformations of heart structure existing at birth
*deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism – blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.

Heart attacks and strokes are usually acute events and are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to the heart or brain. The most common reason for this is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. Strokes can also be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the brain or from blood clots.

What are the risk factors for cardiovascular disease?
The most important behavioural risk factors of heart disease and stroke are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol. Behavioural risk factors are responsible for about 80% of coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

The effects of unhealthy diet and physical inactivity may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids, and overweight and obesity; these are called ‘intermediate risk factors’ or metabolic risk factors.

There are also a number of underlying determinants of CVDs, or “the causes of the causes”. These are a reflection of the major forces driving social, economic and cultural change – globalization, urbanization, and population ageing. Other determinants of CVDs include poverty, stress and hereditary factors.

What is a sore throat

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011


Sore throat is a very common symptom in both children and adults, and become one of common diaseses,  usually accompany with symptom of sneezing and coughing . It is also a common cause of presentation to medical practitioners and accepted by public as common cold.

Sore throat is a frequent indication of antibiotic prescription in the community, resulting in significant healthcare costs and may potentially contribute to increasing antimicrobial resistance with widespread and inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Causative agent

Viral pathogens are more frequent causes of sore throat compared to bacterial pathogens.

Group A Streptococci is the most common bacterial cause of acute pharyngitis ,accounting for approximately 15-30% of cases in children and is also the only common form of pharyngitis for which antibiotic therapy is indicated.

Sore throat Signs & Symptoms

Symptoms of a common cold usually appear about one to three days after exposure to a cold virus. Signs and symptoms of a common cold may include:

*Runny or stuffy nose
*Itchy or sore throat
*Cough
*Congestion
*Slight body aches or a mild headache
*Sneezing
*Watery eyes
*Low-grade fever
*Mild fatigue

In sore throat that are due bacterial infection, signs and symptoms as below:

Symptom in child or adult commonly present with high grade fever and toxic (more ill).
Symptoms

sudden onset of sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

Signs

tonsillopharyngeal erythema, tonsillopharyngeal exudate, softpalate petechiae; beefy-red swollen uvula, swollen and tender anterior cervical lymph nodes and rash. Not all patients have the full-blown syndrome and many cases are milder and do not have exudates.

What Is Hepatitis B

Thursday, April 14th, 2011


Hepatitis B can be transmitted through body fluid like blood and semen. The symptoms of hepatitis usually appear at 25 to 180 days following exposure. These may also include joint and muscle ache. However some do not have any symptoms.

Hepatitis B virus infection unlike hepatitis A can lead to chronic disease and liver cirrhosis.

In our population hepatitis B is usually transmitted at birth or early childhood and infection at that age has a very high chance of developing chronic disease.

Who is at risk of getting hepatitis B?

*any person with a family member or sexual partner infected with hepatitis B.
*living in the same house with someone who has hepatitis B infection
*baby born to infected mothers
*health care workers or anyone whose work involves contact with human blood
*people with multiple sex partners
*injection drug users
*people who had blood transfusion before 1972

Hepatitis B is not spread through food or water, sharing eating or drinking utensils, coughing, sneezing or by casual contact.

What should I do if I have viral hepatitis B?

If you suspect that you may have been infected by hepatitis B virus :

Consult a doctor

Your doctor will assess and examine you.

The doctor may do blood tests including specific test for hepatitis B and an ultrasound of your liver.

In some cases you may need a liver biopsy, a procedure whereby a small liver tissue is taken for further tests.

You may need hospital admission if your liver is not functioning well. Otherwise you may be seen and followed up in the clinics.

It is important to consult a doctor because viral hepatitis can be treated. Treatment can prevent complications. The treatments available are in the form of injections or tablets.

However some people do not need treatment yet but it is still important to continue follow up because the condition may change and require treatment at some stage or you may need to be screened regularly for complications especially liver cancer.

Signs and symptoms of hernia

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011


Signs and symptoms of hernia may vary. It could be mild where one presents with a swelling which is usually not painful, appears during standing or coughing or straining and dissappears when lying down or pushed back with hand. Other may present with severe features like painful swelling to some extent cannot be touched, hence cannot be pushed back into the abdomen or irreducible, skin may look red or blackish and patient may develop fever. This is due to hernia contents such as intestine has received reduced blood supply as its blood vessels may be compressed usually at the hernia opening. This is called srangulated hernia.

•Reducible hernia
◦It can appear as a new swelling at the groin or at other abdominal area.
◦One may feel mild dull pain but usually touching the swelling will not cause pain.
◦Swelling will appear or increase in size when standing or when there is increase in the abdominal pressure (eg. coughing).
◦It can be pushed back into the abdomen (reducible).

•Irreducible hernia
◦It appears as a swelling which may be mildly painful, initially able to appear and dissappear (reducible), later on it can go into abdomen by itself or  be pushed into by hand.
◦Some may become chronic when the swelling is not reducible for quite sometime especially if it is not painful, the patient does not bother to seek treatment.
◦It may worsen and become strangulated hernia.

•Strangulated hernia
◦Commonly begins as an irreducible hernia then later got obstructed and strangulated at the hernia opening causing compression to the blood vessels, eventually  will compromise the blood supply to the intestine in the hernia sac.
◦Usually patient will have severe pain when swelling is touched or pressed. There will be signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction (such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal distension).
◦Patient may develop fever and looked very ill.
◦This condition is an emergency/surgical emergency. Urgent surgery has to be done.

What Is Hernia

Monday, March 21st, 2011


Do you know what is hernia? A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the lining of an organ through the wall of the cavity, commonly abdomen that normally contains it. The common contents are part of intestine or abdominal fat tissue, lined by a thin membrane which will form hernial sac. It will usually appear when there is increase in the abdominal pressure and will dissappear when lying down. This phenomenon is called ‘reducible’.

Type of Hernia

•Inguinal hernia: Occurs in groin. Seventy five percent of abdominal hernias are of this type. It occurs 25 times more common in male than in female. Inguinal hernias are divided into 2 types; direct and indirect. Both can be differentiated  based on their origins eventhough the swelling may look the same. It is important to recognize which type of inguinal hernia in the clinical diagnosis.  
*Indirect inguinal hernia: This occurs when a portion of the intestine slips through the inguinal canal via the internal opening of the inguinal canal. This canal was once going through by testes from within the abdomen into the scrotum during fetal development. It usually closes around the time of birth, however in this situation it remains open. It can happen in all ages. Sometimes the hernial sac can protrude into the scrotum.  
*Direct inguinal hernia: It occurs when hernia contents push through a weak spot in the abdominal area which is relatively thin. It does not extend into the scrotum. Unlike Indirect Inguinal Hernia, Direct Inguinal Hernia tends to occur in the middle aged and elderly people when abdominal wall becomes weaker as the age increases.

•Femoral Hernia: Femoral canal is the passage where femoral artery, vein and nerve exit from abdomen into femoral area. Usually this canal is tight and compact, but it can become loose and expanded which will allow abdominal contents to protrude out through it. Femoral hernia causes swelling at the mid thigh just below the inguinal fold. Commonly occurs in female and tends to become irreducible where it cannot be pushed in. 

•Incisional hernia: Abdominal surgery may result in changes in the abdominal wall architecture especially along the incised area. This area will become weak and will cause hernia to occur. It happens in 2-10% of abdominal surgery

Know More Migraine Symptoms

Saturday, September 11th, 2010



Migraine is one of the causes of recurrent, episodic headache. About 1 in 4 women, and 1 in 12 men, develop migraine at some point in their life. It usually starts in childhood or adolescence, and peaks in adolescence. Generally migraine becomes less common after 45-50 years old, though some may persist throughout life. The actual cause of migraine is still unknown. However, one is more likely to develop migraine if his/her immediate family members also have migraine.

Migraine can be generally classified into 2 main types :

Migraine without aura: patient has headache without aura. This is 5 times more common than migraine with aura.
Migraine with aura: headache is preceded by aura.

Migraine Symptoms

Headache
Migraine headache is usually one-sided and often described as ‘throbbing’ or ‘pulsating’. The headache may spread to involve both sides.Typically, it slowly gets worse, then gradually eases off, lasting 4 to 72 hours. Migraine headache can be moderate to severe. Patients may complain that they could not resume their activity or work when the attack comes. The attack may come infrequently, eg once in few months, or sometimes more frequently, eg few times a week.

Other than that, patient may feel nauseous, with or without vomiting. During the attack, most patients could not tolerate bright lights or loud noises, and prefer to lie in a dark room until the headache subsides. Head movement may worsen headache.

Aura
Aura refers to warning signs before the headache. Usually it lasts 1- 15 minutes. Examples of aura:

*Visual aura: eg temporary loss of part of vision, flashes of lights eg zig-zag lines that slowly spread before disappearing
*Numbness and ‘pins and needles’ sensation in the lips, face and hands
*Speech problem.
*Others: odd smell/sensation, slight confusion in thinking

Before each attack, patient may have vague changes in mood and appetite. This feeling may begin hours or even days before the actual headache. This is then followed by the aura( absent in migraine without aura), then the headache. Finally the headache gradually fades. During this time patient may feel tired, irritable, depressed, and may have difficulty concentrating.

Triggering factors :
Migraine may occur more frequently in the presence of triggering factors :

*Diet: cheese, chocolate, red wines, citrus fruits, caffeine, and foods containing tyramine.
*Environmental: Smoking and smoky rooms, glaring light like bright screens or flickering TV sets, loud noises, strong smells eg perfume.
*Psychological: Depression, anxiety, anger, tiredness, stress, etc. Some attacks occur not during stress but when patient relaxes, leading to so-called ‘weekend migraine’.
*Medicines: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), some sleeping tablets, and oral contraceptive pill.
*Others: Menses,different sleep patterns, menopause.

However these triggering factors may not apply to all patients, eg some may be able to take cheese or chocolate without increase in the frequency of attack.

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Head and Neck Pain Are Not to be Taken Lightly

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010



With the hustle and bustle of the modern world, head and neck pain are a relatively common side effect of our personal health care and a hard day’s work, but it is not something to be taken lightly, especially if it is persistent or does not go away when rested.

I found out the hard way that such pain can be symptomatic of more severe conditions than stress, and I learned some great coping mechanisms along the way.

It started out for me when I first started working as a writer. I would typically spend numerous hours in front of the computer screen every day, and my head would just be pounding at the end of the day. I would typically take a few Tylenol and then be on my way, and at first that really worked.

I became worried when my back head and neck pain started to get worse and become more frequent, so I would try to stand up and stretch and get away from the computer for a while, and it did help. As soon as I would go back to the computer, however, it would all come right back and, on some occasions, be even worse than before.

I finally decided to go and see the doctor for a back pain treatment and let him know what I was experiencing, and I am really glad that I did. As it turned out, I had moderately high blood pressure of which I was completely unaware. He said I probably did not realize that I had it because I had not worked in a very stressful job before that, and because I was not getting nearly as much exercise as I once had, now that I was at the computer several hours a day.

I was happy to find that out, and got on some medication to deal with the issue, but I still did not know what caused the neck pain. I talked to my doctor about it, and he said that it could be a number of factors, from the way I was sitting, to the position of my computer screen, and said the most important thing was to find a way of sitting where I felt the most comfortable.

I worked on it, and eventually found a way of positioning myself at my work station where I felt more comfortable, and within a few weeks, head and neck pain were simply no longer an issue.

Fortunately, it seems that computers, keyboards, office chairs and office equipment in general are more ergonomic these days so that head and neck pain don’t have to be an issue for most people. I would suggest however, that someone experiencing these problems should get them checked out as soon as possible. It could simply be a matter of stress, but it could also be something more severe.

Technorati Tags : Back Pain, Neck Pain, Head Pain

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What is Parkinson Disease

Monday, May 17th, 2010



Parkinson Disease is one of the commonest neurological diseases affecting the elderly. Definition: It is due to damage to the brain cells resulting in the reduction of specific brain chemical (dopamine). Epidemiology: The prevalence of the disease increases with age.

4 key signs and symptoms for Parkinson disease

*Tremor (trembling of hands, arms, legs, jaw and/or face)
*Rigidity (stiffness of the limbs and/or trunk)
*Bradykinesia (slowness of body movement)
*Postural instability (impairment of balance and coordination leading to falls)

Early symptoms may be subtle. As the disease progresses, the symptoms begin to affect the activities of daily living. Currently there is no specific lab test for the diagnosis of the disease.

Complications
Physical:
Falls, giddiness / unsteadiness due to sudden change of posture, pressure sores, constipation, involuntary voiding of urine and faeces (incontinence), difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia), difficulty in speech (dysarthria)

Psychiatric:
Mood disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety), impairment of mental health function (e.g. memory, thought process, reasoning, judgment, perception)

Social:
Loss of independence, isolation, carer’s stress

Treatment
Non Pharmacological

The management is multidisciplinary: Doctors, Nurses, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, psychologist/psychiatrist, pharmacist and medical social worker. It also involve patient and family education, support group services and practicing a healthy lifestyle (exercise and nutrition)

Pharmacological

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Medicines (and surgery in selected cases) can provide relief from symptoms.

Prevention
The exact cause of the disease is unknown.

Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation involving a multidisciplinary team is essential in the management of the disease.

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What is Typhoid Fever?

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010



Typhoid fever is a bacterial disease, caused by Salmonella typhi ( S.typhi ). It is transmitted through the ingestion of food or drink contaminated by faeces or urine of infected people.

A person with typhoid fever has this bacterium in their blood stream and intestinal tract. They can infect the other people by contaminating food and water.

What are common food Implicated?

*Undercooked shellfish (etak, cockles, kupang, clams, oyster)
*Raw vegetables (lettuces, ulam)
*Contaminated Cendol
*Raw milk

What are the signs and symptoms?

Syptoms usually develop after 1-2 weeks but can also occur from 3 days to 3 months after exposure.

Symptoms include:

*Sustained and prolonged fever up to 40°C
*Diarrhea
*Constipation
*Stomach ache
*Headache
*Malaise (Weekness/ Lethargic)
*Loss of apetite
*Dry cough
*Slow heart rate (bradycardia)
*Rose coloured spots on the upper body
*Enlarged spleen and livers

How does it spread?
*Consume food and drink which has been contaminated by S.typhi bacteria
*Consume food and drink which has been prepared by persons carrying the bacteria (typhoid carrier)

Complications
*Often fatal if not treated early and adequately
*Persons with no symptoms / recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria is called a “carrier”.

Treatments
*A person with typhoid fever should seek medical help.
*Antibiotic such as chloramphenicol, ampicilin and ciprofloxacin are commonly prescribed.

Prevention
*Wash hands properly with soap and water after visiting toilet and before preparing food.
*Only eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked
*Avoid risky foods and drinks (raw vegetables and fruits, street foods, ice during outbreak)
*Drink only boiled or bottled water.
*Avoid ice unless the ice is made from boiled or bottled water
*Get vaccinated against typhoid fever
*Maintain cleanliness and proper sanitation especially after flood or natural disaster.
*Use only clean water for food preparation

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Learn To Recognize When An Anxiety Attacks Is Approaching

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010



The first time that I had an anxiety attack, I truly thought that I was either having a heart attack. My heart was beating faster than I’d ever thought possible and I couldn’t catch my breath. I had no idea what was going on and tears were streaming down my face. Had it not been for a friend who was able to calm me down, I probably would have called 911. My dear friend, who was more than familiar with anxiety attacks, recognized my symptoms immediately and was able to alleviate my condition within a few minutes. The very next day, I was making a doctor’s appointment. My doctor was wonderful and spent quite a bit of time explaining anxiety attacks, what causes them and what can be done if and when they do hit again.

Luckily, anxiety attacks don’t hit me too often. It is only in high times of dealing with stress or when I’m emotionally distraught that I feel them creeping up on me. When I can feel them approaching, I am usually able to avoid having, what I consider, a full-blown attack. For those of you who have experienced anxiety attacks, you know the feelings. This amazing feeling of dread and panic just takes control of your body. Your thoughts feel jumbled and maybe you can’t even focus on anything. For some, your entire body feels engulfed in sweat. For others, you are suddenly shivering and can’t stop trembling. Maybe you feel like you’re going to pass out or even throw up at any moment. Your chest feels tight and you may even feel like you are just completely out of control.

Once the anxiety attacks threaten to take over your body in certain circumstances, you may or may not be able to control it. Your doctor, or even your own research, can help you to learn to recognize when an attack is approaching and how to calm yourself down and get things under control. It may be something as simple as just removing yourself from the situation. Maybe leaving the room is something you need to do. Perhaps you just need to take a series of deep breaths and focus on something else for a few moments. Once the anxiety attacks hit, it is harder to stop than it is before they hit.

Your doctor may be able to diagnose you with a variety of disorders and be able to treat you based upon his or her diagnosis. There are anxiety medications that you can take that could make a world of difference for you. Certain medications may do more than just prevent or treat anxiety attacks or disorders; they may also help with depression or simply the way that you live your life.

Why live your life in fear of being in certain predicaments or scared that you will find yourself having another anxiety attack? If something can be done to treat these thoughts, why not go for it? Don’t continue to ignore the way that you feel. Reach out for some help from a trusted doctor. If you feel the need, do some of your own research first just to see how common anxiety attacks truly are. Having these terrifying attacks are not uncommon. They should not be embarrassing or even hinder your lifestyle. Face these attacks head on, challenge them, and overcome them. You’ll be incredibly grateful that you did.

Technorati Tags : Panic Attack, Anxiety Attacks

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