Diseases & Conditions Blog

Do you remember why you joined the gym? Can you recall the exact reason that compelled you to shed those extra kilos? Diets and exercises are begun for a variety of reasons. You may have decided to lose weight on your doctor’s recommendation to prevent future health problems. You may have realized that to avoid inheriting your family’s problems of diabetes and health diseases, weight loss is the only way. You may want to regain the stamina that you once had. You may be required to lose weight for an impending surgery. Or may just be looking forward to a great appearance.

Unfortunately, most people choose to lose weight for the wrong reasons. In this high pressure world of today, societal pressure plays a huge role in decision making. All the magazines that you subscribe to, all the radio channels that you hear and any television program that you see just reinforce your desire to lose to weight. Waif like models waltz down the runway. Glamorous movie stars talk incessantly about their diet. Actors work away maniacally to develop a ‘six-pack’ in record time. All in the name of looking good. Clothes are manufactured to fit these reed thin people. If your are overweight, you may have to walk from store to store in search of that one dress that you can carry off well. No one talks about health. The personality of the stars is such that you feel compelled to look at yourself in the mirror and examine each ounce of fat deposited on your abdomen, your arms and elsewhere. What you see horrifies you and you rush to the nearest gym and also starve yourselves.

What you fail to realize is that the standards that the stars set is not for everyone. They may be going through a rigorous regime to keep up their appearances, but they have the time to do it. You have a job to go to and a home to run- other priorities which take up most of your time. How do you find the balance?

And most importantly, is being thin equivalent to being healthy? Models frequently faint on the runways, overcome by hunger and sheer exhaustion. What you need to understand is that while appearance is fleeting, health is forever. You must not work yourself to lose weight just to look good. The ultimate aim should be to lead a healthy life.

What do Doctors call this Condition?

Doctors also call this condition chronic myelogenous leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia.

What is this Condition?

In chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL), precursors to certain white blood cells called granulocytes multiply abnormally in the bone marrow, blood, and body tissues. It is most common in young and middle-aged adults (rare in children) and is slightly more common in men than women. In the United States, CGL accounts for roughly 20% of all diagnosed cases of leukemia.

There are two distinct phases of the disease: an insidious chronic phase, with anemia and bleeding abnormalities, and an acute phase (blastic crisis), in which myeloblasts (the most primitive granulocytic precursors) multiply rapidly. No cure exists for this disease - at least not yet.

What Causes it?

Experts believe that this disease is caused by an unidentified virus. It is notable that most people with CGL have a chromosomal abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome, which may be caused by radiation and carcinogenic chemicals.

What are its Symptoms?

Typical symptoms include:

• anemia (marked by fatigue, weakness, decreased exercise tolerance, pallor, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, and headache)
• a low platelet count, with resulting bleeding and clotting disorders such as retinal hemorrhage, blood in the urine, black tarry stools, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, and easy bruising
• an enlarged liver and spleen, with abdominal discomfort and pain.

Other common symptoms include tenderness in the ribs and sternum, low-grade fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, gouty arthritis, occasional prolonged infection and ankle swelling and, rarely, prolonged or constant erection of the penis.

How is it Diagnosed?

Lab tests, including chromosomal analysis, confirm a diagnosis of CGL. Blood tests usually reveal changes in white blood cells and other abnormalities. A test called bone marrow aspiration shows the effect of the disorder on bone cells. A computed tomography scan (commonly called a CAT scan) may identifY the organs affected by leukemia.

How is it Treated?

Even with chemotherapy, doctors have had little success in producing remissions in people with CGL. The goal of treatment during the chronic phase is to control the proliferation of white blood cells and platelets by giving drugs. The most commonly used oral drugs are busulfan and hydroxyurea. Aspirin is commonly given to prevent stroke if the person’s platelet count is especially high.

Other potentially helpful treatments include:

• radiation therapy of the spleen or removal of the spleen to increase the platelet count and limit the complications of spleen enlargement
• leukapheresis (selective leukocyte removal) to reduce the white blood cell count
• allopurinol, a drug that helps prevent excess uric acid in the blood, or colchicine, a drug that relieves gout caused by elevated uric acid levels
• prompt treatment of infections (chemotherapy may cause bone marrow suppression, which can lead to infection).

During the acute phase of CGL, lymphoblastic or myeloblastic leukemia may develop. Treatment is similar to that for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A bone marrow transplant may produce long periods without symptoms in the early phase of illness but has been less successful in the acute phase.

What is this Condition?

A common venereal disease that affects both sexes, gonorrhea is an infection of the genitourinary tract (especially the urethra and cervix and, occasionally, the rectum, pharynx, and eyes. Untreated gonorrhea can spread through the blood to the joints, tendons, membrane, of the spinal cord and brain, and the interior membrane lining of the heart; in women, it can also lead to chronic pelvic inflammatory disease and sterility.

After adequate treatment, the prognosis for both men and women is excellent, although reinfection is common. Gonorrhea is especially prevalent among young people (between ages 19 and 25) and people with multiple sexual partners.

What Causes it?

Transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the organism that causes gonorrhea, almost always follows sexual contact with an infected person. Children born of infected mothers can contract neonatal gonococcal conjunctivitis as they pass through the birth canal. Children and adults with gonorrhea can get this type of conjunctivitis by touching their eyes with contaminated hands.

What are its Symptoms?

Although many infected men may have no symptoms, after 3 to 6 days, some develop symptoms of urethritis, including painful urination and a pus-filled urethral discharge, with redness and swelling at the infection site. Most infected women remain symptom-free, but some develop inflammation and a greenish yellow discharge from the cervix - the most common gonorrheal symptoms in women. Other signs and symptoms vary according to the infection site.

Signs of neonatal conjunctivitis include swollen eyelids, conjunctival infection in both eyes, and a heavy pus-filled discharge 2 to 3 days after birth. Adult conjunctivitis, most common in men, causes conjunctival redness and swelling in one eye. Untreated gonococcal conjunctivitis can progress to blindness.

How is it Diagnosed?

A culture from the infected body part usually establishes the diagnosis by isolating the organism. A lab test called a Gram stain supports the diagnosis and may be sufficient to confirm gonorrhea in men. A culture of scrapings from the eye confirms gonococcal conjunctivitis.

How is it Treated?

For adults and adolescents, the recommended treatment for uncomplicated gonorrhea caused by N gonorrhoeae is Rocephin by intramuscular injection. Treatment of concurrent chlamydial infection may require Vibramycin taken orally. A single dose of Race ph in followed by E-Mycin for 7 days is recommended for pregnant women and those allergic to penicillin. Other drugs may be used to treat complications.

Drug therapy should be continued for 24 to 48 hours after improvement begins; usually a full week of antibiotics is required, although the doctor may switch to different medications to finish treatment.

Routine instillation of 1 % silver nitrate or llotycin drops into the eyes of newborns has greatly reduced the incidence of gonococcal neonatal conjunctivitis.

If you have aplastic anemia, your bone marrow’s production of blood cells decreases. This causes a reduction in the total number of cells in your bloodstream. This may occur gradually or suddenly. In most cases the cause of the problem cannot be identified. Sometimes the cause can be tentatively traced to exposure to a toxic substance such as benzene, certain substances used to dye hair, a drug taken for another disorder, or radiation. Most anticancer drugs produce similar changes in the bone marrow, but the condition usually improves when the drug is discontinued for awhile.

What are the Symptoms?

There are three main groups of symptoms. The decrease in production of red blood cells causes the symptoms of anemia . The decrease in production of granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, makes you more susceptible to infection. Finally, the decrease in platelet production leads to spontaneous bruising, red dots on the skin, and bleeding from the nose, mouth and other sites.

What are the Risks?

The main risks associated with aplastic anemia are infection and bleeding. Both of these may be severe enough to become life­threatening. You may improve spontaneousy or with treatment, but progressive failure of the bone marrow, worsening your condition, may also occur.

What Should be Done?

If you develop any of the symptoms described, see your physician at once. This is especially important if you are taking a drug or working with chemicals or radioactive materials. The physician will probably arrange for a blood test. If the test results show that aplastic anemia may be present, you may need to have a bone marrow biopsy, in which a small amount of bone marrow is removed and examined under the microscope. This examination should allow your physician to make a definite diagnosis.

What is the Treatment?

In cases where the disease is associated with a drug that is being taken for another problem, your physician will strongly consider stopping the drug and finding a suitable substitute. If there is any suspicion of continuing exposure to a toxic compound, you should remove yourself from contact with it.

Your physician will probably treat anemia and hemorrhage, or bleeding, with blood transfusions, and infections with antibiotics, which are usually given intravenously for best results. If you do not have an infection, but your granulocyte count is very low, you still may be given an antibiotic to reduce the chance of infection.

If the disease is severe or if it is growing worse, a bone marrow transplant offers the best hope of recovery. However, the bone marrow transplant has its own hazards. There is also a medication available, but it helps only a few patients.

Infections of the outer ear canal may take one of two forms: a localized infection such as a bail or abscess, or a generalized infection that affects the whole lining of the canal. Ear infections can occur after swimming. Persistent, excessive moisture in the ear canal can make the canal more susceptible to infection. Polluted water from lakes and rivers can cause infection by direct contact. Another cause of both localized and generalized infections is scratching inside the ear to relieve itching or while attempting to remove wax.The first symptom of infection may be itching in your ear, usually followed by pain. Sometimes yellowish-green pus seeps from the ear, and this may relieve the pain. If the pus blocks your outer ear canal, you may lose some hearing. When you have this kind of ear infection, any movement of the head may cause pain in your ear.

Infections of the outer ear are most com­mon in young adults. If you do not get treatment for such an infection, it may spread and affect underlying cartilage and bone.

What is the Treatment?

Self-help: Take aspirin and place a warm, clean cotton pad or an electric heating pad over your ear to help relieve pain until you see your physician.

Professional help: The physician will probably look into your ear with an otoscope, and may take a sample of any pus. The sample will be sent to a laboratory to see what has caused the infection. Then the doctor will probably clean your ear with a suction device or a cotton-tipped probe. This usually relieves irritation and pain. Your physician may prescribe any number of drugs in the form of pills, capsules, ear drops or cream. A combination of gentle daily cleaning of the ear and the use of the prescribed drugs should clear up the condition.

Usually, if the condition is not improved by this treatment within three to four days, your physician will take further action. Armed with the results of the laboratory tests, the physician may prescribe an antibiotic that is especially effective against the particular organisms, usually bacteria, causing the infection. If the pain is severe, the doctor may also prescribe a painkiller.

You must keep the infected ear dry. This means no swimming, and wearing ear plugs or a shower cap in the bath or shower.

The infection may recur and need treatment for many months if the microbes causing the infection are fungi, or if you develop an allergy to them. If this happens, your physician will probably prescribe a steroid cream or ear drops.

What do Doctors call this Condition? -Soft chancre

What is this Condition?

Chancroid is a sexually transmitted disease marked by painful genital ulcers and swollen, possibly ulcerated, lymph nodes in the groin area.

This infection occurs worldwide but is most common in tropical countries. It affects men more often than women.

Chancroidal ulcers may heal by themselves and usually respond well to treatment if there are no secondary infections. A high rate of HIV infection has been reported among people with chancroid.

What Causes it?

Chancroid is caused by a bacterium and is transmitted through sexual contact. Poor hygiene may predispose men - especially those who are uncircumcised - to this disease.

What are its Symptoms?

After a 3- to 5-day incubation period, a small pimple erupts at the site of entry, usually the groin or inner thigh; in men, it may appear on the penis; in women, on the vulva, vagina, or cervix. Occasionally, it may erupt on the tongue, lip, breast, or navel. The pimple rapidly breaks out into an ulcer, becoming painful, soft, and foul-smelling; it bleeds easily and produces pus. It’s gray and shallow, with irregular edges, and measures up to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter.

Within 2 to 3 weeks, lymph nodes in the groin area become swollen, creating pus-filled, inflamed nodes that may rupture into large ulcers or buboes. Headache and malaise occur in 50% of people with chancroid. During the healing stage, phimosis (narrowed orifice of the foreskin) may develop.

How is it Diagnosed?

Lab tests provide evidence of the disease but are not 100% reliable. A biopsy (removal and analysis of tissue) confirms the diagnosis but is reserved for resistant cases or cases in which cancer is suspected. Additional tests may be performed to rule out other sexually transmitted diseases that cause similar ulcers. Testing for HIV infection should be done at the time of diagnosis.

How is it Treated?

The treatment of choice includes the following drugs: Zithromax, E-mycin, or Rocephin. The safety of Zithromax for pregnant or breast-feeding women has not been established. Aspiration of fluid­filled nodes helps prevent spreading the infection.

What can a Person with Chancroid do?

Don’t apply lotions, creams, or oils on or near your genitalia or on other lesion sites. Avoid sexual contact until healing is complete (usually about 2 weeks after treatment begins). Wash your genitalia daily with soap and water. If you’re an uncircumcised man, you should retract the foreskin for thorough cleaning.