Human Health Info

Bird Flu Symptoms in Humans

Bird flu (avian influenza) is a disease caused by an influenza virus that primarily affects birds. In the late 1990s, a new strain of bird flu arose that was remarkable for its ability to cause severe disease and death, especially in domesticated birds such as ducks, chickens, or turkeys. As a result, this strain was called highly pathogenic (meaning very severe and contagious) avian influenza and termed H5N1. A new strain of bird flu has been identified in China. The influenza A virus is termed H7N9 (H7N9 Chinese bird flu). The identification of the virus was reported Mar. 31, 2013; the new strain is different from the H5N1 bird flu virus.

What are the symptoms of bird flu in humans? Sometimes it starts like ordinary flu, with a bit of a cold, but that isn't absolutely invariable, some people start off with a cough, coughing from bird flu symptoms can be dry (wheezing cough that brings up no mucus) or productive (coughing that brings up and expels infected mucus) and can last for weeks after exposure. This is typical of most influenza infections but should be examined nonetheless and then become short of breath and develop muscle aches, unexplained muscle aches over the body are a serious symptom and should prompt an examination if experienced in conjunction with fever, nausea, diarrhea and headache. So getting a fever is a very important feature, if you haven't got a thermometer, you should get one and be able to measure your temperature and be able to note if it goes up to 38 degrees. If it's not you don't need to worry about it, it's probably a flu-like illness which is very common and which isn't necessarily due to bird flu.

Less severe symptoms can also include eye infections (conjunctivitis).

More serious symptoms of bird flu include Pneumonia, Acute respiratory distress, Viral pneumonia and other severe and life-threatening complications.

-->
So, What should you do if you have reason to suspect you're infected? You need to get to a medical facility that can look after you in terms of providing artificial ventilation if that's necessary, and one that can administer antiviral drugs, particularly in the early stages of the disease before the body goes into this cytokine storm phase; because it's only in that early phase that the antivirals are going to do anything. The treatment otherwise is supportive and to overcome any organ problems like lung failure and kidney failure from the virus spreading into those different parts of the system.

Achilles Tendon Injuries - Causes and Treatment

Causes of Achilles Tendon Injury

The biggest contributing factor is ignoring the pain in the tendon.
Achilles pain commonly occurs from shearing and stretching forces placed on the Achilles tendon.
Excess pronation (rolling over of the foot) causes extra strain on the tendon. Inflammation of the tendon is a common result along with tightening of the calf muscles. Since the calf muscles are connected to the Achilles tendon, the Achilles turns out to be the 'weakest link' in the chain. The Achilles tendon ends up being overstretched, resulting in irritation and inflammation.
Sudden increases in training can lead to Achilles tendonitis.

Excessive hill running or speed work.
Inappropriate shoes. If the soles of the shoes are too stiff, this causes the forefoot to have limited movement. This can lead to increased tension to the Achilles tendon.
Studies have shown that excessive heel cushioning can be a contributing factor. Air filled heels are not very good for Achilles tendonitis.
Tight calf muscles.
Women who take up running are at a greater risk. This mainly affects women who wear high-heeled shoes, which effectively shortens the Achilles tendon. When the individual then takes up running in "flat shoes", the Achilles tendon is put under increased tension.

Preventing Achilles Tendon Injury
The best way to prevent an Achilles tendon injury is to a) stay in overall good shape, and b) warm-up, stretch, and strengthen the Achilles tendons. The best way to prevent an Achilles tendon injury from getting worse is to address the injury immediately: it will get worse if not addressed. For more information on preventing Achilles tendon injuries see: Preventing Achilles Tendon Injury.

Treatment of Achilles Tendonitis
Treatment of Achilles tendonitis begins with resting the tendon to allow the inflammation to settle down. In more serious situations, adequate rest may require crutches or immobilization of the ankle. Learn more about different treatments for Achilles tendonitis, including ice, medications, injections, and surgery.

What is Herpes Simplex?

Herpes simplex is an infectious viral inflammatory type, which is characterized by the appearance of skin lesions consist of small vesicles grouped in clusters and surrounded by a red halo. It is caused by the herpes simplex virus, or herpes virus hominis, type I (HSV-1) affecting face, lips, mouth and upper body, and type II (HSV-2) that occurs most frequently in genital and bottom of body.2 currently no cure for the herpes.3

However there are several forms of treatment available to reduce symptoms and speed the healing process of injuries, after which the virus persists in a latent form body until the next episode activo.4 recurrence of herpes simplex types to be distinguished from herpes zoster is an entirely different disease entity.

Symptoms
Herpes symptoms can vary. Many infected individuals have few, if any, noticeable symptoms. In people who do have symptoms, the symptoms start 2 to 20 days after the person was exposed to someone with HSV infection. Symptoms may last for several weeks.

The first episode of herpes is usually worse than outbreaks that come later. The predominant symptom of herpes is the outbreak of painful, itching blisters filled with fluid on and around the external sexual organs or, for oral herpes, on or very near the lip. Females may have a vaginal discharge. Symptoms vaguely similar to those of flu may accompany these outbreaks, including fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. There may be painful urination, and swollen and tender lymph glands in the groin.

Usually the blisters will disappear without treatment in two to 10 days, but the virus will remain in the body, lying dormant among clusters of nerve cells until another outbreak is triggered. Factors that can trigger an outbreak include stress, illness such as a cold, fever, fatigue, sunburn, menstruation or sexual intercourse.

Many patients are able to anticipate an outbreak when they notice a warning sign (a tingling sensation, called a prodrome) of the approaching illness. It is when they feel signs that an outbreak is about to start that they are particularly contagious, even though the skin still appears normal

Most people with genital herpes have five to eight outbreaks per year, but not everyone has recurrent symptoms. As time goes on, the number of outbreaks usually decreases. Oral herpes can recur as often as monthly or only one or two times each year.

Sores typically come back near the site of the first infection. Usually, as the outbreaks recur, there are fewer sores and they heal faster and are less painful.

Treatment
Really there is no treatment that completely eliminates body HSV infection, since once the virus enters a body, it will always remain in an inactive form with occasional relapses-recurrences-. There are medications that can reduce the frequency of herpes episodes occur, the duration of these and the damage they cause.

Prophylactic treatment is important to the appearance of outbreaks, contribute to the quick recovery and not infect others:

Keep the infected area clean.
Do not touch, or touch the sores as little as possible.
Wash hands thoroughly before and after contact with the sores.
In case of genital herpes, avoid sexual contact since the first symptoms appear until the eruptions have been cured.
In case of cold sores, avoid direct contact to other people with the infected area since the first symptoms appear until the eruptions have been cured.
Herpes simplex usually responds to topical acyclovir. It is even more effective derivatives acyclovir tablets or orally. If herpes simplex recurrences are common and affect quality of life, then you can give acyclovir or valacyclovir orally every day, what is known as suppressive therapy.

Gluten Free Diet

A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, malts and triticale. It is used as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent, often as "dextrin". A gluten-free diet is the only medically accepted treatment for celiac disease and prevent complications,the related condition dermatitis herpetiformis,and wheat allergy.

Celiac patients can also develop headaches, tingling, fatigue, muscle pain, skin rashes, joint pain, and other symptoms, because the autoimmune attack at the root of the disease gradually erodes the wall of the intestine, leading to poor absorption of iron, folate, and other nutrients that affect everything from energy to brain function.People with gluten sensitivity sometimes experience these far-reaching symptoms as well, though it's less clear why.

If you suspect your body can't tolerate gluten, the first thing you should do is get tested for celiac disease. If the test comes back negative, try a gluten-free diet for a week to see if you feel better, Switching to a gluten-free diet is a big change and, like anything new, it takes some getting used to. You may initially feel deprived by the diet's restrictions. However, try to stay positive and focus on all the foods you can eat.

Some Healthy foods are naturally gluten-free:

Beans, seeds, nuts in their natural, unprocessed form
Fresh eggs
Fresh meats, fish and poultry (not breaded, batter-coated or marinated)
Fruits and vegetables
Most dairy products

Avoid all food and drinks containing:

Barley (malt, malt flavoring and malt vinegar are usually made from barley)
Rye
Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)
Wheat

You should also be alert for other products that you eat or that could come in contact with your mouth that may contain gluten. These include:

Food additives, such as malt flavoring, modified food starch and others
Medications and vitamins that use gluten as a binding agent
Play dough

If you plan to go gluten free, select more fruits, vegetables, and lean meat, and more naturally gluten-free grains like brown rice, quinoa, and buckwheat, rather than just buying prepackaged products labeled.

Dementia - Is it Different with Alzheimers?

Are you noticing changes in your cognitive ability?

You might start to think that something's not quite right when a loved one begins to start repeating themselves, becomes agitated easily or forgetting recent events and information.

We here a lot about Alzheimer's and dementia in the media but what do the terms actually mean?

It might not be Alzheimer's or dementia

As we grow older, we tend to become more forgetful and that's part of normal aging. Other symptoms, such as depression after the loss of a loved one, or side-effects from medication, can show the same symptoms as people with Alzheimer's or dementia, and so a thorough medical assessment is required as soon as possible after the symptoms manifest.

What does Senile Mean?
Senility is not a disease but simply a generic term for a number of neurological disorders which occur in old age. The word is often used to describe the symptoms of dementia, Parkinson's, etc.

What is Dementia?
Dementia is a brain disorder which leads to the progressive loss of cognitive functions. It affects those areas of the brain which are required for language, reason, and memory functions.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. Other types of dementia are:

Front Temporal Dementia: it affects the front and temporal lobes of the brain and causes personality and behavioral changes. It manifests between the ages of 40-70 and tends to fun in families.
Vascular Dementia: arteries which feed the brain become blocked or narrow and the symptoms may begin quickly after a person has had a stroke or slowly, occurring at the same time as Alzheimer's, with similar problems with language, memory and vision.
Lewd Body Dementia: This is when abnormal deposits of protein form in the brain, similar to what occurs in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, with symptoms that include disorientation, muscular rigidity, tremors and slow movement.

What is Alzheimer's?
Alzheimer's normally affects people over 65 years old although around 5% of cases are affect people from 35 years up.

Alzheimer's entails a build up of plaques and tangles, which are irregular deposits of protein, which affect the health of brain cells and the way in which they communicate with one another. There is chemical imbalance within the brain which worsens as cells are slowly destroyed. One of the main chemicals which sufferer's lack is called 'acetylcholine', which is a neurotransmitter - it helps to carry messages between networks of cells.

The symptoms of Alzheimer's include memory loss, disorientation, depression, agitation and a withdrawal from social and work activities. Unfortunately, modern medicine can only, at best and for only some, offer palliative care for the patient, making life as comfortable as possible for them.

Alternative treatments and therapies should not be overlooked, including nutritional supplements, doll and music therapy, as they can play an important role of benefiting Alzheimer's sufferers and reduce the requirement for psychoactive drugs.

Aspergers Syndrome

If you are the parent of a child who has signs of autism, and is told that he or she may have Asperger's syndrome, then it's important to understand the characteristics of this condition.

Asperger's syndrome was recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in the year 1944 and has become a abundant well known issue.

There are a number of symptoms associated with both children and adults with Aspergers Syndrome. These symptoms include:

1. Difficulty with social relationships - Many people with Aspergers syndrome have problems in understanding how other people think and feel.They find it difficult to understand facial expressions and all the non-verbal signals people use to communicate in everyday life.

2. Difficulty with communication - People with Aspergers syndrome do not usually have the speech problems experienced by people with classic autism, they can be good talkers. The problems with communication lie in their inability to take notice of the reaction of the people they are talking to; they may continue to talk about one topic even though the other person has become (or never was) interested.

3. Lack of imagination - People with Aspergers syndrome often excel at factual work, the kind of work that deals with facts and statistics but they can find it hard to use their imagination. They may have narrow areas of interest that they can become fanatical about and they can become attached to specific routines, for example always doing things in the same order when getting ready to go out in the morning. If for some reason they cannot follow their routine they can become upset and agitated or even angry.

4. Other - Many people with Aspergers also have difficulties dealing with change and may lack what is considered to be basic common sense. However people with the condition are not ‘backward' in any way and usually have average, if not higher than average levels of intelligence.

People with Aspergers syndrome are usually at this more ‘able' end of the spectrum. Like autism, Aspergers syndrome, seems to be caused by a biological difference in the brain's development. In many cases there appears to be a genetic cause; there are many cases of autism and Aspergers syndrome running in the same family. One study has estimated that 3 to 7 in 1,000 people have Aspergers Syndrome.

Depression - How to Fight it

Depression affects an incredible number of individuals world-wide , the fact is, this disorder could be felt by even young individuals these days as a result of a stressful way of living. When depression begins, people’s lives are afflicted since they stop doing their normal regimens.

There are numerous factors that bring about depression such as death of a family member, sudden changes in one’s life, mood-altering medicines, presenting birth, or even seasonal changes. A general symptoms are fatigue, loss of appetite, sleep problems or loss of interest in sex — may seem to be caused by other illnesses, bored, helpless or worthless. They may always want to stay at home, rather than going out to socialize or doing new things.

Depression symptoms may not get better on their own — and depression may get worse if it isn't treated. Untreated depression can lead to other mental and physical health problems or problems in other areas of your life. Feelings of depression can also lead to suicide.

Suicidal thinking or feelings in older adults is a sign of serious depression that should never be taken lightly, especially in men. Of all people with depression, older adult men are at the highest risk of suicide.

If you're reluctant to seek treatment, talk to a friend or loved one, a health care professional, a faith leader, or someone else you trust.If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, get help right away, seek help from your doctor, a mental health provider or other health care professional.

Pages