Trachoma – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

28. August 2010

Also mentioned in Corpus Hippocraticum by the father of methodical medicine, Hippocrates (5th century BC), Trachoma is a bacterial infection affecting the eye and possessing the potential to result in blindness.

Trachoma is said to have originated particularly in Egypt and Middle East and therefore it is also known as Egyptian Ophthalmia along with other alternative names like Granular Conjunctivitis, War Ophthalmia and Military Ophthalmia. Sometimes it is also generally referred as just Conjunctivitis.

As old as the history itself, Trachoma is prone to every race and community with even disastrous epidemic forms reported. Though, the number of cases has considerably reduced in most of the developed countries, it is not so in major part of developing nations as it is related to poverty and overcrowded conditions.

According to recent reports, trachoma has left nearly 8 million people blind whereas approximately 84 million need treatment. Compared to men, it is more common in children and women (especially in their 40s).

Causes of Trachoma

Trachoma is triggered due to the bacteria known as Chlamydia Trachomatis resulting in irritating eyes and discharge of mucous from the eyes at repeated times. Though it clears up in about a month’s time, it can spread rapidly due to poor hygiene. Other factors that spread the infection from person to person include direct eye contact, nose & throat secretions and using common objects like towel and washcloths.

At times, even insects (like flies) carry the discharge from infected person to a healthy human.

Trachoma Symptoms

Symptoms of trachoma are usually noticed in 5-12 days after exposure to the bacteria starting with the eyelid lining tissue turning red/pink and swollen. Its symptoms are quite similar to ‘pink eye’. If untreated, it can even lead to developments of scars.

Itching and drainage of pus or mucus from the eye are among the first signs of trachoma. After a few days of disease progression, the patient turns sensitive to light or develops photophobia. Individuals also experience blurry vision and pain in the eye.

Some other trachoma symptoms include cloudy cornea, corneal scarring, swollen eyelids and turned-in eyelashes (a condition of trichiasis). Further complications related to ear, throat and nose are also observed.

The symptoms of trachoma in children include white lumps under the upper eye lid’s surface and appearance of follicles at the junction of sclera and cornea. The scars developed on the eyelid result in deformation of the lid such that the lashes rub against the eye. This rubbing gives way to more scars and corneal opacities which can lead to blindness.

The symptoms in children are usually not painful until the adulthood is reached as the disease progresses at a sluggishly.

 

Trachoma Treatment

An eye examination and laboratory tests are considered necessary to recognize the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria and thus diagnose the condition trachoma.

Once diagnosed, the various treatment options for trachoma depend on the stage and severity of the condition. For the initial stages, medications are used whereas a surgery becomes mandatory in the advanced stages.

There are no vaccines available for trachoma. However, an early detection treated with antibiotics like erythromycin and doxycycline as these have proved to be effective in the initial stages. These antibiotics work when experiencing symptoms like inflamed cornea and eyelids, light sensitivity and tearing. However, these antibiotics are not effective once the scars develop.

Some other medications for treating trachoma include tetracycline eye ointment and azithromycin (oral). Though, oral azithromycin is more effective, the price too is very high and therefore remains unaffordable to most not-so-rich communities.

When trachoma reaches the later stages an eyelid rotation surgery is required. Also known as bilamellar tarsal rotation surgery, it involves the rotation of eyelashes away from cornea by a small incision made in the scarred lid. This improves the eyesight by limiting the advancement of corneal scars. This simple surgery, lasting for hardly 15 minutes, has high enduring success rates.

If the cornea turns cloudy to the level that can result in blindness then corneal transplantation is needed. Corneal transplantation or Cornea grafting involves the replacement of infected corneas with healthy donor corneas. However, the success rate of corneal transplantation is reportedly low as the corneas can be rejected by the body.

The best way to avoid first time trachoma infection and re-infection is to maintain good sanitary conditions. Hygienic habits like regularly washing the face, reducing fly population, effective sanitation ways and cleaner water not only reduces the risk transmission of trachoma but also keeps it at bay forever.

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Staph Infection Symptoms

22. August 2010

Staphylococcal can cause various types of infection like changes in skin, infection in internal organs and blood poisoning or sepsis. These are all included in symptoms of staph infection. It is important for few diseases cause by these bacteria, to focus on the signs of staph infection and get it cured before it threatens the life. At the same time some type of infection would be cured naturally.

What is Staph?

Staph (pronounced as ‘Staff’)  is a gram-positive spherical parasitic bacterium. Some of them cause infections or septicemia by forming the irregular colonies.

What Is Staphylococcal (Staph) Infection?

Caused by Staphylococcal bacteria and their toxin production, Staph infection is an irritation of the skin or internal organs. The bacteria generally enter the body with an open cut and it can be life-threatening as well.

Symptoms of Staph Skin Infection

One may get Staph skin infection through the cut or scratch or by skin-to-skin contact with the infected person. It is wise to keep wound clean and dry, to avoid the infections transmission. Symptoms and signs of staph infection in skin can be as listed below:

•Red rashes or blisters with pus
•Skin bumps and eyelid swelling
•Impetigo – the small red blister which gets crust and erode.
•Paronychia – Infected tissue adjacent to nails.
•Cellulitis –Inflammation of body tissues with fever and swelling.
•Staphylococcal scalding skin syndrome -Scaling of skin
•Infected acne
•Staphylococcal lymphangitis -lymphatic vessels infection

Various Types of Staph and their Symptoms:

Staph Mastitis symptoms
Staph mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissues which occur mainly to breastfeeding mothers. The possible time period of its occurrence is within 6 weeks of child’s birth. Symptoms of staph mastitis are:

•Red painful lump in the breast with swelling.
•Itchiness of breast skin and nipple
•Nipple discharge
•Fever
•Lymph nodes close to armpit.

Staph Food Poisoning Symptoms
Staph food poisoning can occur by eating infected food with toxins produced by the bacteria of Staphylococcal. Symptoms of staph food poisoning are:

•Nausea or vomiting within 8 hours of food intake.
•Diarrhea and fever can follow nausea and vomiting sometimes.
•Generally the sickness remains for 1 to 3 days and get cured naturally.


Bacterial Parotitis symptoms
It is an inflammation in the area of parotid gland caused by staph bacteria. Symptoms of Bacterial Parotitis are:

•Pain and swelling beneath the ear.
•Trismus- trouble in opening the mouth
•Dysphagia- trouble in swallowing
•Discharge in the mouth
•Fever with chills

Bacterial Sinusitis Symptoms
The inflammation of in the inner surface of sinuses is called Bacterial Sinusitis.  It is generally caused by the staph bacteria. Symptoms of Bacterial Sinusitis are:

•Aching teeth, head and face
•Cough and nasal blockage
•Greenish to yellowish nasal discharge
•Fever and swelling in face
•Kids may feel confusion and unable to concentrate on studies
While bacterial sinusitis will trouble the patient for more than 10 days; viral sinusitis can get cured naturally in few days.

Staph Vaginitis Symptoms
Symptoms of Staph Vaginitis are:

•Discharge of pus and sometimes with presence of blood
•Odor
•Pain while urinating and at the time of sexual intercourse
•Itchiness

Bacterial Epiglottitis Symptoms
An epiglottis is a tissue flap that covers the larynx and windpipe while swallowing the food. The rare disease of bacterial Epiglottitis is the infection of the epiglottis which can block the air flow to the windpipe.  It is generally seen in children. The symptoms of Bacterial Epiglottitis are:

•Extreme pain in throat especially while swallowing food.
•Painful swallowing
•Excessive flow of saliva
•Difficulty in breathing
•Fever

 

Symptoms of Bacterial Urinary Infection in Men

Staphylococci bacteria can cause infection in men Urinary system. The main symptoms are buringin and pain during urination with the increased frequency and inability to control the urine for longer time.

Symptoms of Bacterial Prostatits:
•Fever, paining groin, muscles, testicles or lower abdomen along with cloudy urine and sometimes blood in semen.
Kidney and Bladder Infections:

Symptoms of this disease are pain in kidney and bladder with cloudy urine and fever.

Staph Bone Infection (Osteomyelitis) Symptoms

It is an inflammation of bone caused by staph bacteria and there are no clear symptoms of it except affected mobility of limb, pain and sometimes lymph nodes. The infection is likely to get spread to the contiguous joint. If the infection has spread with blood then the swelling and redness is visible.

Life Threatening Staph Infections Symptoms

Staph Pneumonia Symptoms
Staphylococcal bacteria can cause pneumonia especially to the patients who are suffering from lung diseases, venous drug addict or a person with internal prosthetic tool. The symptoms like high fever, chills, increased heartbeats, cough and breathing problem are same as the regular Pneumonia

Bacterial (Staph) Endocarditis Symptoms
Symptoms of Bacterial Endocarditis are:

•Fever
•Weakness with paleness
•Exhaustion, joint pains
•Red nodes on the fingers, Petechiae, red skin spots

Staph Meningitis Symptoms
The bacterium attacks patients with the brain surgery or skin infections.

Symptoms of Staph Meningitis are mild fever, tiredness, headache, lethargy, loss of orientation.

Staph Sepsis
Staph sepsis generally occurs when the staph bacteria enters the blood and can be fatal.

Symptoms of staph sepsis are:

•Sudden fever or hypothermia
•The patient can feel extremely weak and suffer from diarrhea or vomiting and nausea.
•Increased heartbeat and hyperventilation
•Symptoms of other already affected organs become intense.
The other symptoms of sepsis can also be blood clothing, low breathing, and limited urination.

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections
Caused by Staphylococci bacteria, Necrotizing means premature death of cells and tissues. However, few other bacteria can also cause this disease.

Symptoms can be a red bump or red spot which gets transferred into painful black patch with the fluid pus. Interestingly, it can develop within an hour. The other general symptoms are similar to sepsis. It does get cured naturally and one needs to visit the doctor to avoid any fatal complications.

Toxic Shock Syndrome
It is a rare but fatal disease caused by staphylococcus bacteria.

Symptoms of toxic shock syndrome are:

•Fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting
•Skin rash and skin peel off
•Muscle pains

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Liver Pain – Location, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

17. July 2010

The liver is situated on the right side of the abdomen just below the ribs and the diaphragm which separates the chest and the abdomen. It’s not only the largest gland but also the detoxifier of the human body. The various functions of liver include break down of food (including fats and nutrients), conversion of glucose to glycogen, producing urea, purifying blood from harmful substances, producing amino acids, storing vitamins and minerals and maintaining the glucose level in blood.

The liver acts as a detoxifier by filtering the wastes of the human body. Apart from various other reasons, any underlying condition can result in the non-functioning or poor-functioning of the liver usually causing pain in the liver. Moreover, liver pains are observed and in fact play a major role in a variety of conditions like Wilson’s disease, Gilbert’s syndrome and Hepatitis A, B or C.

Pain in the liver can be a part of our life due to a couple of reasons like fatty liver pain, liver cancer pain, cirrhosis or other chronic or acute diseases of liver. The most common cause of cirrhosis disease is Alcoholic abuse. The basic means of the inflammation of liver is when liver cannot filter poisons, drugs, toxins and these types of other doses in order to recover the body by flushing them out. Additional cases of liver damage include autoimmune deficiency, hepatitis, and even overuse of acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Where is liver pain felt?
Oh, that’s so easy to answer!!  Isn’t it? The obvious answer would be ‘in the liver’. But there is more to it than just ‘in the liver’.

Liver pain location: Liver pain is usually confused with abdominal pain, kidney pain or back pain due to its location. It is felt in the upper-right quadrant underneath the rib cage. Usually felt as a dull ache, liver pains can be sharp and in some cases, experienced along with back pain.

Fatty Liver Pain
When there is an accumulation of a large amount of fat in the liver, it results in swelling. This condition of swollen liver is known as steatosis. In steatosis, only presence of large amount of fat is noticed without any inflammation. However, when fatty liver occurs along with inflammation, the liver cells are damaged and this condition is known as steatohepatitis.

Diabetes, obesity and over-consumption of alcohol are known to be the major factors for fatty liver pain.

Swollen liver pain is caused by the expansion of the liver. As the liver expands, its membrane is stretched and the organ gets heavier. This results in abdominal pain which intensifies slowly if left untreated.

Causes of Liver Pain
There causes for liver pain are as different as its symptoms.

Steatosis, also known as fatty liver causes liver pain. The presence of excessive fats causes the liver to swell and this result in liver pain.

Diabetes type-2, hypertension and metabolic syndrome are some other medical conditions that are responsible for the pain in liver.

Enlarged spleen presses the liver causing liver pain.

Liver pain is also observed after drinking alcohol and it is among the most common factors for it.

Patients in the last stage of liver cancer undergo intense liver pain along with other problems like weight reduction, tiredness and lack of energy.


Other possible causes of liver pain:
•Biliary obstruction
•Bearn-Kunkel syndrome – liver pain
•Cholangitis
•Congestive cardiac failure
•CMV
•EBV
•Dubin-Johnson Syndrome – liver tenderness
•Fatty liver of pregnancy
•Drugs
•Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
•Gallstones
•Hepatic vein thrombosis
•Hepatitis causes swelling of the organs and thus results in pain in the right rib (liver pain in right side).
•Hepatic abscess
•Hydatid cyst
•Hodgkin’s disease
•Hepatocellular carcinoma
•Liver abscess – tender liver
•Leukemia – tender liver
•Metastatic carcinoma
•Lymphoma
•Pylephlebitis – tender liver
•Mononucleosis – liver tenderness
•Schistosomiasis japonica – tender liver
•Schistosomiasis – liver tenderness
•Toxins
•Schistosomiasis mansoni – tender liver
•Weil syndrome – liver tenderness
•Tuberculosis
•VLCAD deficiency – Liver pain


Liver Pain Symptoms

Other than numerous other symptoms and signs, the initial symptom of liver pain is a sharp and dull pain in the upper right abdomen underneath the rib cage accompanied by a skin rash. Liver pain symptoms also include itching, pain while inhaling or coughing, difficulty in breathing, swollen testes, nausea, vomiting, brownish blemishes and spots over skin, dark circles under the eyes and yellow discoloration of the eyes like in jaundice. Abdominal swelling is also noticed even though there is a weight loss.

Liver Pain Treatment

Treating a liver pain is possible only by initiating with elimination of the possible causes of the disease. Taking the example, an alcohol or drug addict should quit alcohol and drugs completely before starting the medications. There are some possible treatments to get relieve from pain of liver:

•Sufficient hydration and electrolyte repletion
•Therapy must be preponderantly preventive, good sanitation, relying on clean drinking water, and appropriate personal hygiene
•It’s only advisable for those patients to be hospitalized who are unable to maintain oral intake
•Flagyl
•Antiviral agents
•Interferon alpha II b
•3TC
•Entecavir
•Adefovir
Remedies and Alternative Cures for Liver Pain
•A few safer, simpler and easiest techniques to cure your liver -
•Water is very important for the human body and it helps to remove the toxins too, so it’s advisable to take at the least 8 glasses of water per day.
•Diet also plays a very significant role; try to switch your diet with some fresh fruits and pure juices, and fresh vegetables. Asparagus, plums, legumes, broccoli, and brown rice are also very effective particularly.
•Take supplementations of whole-food. As we all may already know that cirrhosis contains Vitamin B1 and it’s proven by almost all physicians that Vitamin B1 can be helpful to decrease glucose of blood levels found in the human body. Insufficiency of Vitamin A is also declared as the strong reason for the peoples who are suffering from the liver diseases, and Vitamin K is another proven advantageous thing as well.
•Linseed oil is very essential fatty acids helpful and required for the proper function of liver.
•To flush away the toxins from the body as quick as possible, Herbal detoxification can be a good way to do so.
•The above listed steps are practiced and recommended by a lot of doctors.
Liver Pain Do’s and Dont’s
Apart from the treatments and medications, there are some other things to be observed and avoided when suffering form liver pain.

A lot of people with damaged liver function have excessive protein in their body, which can build up extra-ordinary amount of ammonia in the body.

Alcoholic abusing is always said to be the one of the worst thing for the human body, don’t drink alcohol.

Do not take any type of medicines or drugs without the prescriptions of physician. Anything containing acetaminophen is hazardous for the liver patient, try to avoid it; it can be dangerous for the peoples suffering from such diseases.

Mostly, you can care your liver health by diet, supplements of whole-food, and through avoiding those things which can cause dysfunction of liver. Some of the conditions are non-reversible like cirrhosis and have a hopeless prognosis. Health is wealth, Take care of your health and liver now.

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Aching Legs : Leg Aches Causes, Symptoms and Remedies

17. July 2010

Aching Legs and Feet
Nowadays, leg pain (or leg aches) is a very common cause for those who are suffering from an injury, now there are a lot of non-traumatic factors of lower leg aching. Chronic leg aches can cause due to several reasons that can harm bones, muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and skin. Normally, tissues with inflammation cause these diseases, aching legs and feet is usually caused by inflammation and it is called as the base of these types of muscle ache. Ailments of back can occur due to leg ache. People (especially elderly) also experience aching legs at night for a prolonged period of time.

Leg Pain (Aches) Causes
The causes of aching legs include :

a. Trauma

b. Non-Trauma

Trauma
Trauma is the strongest reason of aching legs. Fallings, near fallings, and injuries by twisting can affect bones, joints and muscles or almost all of them. Excessive use of injured places can also be a reason of pain and it can also turn into a multiple minor traumatic injury.

Fractures
Some of the synonyms of the word fracture are broken and cracked; these all means the same when it comes to bone injuries. These types of injuries are caused when the bone of the human body is compromised.

Shin splints
Shin splints can take place by an excessive use of the injured area to the shin bone or tibia. It can also be called as tibial stress syndrome. Jumping running, and dancing are the commonest causes of shin splints.

Sprain and strains
Injury of ligament can also be called as sprain and it causes when the fibers of ligament gets stretched. Stretching of muscles and tendons can also cause a strain. All of them, sprains and strains result in inflammation and swelling which occurs pain.

Bleeding
Severe injuries can start bleeding into joints and tissues. Because blood can’t be compressed, so when the pressure increases, the amount of pain also increases significantly.


Non-traumatic Leg Pain
Aching of legs with non-traumatic causes by several reasons, and there isn’t even a single formula for sorting out all of the proven cases. Health care practicians prepared different approaches that helps to find but through diagnosis. Some of the times it could help to sort out the possible causes based on the leg part that aches, whether the pain is in your single leg or both, whether it bounds up while you’re active or when you take rest. Some of the causes of non-traumic leg pain (aches) include :

Low back pain
Low back pain from sciatica (inflaming of nervous ischiadicus) can radiate into the cheeks and down the leg. The wideness of pain depends on the root of the nerve which is involved; that is why the pain mayhap felt in the shin, thigh, or foot.

Leg pain in children
This cause is the special one among all of the others, While normally the aching legs of children’s isn’t something serious to care about, These types of pains can be due to joint infection that causes back lower pain, injury doing damage to plates of growth, and pain ascribable systemic illnesses that includes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Henoch-Schonlein purpura or rheumatic fever.

Diabetes
There are few varieties of what causes aching legs to a patient of diabetes. If blood glucose levels aren’t controlled well for many years, blood vessels and nerves lose or deteriorate their function, and in result, it causes leg ache.

Symptoms of Aching Legs
Depending on the reason and the situation of individual, symptoms of aching legs may have a huge amount of presentation. The pain could be explained in varying ways, e.g., as dull, sore, sharp, aching legs, heavy, or burning. It can be intermittent or constant, or worse or made better with rest or activity. There can be other related symptoms too, hinging on the cause.

Remedies or Treatment for Aching Legs
So many of the world’s population are obliged to stand up and be upright for the best part of the day. Thus, our feet are not used to the agonizing pressure and therefore develop foot, leg and a number of other aches. Health of feet and leg are pivotal, as these are with you for the whole duration of your life, so keep care of them!  If unduly done, it can lead to sinister issues including swollen ankles and twisted veins. Furthermore, I intend to provide you with some useful ways to prevent such disorders:

Herbal Remedies are extremely useful. In turn, these give a soothing relief for legs, but more importantly relieve you of your huge stress levels, and make you relaxed. You can try ‘fenugreek’ powder, along with your normal meal. Treat it as your supplement. Take just 2 spoonfuls of this. Also, bathing in rosemary helps also

Moreover, Hydration is key to anything in life I feel, though public are rather skeptical about the issue. In order to prevent blood clots, take a steam bath which promotes brain and overall blood circulation. Good for those who are in exams period!

Finally, to prevent swelling it is ideal to elevate your legs. It is said if you elevate it above your heart level, veins will restore to normal motion. Thus, this is perfect after 8 harsh hours at the office and will pay dividends when you are 80 years old!

 

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