An Introduction To Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is the second major type of arthritis - exceeded in number of cases only by osteoarthritis. It is a very serious ailment caused by inflammation of the joints. The pain associated with the disease is at times so severe that it almost completely disables sufferers. It affects women more often than men.

 

Rheumatoid arthritis advances in three stages starting with painful swelling and stiffness of the joints. In the second stage the pain aggravates and the bones and cartilage are severely affected thereby restricting the movement of the person altogether. By this time the diseases becomes chronic and just defies all treatment.

 

It is in your best interest to immediately consult a doctor as soon as you have pain in the joints. This means that don’t wait for any other symptom appear. Also, you should never try treating the disease by taking over the counter medicines. Chances are that you may aggravate the ailment.

 

It is important that you ask your doctor to diagnose whether you are actually afflicted with Rheumatoid arthritis and if so, start taking the treatment that he prescribes. If you go by your doctor’s advice you can save yourself a lot of damage by reducing the severity of the attack of the disease. Any delay in diagnosing and treating the disease may aggravate to an extent that you may have to undergo surgery. This will not only entail great pain, but also require huge costs of treatment.

 

Besides seeking a doctor’s advice early, you may take general precautions like protecting your affected areas from stress of exertion. You should also try to reduce your weight if you are obese. Also contact your physiotherapist. Seek his or her advice about certain kind of exercises that may be specific to your kind of rheumatoid arthritis and take these exercises regularly as per the expert’s advice.

An Introduction To Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are among those modern conditions which aren't always taken seriously by the wider population, but which can have very serious effects for its victims. Indeed, far from being a minor problem which sufferers can solve simply by 'pulling themselves together', many of the eating disorders commonly seen are recognized psychological conditions which if left untreated can even turn out to be fatal. For this reason it's very important to spot any early signs of eating disorders in yourself, your family, or friends and colleagues, so that treatment can be started while the problem remains relatively easily coped with.

 

No one knows for sure how many people are affected by the main disorders, namely anorexia and bulimia, as the official figures inevitably under report the true extent of the problem. One of the features of these conditions, and anorexia in particular, is a lack of awareness in the sufferer that they actually have a problem, and so they naturally don't seek help. In the case of bulimia (binge eating compulsive eating), there is also often an element of guilt over what the sufferer acknowledges is inappropriate and uncontrolled behaviour, again leading to an avoidance of treatment.

 

Bulimia is far more common than anorexia, with around 10% of women suffering from the former compared to 1% the latter. Among anorexics, around 10% of sufferers will eventually die as a result of the condition, and so should you spot any of the warning signs then medical advice should be urgently sought.

 

What is for sure is that eating disorders are more common than might be expected, and many consider the problem to be increasing in scope partly because of today's mass media promotion of attaining perfect body images.

 

Anorexia Nervosa, or plain anorexia as it's usually referred to as, is characterized by an unrealistic perception of ones own body. Sufferers will look into the mirror and see an overweight person looking back at them, however slim they may actually be. This constant desire to be thinner can lead to extreme dieting, excessive and obsessive exercise, and a preoccupation with food and avoiding it that can really take over a person's life. In extreme cases, the self-starvation will continue unchecked until it proves fatal, even when the physical evidence that the sufferer is seriously underweight should be overwhelmingly obvious.

 

The effects of bulimia, on the other hand, may not be visible to outside observers. This disorder is characterized by bouts of hugely excessive eating, followed by purging activities to rid the body of the excess calories. Sufferers will lose control of their eating completely during these periods, gorging themselves way beyond any level of food intake necessary for health. Common methods of purging include self-induced vomiting and overuse of laxatives, and this is usually followed by a sense of self-loathing and repulsion at the lack of control shown. The sufferer may also self-starve as both a form of atonement for their behaviour and as a self-imposed punishment.

 

While bulimia is not as physically harmful as anorexia, the psychological effects can be devastating, leading to depression and even more serious outcomes including suicide in the worst of cases. The physical signs of bulimia which can be observed tend to be related to the purging methods used, and include regularly bloodshot eyes, swollen glands, and dental erosion. In the long term, the dangers include digestive system problems such as ulcers, weakness and exhaustion, and even heart problems.

Americans Fear Alzheimer's More Than Heart Disease, Diabetes or Stroke, But Few Prepare

Americans fear Alzheimer's disease more than any illness other than cancer-and for older people, concerns about Alzheimer's outrank even cancer. More than a third of all Americans know a family member or friend who has Alzheimer's, and nearly two-thirds of Americans believe they will have to provide care someday for someone with Alzheimer's.

 

These are just some of the results from a January 2006 MetLife Foundation/Harris Interactive poll of American adults. The survey, found in "MetLife Foundation Alzheimer's Survey: What America Thinks," included questions about how people view Alzheimer's disease, what they know about it and what they are doing to plan for a future that may include the deadly illness.

 

A progressive brain disorder that science has yet to defeat, Alzheimer's gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to reason, communicate and function. Currently, 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and the Alzheimer's Association estimates that these numbers will grow to as many as 16 million Americans by 2050. Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's. One in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 are affected. The Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging estimate that direct and indirect costs of current care are at least $100 billion annually.

 

The survey results underscore not only the fears that people have about this illness, but also the disturbing fact that few are prepared to face a future that may include Alzheimer's.

 

Key findings from the poll, which was commissioned by MetLife Foundation, are summarized in a report available at www.metlife.org. They include:

 

Americans fear Alzheimer's disease. When people are asked to name the disease they are most afraid of getting from a list of illnesses, one out of five picks Alzheimer's, while only 14 percent worry about heart disease and 13 percent are concerned about stroke. Only cancer tops Alzheimer's. In fact, adults aged 55 and older fear getting Alzheimer's even more than cancer. 

 

Americans know little or nothing about Alzheimer's. While virtually all of those surveyed are aware of the disease (93 percent), almost three-quarters (74 percent) say they know only a little or nothing at all about Alzheimer's. 

 

One-third of Americans say they have direct experience with Alzheimer's disease. One in three Americans (35 percent) has a family member and/or friend with Alzheimer's.

 

Most Americans are concerned that they will be responsible at some point for caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease. More than three out of five people worry that they will have to eventually provide or care for someone with the disease.

 

Most Americans recognize the need to create a plan to address the possibility of Alzheimer's disease, but very few have taken steps to do so. More than eight out of 10 Americans think it is important to plan ahead for the possibility of getting Alzheimer's disease. However, despite the overwhelming agreement that planning is important, almost no one has taken action. Nearly nine out of 10 Americans say they have made no comprehensive plans. The survey shows that Americans know enough about Alzheimer's disease to fear its onset, but have not taken any steps to provide for the possibility of developing the disease.

 

Americans' fears of Alzheimer's are justified, given its increasing presence among a population that will live longer. As the population ages, it is essential to learn as much as possible about the disease and plan for the future.

Alzheimers or Aging? The Signs You Need To Know

How do you know if that forgetfulness you’ve had is an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, or just normal aging? 

 

You may forget the occasional name or sometimes have trouble thinking of the right word to use. Maybe you walk into another room and wonder what you were looking for. Is it Alzheimer’s, aging, or just plain being distracted, doing one thing while you’re thinking of another?

 

There are signs to look out for, signs that tell you it’s time to get to the specialist and get checked out. Treatments for Alzheimer’s disease work best in the early stages so it’s vitally important to get an early diagnosis. An early diagnosis and early treatment can give you more years of normal functioning, and save you and your family tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

The Warning Signs

 

Memory Loss: We all forget things like appointments, names, and phone numbers occasionally, and that’s normal. Forgetting freshly learned information more often can be a warning sign though.

 

Communication Problems: Having trouble finding the right word is not unusual, but the Alzheimer’s sufferer often forgets simple words and may use unusual words or strange descriptions. A camera may become “that box that makes pictures”.

 

Problems With Everyday Tasks: A person with Alzheimer’s disease can start having trouble doing jobs or hobbies that they’ve had many years of experience with. For example, they may be halfway through their favourite recipe and forget how to finish it though they’ve done it many times before.

 

Misplacing Things: This isn’t the normal losing the car keys, but more like putting things in unusual places such as the ice-cream in the oven, or clothes in the dishwasher.

 

Disorientation: A person with Alzheimer’s disease can get lost in their own street or stay sitting at the bus station because they can’t remember where they were going. They may not remember how to get home.

 

Impaired Judgement: Wearing a thick jacket on a blazing hot day or a swimsuit in the middle of winter could be a sign of dementia. Having poor judgement with money can be a symptom too, such as spending big amounts of money with telemarketers or buying products that aren’t needed.

 

Trouble with Complex Tasks: Having trouble with tasks that require abstract thinking like balancing a check book or playing a favourite game can be difficult for the Alzheimer’s sufferer.

 

Mood Swings, and Personality Changes: Mood changes for no apparent reason can be another symptom. The sufferer could be happy and cheerful one minute, and then suddenly become extremely angry over something that is quite trivial, or that they have imagined. They can become clingy with a family member, or suspicious of the neighbours. 

 

Loss of Initiative: We can all get tired of housework or our business activities sometimes. But someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease can become quite passive, watching television for hours, not wanting to do their normal activities, or spending more time sleeping.

 

Many more people are worried that they may have Alzheimer’s disease than actually get the disease. However, if you are suffering from these symptoms, see a specialist.

Alzheimer's Toxin May Be Key To Slowing Disease

Australian scientists say they have identified a toxin which plays a key role in the onset of Alzheimer's, raising hope that a drug targeting the toxin could be developed to slow the degenerative brain disease. 

 

The toxin, called quinolinic acid, kills nerve cells in the brain, leading to dysfunction and death, the scientists said. 

 

"Quinolinic acid may not be the cause of Alzheimer's disease, but it plays a key role in its progression," Alzheimer's researcher Dr Karen Cullen from the University of Sydney said in a statement. "It's the smoking gun, if you like." 

 

"While we won't be able to prevent people from getting Alzheimer's disease, we may eventually, with the use of drugs, be able to slow down the progression." 

 

Alzheimer's is a brain-destroying disease that affects millions of people around the world. As the population gets steadily older, experts estimate numbers will balloon to as many as 16 million in the United States alone by 2015. 

 

More than 200,000 people have Alzheimer's disease in Australia and the number is expected to rise to 730,000 by 2050. 

 

Outward symptoms start with memory loss, which progresses to complete helplessness as brain cells are destroyed. In the brain, neurons die as messy plaques and tangles of protein form. 

 

The Alzheimer's research team from Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, the University of Sydney and Japan's Hokkaido University found quinolinic acid neurotoxicity in the brains of dementia patients. 

 

Quinolinic acid is part of a biochemical pathway called the kynurenine pathway which is also found in other brain disorders, including Huntington's disease and schizophrenia. 

 

The scientists said there were several drugs in an advanced stage of development for other conditions which targeted this pathway and that these drugs, which still need to be tested, could be used to complement other treatments for Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Disease, How Does the Disease Develop?

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease that is typified by progressive weakening of cognitive skills, affecting all aspects of day to day activities. A person suffering from Alzheimer's is likely to undergo severe behavioural changes.

Emil Kraepelin was the first person to identify the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Alois Alzheimer, who was a German psychiatrist, studied typical neuropathology for the first time in the year 1906. 

 

The distinct and the most striking symptom of Alzheimer's disease is amnesia. In the early stages, a victim of Alzheimer's is quite often found to be in a confused state, and facing problems with short-term memory. There are usually problems with  paying attention and in terms of spatial orientation. 

 

The personality of the person affected usually undergoes a massive change coupled with frequent mood swings and the language of the patient may be affected. However, it should be noted that Alzheimer's disease does not affect everyone in the same way, and this can make the disease quite difficult to diagnose.

 

In the early stages of the illness, patients tend to lose energy and their alertness of mind decreases but this change is hardly noticeable. Also, there is loss of memory and the person may become moody. Overall, the affected person becomes slow in responding to everyday stimuli. Eventually, due to the significant memory loss the patient tries to shields himself or herself from anything that they find unfamiliar, as a result the person can become highly confused and get lost easily and frequently.

 

In the next stage, the victim of Alzheimer's starts seeking assistance to carry out those tasks that require heavy lifting. Their speech starts getting affected and quite frequently they stop abruptly after saying half a sentence. Depression, irritation and restlessness are some of the common traits during this stage of illness. 

 

Slowly, the individual becomes disabled. They may remember past incidents but can't recall the very recent ones. In the advanced stage it becomes difficult for the patient to distinguish between day and night or even recognize the faces of very near and dear ones.

 

In the last stage of the disease, patients merely exist. They experience total loss of memory and they are unable to eat properly and cannot control themselves to any great extent. Constant care is needed for a patient at this stage. The individual also becomes prone to other diseases such as pneumonia, infections, etc. Ultimately they become confined to bed and this fatal stage leads to death.

 

Alzheimer's disease is not curable but there are treatments available that can slow its progress and there is promising research that may lead to a cure.

Allergy Treatment

Many people are afflicted with some type of allergy to all sorts of things, such as environmental allergens, odours, fumes, food, and cigarette smoke just to name a few. If symptoms become uncomfortable and happen on a routine basis, then allergy treatment and testing may be in order.

 

With food allergies and small children, the process of elimination is the best way to determine which food is causing the allergic reaction. Allergy testing methods such as skin testing and blood testing are effective, but some people may respond better to one than the other. Food allergies for instance show up better on blood testing, but if you know you’re allergic to a certain food, wouldn’t you just not eat it? 

 

Environmental allergies are a little trickier. Consider all the possible triggers; weeds, trees, pollens, grasses, dust, dust mites, molds, pet dander, chemical fumes, and cigarette smoke are all popular offenders. Skin allergy testing is the best method to use for diagnosis of these types of allergies if severe enough to warrant this approach. Allergy treatment can then be prescribed based on the level of reaction to certain irritants. Not everyone with allergies has to seek help from a specialist. There are quite a few over-the-counter medications that are very effective in treating symptoms, but if this doesn’t work, then a professional should be consulted. Many times allergies are present with other conditions such as eczema and asthma, and should be evaluated in conjunction to allergy treatment since they all go hand in hand. By treating allergies, related conditions will resolve themselves or lessen significantly as allergy treatment progresses.

 

Prescribed allergy treatment usually consists of immunotherapy, better known as allergy shots, which expose allergy sufferers to tiny amounts of the offending allergens in gradually increased doses that over time decrease symptoms. Of course, substances that cause severe allergic reactions, such as certain foods (shellfish, eggs, peanuts) and bee stings should be avoided completely. Avoidance is the only allergy treatment in this case, aside from using an Epi-Pen and/or Benadryl in case an accidental exposure occurs. Different allergy treatments and combinations thereof may have to be tried before significant relief occurs. Over time allergies decrease and may eventually disappear requiring less allergy treatment. 

 

There are quite a few online resources you can check out about allergy treatments. Just use Google and you'll find the most relevant ones. 

 

I also recommend you try drug-free allergy treatments. They can be very effective for you.

Allergies - The Sneezing Sickness

Allergies, particularly what is known as "hayfever" affect thousands of people worldwide. Here's a description of my suffering from dust and sawdust allergies.

 

I've suffered from an allergy to dust, sawdust, and fine particles, ever since I graduated from high school. Shortly after I graduated, I moved with my mother into a small cottage. For some reason, shortly after starting to live in that place, I started getting sneezing fits, runny nose, eyes, stuffed up and itchy nose. My condition became so bad that I went to be examined by the local doctor. His diagnosis was that I was allergic to dust, and fine particles. I expected him to prescribe an effective medication to make my symptoms go away but instead, his recommendation was to remove all the dust from the environment where I lived.  

 

So I helped do a lot of vacuuming and general cleaning in the house, to try to get rid of as much dust as possible. It didn't really work well so when I had a bad attack, I used over the counter allergy medication called Dimetapp. It seemed to stop the sneezing fits and the itchy and stuffed up nose but one side effect was, it made me really sleepy.  

 

Part of the problem might have been that my mother had a habit of shaking out the bed linen, before making up my bed. In particular she would shake out, or snap the sheet before arranging it on the mattress. This seemed to shake out what ever lint or loose material that was attached to the sheet and always seemed to make my condition worse.  

 

When I moved to my work location accommodation, my allergies improved, except when I was close to where a chain saw was cutting wood. The sawdust seemed to make me experience many of the same symptoms as the laundry dust had in the house.  

 

I have learned that it is thought that the dust in a room does not really cause the allergy symptoms. There is a point of view that dust mite insects living on the grains of dust are actually responsible for causing the person's discomfort.  

 

The house mites, like all living things eat, and then eliminate their waste. The mite's eliminations contain various protein type substances. When you breathe these in or they come in contact with your skin, your body makes antibodies. Your antibodies release a chemical known as histamine. Histamine produces all my nasty sneezing and stuffed up runny nose symptoms.  

 

Because my mother also had allergies, it is thought that, I also carry the predisposition to the discomfort of allergies as having allergies is thought to be a hereditary condition.   

 

That doesn't really explain why I get all the same symptoms in a place where there is sawdust in the air. Any time I am around fine particles of sawdust my condition flares up. That is one reason why I would not want to work In a saw mill, or plywood plant where there are fine wood particles floating all over in the air as I would always be a sneezing worker.   

 

I find that by staying away from areas contaminated with these fine particles, my condition has almost completely disappeared.

Allergies - Quality Of Life

In this article we're going to discuss how allergies affect our quality of life and how different allergies affect different parts of our life.

 

Having allergies isn't simply a matter of sneezing once in a while during the day. If it was then nobody would make too big a deal about them. But the truth is, allergies can greatly affect our quality of life depending on what type of allergy we have and how severe the symptoms. 

 

Let's start with the most common allergy, hay fever. Millions of people suffer from hay fever but few really understand how terrible this allergy can be. Going outside and breathing in pollen that starts us sneezing and wheezing is only part of the problem. In itself, that's bad enough. But what about the person who doesn't have a nice comfortable job inside an air conditioned office? This is the poor guy who's maybe a landscaper or gardener. These people work outdoors for a living.  What are they supposed to do? If their symptoms are severe enough where medication brings little or no relief they have two options. Continue to suffer and possibly miss many days of work or find a new line of work. If this sounds drastic, it isn't. Sadly, many people lose their jobs because of medical problems, allergies being among the more common.  

 

For the person who works indoors, they are not always so lucky either. Many people have allergies to indoor mold which is very common in old buildings, especially old schools. There was a recent documented case in Irvington, NJ where the mold situation in the high school was so bad that one teacher became ill enough that she had to leave her job until the situation was rectified.  

 

This is even worse for people with allergies to mold who live in old homes. Many times when the problem gets out of control the person has to sell his home or move out of his apartment. Mold is not an easy thing to get rid of if it has spread far enough and if it does get out of control many times people are forced from their homes. This isn't just a minor quality of life change.  

 

It isn't just people with indoor and outdoor allergies who have their quality of life affected. People with food allergies or sensitivities have their lives sometimes drastically altered. Many people suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome because of allergies to certain foods and because of this either miss time from work or spend a good part of the day at work in the bathroom. In either case these people are forced to give up their jobs because they can't do them dependably.  

 

But it isn't just work that gets the worst of it with allergies. Many fathers with young sons are unable to go outside and play ball with their kid because of hay fever. Others can't go on that vacation with the rest of the family because they have to be close to a bathroom at all times because of food allergies.  

 

The sad fact is, people with allergies suffer greatly. And it's not just a little sneezing during the day.

Allergies - Food Allergies

In this article we're going to focus on one of the most annoying types of allergies, especially to people who love to eat.  

 

You go out to the local pizza parlour, order two slices with extra cheese, sit down at the booth with your pizza in one hand and coke in the other and chow down. A few hours later after you've arrived back home just in time to watch your favourite TV show, suddenly your stomach feels like it's about to erupt like a volcano. You run like a madman to the bathroom just in time to experience what seems to be the complete emptying of your insides. 

 

Welcome to the world of food allergies and intolerances.  

 

In the case of the runs after eating a couple of slices of pizza most likely you're lactose intolerant which is just one type of food allergy. Technically, you can be allergic to just about any kind of food but there are some that seem to be more common than others.  

 

Before we go any further let's define exactly what a food allergy is. Food allergies can be broken down into 2 categories. The first one is hypersensitivity. This is an adverse reaction of the immune system itself and is unrelated to any actual physical effect of the food or food additive. These reactions are caused by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies.  

 

The second category is food intolerance. This is actually caused by the food itself and is not a function of the immune system itself overreacting to the food or food additive. The symptoms of an intolerance may be very similar to those of an actual immune symptom reaction but the causes are quite different.  

 

Of the two, actual immune system reactions are the more common, though it does appear that a trend to intolerances, such as lactose intolerance, is on the rise. What actually happens with food allergies is that people with allergies produce IgE antibodies to specific epitopes in the food allergen. These antibodies bind to IgE receptors on the mast cells of tissue that are on the skin, digestive tract and respiratory system. The exposure of these antigens causes the release of histamines. This ultimately results in mucus secretion and muscle contraction which then leads to a wide range of symptoms which can range from unpleasant to serious or even severe. How severe? 

 

Allergic reactions to food can be fatal almost immediately following the ingestion of food. Probably one of the most prevalent and dangerous of these food allergies are people who are allergic to peanuts. Just recently, as of this writing, a girl died simply from kissing someone who had recently eaten peanuts. That is how dangerous these allergies can be.  

 

Less severe reactions to food allergies are oropharyngeal pruritus, angioedema, stridor, cough, dyspnoea, wheezing, and dysphonia.  

 

Aside from peanuts, the most common foods that people are allergic to are tree nuts, and shellfish.  

 

Unfortunately the best way to avoid food allergies is to have a food allergy test done and then to avoid the foods that show positive on the test.