Medical Advice Free |
|
Arthritis Medical Advice And Types Of Arthritis
In order to have an understanding of the two major types of arthritis, it is essential to know a little about the function and appearance of a joint. A joint is designed to allow smooth movement of two bones, one against the other.
What Causes Asthma And Asthma Treatment
Asthma is a condition that affects your airways - the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. People with asthma have airways that are almost always red and sensitive, inflamed.
Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids can cause infertility by presenting as a space occupying lesion; by contiguous enlargement and subsequent blockade of the tubes, by formation of adhesions, by exhibiting heavy menstrual flow causing symptomatic anemia and causing irregularities of menstruation and hormonal imbalance, and by causing discomfort and pain during intercourse.
What Causes Diabetes And Types Of Diabetes
A healthy diet, regular exercise, and culturally sensitive care may be helpful in preventing and controlling diabetes, say researchers. The findings are based on recent reviews that suggest that a healthy diet and exercise can help prevent diabetes, and that patients from ethnic minorities do better with diabetes education that takes their language and culture into account.
Heart Attack Causes, Symptoms And Signs
The blood supply to the heart is usually stopped by a blood clot in the coronary arteries, causing the heart attack. The arteries are narrowed in places due to 'plaques' - a build-up of the fatty substance cholesterol over many years.
What Is Tonsilitis
Tonsillitis is an infection of the tonsils, caused by either bacteria or viruses. Tonsils are groups of tissue, similar to the lymph nodes or 'glands' that circle the throat. This circle of tissue is part of a ring of glandular tissue around the throat called Waldeyer's ring, and the tonsils are found on either side of the back of the throat.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition which affects the body’s ability to take glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream and use it inside cells. Glucose is essential to the body as an energy source. It is a component of carbohydrate foods (sugars and starches). Glucose is helped into the body’s cells by the hormone insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. In diabetes, the level of glucose in the blood rises because the body isn’t producing enough insulin or the body’s cells don’t respond to it as well as they should.
There Are Two Types Of Diabetes.
| • | Type I, Insulin Dependent Diabetes (IDDM), |
accounts for about 15 per cent of people with diabetes and usually occurs in younger age groups. With this type, the body stops producing insulin so that diet and insulin injections are required for treatment.
| • | Type II, Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes (NIDDM), |
makes up 85 per cent of people with diabetes. Although people with this type still produce insulin, their body’s cells do not respond to it as well and they cannot keep their blood sugar in the normal range (between 4 and 8 mmol/L). This type occurs later in life and requires diet and possibly tablets or insulin for treatment.
What Causes Diabetes?
Type I diabetes is caused by the body producing antibodies that attack and destroy the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It is usually ‘triggered’ in susceptible people by a viral infection. There are several problems in the body that lead to Type II diabetes but the exact cause remains unknown. It is brought out in susceptible people particularly by being overweight and physically inactive. Diabetes can also develop in people who have other diseases of the pancreas, it can develop following treatment with some medications (such as high doses of cortisone that may be required to treat asthma or arthritis), and it occasionally develops in association with other rarer inherited conditions. The tendency to develop diabetes can be inherited. Stress and shock do not cause the pancreas to stop working (and hence do not cause diabetes), but stress usually causes the blood sugar level to rise in people with diabetes. This sometimes brings previously undiagnosed diabetes to light.
What Are The Risk Factors?
Having a close relative with Type I diabetes raises the risk of diabetes. In Type II diabetes, the risks include:
| • | a family history of diabetes |
| • | being over 50 |
| • | being overweight |
| • | having had diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes) |
| • | a history of large babies (over 4kg – about 9lb – at birth) |
What Are The Symptoms?
Tiredness, thirst, passing water frequently, blurred vision, increased skin or bladder infections and occasionally leg cramps are common symptoms. Any combination of these can occur. Sometimes few or no symptoms occur. However, it is important for people with any of these risk factors to be tested for diabetes.
What Treatment Is Available?
If you have diabetes and it is not treated properly, a number of problems can result. High blood sugar levels increase your risk of infections and poor healing of cuts and wounds. In the long term, there can be other complications including problems with large blood vessels (causing increased risk of heart attack, stroke and foot problems), small blood vessels (in your eyes or kidneys) or with the nerves in your feet (causing numbness or sometimes burning pain). It is important to avoid complications from diabetes by following appropriate treatment that keeps blood sugar levels as close as possible to the normal range.All people with diabetes need to have a healthy lifestyle with regular meals and some exercise. If you have Type I diabetes you will require daily insulin injections which can be given by needle and syringe, or by an insulin pen device. If you have Type II diabetes you may be able to manage the condition with diet alone, particularly if you lose weight and exercise regularly. Some people with Type II require tablets or perhaps insulin injections in addition to dietary measures.
What Is A ‘Hypo’?
If you take insulin or some types of tablets to control diabetes, you may occasionally suffer a ‘hypo’. A hypo, or hypoglycaemic reaction (also called an insulin reaction), occurs when the blood sugar falls below danger level (below 4 mmol/L). It is usually accompanied by any combination of the following symptoms: sweating, blurred vision, hunger, light headedness, and/or you may have a change in mood, becoming either quieter, perhaps appearing drunk or even becoming aggressive. If untreated, you may lose consciousness. A hypo can occur if you delay or miss a meal, exercise more than usual, or take excess tablets or insulin by mistake. If this happens you should eat something sweet immediately, for example glucose tablets, two barley sugars, seven jelly beans, ordinary lemonade or cola (not diet or low calorie drinks) to build your sugar level up. You should then have some starchy food, for example biscuits or a piece of fruit to keep your sugar level up. This treatment is taken in addition to your normal diet. You will need to discuss with your GP whether you need to alter your medication. This will depend on the cause of the hypo.
Lifestyle Tips
|
By Dr Peter Stott
Tags: Advice, Arthritis, Asthma, Balonwu, Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Diseases, Doctor, Dr, ENT, Exercise, Free, Free Medical Advice, Health, Medical, medical advice, Pregnancy, Stress, Stroke, Treatment, Viv, Vivienne
