Healthy » Womens Health

Syphilis

JBric — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:02:35 +0000

Of all the many sexual transmitted infections in the world, syphilis is one that actually can be treated, and has a cure.

Unlike HIV, genital herpes or warts, syphilis can come and go. While it can prove to be fatal in the long term if it is not treated, it can generally be overcome with simple and effective treatment.

So, for those of you who have no idea what the infection is, syphilis is caused from the bacterium Treponema pallidum and has often been called “the great imitator” due to the fact so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases.

The infection can be transferred from person to person via direct contact with a syphilis sore.

These sores are usually found in the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum but can also occur on the lips and in the mouth.

Transmission of the organism occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex, and woman can pass the virus onto their newborns during pregnancy.

The symptoms of the infection come in three stages, the primary, the secondary and the latent stages.

Initially the symptoms will begin with a single sore, referred to as the chancre, which is usually firm, round, small and painless. It lasts for about three to six weeks and heals without treatment.

The second stage then starts with a rash on one or more areas of the body, which then leads to fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue in those with the infection.

The symptoms in this stage will also disappear without treatment.

The latent stage, however, can last for years, and is where the disease begins to attack internal parts of your body, such as your brain, nerves, eyes and heart.

The damage may be serious enough to cause death.

But, the good news is, a single intramuscular injection of penicillin, an antibiotic, will cure a person who has had syphilis for less than a year. Additional doses are needed to treat someone who has had syphilis for longer than a year

Asthma

JBric — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:11:42 +0000

Asthma is the disease affecting our airways and breathing ability.

When air is taken to and from our lungs and when that air is affected, it means we have the disease known as asthma.

Physically, the inside walls of an asthmatic are usually swollen of inflamed. This then makes the airwaves extremely sensitive to irritations and increases the chance you will get an allergic reaction.

As a result of the inflammation causing the airways to tighten and become smaller, less air can pass through them and it will then show many symptoms.

These symptoms include wheezing when trying to breathe, chest tightness, breathing difficulties and constant coughing.

These symptoms are usually more common in the morning or night that they are in the middle of the day.

The disease itself is incurable and as a result, an asthmatic is one for life. However, it can be very treatable and the symptoms virtually eliminated through proper and efficient treatment.

Most people with asthma will refer to an episode of tight breathing as an asthma attack.

These attacks can be mild, moderate or severe and occur when the muscles in your airways tighten up, narrowing the air intake.

In some attacks, the airways are blocked so much that oxygen fails to enter the lungs and also prevents oxygen from entering the blood stream and traveling to the body’s vital organs.

In some cases, theses asthma attacks can be fatal, or bad enough to require immediate hospitalization.

In some cases, the situation can be such that your body does allow enough air to get into your lungs, but it does not let the carbon dioxide leave the lungs at a fast enough rate.

If left for long enough, carbon dioxide can build up in the lungs and lower the amount of oxygen getting to your bloodstream.

Do you have the SADs?

bdiamond — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:17:50 +0000

THE winter blues can bring on a whole heap of depression and now if you are suffering from this during the change from autumn to winter – you have a condition called the SADs.

This Seasonal affective disorder which is a type of depression that is tied to seasons of the year. It may be the slightest mood change or it may be a severe change of heart which turns into depression.

Only a small number – who are affected by this – see this happen to them during summer.

SADs is most common in young adult women, although it can affect men or women of any age. in the South.

Like all types of depression, SAD can have a devastating effect on a person’s life. Fortunately, almost all people with SAD can be helped with available therapies such as spending at least 30 minutes outside every day; take daily walks; increase the lighting in your house or doing regular exercise.

This can have an even more harsher affect on pregnant women or those fathers that are expecting their first child.

There is a feeling of uncertainty – on top of the change of weather.

When the sun shines during winter, you will most likely notice that you will be more upbeat and have more energy if you are suffering from the SADs. If not, you are most likely suffering a more severe type of depression.

The next day could go back to being a dull old cloudy day and may even be raining or with thunderstorms, and you will feel negative and down about yourself.

The key if indoors is to put extra lighting on to help brighten up the room and your space. Have positive conversations on the phone to your friends and family.

Perhaps even watch a DVD or some TV – preferably something that is going to make you happy.

Tearing Your Knees Cartilage

JBric — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:19:33 +0000

A famous person once said, “take care of your knees, you’ll need them a long time.”

I have no idea who that person is, but either way they are wise.

Knees are one of the most important parts of your body. They allow us to walk and run, and are therefore the most crucial joint when it comes to sport.

When you think about it, every day we are putting an enormous amount of weight and stress on our knees, and they cop a fair beating in a lifetime.

One of the most common injuries to the knee is cartilage damage, often referred to as a meniscus tear.

The meniscus is the cushion that provides your knee with support when both leg bones put pressure on each other.

There are two in each knee, one on the inside, and one on the outside.

The meniscus is crucial to the health of your knee as there is constantly uneven weight and pressure being applied to it.

Every now and then when a human twists vigorously, lands awkwardly or even just changing direction while running.

The most common way of causing a tear is when twisting the knee when it is bent.

The main symptoms of a tear include swelling and pain in the affected area.

In a more sever case there may be knee locking or the inability to totally straighten your leg. This is usually a case of torn cartilage impinging the joint mechanism.

There are many ways to be diagnosed with a meniscus tear, including physical examination of the area, but the most effective way is through an MRI scan, or X-Ray.

These can both visually show us the tear and allow us to see how severe it is and where exactly it is located.

When it comes to treatment, there are a few different ways to deal with the problem.

For sever cases, arthroscopic surgery will be required to remove the floating cartilage or just to clean it up inside the knee.

However, in many cases, time will allow the knee to recover, swelling to subside and for the pain to go away.

Once this has happened the knee can actually go back to the way it was before and patients may never have knee problems again for the rest of their life.

Stress not good for the tummy

Health Guru — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:19:35 +0000

In our modern society stress is commonplace. Whether it’s work, relationship, friends or more than likely at the moment money worries stress levels are unfortunately incredibly high. Now Australians are being warned not to ignore the link between high stress and signs of tummy troubles, such as poor digestion or discomfort.

New research commissioned by VITA BRITS has revealed that the vast majority of Australians (86%) feel nervous butterflies in their stomach, particularly during times of high stress – such as being faced with looming deadlines (50%) or when managing financial situations (39%). Professor Terry Bolin of the Gut Foundation says, “the ‘tummy butterflies’ feeling is a tell-tale sign that our digestive health has gone belly up and this shouldn’t be ignored. The link between high stress and gut trouble is well documented and a common cause of complaint for Australians, who are renowned hard workers.”

Alarmingly, close to a third (31%) of respondents of the survey do nothing to treat the problem but rather cope with stomach-stress symptoms in a detrimental way – snacking on junk food (42%), overeating (37%), or skipping breakfast or lunch (36%).

Professor Bolin goes on to say, “In an ideal world we could avoid stress and skip the butterflies altogether. But realistically it is important for people to pay closer attention to nutrition when they notice tummy troubles starting.”

Leading nutritionist, Karen Inge APD, says nutrition plays a pivotal role in combating poor digestion caused by stress, not to mention overall digestive balance; “Stress may be difficult to manage, but bad eating habits are not. Taming your tummy is possible by eating a healthy diet and consuming foods that not only help keep you regular but work hard for your entire digestive system. Breakfast is the best place to start, as it kick-starts the digestion process and provides energy to help us through the day. A breakfast like VITA BRITS, which is high in wholegrain, can help maintain digestive balance. The wholegrains in VITA BRITS have a natural prebiotic effect aiding good digestive balance, and they are high in fibre, which helps you stay regular”.

Dealing with headaches

Health Guru — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:09 +0000

We can all expect to experience headaches at some stage, because they are among the most common ailments to afflict humans. There are many different causes of headaches, which explains why they are so common. Some estimates suggest about 15 per cent of the population will be taking painkillers for a headache at any one time.

Some people also suffer from recurring headaches, and these are usually the result of a number of different factors working together.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the leading factors to cause headaches.

Muscle tension and stress

When we are stressed, our bodies do not function as they normally would. One of the main responses to stress is tightening of the muscles. In particular, the muscles around the neck, upper back and shoulders tighten. This can refer pain into the nerves in the head, causing headaches.

Also, when we are stressed our bodies have lower levels of endorphins, which are natural painkilling chemicals.

Diet

There have been studies to suggest the things we eat can play a big role in headaches. For example, fluctuations in blood sugar levels can bring about spasms of the arteries in the head. Caffeine withdrawal can also bring on headaches, as can some food additives like MSG.

Hormones

Women suffer migraines more than men do, and some researches argue that hormones are influential here. About half the women who suffer regular migraines get them at the time of their menstrual period, and it is thought that reduced levels of oestrogen may be the cause.

Nose, ear and throat problems

Headaches can be brought on by a number of common nose, ear and throat problems. If you have a blocked or damaged sinus, if you have inflammation of the inner ear, if you suffer physical trauma to one of those regions or if you get tonsillitis, you are a good chance to get a headache.

Aside from these common causes of headache, there are other more specific causes too. If you are getting recurring headaches you should try to address the problems listed here, and if they persist then see a doctor.

Effects of smoking

Health Guru — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:33:28 +0000

These days, we all know that smoking is extremely bad for you. But what exactly can you expect to happen to your body if you smoke?

With every puff of a cigarette, you inhale about 4000 chemicals. These are mostly chemically active compounds that will bring about serious and damaging changes to your body.

In fact, smoking damages virtually every organ in the human body, reducing general health and causing many diseases.

Let’s take a quick look at how smoking will affect the various systems of the body.

Respiratory System:

Irritation of the voice box (larynx) and the windpipe (trachea).

Reduced lung capacity, breathlessness from swelling and tightening of the lung airways, excess mucus in lung passages.

Greater risk of lung infection, coughing and wheezing.

Damage to the lungs’ clearance system, build-up of poisonous substances.

Circulatory System:

Stickier blood, which in turn makes you more prone to blood clotting.

Raised blood pressure and heart rate.

Your blood can carry less oxygen.

The lining of your arteries becomes damaged, possibly leading to atherosclerosis.

Greater risk of stroke and heart attack because of blood supply blockages.

Constricted blood vessels in your skin, leading to a drop in skin temerature.

Immune System:

You are more prone to infections like influenza and pneumonia.

You take longer to recover from illness.

Your immune system will not function as well as it should.

Other Effects:

Heightened risk of ulcers in the digestive tract.

Lessened ability to taste and smell.

Earlier than normal wrinkling of the skin.

Greater risk of becoming blind.

Inflammation and irritation of the intestines and stomach.

In addition to these serious health issues, there are male and female specific consequences for smokers. For example, lower fertility (sperm count for males) is likely for both sexes.

Smoking is a seriously detrimental habit that will undoubtedly cost you your health and, in the long run, probably your life.

Maintaining healthy skin

Health Guru — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:55:33 +0000

It may sound strange, but your skin is actually the largest organ you possess.

Skin does not remain consistent across your body; it is dynamic and different areas have different levels of toughness, elasticity, thickness and texture depending on its function.

Why do our bodies need skin?

Skin serves a number of different functions.

Firstly, it is a waterproof wrapping that covers all our important internal components.

Secondly, it is a cooling system. When we sweat through our skin, that is actually the process of our bodies discarding excess heat.

Thirdly, skin is an important mechanism in defending against bacteria and other harmful organisms.

Finally, skin serves as a sensory organ that gives us information about pleasure, pain, pressure and temperature.

So as you can see, the skin is an incredibly versatile and integral part of our bodies.

How is skin made up?

The skin you can see is known as the epidermis. This is tougher skin that is used to contact, sunlight, temperature changes and the elements. It is made up of a number of sheets of skin cells, and the bottom sheet is where new epidermal cells are produced.

Over time the outermost skin cells die, and newer cells replace them from beneath.

Beneath the epidermis is the dermis, which is comprised of elastic fibres (known as elastin) and protein fibres (collagen). These fibres offer suppleness and strength. The dermis is actually where glands (including sweat glands), blood vessels, hair follicles and nerves are located.

How do I protect my skin?

You can create vibrant, healthy skin by controlling your diet and other environmental factors.

Avoid smoking. Nicotine in cigarettes cause skin discolouration and can sometimes also lead to acne.

Keep stress free. When we stress we release toxins through our skin and these can make the skin oily, dry or otherwise unpleasant.

Keep oily products off your skin. Oil will clog your skin pores and can cause acne. If you need to use moisturiser or other beauty products, try to find water-based equivalents.

Make sure your diet is rich in vitamins A and E. Your skin will naturally lose its firmness as you age, but these vitamins can help ward off this deterioration.

Eat a balanced diet that is full of fresh fruit and vegetables. Cut out fatty and oily foods.

Cancer and heredity

Health Guru — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:49:50 +0000

Background

Research suggests that some cancers are more likely to occur in some people based on heredity. This is because genes have been shown to play a role in the development of some cancers.

Current knowledge suggests that the strongest hereditary links are with bowel, breast and stomach cancers.

About five to ten per cent of cancers are thought to be hereditary.

However, it is known that the strongest causes of most cancers are environmental factors like tobacco, diet, alcohol, infection, radiation, drugs and chemicals.

Breast cancer and genetics

With almost 2900 cases of breast cancer in Australia each year, it is the most common cancer in Australian women. There are a number of factors that determine a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, at the forefront of which is age. Ovarian cancer is another substantial risk factor in breast cancer.

About 1 in 20 cases of breast cancer are attributable to hereditary factors.

Bowel cancer and genetics

With almost 3500 cases diagnosed in Australia each year, bowel cancer is the second most common cancer, following prostate cancer. As with breast cancer, the single biggest risk factor is age.

Cancer and family history

If a family has a strong history of cancer, this normally means the same type of cancer has occurred in family members over several generations, or one member was diagnosed at an unusually young age.

Those who are part of these families can be referred to a specialist genetics service, where pathology reports of relatives who have carried cancer are checked and an estimate of the risk of cancer to the person may be provided.

If a person is deemed to be at a higher than average risk of developing cancer, a specialist can arrange screening in order to pick up the signs of cancer as soon as possible.

Cancers believed to have a genetic link

Breast cancer
Bowel cancer
Prostate cancer
Stomach cancer

Stroke

Health Guru — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:18:51 +0000

Background:

Stroke is the second biggest killer in Australia, after coronary heart disease. A stroke occurs somewhere in Australia every 10 minutes; 60,000 strokes will occur each year.

It is a mistake to refer to stroke as an accident, because almost always the underlying condition that causes stroke – cerebrovascular disease – is present for several years.

A stroke occurs when supply of blood to the brain is suddenly disrupted. Blood, which is normally carried to the brain by arteries, may not be able to get through because of blood clot, plaque buildup or a burst or broken artery.

Brain cells in the immediate area of the stroke are killed, and this can lead to severe disability for the sufferer. Inability to talk properly or use certain muscles is a common result.

Treatment:

Stroke is always a medical emergency and the sufferer needs to be taken to hospital with a Stroke Unit straight away.

The National Stroke Foundation recommends the FAST test to identify stroke.

F – facial weakness – can the person smile, or have their eyes and mouth drooped?
A – arm weakness – can the person raise both their arms?
S – speech difficulty – can the person speak clearly and understand what you are saying?
T – time to act – call 000 immediately

When the patient arrives in hospital, he or she will be treated with Tissue Plasminogen Activator, a drug that breaks down blood clots.

This is normally administered after a CT scan has confirmed the type of stroke.

Another treatment option is aspirin, but that is only recommended for ischaemic strokes (those caused by blood clots).

Prevention:

Lifestyle factors are very big when it comes to your chances of having a stroke.

By not smoking, not drinking alcohol (or not drinking very much), eating healthy foods and remaining physically active, you will greatly lower your risk of having a stroke.

Diabetes can also factor in, so make sure you talk to your doctor about it if you are a diabetic.

If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you need to deal with these immediately to reduce your chances of stroke.