Navigating Health

Archive for the ‘Disease & Prevention’ Category

This article is a must read for all you avid book readers out there. That applies to both adults and children. Every month or week or day there are innumerable books that are being published and for all those of us who are avid book readers it gets expensive to buy all the books that you may want to read. Once you buy them they sit around your house, or you give them to a friend, or if you are lucky, you trade them in at a used bookstore. You can also get books at your local library, but often you have to wait for the book you want or they don’t have it. Now there is a great option for people who would prefer not to buy books, and that option is BooksFree, an online company where you can Rent books and audiobooks. They have great membership plans that are very inexpensive and so much cheaper than buying books. BooksFree was established to help people enjoy the books they want to read delivered right at their doorsteps. They have over 228,000 titles in their paper back collection alone!

When you sign up for their service you can be assured that you are going to have a never ending list of books and Audio books on cd to read and listen to. In an endorsement of Booksfree for Audiobooks, a reviewer at lifehacker.com noted that booksfree has a better book selection than libraries. After looking at their many titles, I would have to agree. Booksfree motto is to “keep costs low and enjoyment high” and you can be sure of that. Members choose their plans according to their reading needs. At BooksFree a Book rental is easy and can be completed in a few easy steps. At news.cnet.com in a post Books for free spell relief, a reviewer, who is a fan of audiobooks, said this provided one of the “cheapest options available” for renting audiobooks, which are typically more expensive, and also harder to find. If you enjoy reading and don’t want to worry about the costs of buying books or audiobooks, visit www.booksfree.com for further details.

Infectious diseased used to be the most common cause of death in children and young adults. However, since doctors started using immunization-injecting vaccines, for example- to help our immune systems fight harmful invaders, infections such as meningitis, measles and tetanus are no longer widespread killers. A range of methods have been developed to boost the immune system, and if immunized early in life a child can be protected even before they are at risk from infection.

Most immunizations are very safe and produce few side effects. Immunization is general terms for the ways in which medicine can help the body prepare in advance to fight disease. Immunization is achieved by giving vaccines, typically by injection. These may be dead or weakened forms of disease causing micro organisms, which stimulate the body to produce disease fighting antibodies against that illness.

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Bacteria are microscopic organisms consisting of one cell. They are able to multiply very rapidly and are found everywhere-all around us and inside our bodies. Fungi that cause disease tend to fall into two groups filamentous fungi and single celled yeasts. Yeasts resemble human cells. Viruses are powerful organisms made up of simple protein packets containing a few strands of genetic material.

They are so tiny that millions of viruses could fit inside one human cell. A protozoan is a single celled organism that scavenges food from other micro organisms. They live mainly in moist environments such as soil and water but some can live inside creatures, such as parasitic protozoan that causes malaria found in mosquitoes. The creatures that live in close contact with one another and cannot live without their hosts are parasitic worms, mites and lice. This is the reason why the most advanced parasite does not kill their host.

A vast range of tiny pathogens-disease-causing micro organisms are able to infect your body and cause all kinds of problems, from a mild cold to life threatening malaria. An infection may be localized, where it affects only one part of your body, or systemic, which means that it affects the whole body.

Infectious can be spread in water or food, through touch or sexual contact, in the air and by insects. These micro organisms also have the ability to change and adapt in order to outwit medication, so controlling them is a constant battle.

Invading micro organisms, commonly called germs can be classified broadly into several distinct groups’ bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi and yeasts. Your body can also be invaded by larger, more complex organisms, such as worms and lies; these are often referred to as infestations rather than infections.

Cancer of the skin can also arise because cancer has spread there from other parts of the body, such as the breast, kidney or lung. This latter type usually forms hard skin nodules, most frequently on the scalp. People who are fair skinned are among potentially risk groups for skin cancer as they are more likely to suffer from sunburn.

The ordinary moles that you have on your skin are also known as non cancerous melanomas. Most moles are perfectly harmless, but some many develop in to malignant melanoma. Moles are typically flat and brown, of differing size and sometimes hairy. Usually present from birth, more may develop during a person’s lifetime. Although cancerous moles are rare, it is wise to keep an eye on them, as changes can indicate malignancy.

Brochiolitis is an infection of the tiny airways in the lungs. It is usually caused by the respiratory syncytial virus which is spread via coughing and sneezing. Brochiolitis most commonly affects children during the first year of their lives, and may occur in epidemics during winter. Children living in overcrowded conditions or whose parents smoke are at greater risk. The condition can be serious: the airways may become inflamed, restricting breathing. If your child has difficulty breathing, urgent hospital treatment is required.

You should consult a doctor if your child develops the symptoms of Brochiolitis. Mild cases can be managed at home with regular does of painkilling syrup to control fever; sitting your child in a steamy bathroom can help to ease breathing. More serious cases need to be admitted to hospital for intravenous fluids, inhaled bronchodilator drugs and oxygen. Many infants are prone to recurrent episodes of wheezing for a year or two after developing Brochiolitis. These usually occur when they have a cough or cold.

Pneumonia: Pneumonia is an inflammation of the air sacs within the lungs. It is caused by a viral or bacterial infection. The alveoli become inflamed and fill with white blood cells, which makes it harder for oxygen to cross into the blood vessels and circulation. Young children are at greater risk of developing pneumonia than adults because their immune systems are not fully developed. They are also more likely to suffer life threatening complications. You should take a child with the symptoms of pneumonia to see a doctor immediately. Most children with pneumonia require hospital admission to treat the infection. They will usually start to improve rapidly once treatment with oxygen, intravenous antibiotics and fluids has been started.

Colds and flu are viral infections of the upper respiratory tract, and are among the most common reasons for people to visit their doctors. There are more than 200 different viruses that cause the common cold and three main flu types A, B and C. approximately half the population catches a cold once a year, more often in the colder months of autumn and winter. Flu affects fewer people and tends to occur in epidemics in winter. The most effective way to fight colds and flu is to ensure that your body is fit and healthy as possible. Colds and flu are extremely contagious.

They are spread by airborne droplets of mucus, expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes into the air. The viruses can also be passes by physical contact if the recipient picks up the virus on their hand and rubs their eyes or nose which provides entry points for the virus. One infected person can pass on the virus to many other, and you are probably most infectious a day before symptoms develops. Since many different viruses can cause the common cold, having one cold does not provide immunity from another.

Adults are less susceptible to colds than children because they have developed some immunity to the most common forms, and children spend more time in large groups-at school or in nurseries-where viruses can spread rapidly from child to child. Flu is principally caused by infection with virus types A and B; particularly the more sever type A virus. However, the flu viruses are continually mutating into new strains. Having one attack of flu will not provide you with immunity against an attack by a new strain.

Some of the more common food allergens can also trigger an asthmatic attack. Children who are affected by allergic asthma often also develop eczema or hay fever. Most adults who suffer from asthma first developed the condition as children. However, asthma can also start in adulthood, usually after a respiratory infection. Smoking, polluted or cold air and stress may all trigger asthma attacks. Some people suffer only occasional attacks of asthma while others may have frequent and severe attacks in response to a range of triggers.

It is not always easy for doctors to diagnose the condition, and the only clue that a child has asthma might be a cough that occurs at night or the fact that their breathing becomes wheezy during or after about of activity. If your doctor suspects that you have asthma, you may be sent to hospital for further investigation. Tests that help with the diagnosis of asthma include pyrometer and lung volume tests, which measure and monitor the rate and depth of your breathing.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain. It is usually caused by an infection. Viral meningitis is the common, and less dangerous, form and generally affects young adults. Bacterial meningitis is a more serious condition that mainly affects children. This life threatening condition often beings with symptoms similar to those of a common cold or flu. However, the child’s condition rapidly worsens and the classic symptoms of the disease develop. Meningitis is the result of an infection by one of a number of different viruses or bacteria. In rare cases, usually among those with reduced immunity, it may also be caused by a fungal infection. Although treatment depends on the type of infection, all forms of the disease are serious and any suspected case of meningitis warrants immediate medical assessment and possible admission to hospital.

A doctor will usually make a provisional diagnosis based on observation of the symptoms and an examination of the patient. Further investigations may be carried out after treatment has already started, are likely to include a lumbar puncture, in which a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed from around the spinal chord in the lower back and examined under the microscopic for signs of infection. Viral meningitis generally requires no specific treatment beyond analgesics to provide pain relief and reduce fever. Full recovery from the condition takes one to two weeks. In case of suspected bacterial meningitis, prompt administration of intravenous antibiotics is essential. Time is vital and minutes can save lives. In some cases, corticosteroids may be given to reduce inflammation. Recovery from the bacterial form of the disease is much slower than from viral meningitis, but recovery time varies with cases.

This condition affects newborn babies and is much more common in girls than in boys. It often affects babies who are born by breech delivery, which puts excessive strain on their hip joints. In mild cases, there is a looseness of the ligaments around the hip joint, which results in excessive flexibility. In very severe cases, the hip joint is permanently dislocated. Hip dysphasia may correct itself within weeks of the baby’s birth, but a plaster cast might need to be worn for up to six months. Corrective surgery may be necessary in some cases.

Congenital hip dysphasia may be due to weakness of the hip joint ligaments or, in more severe cases, to an abnormality in the hip socket. If the problem does not right itself within the first few weeks, it is vital that the affected head of the femur is correctly positioned in the hip socket, so that the hip can develop normally. The orthopedics specialist will use a harness or a plaster cast to keep the hip in correct alignment and this may need to be worn for six months.

Perthes’ disease: Perthes’ disease is a rare condition in which the head of the femur breaks down and gradually reforms over about two years. The condition tends to occur in boys between the ages of four and eight. Typical symptoms are limping and pain in the hip or knee. Doctors do not know why children develop perthes’ disease, but it may be due to disrupted blood supply to the femur. If your child has an unexplained limp, you should arrange to see your doctor about it.