This is a condition in which fragments of endometrium, the tissue which lines the uterus, migrate to other parts of the body and become implanted there. In effect, the displaced tissue acts very much like a miniature uterus in a place where it has no business to be.

Under the influence of ovarian hormones, the displaced tissue bleeds (or “menstruates”) like normal endometrium lining the cavity of the uterus. This causes chemical irritation. Nature’s attempt to wall off these pockets of menstruating tissue results in formation of cysts filled with blood. The cysts may rupture and release tissue which forms additional implants.

These cysts are commonly in the ovaries, tubes, uterus, or the peritoneum lining the pelvic cavity. Endometrial implants in the ovary commonly cause so-called “chocolate cysts,” filled with chocolatecolored material.The cysts continue to grow under continued stimulation by the ovaries.

Signs and Symptoms Of Endometeriosis

Endometriosis symptoms arepainful periods, profuse and prolonged periods, or pelvic adhesions that result in various symptoms, depending on the location of tissues that become adherent. Endometriosis is frequently a factor in complaints of inability to become pregnant.

Endometriosis is fairly common in young women. Diagnosis may be difficult since there are rarely any external signs, although sometimes a vaginal examination may disclose local lesions. A number of other pelvic conditions which may produce somewhat similar symptoms must be distinguished. Positive diagnosis may require surgical exploration.

Endometeriosis Treatment

Treatment of endometriosis is not necessarily surgical. There is a great range in severity of symptoms. Small areas of endometriosis may cause few if any symptoms. Frequently explanation of the situation will encourage some patients to endure some premenstrual and pelvic discomfort if it is not severe.

Uterine Displacements

These conditions are often referred to as a “tipped uterus.” Such conditions are very common in women and rarely cause any serious symptoms. The great majority of women who have a uterus somewhat out of theoretically “ideal” position do not report any symptoms. A normal uterus is directed forward. Occasionally a large boggy uterus that is tipped backward (retroverted) may cause some feeling of heaviness in the pelvis, sometimes backache, and make pregnancy less likely but by no means impossible. A physician can usually replace a uterus and insert a supporting device (pessary) which holds it in satisfactory position, to see if symptoms complained of will be relieved.

Vaginal Relaxations

These occur commonly as women become older and their tissues become less firm and muscular. Although childbirth injuries may be important contributing factors, relaxation of adequate support of pelvic structures may occur in women who have not borne children, presumably due to inheritance of deficient supporting tissues. With weakened muscular tone and with stresses such as lifting and gravity, the uterus may “drop” into the lower part of the vaginal canal. This is usually associated with some variety of uterine displacement previously mentioned. Occasionally the uterus may actually protrude through the vaginal opening. This condition is known as prolapse of the uterus.

If supporting structures of the bladder become weakened, the base of the bladder may sag into the vaginal canal and bulge through the vaginal opening. This is known as a cystocele. It is a partial hernia. As the condition progresses there may be frequency of urination and involuntary passage of a small amount of urine when the patient is in an upright position. There is increased risk of bladder infection (cystitis) which may spread to the upper urinary tract.

In similar fashion, if supporting tissues of the lower bowel and rectum become weakened, this organ bulges (herniates) through the rear wall of the vagina. This is called a rectocele. It may cause pain and difficulties in defecation, although a mild herniation may not be particularly troublesome .

Cystoceles and rectoceles can be corrected surgically. Some women refuse surgical repair. Occasionally, the general physical condition of the patient may preclude the stresses of surgery, but this is quite rare today, for with modern surgery and local types of anesthesia, elderly women tolerate reconstructive vaginal surgery very well.

There are nonsurgical methods of support which may be used successfully, although permanent repair by surgery is usually preferable. Devices used to support the uterus and/or the vaginal walls are called pessaries. These are usually made of rubber or plastic material in a variety of shapes suited to individual need. Pessaries require careful fitting and removal at frequent intervals. Some women find it helpful, in giving some support to sagging uterus or vaginal structures, to insert into the vagina every morning a large cotton tampon with string attachment, which is removed and discarded at night.

The bad effects of the smoking are known by everyone. But still there are some people who are not ready to quit smoking. These kinds of people basically lack the will power which is required for getting rid of this dangerous habit. If you have the will power and the confidence and the proper support, there would be nothing which will stop you from quitting the cigarettes.

As a known fact the cigarettes have an adverse effect on the health of the person. The tobacco used in the cigarettes can damage the body and increase the health problems. The smokers have more risk of getting heart attacks, strokes, issues related with lung. Apart from the heart and lung diseases the smokers can also develop problems related with the digestive system, infertility. They are prone to develop ulcers and the healing of the wounds could get delayed. There are different types of the cancers which the smokers can develop; these include the stomach cancer, throat cancer and the mouth cancer. There is a need to think seriously and stop smoking which will be better for you and your family.

The best alternative which is available with you to quit smoking is the electronic cigarettes. This kind of the cigarette offers the effective experience of the real cigarette that too without any bad effect on your health. They may look and taste like the traditional cigarettes but does not burn any kind of the tobacco. There is a flow of a censor whenever you inhale from the electronic cigarettes which further release the water vapor that contains the elements of the traditional cigarettes. You may feel like smoking a real cigarette which controls the urge and helps you in getting rid of the bad habit.

Epilepsy has been known from antiquity but our understanding of it has developed only in the past century. When it appears, the family may not only be perplexed by the illness but confused by Cradictory information about it. An understanding of what it is, what its problems are, and what can and should be about it will provide the best basis for intelligent cooperation in an appropriate program of medical care .Answers to some of the more common questions about epilepsy are presented here but only the person’s own physician can solve individual problems.

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a tendency to have seizures,or more technically, it is a tendency to recurrent episodes of alteration of consciousness or control, associated with indications of abnormal over activity of at least some part of the brain at the time of an attack.

What is the brain involved?

The brain is a complex organ, more complicated than the largest electronic computer. It is delicately balanced to control or modify everything a person does even the simplest sensations are registration ed in the brain and this information is used as the basis for actions ranging from the simplest of responses to highly complex activities such as using a typewriter or playing an instrument. The whole brain appears to be used for abstract thinking and planning, but various parts of the brain specialize for particular activities such as speaking or moving a particular part. Normally, these parts all work in smooth harmony together, but if even a small group of cells become abnormally active, this may result in a seizure. If the over activity remains in one area, the result is a localized or special kind of seizure. If it spreads throughout the brain, a more generalized seizure may result. After the attack is over, the brain cells return to their normal state. Thus, except for the brief time of a seizure, the person with epilepsy is usually able to function as normally as anyone else.

What are some of the names for seizures?

These include convulsions, “spells,” blackouts, “fits,” paroxysmal cerebral dysrhythmia, falling-out spells, fainting spells. Not everything called by one of these names is an epileptic seizure. For example, a person may lose conscious­ness, or faint, from inadequate blood flowing to the head as a result of a temporary heart irregularity or from lowering of blood pressure because of an emotional shock. Consciousness returns when blood flow is restored.

There are several characteristic kinds of epileptic seizures, depending partly upon the group of brain cells that become overactive and partly upon the person’s age and other factors.

What is the most common type of epileptic seizure?

Convulsions or grand mal seizures are the most common form and may occur at any age. In these, the attack may begin with a warning feeling or aura, after which a brief, unnatural cry may be heard. The person loses consciousness and his body stiffens and jerks, and his color becomes dusky because the muscles used in breathing are involved in the muscular spasms. This change in color is not serious, because breathing is re­stored when the muscles relax again within a very few minutes.

Is such a convulsion harmful?

No, not ordinarily, unless the person injures himself in falling, though he may injure his tongue or lips. If the bladder is full when the attack begins, the convulsive seizure may cause it to empty; or he may rarely soil himself, which may add greatly to the embarrassment of an epileptic attack.

What should be done by a person who witnesses the beginning of an attack?

Really, very little need be done, as the attack will come to an end by itself. The person having an attack should be eased to the ground and protected from injuring himself, but it is no longer thought necessary to attempt to insert anything between the jaws. Turning the person on his side toward the end of the seizure will help get rid of any saliva and eliminate risk of choking if there should be vomiting after the attack. A report of careful observation of the attack may greatly help the physician in understanding the problem.

Many persons can resume their regular activities almost immediately after a seizure, but others will need a short period of rest and reassurance. Since the person has no memory for what goes on during the seizure, he will be helped if the person who is with him avoids excitement and explains to him that nothing very serious has happened.

What should be done if the person seems to go into another attack before he is fully recovered from the previous one?

A series of attacks such as this is called “epileptic status” and is a medical emergency. The person’s physician should be notified immediately and his instructions followed explicitly. Most commonly, it is wise for the person to be treated for status at the doctor’s office or hospital, as injections of medication are usually needed.

The first thing for a parent to remember is that the degree of fever is no indication of the severity of an illness. Some minor illnesses, such as Roselle infantum, can be accompanied by a very high fever, whereas some very serious diseases, such as certain cases of diphtheria, may only have a low fever. The illness of a child should be judged more on the way he acts than the degree of fever.

A child’s temperature should be taken by rectum with a rectal thermometer until he is between six and even years of age. The rectal temperature is approx­imately one degree higher than the mouth temperature. Generally, the rectal temperature varies between 99 0 and 100 0 . It should be known, however, that a child’s temperature fluctuates during the day, usually being higher in the late day and evening.

Occasionally, at the end of an infection the temperature may drop as low as 97 0. This is no cause for concern as long as the child acts well. It will usually return to normal within 24 hours.

Not infrequently when children recover from an infection they may, for a period of a few weeks, run a low grade fever after activity. This has been called “action temperature.” It is of no significance. It may readily be diagnosed by letting a child rest for 45 minutes and retaking the temperature. If it is only action temperature it will almost always return to normal after rest.

Treatment of Fever

If the fever is high or if it is making a child uncomfortable, efforts should be made to lower it. Aspirin can be given in tablets and by suppository. There is also a preparation like aspirin available in liquid form. The usual dosage would be one-half of a children’s 114 grain tablet for infants under six months of age; one tablet (114 grains) for children six months to two years of age; two tablets (2% grains) for two and three years of age; three tablets for children of four; and four tablets (five grains) for those five years and older. Aspirin suppositories should be given in the same dosages. Suppositories are of particular value when children are vomiting or when there is marked refusal to take medication by mouth. The preparations in liquid form will have an indication as to the amount that will equal the dosage of children’s aspirin tablets (114 grains) .

A warning must be given that an overdose of aspirin may be extremely dangerous to a child. Most of these preparations for children are flavored so as to make them attractive and acceptable. Too often, children, thinking them candy, will take large amounts with serious consequences. It follows that aspirin should be kept entirely out of reach of children.

Other ways of reducing the temperature when the fever is very high (over 104 0 F.) are by alcohol sponge or by cool enemas.

An alcohol sponge is given by sponging a small part of the body at one time (about a six inch square). Pat the area gently with a sponge or soft cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol, then gently pat the area with a dry cloth. Then go to another area using the same procedure and continue on over most of the body. In this way the evaporation of the alcohol on the surface of the body takes down the fever and usually comforts the child at the same time. Most of the child’s body can be kept lightly covered during this procedure.

The cool enema is usually very effective in reducing fever. Cold water is used with only the chill taken off. Bicarbonate of soda (one teaspoon to eight ounces of water) should be added to the water to make it more soothing internally. The amount given should be about four ounces to an infant, eight ounces for a child from one to three years of age, and one pint for children over the age of three. The contents of the enema should be inserted and the buttocks held together for at least three minutes to cool the body.

Fibroid tumors of the uterus are tumors of muscle and connective tissues. They constitute the most common type of pelvic tumor, occurring in about 20 per cent of women of 35 years of age or older. They are characteristic of sexual maturity. The vast majority of them occur in middle life, commonly in the third, fourth and fifth decades.

Fibroids may be as small as a garden pea or as large as a full term pregnancy, although huge sizes are rarely seen today because the growths are usually recognized and removed before attaining tremendous dimensions. Frequently the tumors are multiple and knobby, and cause the womb to be not unlike a lumpy potato, with nodules buried in its wall.

Symptoms

Often a fibroid tumor is discovered in a routine physical examination of a woman who has experienced no symptoms. The growths are painless, in absence of complications, and may be present for many years without causing distress. If enlargement is sufficient to exert pressures on nearby structures, various symptoms depending on size and location may occur difficult urination, constipation, vague feelings of “heaviness,” disturbances of menstruation.

If the fibroids are small and cause no pressure symptoms or menstrual abnormalities, they need not be treated actively, but there should be an examination every six months or so to keep watch on the situation. Otherwise, the usual treatment is surgical removal. Many factors affect the decision in the case of an individual patient, as evaluated by the doctor. In a procedure called myomectomy, the tumors are removed from their beds and the cavities closed. This operation may be preferred in young women who desire to become pregnant.

In women who are near or past the menopause, the entire uterus may be removed (hysterectomy) instead of excising individual tumors. Tumors of moderate size that cause no symptoms in women near the menopause may just be left alone and watched, since there is some tendency for fibroids to regress after the change of life. When surgery is considered too hazardous for a particular patient, treatment by radiation (x-ray) tends to shrink the tumors.

Ovarian Cysts

The ovary may be the site of various types of tumors, many of which are benign. Some are malignant. A cyst is a sac containing fluid or mucoid material. Several varieties may arise in the ovary. Small cysts sometimes disappear without treatment, but if they enlarge or become twisted they must be removed. A cyst that has a slender stem (pedicle) may twist tightly around the stem, causing intense abdominal pain that may arouse suspicion of appendicitis.

The ovary, as well as being a producer of eggs, produces sex hormones. The ovary secretes estrogen, necessary for feminine development, and progesterone, which is necessary for preparing the uterus for pregnancy. Some tumors of the ovary may cause excessive hormone production. It is not possible to determine the exact nature of an ovarian cyst until it has been removed surgically and examined under a microscope. Generally, cysts exceeding size of an average orange should be removed.

Next to pain, headache is probably the most common symptom to affect man­kind. There is hardly a grown person who at one time or another has not experienced mild or severe headaches, for which most people take aspirin or a similar compound because it is often effective and does not require a doctor’s prescription.

People of especially tense and nervous temperament may experience frequent or daily bouts of severe headache that is usually localized in the front or top part of the head. Those with rheumatism of the vertebrae and muscles of the neck will complain of headache in the back part of the head. This is actually not a true headache and may often be relieved by massage of the neck muscles and aspirin.

Nervous people are continually harassed by real and anticipated problems and fears of dire things to come, so that through over excitability the brain becomes overworked and filled with an excess of blood, which leads to headache. Such high-strung individuals may experience headaches for many years and be none the worse for it, and at times they obtain temporary relief from one or another medication. Some severe attacks may not respond to any medication. Any severe and persistent headach should obtain careful study, since head­aches may also be caused by allergy. sinuses, colds, eyestrain, head injury. meningitis, a brain abscess, or briar. tumor. Severe headache can produce nausea and vomiting and impair the efficiency of work and daily activities.

Migraine is a special variety of intense headache that sets in with suddenness on one side of the head, lasts a day or two .La disappears just as suddenly as it came only to recur every few weeks are months with strange regularity. In women, it seems to come with the men.al periods and disappears entirely sudden they reach the menopause. The sudden migraine attack may be accompanied by vomiting and temporary disturbances of vision. Many remedies are employed for migraine, including steroid compounds and ergot and caffeine preprations which may ameliorate some of the attacks when taken as a doctor directs, but they do not have any curative effect on the underlying condition.

What do doctors call this condition?

Endocarditis, infective endocarditis, bacterial endocarditis
What is this condition?

Inflammation of the heart lining is an infection of the endocardium, heart valves, or a valve prosthesis, resulting from bacteria or fungi.

The infection produces vegetative growths on the heart valves, the lining of a heart chamber, or the inside lining of a blood vessel that may embolize (break off and travel through the bloodstream) to the spleen, kidneys, central nervous system, and lungs.

In this disorder, fibrin and platelets aggregate on the valve tissue and engulf circulating bacteria or fungi that flourish and produce vegetations. Such vegetations may cover the valve surfaces, causing ulcers and necrosis (tissue death).

Untreated, inflammation of the heart lining is usually fatal, but with proper treatment, the recovery rate is 70%. The prognosis is poorest when the inflammation causes severe valve damage, leading to insufficiency and heart failure, or when it involves a prosthetic valve.
What causes it?

Most cases of inflammation of the heart lining occur in intravenous drug abusers, people with prosthetic heart valves, and those with mitral valve prolapse. Other predisposing conditions include rheumatic heart disease, coarctation of the aorta, tetralogy of Fallor, subaortic and aortic stenosis, ventricular septal defects, pulmonic stenosis, Marfan syndrome, and degenerative heart disease, especially calcific aortic stenosis. However, some people with an inflamed heart lining have no underlying heart disease.
What arethe Symptoms of Endocarditis?

Early symptoms include malaise, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, joint pain, sweating during the night, chills, valvular insufficiency and, in 90% of cases, an intermittent fever that may recur for weeks. When examining the person with a stethoscope, the doctor may hear a loud heart murmur.

In about 30% of people with the disorder, embolization (release of material into the bloodstream) from vegetating lesions or diseased valve tissue may produce:

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pain in the left upper area of the stomach, radiating to the left shoulder
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blood or pus in the urine, flank pain, and decreased urine output
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partial paralysis, inability to speak, or other nervous system deficits
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chest pain, shortness of breath, and a cough that may produce blood
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numbness and tingling in an arm, leg, finger, or toe.
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Other signs may include an enlarged spleen, skin rash, and splinter hemorrhages under the nails.

How is it diagnosed?

Three or more blood cultures in a 24- to 48-hour period identify the causative organism in up to 90% of people. The remaining 10% may have negative blood cultures, possibly suggesting fungal infection or infections that are hard to diagnose, such as Haemophilus parainfluenzae.

Echocardiography (an ultrasound test of the heart) may identify valvular damage; an electrocardiogram may show atrial fibrillation and other irregular heart rhythms that accompany valvular disease.
How is it treated?

Treatment tries to kill the infecting organism. Antibiotics should start promptly and continue for 4 to 6 weeks.

Supportive treatment includes bed rest, aspirin for fever and aches, and sufficient fluids. Severe valve damage may require corrective surgery if heart failure develops or in cases requiring that an infected prosthetic valve be replaced.

What is this condition?

This disorder involves focal or diffuse inflammation of the cardiac muscle (myocardium). It may be acute or chronic and can occur at any age. Frequently, this disease fails to cause specific cardiovascular symptoms or electrocardiogram abnormalities, and recovery is usually spontaneous, without residual defects. Occasionally, it’s complicated by heart failure.

What causes it?

Inflammation of the heart muscle is caused by:

• viral injections, such as coxsackievirus A and B strains and, possibly, polio, influenza, measles, German measles, adenoviruses, and echoviruses (most common causes in the United States)
• bacterial injections, such as diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, tetanus, and staphylococcal, pneumococcal, and gonococcal infections
• hypersensitive immune reactions, such as acute rheumatic fever and postcardiotomy syndrome
• radiation therapy from large doses of radiation to the chest in treating lung or breast cancer
• chemical poisons, as in chronic alcoholism
• parasitic injections, especially South American trypanosomlasis (Chagas’ disease) in infants and immunosuppressed adults, and toxoplasmosis
• injections caused by parasitic worms, such as trichinosis.

What are its symptoms?

Inflammation of the heart muscle usually causes nonspecific symptoms (such as fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, and fever) that reflect the accompanying infection. Occasionally, it may cause mild, continuous pressure or soreness in the chest.

How is it diagnosed?

The person’s history commonly reveals recent febrile upper respiratory tract infection, viral pharyngitis, or tonsillitis. A physical exam detects irregular heart rhythms, abnormal heart sounds, and possibly a murmur.

An electrocardiogram typically shows abnormalities in heart rhythm. Stool and throat cultures may identifY bacteria.

How is Myocarditis Treated?

Myocarditis treatment includes antibiotics for bacterial infection, modified bed rest to decrease the heart’s workload, and careful management of complications.

Heart failure requires restricted physical activiry to minimize myocardial oxygen consumption, supplemental oxygen therapy, restricted salt intake, diuretics to decrease fluid retention, and Lanoxin to increase myocardial contractility. However, Lanoxin must be used cautiously because some people with inflammation of the heart muscle may be sensitive to even small doses.

Irregular heart rhythms require prompt but cautious administration of antiarrhythmic drugs, such as Cardioquin or Pronestyl.

This is a very serious condition most commonly seen in children under the age of two (the average age is seven months). It is caused by one portion of the intestine pushing inside the next segment. The pressure of the outside intestine compresses the blood vessels of the inner loop, cutting off the local blood supply. If not relieved quickly the inner portion of the loop may become gangrenous. This condition is two times more frequent in boys than in girls.

Symptoms

an infant cries out suddenly with violent abdominal cramps and then starts vomiting. The cramps subside and then occur again at fairly regular intervals, leaving the child weak and almost flaccid. But the telltale and most frequent sign of intussusception is blood in the stools. At times only a slight discharge of blood is passed by rectum, but more frequently there is a mixture of blood and mucus which because of its semblance to cranberry or currant jelly has been frequently called a “cranberry stool” or “currant jelly stool.”

Treatment

This is an acute emergency and a doctor should be called immediately, for unless the intussusception is relieved it may prove fatal. Often the physician can feel the mass in the abdomen caused by the condition. In rare instances it will subside under manipulation by the doctor. At other times it will subside when the child is given a diagnostic barium enema prior to x-ray or fluoroscopic examination. But if the intussusception is not relieved, an immediate operation is necessary. Time is very important, for if one waits too long and gangrene occurs, an amputation of a part of the intestine may be necessary. This is a very serious and critical operation for a small child already extremely ill and completely prostrated.