Posts

Cervical radiculopathy is a common cause of pain, pins, and needles and/or weakness in your arm, as well as neck pain and other symptoms. It is generally brought about when a spinal nerve root is compressed, either by an acute or chronic disc herniation or by degenerative changes in spinal structures. Examples of spondylosis, which is another name for degenerative changes in the spine, can include arthritis-related symptoms such as facet joint hypertrophy or bone spurs, or disc degeneration....

While it’s not the same for everyone, many people experience allergy-like reactions after coming in contact with fragrance ingredients. This has led to an increase in companies that offer fragrance-free products. Although “fragrance-free” is sometimes used interchangeably with “unscented,” they are not the same. Fragrance-free products are those that do not contain synthetic or natural fragrance materials. Unscented products often do not have a noticeable scent, yet they may contain fragrance chemicals that mask or neutralize the odors of other ingredients....

Hyperglycemia—high blood sugar—is commonly associated with people who have diabetes, but it can also impact those without diabetes. Like hyperglycemia in diabetes, the symptoms are difficult to feel and easily go unnoticed, so the condition often goes untreated. The recommended blood glucose range is 80 to 130 mg/dL, but hyperglycemia is diagnosed when levels reach above 180 mg/dL two hours after eating, although symptoms may be felt with a blood glucose level between 160 mg/dL and 180 mg/dL....

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus, is an autoimmune disease that attacks your body’s immune system. Lupus can affect a wide variety of organ systems and body parts including your skin, joints, and internal organs. When lupus attacks your heart it can cause pericarditis, inflammation of the thin sac surrounding the heart – what is known as the pericardium. Lupus pericarditis is the most common type of heart disease affecting those with lupus....

The GDx is a test that has proved its usefulness in the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. The GDx uses a laser to determine the thickness of the nerve fiber layer in the back of the eye. Older glaucoma tests have centered around measuring eye pressure or measuring the effect that glaucoma has on your overall visual field. Although these tests are extremely important in the treatment and management of glaucoma, it is helpful to use tests like the GDx to detect changes in the nerve fiber layer before significant damage is done causing irreversible vision loss....

Fibromyalgia symptoms can overlap with autoimmune diseases and other arthritis conditions making it difficult to diagnose. The defining symptoms of fibromyalgia are often associated with other subjective and objective symptoms which occur in combination. The cause of fibromyalgia is considered as complex as its clinical presentation. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is still not well understood but mechanisms which have been suggested include: Abnormal pain perception Sleep disorders Abnormal circulating levels of central neurochemical substances It has also been suggested that joint hypermobility (JH) may be associated with the pathology of fibromyalgia....

Keeping a food diary can be an extremely helpful way to identify if you have any reactivity to any particular food or type of foods. You may choose to use a food diary to identify triggers for unwanted digestive symptoms, such as those seen in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or to assess whether certain foods are contributing to symptoms in other parts of the body. Although true food allergies are relatively rare, there is a growing awareness of the role of food intolerance or food sensitivities in contributing to symptoms from chronic digestive and other health problems....

Once reserved for older patients with severe arthritis, total knee replacement surgery is becoming more common in younger, active people. Today, this surgery may be considered for patients in their 40s or 50s with severe knee arthritis that is not relieved with simpler, non-surgical treatments. There are concerns, however, about performing this procedure in such young patients. This article looks at total knee replacement in younger patients, when it is indicated, and what the results might be....

Lichen planus is an immune-mediated disease resulting in an itchy skin rash which sometimes affects the inside of the mouth. It can also affect several other body parts, including the nails, scalp (lichen planopilaris), genitals, eyes, throat, and digestive tract. This disease is not contagious. It often resolves itself and heals within one year in the skin, but can be chronic in the skin and in other areas. It affects 0....

Are you losing your hearing and sometimes hear music that isn’t really there? People who lose their hearing can experience musical ear syndrome. Instrumental music or songs can play in your head over and over. These auditory hallucinations might be alarming, but they aren’t a sign of mental illness. They are probably due to your auditory system and brain producing its own music because of the loss of hearing. While it is disturbing for some people, many people get used to it or even come to like it....

Onycholysis is when the nail plate separates from the nail bed. A fungal nail infection, nail injury, reaction to chemicals (like nail polish), and nail psoriasis are some possible causes. Treatment often involves medications and/or trimming away the separated nail and cleaning the nail bed. Dermatologists often see two instances of onycholysis: Distal onycholysis: Nail plate separation beginning at the far edge of the nail and proceeding down toward the cuticle (most common)....

Produced in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus, orexin is one of the chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters, that affects the brainstem and stimulates food intake, wakefulness, and energy use. Scientists discovered orexin in 1998, and have been researching their role in sleep and arousal, as well as a treatment for sleep disorders. Orexin, also called hypocretin, is part of a class of chemicals called excitatory neuropeptide hormones. There are two different peptides with a similar chemical structure, one is known as orexin-A (or hypocretin-1) and the other is orexin-B (or hypocretin-2)....

Palliative care is a specialized form of medicine that aims to enhance the quality of life of patients and their families who are faced with serious illness. It focuses on increasing comfort through the prevention and treatment of distressing symptoms. In addition to expert symptom management, palliative care focuses on clear communication, advance planning, and coordination of care. Palliative care encompasses the whole self, caring for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and their families....

Head and neck pain, as well as arm numbness and tingling, can be caused by a pinched nerve in your neck. The formal name for this condition is cervical radiculopathy. There are a few simple treatments for a pinched nerve. If these don’t work, your healthcare provider may consider more aggressive options. This article looks at how a pinched nerve is diagnosed and treated. Pinched Nerve Diagnosis When you have radicular pain in your neck, your healthcare provider will first look for red flags that could point to other more serious conditions....

Seckel syndrome is an inherited form of primordial dwarfism, meaning that an infant starts out very small and fails to grow normally after birth. While persons with Seckel syndrome will typically be proportionate in scale, they will have distinctively small head size. Intellectual and developmental disabilities are also common. Despite an array of physical and mental challenges facing a person with Seckel syndrome, many have been known to live well in excess of 50 years....

It can be easy to confuse the two types of steroids: anabolic and corticosteroids. Anabolic steroids are known as performance-enhancing drugs that are similar to the hormone testosterone. This type of prescription medication increases muscle mass while decreasing fat. Corticosteroids, on the other hand, mimic another set of hormones, cortisone, and cortisol, that come from the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland. Cortisone does not cause muscle mass gain but has effects on the body that include reducing the inflammatory response and suppressing immune system’s response....

Candida is a type of fungus that everyone has on their skin and in their body. Usually, bacteria in our bodies keep it under control and Candida causes no problems, but if it overgrows, it can cause an infection. Candida infection, or candidiasis, most commonly affects the mouth, skin, digestive system, or vagina. Taking antibiotics, having a weakened immune system, and smoking can make you more likely to develop a Candida infection....

Peripheral edema is swelling in the feet, ankles, and legs. It can occur in one or both of your lower limbs. If you have diabetes, you need to take extra precautions when you have edema. Fluid can build up when tiny blood vessels are damaged or when they leak into surrounding tissues. The result is swelling. People with diabetes often have problems with blood flow. When blood doesn’t circulate well, wounds heal slowly or not at all....

Can you or your child hear sounds within the speech banana? A speech banana is a banana-shaped range on an audiogram that covers the frequencies and decibels that are needed to understand speech. Contained within the speech banana are letters and letter combinations for these sounds. To understand the speech banana, let’s first look at the audiogram. The audiogram is used to graph hearing sensitivity. Frequencies, also called pitch, are measured in Hertz (Hz)....

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a drug given through a vein to help break up a blood clot so that blood flow can return to normal. It is used for the emergency treatment of ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot interrupts blood flow to a region of the brain. The timely administration of tPA can save lives. And because tPA restores blood flow by dissolving the clots in a blood vessel, it may limit the damage from a stroke and protect against quality of life impacts, like mobility loss or speech difficulties....