Medical Training for Health

Archive for the ‘Health Info’ Category

Duration

Generally, symptoms of alcohol withdrawal better in five days, although in some patients, symptoms last for weeks.

Prevention

There are many factors that cause alcoholism. If one of your brothers, sisters or parents is an alcoholic, you have three to four times more likely than average to become alcoholic. Read the rest of this entry »

Treatment

Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to treat infection. In cases of severe infections, these antibiotics may be given intravenously (into a vein). Usually need to take antibiotics for at least 10 days, and it is important to take all the tablets prescribed, even if you feel better.

Many abscesses do not respond to antibiotics alone, and need to be drained. This can be done with a needle or by making a small cut and suck the liquid. This is often done in the doctor’s office or emergency room, but occasionally may be needed in an operating room, especially if the infection has spread to the neck. Read the rest of this entry »

Diagnosis

Your doctor will examine your throat, mouth and neck and take a sample of your throat. The extracted material is sent to the lab for culture, which can identify the type of bacteria causing the infection.

Your doctor may look at your throat with an endoscope is a flexible tube. Your doctor may order an x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan to better see the extent of infection in the tissues of the neck.

Duration

After treatment, symptoms should disappear within five to seven days. Read the rest of this entry »

The peritonsillar space lies between each tonsil and the wall of the throat. An infection can cause inflammation (swelling) with pus (abscess) in that space. Peritonsillar abscess, also called phlegmonous, usually are caused by tonsillitis. Abscesses are frequently caused by streptococcal bacteria (beta haemolytic streptococcus group A).

If the peritonsillar abscess is not treated properly, the infection can spread to the neck, mouth and lungs. Swelling can push the tonsil into the center of the throat and move the uvula (the flap of tissue in the back of the throat) from the center toward the unaffected region of the throat. In several cases, inflammation can make breathing difficult or can close the airways. Read the rest of this entry »

Friedreich’s ataxia is an inherited (genetic) that cause the deterioration of certain nerve cells over time.

In many cases, this condition also affects the heart and certain bones, and cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The disease usually manifests as difficulty walking. People with Friedreich’s ataxia and awkward show unstable movements in the legs (called gait ataxia) during childhood or early adolescence. Read the rest of this entry »

Prevention

There is no way to prevent Marfan syndrome. Patients and families with Marfan syndrome might resort to genetic counseling to determine the risks of transmitting the disorder to their children.

When To Call a Professional

Call your doctor whenever you have problems with their sight. In many patients with Marfan syndrome, the eye doctor (ophthalmologist) is the first to suspect Marfan syndrome, based on the outcome of your eye exam. Read the rest of this entry »

No medical treatment exists to stop the fibrillin abnormality in people with Marfan syndrome. In the future, research strains of mice born with fibrillin problems may lead to successful treatment of Marfan syndrome.

Until then, doctors try to prevent or delay changes in the aorta of Marfan syndrome patients to prescribe medications that lower the pressure within the aorta. Your doctor may suggest taking a beta blocker and/or blocking angiotensin receptor called losartan (Cozaar).

Beta-blockers such as propranolol (Inderal), metoprolol (Lopressor) and atenolol (Tenormin) decrease the layer in the wall of the aorta by decreasing heart rate and reduce the force of heart contractions, especially during exercise. They are conducting studies to determine whether losartan, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prescribed for high blood pressure and heart failure might be more effective in preventing the expansion of the aorta. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms

Marfan syndrome affects each person differently and the presence and severity of symptoms can vary. Very often, people with Marfan syndrome learn of this condition when they find someone else in your family suffers from this problem or because of their physical appearance.

People with Marfan syndrome are tall and thin with long limbs, with or without other skeletal deformities. They usually appear vision problems, including difficulty seeing far and ectopia lentis. Symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath, can be very severe if there is an expansion of aortic aneurysm or heart valve lesions. Read the rest of this entry »

Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder (inherited) that affects the body’s connective tissue. The connective tissue is the tissue elastic, fibrous and resistant connecting one body part to another. Is a major part of the tendons, ligaments, bones and the walls of large blood vessels. In Marfan syndrome, the body can not produce enough fibrillin, a key component of connective tissue.

The problem in the Marfan syndrome is caused by a mutation (change) in a gene. Genes are segments of DNA that the body to produce proteins. In many families with Marfan syndrome inherited the mutation affects the FBN1 gene on chromosome 15, although in some cases might be affected a second gene on chromosome 5. Read the rest of this entry »

When To Call a Professional

Call your health professional if you have symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon to learn about this disease and to ensure that does not suffer from other diseases. If you have been diagnosed with Raynaud’s phenomenon, see your doctor if you experience unusual symptoms such as redness, inflammation (swelling) or severe open sores. Seek medical attention if you develop color changes, numbness or tingling in your arms or legs that do not disappear within minutes after heating the affected area. Read the rest of this entry »