Glossary

A

Managing health through diet, exercise, regular visits to a health care provider, and a proper medication regimen can help stall or even prevent the diseases of aging. The average life expectancy in the United States has risen to an all-time high of 78.8 years. Along with a longer life comes a greater likelihood of having to contend with the diseases of aging, which include heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, and dementia. Failing to manage these conditions effectively can rob older adults of their independence. Falls are a significant independence stealer. An estimated 1 in 3 Americans over age 65 falls each year. Injuries sustained during a fall can lead to hospitalization, disability, and even death. Maintaining good balance can help prevent a fall and the problems that often follow. Balance exercises for seniors, such as standing on one foot or walking heel-to-toe, help older adults gain more control over their body so they can stay upright. Doing these exercises at least twice a week offers the greatest benefit. Aging in place is another key concern as people get older. Most older adults want to remain in familiar surroundings—their own home—while maintaining their independence. Yet not every home is equipped to accommodate reduced mobility. Stairs to climb, high shelves to reach, and slippery bathroom floors can make the family home a dangerous place. Making accommodations to the home can increase the likelihood of aging in place safely and successfully. Modifications like stair lifts, a walk-in shower, and bathroom railings can reduce the likelihood of falls. Technology can be another ally in helping seniors who plan to age in place, especially those who live alone. In the event of a fall or other emergency, wearable senior alert systems can summon medical help with the press of a button.

Angina Symptoms

Chest pain is most closely associated with a heart attack, but other conditions can also produce this symptom. Angina is another type of chest pain. It isn?t the same as a heart attack, although it could be a sign that one is imminent.

Angina signals a problem with your heart. The pain you feel is because arteries that normally supply blood to the heart are blocked, which prevents your heart from getting enough oxygen-rich blood. Several different types of angina exist, and each can produce different symptoms.

The main angina symptoms are pain and pressure in your chest. That pain might feel sharp or dull. It can seem like a heavy weight has been placed on your chest, or that your heart is being squeezed. Sometimes, angina pain can mimic the burning feeling of indigestion. You might also notice pain in your arms, neck, back, shoulders, or jaw. Other angina symptoms include shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, sweating, and fatigue.

Because angina symptoms are so similar to those of a heart attack, it?s important to be alert if you are having chest pain?especially if that pain is new for you. Angina comes in two forms?stable and unstable?and one is more serious than the other. Stable angina will typically start when you?ve been active, for example after you?ve climbed a flight of stairs. It usually lasts for a few minutes, but should go away when you rest.

Unstable angina is more serious. The pain is usually more intense, and will last longer?up to 30 minutes. Unstable angina pain does not go away when you rest.

If you have any new chest pain, or pain that does not go away, get medical attention. Angina can lead to a heart attack, which needs immediate treatment to prevent serious heart damage.

Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety is an emotional and physical response to a stressful situation. For example, right before an important presentation at work, you might notice that your breathing quickens, your heart starts to beat faster, your palms sweat, and you feel sick to your stomach. Some anxiety is normal, but when it?s continuous it can become overwhelming and damaging.

Anxiety symptoms are triggered by the body?s fight or flight mechanisms. In response to a stressful encounter or situation, the body releases chemicals such as cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. These chemicals prepare your various body systems to run away, or to stay and fight the challenge. Your heart rate and breathing speed up, sending oxygen to your brain (for planning) and muscles (for action).

The changes that occur in your body as a result of these chemicals produce anxiety symptoms such as a fast heartbeat, nausea, sweating, trembling, chest pain, hot skin, shortness of breath, tense muscles, and weakness in the legs or butterflies in the stomach. People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a condition that causes persistent worry, have more continuous anxiety symptoms. These can include muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, shakiness, muscle tension, sweating, and a need to use the bathroom frequently. In people with panic disorder, anxiety symptoms come on suddenly, feel intense (racing heart, trouble breathing, dizziness, chest pain), and cause extreme worry.

When these anxiety symptoms strike day after day, they can become too much for your body to handle. Excess anxiety and stress can cause wear and tear on your heart and blood vessels, increasing your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke. Continuously tense muscles can lead to headaches and back pain. Chronic stress and anxiety also contribute to body-wide inflammation, which increases the risk for conditions like heart disease, asthma, arthritis, and depression.

Anxiety Test

When you're experiencing constant anxiety, and it's severe enough to disrupt your life, it's time to see your doctor for an evaluation. The doctor will start by asking for your medical history. Then you'll be asked about your anxiety symptoms. For example, how long you've been experiencing them, and how they affect your day-to-day life. The doctor will also ask what factors in your life cause you stress and trigger your symptoms.

A number of questionnaires can help diagnose anxiety problems. These anxiety tests rate your symptoms to determine whether you have an anxiety disorder, and if so, how severe it is. You may be asked to fill out these questionnaires on your own, or a doctor or nurse may ask the questions while you respond. Anxiety tests are also available online, to help you determine whether you might have a problem before seeking help from your health care provider.

Typical questions on an anxiety test ask whether you are troubled by excessive worry, whether you feel bored or tired, and if you have physical symptoms such as tight muscles or stomach problems. The test may ask whether you've had more difficulty sleeping or eating than usual, or if you've used alcohol or drugs.

Your doctor may also order some diagnostic anxiety tests. These tests can help determine whether your symptoms stem from an underlying medical disorder. Your doctor might order thyroid and lung function tests, a glucose tolerance test, a blood test to check iron and sugar levels, an electrocardiogram (ECG) to evaluate the electrical activity of your heart, and endoscopy to search for stomach issues.

The doctor might need to order several anxiety tests to arrive at a diagnosis. The components of your evaluation will depend on your medical history, symptoms, and what risk factors you have for other illnesses.

Appendicitis Symptoms

The appendix?a pouch attached to the large intestine?has no real purpose. This organ often goes unnoticed unless it becomes blocked by feces, a tumor, or parasites and gets infected?a condition called appendicitis. The infection makes the appendix swell up and fill with pus. About 5 percent of Americans develop appendicitis in their lifetime.

Typical appendicitis symptoms are pain, nausea and vomiting, appetite loss, chills, constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. The pain usually starts around the bellybutton, but it can spread to the lower right part of the belly and throughout the abdomen. The pain will likely worsen, especially when you exercise, take deep breaths, cough, or sneeze.

A number of other conditions can also cause these symptoms, which can sometimes complicate diagnosis. Constipation, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, which includes Crohn?s disease and ulcerative colitis), an intestinal blockage, and pelvic inflammatory disease all cause pain, nausea, and other appendicitis symptoms. Yet appendicitis is the most common cause of severe abdominal pain.

Abdominal pain, or any other appendicitis symptoms warrant a call to the doctor. The doctor will ask about these appendicitis symptoms, and may do blood tests, urine tests, and imaging tests such as an ultrasound or CT scan to determine the cause.

Appendicitis needs to be treated quickly with surgery to remove the appendix. Otherwise, the appendix can rupture, spreading pus throughout the abdomen. If the appendix ruptures, appendicitis symptoms will lessen at first, but then they will worsen. Some people develop a pocket of infection in the abdomen called an abscess. A ruptured appendix is life threatening. It requires immediate surgery to remove the burst appendix and clear any pus or drain the abscess.

Arthritis Symptoms

Sore, stiff joints are one of the most common afflictions that come with age. Arthritis in its various forms affects more than 50 million American adults. The disease can reflect a degenerative process?a wearing away of the protective cartilage that cushions the connections between bones, such as in osteoarthritis (OA), the most common type. Or it can be due to inflammation inside the body, such as in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the joints.

No matter what form you have, arthritis symptoms are typically the same: pain, stiffness, swelling, loss of motion, and deformity in the joint. The longer the disease progresses and the more the cartilage wears away, the worse arthritis symptoms become.

Pain in the joints is the main symptom of both OA and RA. That pain can range from mild to severe, but it will usually increase with activity. Arthritis is a progressive disease. Left untreated, arthritis symptoms will get worse over time. As the joint cushioning wears away, you might notice a popping or cracking, the sound of bone rubbing against bone. The irritation from this motion causes the joint to swell up and become red and tender to the touch. Arthritis pain and stiffness can reduce your range of motion, making it more difficult to do your daily activities, from climbing stairs to exercising. Eventually, the damage will lead to permanent changes?knobs that stick out from the bone and deform your fingers and other joints.

Treatment for OA aims to reduce pain and stiffness, and slow down its progressive joint destruction. OA therapies include exercise, physical therapy, and medicines to reduce pain. Weight loss can take some of the pressure off painful joints. If all other treatments fail, surgery is an option. For RA, disease-modifying drugs slow the progression of joint damage and may stall or prevent the need for surgery.

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia in the top chambers of the heart (atria) causing uncoordinated muscular contractions that weaken the heart’s ability to pump. It is characterized by rapid and irregular beating. Often it starts as brief periods of abnormal beating which become longer and possibly constant over time. Most episodes have no symptoms. Occasionally there may be heart palpitations, fainting, shortness of breath, or chest pain. The disease increases the risk of heart failure, dementia, and stroke. Although atrial fibrillation itself usually isn't life-threatening, it is a serious medical condition that sometimes requires emergency treatment. Hypertension and valvular heart disease are the most common alterable risk factors for AF. Other heart-related risk factors include heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease. In the developing world, valvular heart disease often occurs as a result of rheumatic fever. Lung-related risk factors include COPD, obesity, and sleep apnea. Other factors include excess alcohol intake, diabetes mellitus, and thyrotoxicosis. However, half of cases are not associated with one of these risks. A diagnosis is made by feeling the pulse and may be confirmed using an electrocardiogram (ECG). The typical ECG shows no P waves and an irregular ventricular rate. AF is often treated with medications to slow the heart rate to a near normal range (known as rate control) or to convert the rhythm to normal sinus rhythm (known as rhythm control). Electrical cardioversion can also be used to convert AF to a normal sinus rhythm and is often used emergently if the person is unstable. Ablation may prevent recurrence in some people. Depending on the risk of stroke, either aspirin or anti-clotting medications such as warfarin or a novel oral anticoagulant may be recommended. While these medications reduce this risk, they increase rates of major bleeding.

B

Back Pain

Back problems are another source of chronic pain. Sciatica affects the lower back and legs. It starts in the sciatic nerve, which runs down the lower back, hips, buttocks, and legs. A herniated disk that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve often triggers sciatica. Spinal stenosis; a narrowing of the spine, can also put pressure on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can be very painful, but medicines, physical therapy, and other treatments usually improve the pain within a few weeks. Sometimes back pain can be traced to the kidneys, which are located on the back side of the body. Many people mistake kidney pain for back muscle strains. The most common causes of kidney pain are infection, kidney stones, polycystic kidney disease (in which growths called cysts form in the kidneys), bleeding, and kidney cancer. Because kidney pain can signal a more serious condition, it's important to call the doctor for any constant, dull pain on one side of the back.

Balance Exercises For Seniors

We rely on our balance to keep us upright and stable. But as we age, the systems that support us begin to lose their solid foundation, making us more likely to fall. About one-third of adults age 65 and over fall each year. Falls can lead to bone fractures, resulting in disability, loss of independence, and even death.

Balance exercises for seniors improve stability and lower body strength, and help prevent falls. Do these exercises at least twice a week.

A few sample balance exercises for seniors include: Heel-to-toe walk. Walk with the heel of one foot directly in front of the toe of the other foot. Take 20 steps. Stand on one foot. Lift one foot off the ground. Hold the position for 10 seconds. Place the foot back down on the floor. Repeat 10 to 15 times on each leg. Back leg raises. Lift one leg straight out to the back. Hold for one second, and then lower. Repeat 10 to 15 times on each leg. Side leg raises. Lift one leg out straight out to the side. Hold for one second, and then lower. Repeat 10 to 15 times on each leg. Leg lift with biceps curl. Stand with one leg raised, bent at the knee. With the same arm as the leg that is raised, do a biceps curl with a light weight. Repeat 10 to 15 times on each side.

When you start doing these balance exercises, hold on to a chair for support. Gradually, as you become stronger and sturdier, you should be able to let go.

Before you start balance exercises or any other new activity program, check with your doctor. Make sure all the exercises you choose are safe for you, and that you?re doing them correctly. If you still feel very wobbly after doing these exercises, check with your doctor. You could have a balance disorder, such as an infection or other problem with the inner ear.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common of all skin cancers. Though it doesn't spread like melanoma, it can cause disfiguring scars if not identified and treated early. Basal cell carcinoma starts in basal cells; the cells that line the top layer of skin and produce new cells as old ones die.

As with other types of skin cancer, the cause of most basal cell carcinomas is cellular damage resulting from excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. Most basal cell carcinomas are found on areas of the skin that have received a lot of sun exposure; like the face, scalp, neck, shoulders, and back.

One of the hallmark signs of a basal cell carcinoma is an open sore that bleeds or crusts over and never seems to heal. The cancer can also form a shiny or waxy bump, sometimes with blood vessels running through it. Or, it can take the form of a scaly reddish patch. In rare cases, basal cell carcinomas resemble a white, waxy scar. If you notice any growth that's new or changing, call your dermatologist for an appointment.

The doctor will do a biopsy, removing a small sample of tissue from the growth to check it for cancer. For small cancers, the doctor can use a tool called a curette to scrape it off, and then seal the skin underneath with an electric needle. In Mohs surgery, the doctor removes thin layers of the tissue, one at a time, examining each layer under a microscope until all the cancer cells are gone. For larger cancers, the dermatologist can use a scalpel to remove the whole growth, along with some of the skin around it. This is called surgical excision.

Lasers, radiation, and freezing are other methods used to remove basal cell carcinoma. Cancers that are not very deep may be treated with topical drugs such as imiquimod (Aldara), and fluorouracil (Carac, Fluoroplex, Efudex).

C

Calorie Counter

Weight is an equation. To keep the number on the scale constant, the number of calories you take in must equal the number of calories you burn on any given day. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. Your daily calorie goal will depend on how much you exercise, and how much weight you aim to drop. But how do you know exactly how many calories you're eating each day? A calorie counter is a tool to help you stick to your target daily calorie limit. Calorie counters are available online, and as apps that you download to your smartphone or tablet. Examples of calorie counter apps include MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, and FatSecret. With these calorie counters, you to enter your current weight, age, exercise level, and goal weight. Then, the app lets you know how many calories you should eat each day to reach the weight you want. Calorie counters contain databases that include thousands, or even millions of different foods. You input each food you eat, or scan the barcode of the item at the supermarket, and the program adds up your calorie totals. Depending on which calorie counter you use, it also may provide information on the amount of carbs, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals contained in each food. You can use your calorie counter as a journal to keep track of the foods you eat each day, follow your progress over the course of several months, and look for ways to improve your diet. Some calorie counters even offer recipes to help you reach your goals. Others enable you to add in your daily exercise. They contain databases of different exercises; walking, playing basketball, skiing, and how many calories each burns. Then you can tally up your daily calories eaten, and subtract the calories you burn with exercise, to see whether you're meeting your weight loss goals.

Cancer

More than half a million people die from cancer annually?but targeted therapies and other treatments offer hope to countless more.

Cancer starts when genetic changes cause cells to divide out of control and form tumors, which can then spread to other parts of the body. The disease can affect any organ. Ovarian cancer is the most deadly reproductive cancer in women. Often, it?s caught at a late stage because no screening tests exist. Ovarian cancer symptoms include abdominal bloating, pain in the abdomen or pelvis, and a rapid feeling of fullness while eating.

Skin cancers, such as melanoma and basal cell carcinoma, are on the rise and are fueled by sun exposure. Basal cell carcinoma is by far the most common type of skin cancer, with 3.5 million new cases diagnosed each year.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. Depending on the type of leukemia, it can affect white blood cells of the immune system, red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body, or platelets that clot the blood. Leukemia symptoms vary depending on the type of the disease, but can include fatigue, fever, chills, easy bleeding or bruising, and swollen lymph nodes.

Colon cancer primarily affects people over age 50. This type of cancer starts in the lower part of the intestine (colon). It forms growths called polyps, which can be identified on a screening colonoscopy. Colon cancer symptoms include blood in the stool, stomach cramps, diarrhea or constipation, and unintended weight loss.

Although lung cancer is not the most common cancer, it?s the leading cause of cancer-related death. Smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer. Exposure to chemicals such as asbestos accounts for a smaller number of cases. Lung cancer symptoms include a cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

Cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathies are a group of diseases that primarily affect the heart muscle. The main types of cardiomyopathy include hypertrophic, restrictive and dilated cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently, is the most common type. The decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems., Cardiomyopathy makes it harder for your heart to pump and deliver blood to the rest of your body, and can lead to heart failure. The current American Heart Association definition divides cardiomyopathies into primary, which affect the heart alone, and secondary, which are the result of illness affecting other parts of the body. These categories are further broken down into subgroups that incorporate new genetic and molecular biology knowledge. Cardiomyopathies can be classified using different criteria: • Primary/intrinsic (genetic, acquired) • Secondary/extrinsic (endomyocardial, endocrine, cardiofacial, neuromuscular and other, such as obesity-associated cardiomyopathy) Symptoms may include shortness of breath after physical exertion, fatigue, and swelling of the feet, legs, or abdomen. Additionally, arrhythmias and chest painmay be present. These diseases are diagnosed using a variety of measures, including physical exams, review of family history, blood tests, EKGs, echocardiograms, stress tests and genetic testing. Treatment may include suggestion of lifestyle changes to better manage the condition. Treatment depends on the type of cardiomyopathy and condition of disease, but may include medication (conservative treatment) or iatrogenic/implanted pacemakers for slow heart rates, defibrillators for those prone to fatal heart rhythms, ventricular assist devices (VADs) for severe heart failure, or ablation for recurring dysrhythmias that cannot be eliminated by medication or mechanical cardioversion. The goal of treatment is often symptom relief, and some patients may eventually require a heart transplant. Other diseases that cause heart muscle dysfunction include coronary artery disease, hypertension, or abnormalities of the heart valves.

Cataracts

Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s lens that prevents a clear image from forming on the retina, blurring vision. Most are related to aging. They are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other. Although most cataracts are related to aging, there are other types: • Secondary cataracts can form after surgery for other eye problems, such as glaucoma. They also can develop in people who have other health problems, such as diabetes. Cataracts are sometimes linked to steroid use. • Traumatic cataracts can develop after an eye injury, sometimes years later. • Congenital cataracts sometimes appear in newborn babies or are developed in childhood, often in both eyes. These may be so small that they do not affect vision. If they do, the lenses may need to be removed. • Radiation cataracts can develop after exposure to some types of radiation. The eye’s lens is made of mostly water and protein, which is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it. But as people age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. This is a cataract. Over time, it may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see. Researchers suspect that there are several causes, such as smoking and diabetes. Or, it may be that the protein in the lens just changes from the wear and tear it takes over the years. The most common symptoms are: • Cloudy or blurry vision. • Colors seem faded. • Glare. Headlights, lamps, or sunlight may appear too bright. A halo may appear around lights. • Poor night vision. • Double vision or multiple images in one eye. (This symptom may clear as the cataract gets larger.) • Frequent prescription changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses. • These symptoms also can be a sign of other eye problems. If you have any of these symptoms, check with an eye care professional. Cataract is detected through a comprehensive eye exam that includes: • Visual acuity test. This eye chart test measures how well you see at various distances. • Dilated eye exam. Drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the pupils. Your eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine your retina and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-up vision may remain blurred for several hours. • Tonometry. An instrument measures the pressure inside the eye. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye for this test. Early symptoms may be improved with new eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses. If these measures do not help, surgery is the only effective treatment. Surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. A cataract needs to be removed only when vision loss interferes with your everyday activities, such as driving, reading, or watching TV. Sometimes a cataract should be removed even if it does not cause problems with vision. For example, a cataract should be removed if it prevents examination or treatment of another eye problem, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy.

Celiac Disease Symptoms

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that makes the immune system react to gluten?a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, this immune reaction damages their small intestine, making it harder for them to absorb nutrients from foods.

Celiac disease is not the same as gluten sensitivity. People who are sensitive to gluten develop symptoms similar to those of celiac disease when they eat gluten-containing foods, but no damage is occurring in their intestines.

An estimated 1 out of every 141 Americans has celiac disease. Most of them don?t realize they are living with the condition. That?s why it?s important to become familiar with celiac disease symptoms, and talk to a doctor if you have them.

Digestive issues are the most typical celiac disease symptoms, particularly in children. These symptoms include bloating, diarrhea or constipation, gas, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, or foul smelling stools. In babies and children, celiac disease symptoms can also include slowed growth, weight loss, changes in mood, tooth damage, and delayed puberty.

Adults are more likely to experience celiac disease symptoms elsewhere in the body?including the skin, bones, and joints. They may have bone or joint pain, sores in the mouth, an itchy skin rash, fatigue, anemia, missed menstrual periods, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, weak bones, and headaches.

It can be hard to distinguish celiac disease from other conditions that produce digestive symptoms, like irritable bowel syndrome, anemia, lactose intolerance, and diverticulitis. Further complicating diagnosis is that celiac disease symptoms vary from person to person, depending on the amount of gluten they eat, their age, how long they?ve had the disease, and how much damage has been done to their small intestine. A medical history, physical exam, blood tests, and tissue biopsies can help distinguish celiac disease from other conditions and confirm the diagnosis.

Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms

Chronic bronchitis is one of two conditions (along with emphysema) that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial tubes through which air enters the lungs. It?s caused by damage from smoking, or from breathing in chemical fumes or air pollution for a long period of time.

Because the damage develops over the course of many years, you might not start to notice chronic bronchitis symptoms until your airways are already very damaged. The most common chronic bronchitis symptoms are a persistent, chesty cough that usually brings up mucus. This kind of cough is sometimes referred to as a ?smoker?s cough.? The mucus might be clear, or it could be white, green, or yellowish gray.

You can also develop wheezing, a whistling sound when you breathe. The wheezing may get worse when you exercise or do other activities. Some people complain of chronic bronchitis symptoms like tightness in the chest, fatigue, and weakness. If you have an infection, you might also have a fever and/or chills. Your chronic bronchitis symptoms may get progressively worse. You can also experience periods during which symptoms worsen, which could mean you?ve caught an infection.

The time to see your doctor is when chronic bronchitis symptoms continue for more than three weeks. Also call if you have blood in your mucus, you?re wheezing or short of breath, or you have a fever higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

During the examination, your doctor will ask about your chronic bronchitis symptoms. You will likely have a pulmonary function test, in which you breathe into a device called a spirometer to see how much air your lungs can hold and how strongly you can breathe out. A test of your sputum can determine whether you have an infection that requires antibiotics. Other ways to check for chronic bronchitis include blood tests and a chest x-ray.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms

Fatigue has many possible causes, which can range from a lack of sleep to a health issue such as thyroid disease. When fatigue is long-term, severe, and it can?t be explained by lifestyle or a medical condition, the cause could be a condition called chronic fatigue syndrome.

Doctors don?t yet know what causes chronic fatigue syndrome. They think it might stem from an infection, a problem with the immune system, body-wide stress, or a combination of factors.

The primary chronic fatigue symptoms include fatigue that?s unexplained and severe enough to interfere with everyday activities. The exhaustion doesn?t improve with rest, and it often gets worse with activity. Other chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms include difficulty remembering and concentrating, pain in the muscles or joints, headaches, tender lymph nodes in the armpit or neck, and a sore throat. These are the most typical chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms, but many people with the condition complain of other ailments. Depression, chills, night sweats, dizziness, fainting, food sensitivities, and bowel problems have all been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

The variety of possible chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms can make the condition difficult for doctors to diagnose. No blood test or imaging scan is specifically designed to pick up chronic fatigue syndrome. People are diagnosed only after they?ve had symptoms for six months or longer, other conditions have been ruled out through testing, and they meet a set of specific chronic fatigue symptom criteria.

Chronic fatigue syndrome can be as difficult to treat as it is to diagnose. Patients will often work with a team of specialists, which includes a primary care physician, mental health specialists, and physical therapists to manage symptoms and learn how to cope with the condition.

Clinical Depression

Depression varies in severity. For some people, the feeling of sadness is mild and relatively fleeting. Others feel depressed day after day with no reprieve. More severe depression that does not let up is referred to as clinical depression, or major depressive disorder. Nearly 7 percent of Americans have clinical depression, making it one of the most common mental health issues.

To be diagnosed with clinical depression, you need to have a depressed mood or lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed, plus four or more of the following symptoms, for at least two weeks:

? Decrease or increase in appetite ? Weight loss or gain ? Trouble sleeping or getting too much sleep ? Agitation or restlessness ? A feeling of slowing down ? Fatigue or lack of energy ? Feelings of worthlessness or guilt ? Trouble thinking, concentrating, or making decisions ? Thoughts of death or suicide

Everyone experiences depression differently, but to qualify for a diagnosis of clinical depression, the symptoms must be significant enough to interfere with your day-to-day life. Clinical depression makes it more difficult to go to work or school, and interrupts your normal social activities. Some people experience sporadic episodes of clinical depression, while for others, the condition is more continuous and persistent.

Although clinical depression is a more severe form of depression, it does respond to treatments. The first step is to see a mental health professional for a diagnosis. During the evaluation, the doctor can rule out other conditions that can mimic clinical depression, including thyroid disorders or substance abuse.

Once clinical depression has been diagnosed, it can be treated with medications and talk therapy. Antidepressant drugs alter levels of brain chemicals that influence mood. These include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and paroxetine (Paxil), and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as venlafaxine (Effexor) and duloxetine (Cymbalta). These medicines may be paired with psychotherapy, which teaches strategies to manage depression.

Colon Cancer Symptoms

Colon cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the large intestine (colon), which is part of the digestive system. It?s the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women, and the second leading cause of cancer death in both genders.

Colon cancer often doesn?t cause any symptoms until the disease has already spread. That?s why most medical organizations recommend starting screening at age 50 if you?re at average risk for colon cancer. Begin screening earlier?at age 45?if you?re at increased risk because of a family history, or you?re African American.

Colonoscopy?which allows the doctor to visualize the colon through a flexible scope?is considered the ?gold standard? screening method, because the doctor can remove any polyps found during the exam. This test is recommended once every 10 years for people who are at average risk for colon cancer. Other screening options include flexible sigmoidoscopy once every five to 10 years, virtual colonoscopy every five years, double-contrast barium enema every five years, fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year, or fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year. An abnormal result on any of these tests will need to be followed up with a colonoscopy.

Be on the alert for colon cancer symptoms. You might notice a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea or constipation, that doesn?t go away. Other colon cancer symptoms include blood in the stool or from the rectum, abdominal pain or cramps, weakness, fatigue, and unintended weight loss. Because colon cancer symptoms can also be signs of conditions like a stomach infection, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), have your doctor check them out.

Treatment for colon cancer depends on the stage of the cancer. Options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or drugs that target specific genes or protein changes in colon cancer.

Copd

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD, for short) is a lung condition that makes it harder to breathe. COPD is not one, but two conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

What is emphysema? It?s a disease in which the air sacs of the lungs become damaged. Normally, as air travels from the mouth through the airways, it flows into air sacs called alveoli. These sacs stretch and fill up like tiny balloons. Oxygen from the air passes through the alveoli walls into the bloodstream. Carbon dioxide from the blood passes out through the alveoli to be removed via exhalation.

In emphysema, the air sacs lose their stretchiness and their walls are destroyed. This damage makes it harder for the lungs to absorb oxygen. In chronic bronchitis, the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and thickens. Sticky mucus forms, which blocks the airways and interferes with normal breathing.

Typical COPD signs and symptoms are a cough that produces a lot of phlegm, shortness of breath, chest pain and tightness, and wheezing. Chronic bronchitis symptoms include many of these same signs?especially a cough and shortness of breath.

Because most COPD cases are caused by exposure to smoke, the first step in treating the condition is to stop smoking. Medicines can relieve the cough, shortness of breath, and other COPD symptoms. Bronchodilators relax the muscles of the airways, opening them up to make it easier to breathe. Steroid medicines bring down inflammation in the airways. These medicines are typically breathed in through a device called an inhaler.

People with very low oxygen levels in their blood may need to breathe oxygen through a mask or a cannula in the nose. Some people use oxygen only during exertion, such as when exercising. Others need it throughout the day. One way for people with COPD to improve their quality of life is by taking part in a program called pulmonary rehabilitation. In this program, a team of nurses, physical therapists, and other specialists offer exercise and diet tips, along with other strategies to help manage the disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD, for short) is a lung condition that makes it harder to breathe. COPD is not one, but two conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Copd Definition

COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The COPD definition is a lung disease that?s caused by exposure to harmful particles or gases, which limits the flow of air into the lungs and affects a person?s ability to breathe normally. The lung damage and symptoms usually get worse over time.

The COPD definition encompasses not one, but two different conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Emphysema involves damage to the air sacs in the lungs. Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial tubes through which air reaches the lungs.

In a normal lung, air travels from the mouth and throat through a branching network of bronchial tubes that extend into thinner and smaller tubes called bronchioles. At the end of these tubes are air sacs called alveoli, through which oxygen is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the rest of the body. Also in the alveoli, carbon dioxide is removed from the blood to be exhaled from the body. The bronchioles and alveoli are normally very elastic, stretching wide and then returning to their normal size as you breathe in and out.

COPD is caused by long-term exposure to cigarette smoke, chemicals or fumes at work, air pollution, or other irritants. Over time, exposure to these toxic substances damages the airways and makes them less elastic. The walls between the air sacs are destroyed, making it difficult for the alveoli to properly inflate and deflate. As a result, too little oxygen gets into the blood and too little carbon dioxide is removed. Bronchitis produces an excess of mucus, which clogs the lungs and increases breathing difficulty.

Although COPD damages the lungs specifically, it can have body-wide effects. People with COPD are at greater risk for lung cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and respiratory infections. Treatment can reduce the odds of developing these complications.

Copd Signs And Symptoms

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a disease that affects the lungs and makes it hard to breathe. COPD signs and symptoms typically develop slowly, over a period of many years. Many people don?t realize they have the condition until the disease has already progressed and they have lost a significant amount of lung function.

As the disease gets worse, the first COPD signs and symptoms may become apparent. One of the most obvious symptoms is a cough that doesn?t go away. Often people complain of shortness of breath, especially with exertion such as exercise or climbing stairs. Later, shortness of breath can start to interfere with everyday activities like dressing, bathing, and cooking.

COPD can cause you to cough up more mucus (sputum) than usual. Other COPD signs and symptoms include wheezing?a whistling sound when you breathe?and tightness in the chest.

As the disease progresses, COPD signs and symptoms will increase. The mucus may get thicker in the later stages of COPD. Wheezing and chest tightness occur more frequently, and can interfere with daily life. Additional symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and weight loss, may appear. Some people complain of morning headaches, the result of carbon dioxide buildup in their blood as they sleep.

Any COPD signs and symptoms that can?t be explained by a cold, flu, or other respiratory illness should be reported to a doctor. It?s important to get diagnosed and treated as soon as possible, because getting early treatment can prevent complications such as respiratory infections, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. People who smoke should work with their doctor to quit. Continued exposure to cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoke will irritate the lungs even more and worsen COPD symptoms. Quitting smoking and getting the appropriate treatment can improve both quality of life and life expectancy with COPD.

Copd Treatment

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not curable, but you can manage symptoms with one of the many COPD treatments available. Following COPD treatment guidelines will also extend life expectancy and improve your quality of life.

COPD treatment often starts with drugs called bronchodilators, which relax the muscles around the airways to open them up and make it easier to breathe. Bronchodilators come in two forms. Short-acting bronchodilators start to work within minutes, and keep opening the airways for four to six hours. You take them to get immediate relief when you?re short of breath. If your disease is mild, a short-acting bronchodilator may be the only COPD treatment you need. More severe symptoms may require long-acting bronchodilators. These medicines take longer to start working, but their effects last for up to 24 hours. You will typically take a long-acting bronchodilator every day.

If bronchodilators alone aren?t enough, or you often experience symptom flare-ups, your doctor may prescribe a steroid medicine along with your bronchodilator. You will breathe in your COPD medicines through an inhaler, or use a nebulizer, which turns the medicine into a fine mist that you inhale through a facemask or mouthpiece.

Oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation are two other important components to COPD treatment. You breathe in oxygen from a canister through a nasal cannula or a mask while you do activities or housework.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a program that incorporates nutrition, exercise, education, and psychological counseling to help you live better and stay healthier with COPD. The rehabilitation team can include doctors, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, counselors, dietitians, and other specialists.

As a last resort, if these COPD treatments have not worked, surgery may be an option. Surgery can remove the spaces where air is trapped inside the lungs, or take out diseased sections of the lungs. Once the disease has become very severe, a lung transplant may be necessary.

Core Exercises For Seniors

The muscles of the abdomen, back, and pelvis form your core. These muscles help support your body. With age, the core, like other muscles throughout the body, can weaken. Core exercises for seniors are designed to keep the abdominal, back, and pelvic muscles strong and help you get around more easily. Abdominal crunches make excellent core exercises for seniors, because they?re easy to perform and you can do them anywhere. To do a crunch, lie on your back with your knees bent. Put your hands behind your head, or cross them over your chest. Lift your head and shoulders using your abdominal muscles, leaving your lower back pressed against the floor. Repeat 10 to 15 times to start. Gradually increase the number of repetitions as you get stronger. The bridge is another one of the strengthening core exercises for seniors. It works the abdominals, lower back, and buttocks muscles. To do a bridge, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Slowly raise your hips until your knees and chest are in a straight line. Hold for a count of three to five, and then lower slowly to the ground. Repeat five times. Superman is a position that works your lower back. Lie on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you. Raise your head, neck, and arms, along with both legs. Hold for a few seconds, and then lower. As you build strength in your back, you can also try fluttering your arms and legs as if you were swimming. Do the bicycle to work the muscles on the sides of your belly. Lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Lift up while turning your right elbow to meet your left knee as it bends in. Repeat on the right side. Do 15 to 20 repetitions, increasing the number of reps as you get stronger.

Cpap Machine

Continuous positive airway pressure (or CPAP, for short) is a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. In people with sleep apnea, pauses in breathing repeatedly wake them up throughout the night. When sleep apnea is left untreated, it can lead not only to daytime fatigue, but also to health complications such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes. A CPAP machine is made up of a mask, and a machine that delivers air through that mask. The air gently flows into the nose and mouth during the night to keep the airways open and make sure a steady supply of oxygen is flowing into the lungs. The CPAP machine is a very effective treatment for sleep apnea. Most people say it improves daytime fatigue, and increases their energy and concentration. Yet it can take some people a while to get used to the bulky feel of wearing the CPAP mask. CPAP can also cause side effects like a stuffed or runny nose, sore eyes, and headaches. Making sure the mask fits well and that the air in the CPAP machine is heated can help prevent these side effects. To get used to the CPAP machine, experts consider easing into it. Start by wearing the mask for just two hours a night. Add another 30 minutes nightly, until you are able to keep the mask on all night without discomfort. Studies find that it takes between two and 12 weeks for people to fully get used to their CPAP machine. By giving yourself time to adjust to your treatment, you'll not only improve your sleep apnea, but you'll help your bed partner get a better night's rest, too. If your doctor has prescribed a CPAP machine and you aren't using it, ask the doctor for tips to help you adjust, or to make the mask more comfortable.

D

Dementia Symptoms

Dementia is the term doctors use to describe difficulty remembering and thinking that?s serious enough to affect your life. Everyday memory slips, like forgetting an address or the name of a person you haven?t seen in a while shouldn?t be concerning, but getting disoriented in a familiar location or forgetting the name of your spouse can be dementia symptoms.

Several forms of dementia can affect memory, including the most common kind?Alzheimer?s disease. Several early dementia symptoms serve as warning signs. For example, forgetting information you just learned, or having trouble recalling important dates like your child?s birthday can be dementia symptoms. You may have more trouble than usual following directions, including the steps needed to prepare a recipe or sew a quilt.

You?ll increasingly have more trouble doing activities you once took for granted, such as balancing your checkbook or hosting a dinner party. Budgeting and planning skills begin to erode as the condition worsens and dementia symptoms progress. Many people discover they can no longer participate in a conversation, both because they can?t find the right words, and because they can?t follow a train of thought.

Later dementia symptoms include changes in mood and personality. People who were once very calm and even-tempered may become more agitated or angry than usual. They may blow up at friends or family, seemingly for no reason. As their personality changes and social interactions become more difficult, people with dementia may withdraw from work or social situations to avoid embarrassment.

If you notice these or other dementia symptoms in yourself or a loved one, make an appointment with a health care provider. Although there currently is no cure for dementia, treatments can relieve some of the symptoms and help you or your loved one stay independent for as long as possible.

Depression

Depression goes far beyond the occasional feelings of sadness. The depression definition that mental health experts use is a persistently down mood and loss of interest that affects a person?s day-to-day life, and can even lead to thoughts of suicide. The condition is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, and it affects nearly 15 million Americans. Although depression typically starts in the 20s or 30s, it can affect people of all ages. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to depression because of illness and the loss of loved ones.

Many different types of depression exist. Postpartum depression is a sad mood that begins in the weeks or months after a woman gives birth. Bipolar disorder alternates periods of depression with unusually high moods. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that emerges during the winter months, when sunlight is in short supply.

Identifying depression is the first step toward treating it. Depression symptoms include: feeling sad, anxious, hopeless, guilty, or anxious; fatigue or decreased energy; loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed; trouble concentrating or remembering; trouble sleeping or sleeping too much; loss of appetite, or eating too much; irritability; vague physical symptoms, such as a headache or stomachache; and thoughts of death, or wanting to end your life.

Doctors typically diagnose depression by first ruling out medical conditions that can cause the same symptoms, such as a thyroid disorder. Then the doctor will likely do a depression test, asking questions about feelings, sleep, energy level, and other common indicators of the disease.

Treatment for depression depends on the type, but typically involves antidepressant medication and talk therapy (psychotherapy). Both of these treatments may be combined to improve the odds of success.

Depression Definition

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. Although everyone feels sad or moody from time to time, true depression is persistent, and it can be severe.

Following the depression definition that experts use, you are depressed if you experience a down mood nearly every day, and the feeling lasts throughout the day. These feelings represent a change from the norm for you, and are severe enough to interfere with your work, social life, or education. You may have more trouble doing everyday activities like bathing, cooking, and shopping. In its most severe state, depression can make you feel as though you no longer want to live.

Other criteria that fall within the depression definition include an increase or decrease in appetite, which may lead to weight gain or loss. You may have more trouble falling asleep, or sleep more than usual. Another characteristic is a change in activity level, an increase in fatigue, listlessness, or agitation. Additional symptoms that fall within the depression definition include more difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of suicide or a preoccupation with death.

To qualify for a depression diagnosis, you need to have at least five of these nine symptoms: depressed mood, decreased interest in activities, weight change, change in sleep, change in activity, loss of energy, feelings of guilt/worthlessness, trouble concentrating, and suicidal thoughts or plans?almost every day. People who meet the depression definition should see a health care provider for screening. The doctor can look for other conditions that can mimic depression, such as a medical illness or the use of certain drugs. Treatment with antidepressant medication, talk therapy, or a combination of medicine and counseling can alleviate depression symptoms. Some people will need long-term treatment to stay well.

Depression Symptoms

Almost everyone feels sad or down from time to time, particularly during difficult times in life, such as a divorce or the loss of a loved one. Yet persistent sadness that doesn?t let up can be a sign of depression. Each person experiences depression differently. Depression symptoms can vary in severity, from mild to intense enough to affect your daily life.

The most obvious depression symptoms are feelings of sadness or emptiness, worthlessness, and guilt. Depression can affect your sleep, making you toss and turn at night, or struggle to drag yourself out of bed in the morning. You may also drag through your days, feeling drained and lacking in energy.

When you?re depressed, it?s normal to lose interest in activities you once loved, like going out to dinner or to movies with friends. You may also lose interest in sex. Some people become angry or irritable, which can drive away well-meaning friends and family members. Appetite changes are also possible with depression. Maybe you have no interest in eating. Or, you might overeat, binging on comfort foods like chocolate or pizza.

Depression also affects your mind and memory. You might start to lose focus at work, drifting off during meetings and forgetting important dates and events. Some people feel foggier or mentally slower than normal.

Physical depression symptoms are less obvious, but also common. You could develop stomachaches or headaches, or aches and pains that aren?t caused by another health condition.

When these depression symptoms don?t go away and start to interfere with your life, it?s time to get evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist. Left untreated, depression symptoms can get worse over time. The most serious depression symptoms are thoughts or intentions of committing suicide. If you are considering taking your own life, call a doctor or your local suicide hotline right away.

Depression Test

Major depression affects an estimated 15 million American adults. It?s likely that either you or someone you know has experienced the symptoms of depression at one time or another.

Everyone gets down from time to time, but how do you know if you?re truly depressed? Taking a depression test can help you assess your symptoms, and figure out if you need help.

Questions on depression tests are based on common symptoms of the condition. To take the depression test, ask yourself: ? Do you feel sad, down, or hopeless? ? Do you blame myself for bad things that happen and feel like you?re worthless? ? Have you lost interest in activities you once loved? ? Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? ? Do you sleep too much? ? Do you feel tired and drained of energy? ? Are you uninterested in food, or do you eat too much? ? Have you gained or lost weight in the last two weeks? ? Do you have more trouble concentrating and making decisions at work and at home? ? Do you talk and move much more slowly than usual? ? Do you wish you were dead, or believe your friends and family would be better off without you?

The next step in the depression test is to assess how often you have these feelings: never, on several days, more than half the time, or almost every day. Also assess how much these feelings impact your life?from not at all to significantly.

If your depression test result indicates that you?ve experienced depression symptoms on a regular basis, see a health care professional for screening. Your doctor might start with a physical exam to see if a health condition is causing your symptoms. Then you?ll have a psychological evaluation, in which your doctor asks questions about your symptoms. Treatment will depend on the severity of your depression, and what type you have.

Diabetes Symptoms

Diabetes is often thought of as a silent condition. Symptoms often don?t appear, or are too subtle to notice, until the disease has already progressed.

When you have diabetes, your body either doesn?t produce enough insulin, or doesn?t use this hormone effectively. Insulin?s main job is to move sugar (glucose) from the bloodstream into the tissues to be used for energy or stored. When insulin is in short supply or can?t efficiently move glucose into the cells, sugar builds up in the bloodstream and causes diabetes symptoms.

Two hallmark diabetes symptoms are excessive thirst and frequent urination. As the kidneys work to remove extra sugar from the bloodstream through the urine, they pull extra fluids from the tissues along with the sugar. These additional fluids increase urine volume, and lead to a more frequent need to use the bathroom. Losing more fluids causes dehydration, making you drink more fluids, and leading to a repeating cycle of thirst and urination.

Some people with diabetes feel drained of energy, in part because sugar isn?t getting into their cells to be burned for fuel. They also absorb fewer calories from food, leading to increased hunger and possibly weight loss.

Diabetes symptoms can also reflect the damage high blood sugar inflicts on the nerves. Numbness or tingling from nerve damage often affects the hands and feet. Sometimes, diabetes symptoms involve the eyes. Blurred vision is a sign that high blood sugar has reduced the amount of fluid in the lenses of the eyes and has compromised focusing ability. Diabetes can also lead to swollen gums and loose teeth by reducing the body?s ability to fight infection.

If you have diabetes symptoms, it?s important to get diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. Left unchecked, high blood sugar can damage the nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs. The sooner you get treatment, the easier it will be to manage your condition.

Diabetic Diet

One of the most effective ways to control blood sugar is with a diabetic diet, also called medial nutrition therapy (MNT) for diabetes. The basis of the diabetic diet is to eat moderate amounts of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. The goal is to maximize nutrition while reducing unhealthy additives like sugar and salt.

To help you develop a diabetic diet plan you can follow, your health care provider might refer you to a registered dietitian. Together, you?ll create a menu made up of foods high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The foods you choose should be low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and added sugar and sodium.

Because certain foods, particularly carbohydrates, can raise your blood sugar more than others, your plan might include carbohydrate counting. Your dietitian will help you determine how many grams of carbohydrates you should eat with each meal. How many carbohydrates you eat depends on the severity of your diabetes, what medicine you take to control your blood sugar, and how active you are. You?ll read food labels and follow nutrition guides to ensure that you get the right amount of carbs with each meal.

As part of your diabetic diet, you may also follow the glycemic index. Foods that are higher on the glycemic index will raise your blood sugar level more than foods lower on the index. Starchy foods like pasta and crackers have a high glycemic index (70 or above), compared to non-starchy vegetables, which have a low glycemic index (55 or less).

Sticking with a diabetic diet long-term will help you lose weight and manage your disease more effectively. A diabetic diet also lowers cholesterol, and reduces your risk for other health conditions, including heart disease.

Diabetic Neuropathy

High blood sugar from uncontrolled diabetes damages tissues and organs throughout the body. In diabetic neuropathy, high blood sugar damages the tiny blood vessels that supply nerves all over the body. Up to 70 percent of people with diabetes develop neuropathy. The longer someone has had diabetes, the greater their odds are of developing diabetic neuropathy.

The most common type of diabetic neuropathy, called peripheral neuropathy, affects the legs, feet, arms, and hands. People with peripheral neuropathy often complain of numbness, tingling, or pain in their limbs. The inability to feel pain in the feet increases the likelihood that cuts or sores will go untreated, which can lead to infection. If the infection remains untreated, ultimately tissue will die and the limb may need to be amputated.

Another form of diabetic neuropathy, called autonomic neuropathy, affects nerves of the autonomic nervous system, which control the digestive system, bladder, and sexual organs. Autonomic neuropathy can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, loss of bladder control, and erectile dysfunction. This type of diabetic neuropathy can also affect the nerves that control blood pressure, breathing, and vision.

Focal neuropathy affects nerves in the head and torso. It can lead to vision problems, such as double vision and trouble focusing. Focal neuropathy can also cause pain in the chest, stomach, side, chest, abdomen, front of the thigh, or outside of the shin. Some people develop paralysis on one side of the face, known as Bell?s palsy.

The best way to prevent diabetic neuropathy is with tight blood sugar control. Experts recommend that people with diabetes also have their feet checked regularly for signs of nerve damage. Once diabetic neuropathy is diagnosed, medications such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants can help manage nerve pain.

Diverticulitis

Diverticulosis and diverticulitis affect the colon?the lower part of the intestine. Both fall under the header of diverticular disease, which affects up to half of people between the ages of 60 and 80. Thanks to their similar sounding names, diverticulosis and diverticulitis are often confused. Diverticulosis is the formation of small pouches in the colon walls, which may be caused by straining during bowel movements due to constipation. Food can become trapped inside these pouches, leading to inflammation and infection, which is called diverticulitis. About 10 to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis develop diverticulitis.

People with diverticulitis often feel pain in the lower abdomen. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, or a fever. Your doctor will do tests such as a blood test to identify an infection, and a stool sample to look for bleeding in your digestive tract. An x-ray or CT scan can help your doctor visualize the pouches. You?ll get a liquid called barium first, so the doctor can see your intestines. Sometimes a colonoscopy is necessary. The doctor will insert a thin tube into the rectum to look for pouches in the intestine.

Diverticulitis can be treated with simple dietary changes, such as adding more fiber to the diet to produce softer and easier-to-pass stools. Fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, wheat bran are all high-fiber foods. Experts recommend getting at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily in your diet. If you don?t get enough fiber from diet alone, you can take a fiber supplement like Metamucil.

People who have an infection will need to take antibiotics to clear up the bacteria. Those with bleeding pouches, persistent symptoms, or other diverticulitis complications may need surgery to clean the abdomen or remove damaged parts of the colon.

E

Energy Diet

Food is the fuel that provides the body with energy, but not every diet is equally energy promoting. Some foods pep you up, while others drag you down.

Ironically, many of the foods we rely on for quick energy actually make us feel more fatigued. Energy bars masquerade as health food, but many of them are loaded with sugar. Sodas, too, provide a quick pick-me-up, but as soon as your body burns through the sugar your blood sugar level will dip, leading to a sharp drop in energy. Although coffee seems to offer an energy boost in the morning, that boost is fleeting. Caffeine tends to make the body crash a couple of hours later.

Complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein form the foundations of an energy diet. Carbohydrates are the body?s biggest energy source, but some types are better than others. The body burns complex carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains more slowly than it does simple carbs from white bread, cookies, and muffins, so complex carbs provide more consistent energy. These foods are also an abundant source of vitamins and minerals, which help the body use energy more efficiently.

When carbs have been used up, the body turns to protein and fat for energy. Lean protein from fish, skinless chicken, beans, and tofu provide a burst of energy without adding extra calories to the diet. The healthiest types of fat are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, found in vegetable oils, nuts, and fish. Iron-rich foods like spinach, beans, and seafood are another important energy diet component. Iron transports oxygen to the tissues. Without enough iron, energy levels quickly drop.

Eating steadily throughout the day helps keep blood sugar levels stable and prevents energy dips. An energy diet includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a few snacks in between meals. Each meal should incorporate elements from all essential food groups: fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.

Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart is just what the name suggests?a larger-than-normal heart. Enlarged heart is not a condition, but is rather a symptom of another condition.

The heart can become enlarged from a disease that makes it pump harder than normal, such as high blood pressure or heart valve disease. The heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle in the body, extra work makes it grow bigger. But while big muscles in the shoulders or thighs can be beneficial, an overly muscular heart is dangerous.

Having an enlarged heart makes you more likely to develop blood clots. These clots can block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, causing a heart attack. If a clot travels to the brain or lungs, it can similarly cut off blood to these crucial regions, causing a stroke or pulmonary embolism.

When the heart has been overworked for a long time, it will weaken to the point where it can?t pump out enough blood to meet the body?s needs. This condition is called heart failure, and it?s very serious. Sometimes an enlarged heart can interrupt your normal heart rhythm to the point where it triggers cardiac arrest?when the heart suddenly stops working normally.

Treatment for an enlarged heart depends on the cause. Medicines such as beta-blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and diuretics lower blood pressure to reduce the workload on the heart. Anticoagulants prevent blood clots to lower the risk of a heart attack or stroke. And anti-arrhythmics keep the heart beating at a constant rhythm. Some people may need surgery to fix a valve or bypass a damaged artery, or to get an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to keep the heart in rhythm. If heart failure progresses to the point where other treatments don?t help, a heart transplant may be necessary.

F

Fatigue Causes

Everyone gets tired from time to time. A lack of sleep, overactivity, stress, and too much work can all contribute to a feeling of weariness. The difference between everyday tiredness and fatigue is that fatigue involves more than simply a desire to sleep. It also includes a lack of energy or desire to do anything. Chronic fatigue is persistent, and it isn?t relieved with sleep. It can be debilitating, affecting both your emotional and physical health. Fatigue causes usually fall within three categories: medical conditions, lifestyle factors, and emotional causes.

Fatigue?especially if it is significant?could be a sign of a physical illness. A number of different medical conditions can make you weary, including anemia, in which a lack of iron in the body prevents enough oxygen from traveling to the tissues. Other medical fatigue causes include diabetes, thyroid disease, heart disease, arthritis, COPD, and cancer. A doctor?s exam can help identify whether a health condition is causing fatigue.

Lifestyle contributors to fatigue include diet, too little or too much activity, sleep problems, and medications. Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates burn off quickly, leaving the body drained. A diet high in protein, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains supplies the fuel the body needs to stay alert. Alcohol use can also affect energy level, in part by preventing you from getting a good night?s sleep. Overdoing it at an intense job or hardcore workout can drain you of energy, but staying sedentary also contributes to fatigue. Certain medications, including antihistamines, antidepressants, and sedatives, can cause fatigue as a side effect.

Mental health problems don?t cause fatigue, but feeling drained can be a symptom of an emotional issue. Psychological fatigue causes include depression, anxiety, and stress. Grief from losing a loved one or going through a traumatic life event can also contribute to the feeling of weariness.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes life-disrupting symptoms like pain, fatigue, headaches, and sleep problems. It can be difficult to diagnose, in part because fibromyalgia symptoms are hard to distinguish from those of many other conditions.

Doctors group fibromyalgia under the header of arthritis-type conditions, even though it does not damage the joints as arthritis does. Yet joint pain, stiffness, and fatigue, which are all common with arthritis, are also hallmark fibromyalgia symptoms. Fibromyalgia pain may be at least in part due to problems with the brain?s ability to process pain signals. Sometimes a physical or emotional trauma, such as surgery, an accident, or the death of a loved one can set off fibromyalgia symptoms.

The most notable fibromyalgia symptoms are pain and fatigue. To qualify as fibromyalgia, the pain must have lasted for at least three months, and be located in both the upper and lower body, as well as on both sides of the body. Fibromyalgia pain can be severe enough to interrupt sleep. People often report that they don?t feel well rested, even after a full night?s sleep. Rest may be further interrupted by conditions that often occur together with fibromyalgia, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.

Other fibromyalgia symptoms affect mood and concentration. A condition nicknamed ?fibro fog? reflects the difficulty people with fibromyalgia often have focusing or completing tasks. More general issues, such as headaches, sensitivity to light and temperature, painful periods, and bowel problems also fall under the header of fibromyalgia symptoms.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition, but it can be managed. Treatments are aimed at relieving pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms. Three medicines?duloxetine (Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella), and pregabalin (Lyrica)?are specifically approved to treat fibromyalgia. Analgesic pain relievers and NSAIDs can also help with pain. Lifestyle measures such as reducing stress, exercising regularly, and eating a balanced diet can also improve quality of life with fibromyalgia.

Fit For Life Diet

The Fit for Life diet is an eating program that emphasizes certain combinations of foods over others to promote weight loss and improve health. The idea is that certain food pairings cleanse the body and encourage weight loss, while others clog up the body and contribute to weight gain.

Harvey and Marilyn Diamond developed the Fit for Life diet in the 1980s, and it has been the subject of much interest?and controversy?since then. Those who follow the diet never combine carbohydrates and proteins in the same meal, because the Diamonds believe the combination destroys digestive enzymes and leads to weight gain.

The Fit for Life diet recommends eating nothing but fruit in the morning, and always eating fruit on its own. Lunch and dinner are made up of either carbohydrates and vegetables, or protein and vegetables. Both meals should be heavy on vegetables, and should never mix starch with protein. All dairy foods, including milk, cheese, and ice cream, are prohibited. Diamond believes humans cannot properly digest dairy, so they end up rotting in the gut. Water and fruit juice are the only two beverages allowed on the Fit for Life diet.

While the Fit for Life diet does have some benefits?for example, it encourages greater intake of fruits and vegetables and cuts out processed foods?it isn?t confirmed by any scientific research. Experts say there is no evidence that certain food combinations contribute to weight loss or better health. And by limiting certain foods and cutting out dairy entirely with this diet, you could put yourself at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Because of these risks, it?s important to check with a doctor before embarking on the Fit for Life diet.

Food Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid (Food Pyramid) is a model of eating that was introduced in 1992 to help Americans make better food choices. The Food Pyramid divides foods into groups, which it displays in the shape of a pyramid to represent the number of servings of each group people need to eat each day; more servings at the bottom; fewer servings at the top. At the bottom of the pyramid is the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group, which makes up the largest proportion of the diet, at six to 11 servings a day. Just above that are the fruit (two to four servings daily) and vegetable (three to five servings) groups. The next level is the milk, yogurt, and cheese group (two to three servings), and the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group (two to three servings). At the pinnacle of the Food Pyramid are fats, oils, and sweets, which should be eaten sparingly. The Food Pyramid includes the daily amounts of food people need at three different calorie levels; 1,600 calories (for sedentary women and older adults), 2,200 calories (for children, teenage girls, active women, and sedentary men), and 2,800 calories (for teenage boys, active men, and some active women). In 2005, the Food Pyramid evolved into the MyPyramid system. This updated version maintained the pyramid design, but it was divided into vertical sections representing the five food groups, plus oils. MyPyramid turned out to be too complex, making it difficult for consumers to determine how much of each food they needed to eat. In 2011, the USDA introduced MyPlate. This plate-shaped icon was designed to provide consumers with a simple visual reminder of how to create a balanced meal. The plate is divided into four sections: fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein, with a circle off to the side that represents dairy. Since its introduction, MyPlate has largely replaced the Food Pyramid as a guide to healthy eating.

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Gallbladder

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped, pouch-like organ that sits just under the liver. Its job is to produce and store bile, a substance that aids in digestion. Bile is made up of water, acid, cholesterol, bilirubin, and lecithin. The gallbladder sends bile through a series of ducts to the intestines, where it helps break up fat.

When bile contains too much cholesterol or bilirubin, these substances can form clumps, called gallstones. If gallstones get caught inside a duct and block the flow of bile, you can develop a condition called cholecystitis. You?re more likely to get gallstones if you?re overweight, you?ve gained or lost weight rapidly, you have diabetes, or you have a family history of gallstones.

Gallstones can produce symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, gas belching, or feeling unusually full after a meal. If a gallstone is blocking a bile duct, bile can back up and cause yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, which is called jaundice.

To determine whether you have gallstones, the doctor may do blood tests to detect high levels of bilirubin or other substances that are elevated in this condition. You may have an ultrasound of the gallbladder to look for gallstones, or an endoscopic ultrasound, in which a thin scope is threaded down the esophagus and stomach into the intestine to view the stones. A test called cholescintigraphy traces the flow of an injected radioactive dye into and out of the gallbladder to look for a blockage or infection.

Gallstones that don?t cause symptoms are often watched without treatment. Avoiding fatty foods may be enough to prevent symptoms from occurring. If gallstones do cause symptoms, a technique called lithotripsy can break them up. Or, you may need surgery to remove the gallbladder. Gallbladder surgery is a common procedure, and is often done laparoscopically through small incisions.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Gerd

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a condition in which acid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus. GERD is sometimes referred to as acid reflux, reflux, acid indigestion, or heartburn, although these conditions can be transient, while GERD usually persists long-term.

About 20 percent of Americans have GERD. The condition occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a valve that is intended to keep acids in the stomach, doesn?t close properly. As a result, acid is able to rise up into the esophagus. Several conditions can cause the LES to malfunction, including pregnancy, a hiatal hernia, or drugs used to treat asthma, high blood pressure, and allergy symptoms.

The most common GERD symptom is a burning feeling in the chest known as heartburn. People with this condition also complain of nausea, problems swallowing, and vomiting. The acid can produce a metallic taste in the mouth and cause bad breath.

Doctors diagnose GERD with an upper GI endoscopy, in which a thin, flexible tube is used to see inside the esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the intestine. The doctor may take a sample of tissue from the lining of the esophagus, which is called a biopsy. Or, you may have a series of x-rays taken of your upper GI tract after you drink barium. The doctor might also measure the amount of acid in the esophagus?a test called esophageal pH and impedance monitoring.

To treat GERD, you can try lifestyle changes, such as avoiding greasy or spicy foods, eating smaller portions, and losing weight if you?re overweight. Medicines for GERD work in different ways. Antacids such as Maalox, Mylanta, or Rolaids neutralize acid to prevent it from burning the esophagus. H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) decrease acid production. Prokinetics help your stomach empty quicker. Some of these medicines require a prescription.

Glaucoma Symptoms

Glaucoma is an eye condition caused by damage to the optic nerve. It occurs when the fluid (called aqueous humor) that normally flows into and out of the area in the front of the eye fails to drain correctly. As fluid builds up, it increases pressure inside the eye. Over time, that pressure can damage the optic nerve that sends visual signals from the retina to the brain, and could potentially lead to blindness. An estimated 3 million people in the United States have glaucoma, but only about half of them are aware they have the condition.

One reason why so many Americans have not been diagnosed is that glaucoma symptoms usually don?t appear until the disease has already progressed and sight is threatened. It?s important to get familiar with glaucoma symptoms, and alert your doctor right away if you have them.

Two types of glaucoma exist. Open-angle glaucoma is the most common form. It occurs when the meshwork through which the aqueous humor normally drains out of the eye doesn?t work as well as it should. Closed-angle (or angle-closure) glaucoma is caused by a defect in the drainage system that can lead to a blockage. If the drainage angle is completely blocked, eye pressure will build at a very quick rate?fast enough to lead to blindness within one or two days if it isn?t treated.

Open-angle glaucoma symptoms usually don?t start in the early stages of the disease. As the optic nerve becomes more damaged, you might notice blank spots in your field of vision. Closed-angle glaucoma symptoms come on quickly, and can include severe eye pain, blurry vision, headache, nausea, vomiting, or halos around lights. Closed-angle glaucoma is a medical emergency. If you have these symptoms, go to a hospital or call your local emergency number right away. Doctors can save your sight with quick treatment, which usually involves creating a tiny hole to let the fluid drain and relieve pressure.

Gleason Score

When a man is suspected of having prostate cancer, the doctor will take a biopsy?removing a small sample of tissue from the prostate gland with a needle for further investigation. A pathologist then studies that tissue sample under a microscope to look at the cells and see whether they have the abnormal appearance of cancer.

Biopsy results for prostate cancers are typically given in the form of a Gleason score. Tissue from different parts of the prostate are assigned a score from 1 to 5, based on how closely they resemble normal tissue. Tissue that looks like normal prostate tissue gets a grade of 1. Cells that look very abnormal have a grade of 5. The numbers from the two sections that make up most of the cancer are then added together to arrive at a Gleason score. The highest possible Gleason score is 10.

Prostate cancers with a Gleason score of 6 are called ?low-grade.? They tend to grow slowly and may be watched without initiating treatment right away. Cancers with a Gleason score of 7 are ?intermediate grade.? They grow at a faster rate than grade 6 cancers. And cancers with a Gleason score of 8 to 10 are ?high grade.? They are very aggressive, growing and spreading throughout the body quickly. These high-grade cancers require the most aggressive treatment.

The Gleason score is important, because it can predict the future course of a man?s cancer, even if it has been caught early before it has spread. Once prostate cancer has been diagnosed, other tests will be performed to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond the prostate. These test results, along with the Gleason score, will be used to stage the cancer. The Gleason score and stage can help the doctor determine the right treatment.

Gluten Free Diet

Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, rye, and barley. People with celiac disease must stick to a gluten-free diet, avoiding all gluten-containing foods. Celiac disease is a condition in which the immune system attacks the small intestine and damages it when gluten is present. This damage can make it more difficult to absorb nutrients from food, potentially leading to malnutrition. Even a tiny amount of gluten can produce intestinal damage and symptoms like stomach upset, rash, fatigue, and joint pain. People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity?symptoms similar to those of celiac disease, but that don?t involve inflammation in the intestines?will need to limit or stay away from gluten-containing foods, too.

Eating a gluten-free diet doesn?t have to be impossibly strict or hard to follow. People can still eat a well-balanced menu of foods. Fruits, vegetables, fish, rice, and unprocessed meats can all be included in a gluten-free diet. Even some foods that traditionally include grains aren?t off-limits. Many breads, pasta, and cookies made with alternative grains like bean flour, amaranth, corn flour, and millet are available. A gluten-free diet can incorporate other types of grains, too, including arrowroot, beans, buckwheat, flax, millet, nut flours, potato, quinoa, rice, sorghum, soy, and tapioca.

To stick with a gluten-free diet, people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity need to stay alert for gluten in all its forms. Reading food labels and asking questions when ordering in restaurants can prevent symptoms, as well as further intestinal damage. Many packaged products are labeled ?gluten-free.? The FDA requires that these foods contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.

It?s important for people with celiac disease to also be vigilant about foods that might not seem like obvious sources of gluten. These include salad dressings, medications, beer, communion wafers, soups, marinades, imitation bacon and seafood, processed lunch meats, soy sauce, and thickeners.

Gluten Intolerance Symptoms

Gluten intolerance is sometimes used as a catchall term for three different issues with gluten: celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and wheat allergy. Or, it can refer specifically to non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, rye, and barley. Celiac disease is an autoimmune response to gluten. Whenever someone with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, the body launches a response that damages the small intestine. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity produces symptoms of celiac disease, but without the intestinal damage. People with a wheat allergy have an allergic immune response when they eat any foods containing wheat.

Gluten intolerance symptoms depend on which condition you have. Celiac disease can cause abdominal symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation, particularly in children. Kids who can?t absorb enough nutrients because of celiac disease may grow more slowly than usual, lose weight, or be late to enter puberty. Adults are more likely to develop body-wide celiac disease symptoms such as bone and joint pain, fatigue, anemia, missed menstrual periods, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, weak and brittle bones, headaches, and weight loss.

Non-celiac gluten sensitivity causes gluten intolerance symptoms similar to those of celiac disease. These can include gas, bloating, abdominal pain or cramps, diarrhea, constipation, and mental fog. However, the intestine is not damaged. Wheat allergy causes more traditional allergy symptoms, such as hives, swelling of the face, rash, trouble breathing, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Identifying gluten intolerance symptoms and having them evaluated by a health care provider is important. Celiac disease can cause increasing damage, and possibly malnutrition, if not treated. Blood tests can check for celiac disease antibodies. If this test suggests celiac disease, a biopsy?removal of a small piece of tissue from the intestines?can be done to confirm the diagnosis. The treatment for both celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity is to avoid gluten.

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Heart Attack Symptoms

TV and movies often show a heart attack victim clutching his chest in pain, but this portrayal may be misleading. Heart attack symptoms don?t always follow a set pattern, and they don?t always include the classic chest pain. Women especially are more likely to have atypical heart attack symptoms. Anyone who is at risk for a heart attack because of obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, high blood sugar, or smoking should be vigilant for other types of symptoms, too.

A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart is cut off, depriving the heart muscle of the oxygen it needs to pump effectively. Without oxygen, the affected heart section or sections begin to die. A heart attack is a medical emergency, and it requires immediate care.

Heart attack symptoms can differ, depending on the person. The most common symptom is chest pain, but it can take many forms?including squeezing, pressure, and burning. Sometimes the chest pain mimics heartburn. The pain can be mild or severe, and it can continue steadily or come and go. Another heart condition, angina, can also produce chest pain. The difference is that angina pain should let up after a few minutes, while heart attack pain continues.

Shortness of breath is another typical heart attack symptom. The difficulty breathing may happen alone, or with chest pain. You might have trouble breathing while doing exercise, or while you?re sitting still.

Sometimes heart attack symptoms involve a pain that radiates through the arms, back, shoulders, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach. Other possible heart attack symptoms to watch out for are fatigue, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and a cold sweat.

If you?re not sure whether you?re having a heart attack or something else is wrong, call 9-1-1 or visit a hospital emergency room just to be on the safe side. If it is a heart attack, the sooner you get treated the better chance you?ll have of surviving.

Heart Health

Heart disease remains the number one killer of both men and women, ahead of cancer, diabetes, and accidents. In people with heart disease, blood vessels become narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow to the heart and brain, and increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke. Risks for heart disease include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Preventing or managing these conditions can improve heart health and reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

You may not realize you?re at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease, because high blood pressure symptoms usually don?t emerge until blood pressure has already reached a dangerous level. That?s why this disease is often termed a ?silent killer.? At the dangerous stage, high blood pressure symptoms can include shortness of breath, nosebleeds, and severe headache.

Having high blood pressure over time forces the heart to work harder. Eventually, the heart begins to grow?a condition known as enlarged heart. If an enlarged heart isn?t treated with medicine, devices, or surgery, it can lead to complications such as heart failure.

Some people with an enlarged heart develop a heart murmur?a whooshing or swishing sound caused by abnormal blood flow through the heart. A heart murmur isn?t necessarily dangerous, but doctors do monitor it because it can be a sign of an underlying heart condition.

In heart disease, a sticky substance called plaque builds up in the arteries. When an area of plaque breaks off and becomes lodged in a blood vessel that supplies the heart, it can block blood flow and cause part of the heart muscle to die. This is a heart attack. Heart attack symptoms include chest pain; discomfort in the arms, back, shoulders, and neck; shortness of breath; and nausea.

Poor blood flow to the heart can produce chest pain called angina. Although angina is not a heart attack, it is a sign of heart disease and can warn of a future heart attack. Other angina symptoms include discomfort in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, and back.

Heart Murmur

The heart normally beats in a consistent pattern that sounds like ?lub-dub, lub-dub.? This sound, which your doctor hears while listening to your heart through a stethoscope, is the noise the heart valves make as blood moves through them. The heart has four valves that control the movement of blood from the heart?s upper chambers?the atria?to the bottom chambers?the ventricles. Blood flows into the heart through the atria, and back out of the heart to the lungs or the rest of the body through the ventricles.

If you have a heart murmur, your doctor will hear an abnormal sound?often a whooshing or swishing?as blood flows through the heart?s chambers and valves. A heart murmur isn?t a condition, but a symptom.

Sometimes a heart murmur doesn?t indicate a problem with the heart. This is called an innocent heart murmur. It doesn?t produce any symptoms or problems?other than the murmur itself. And, it doesn?t need to be treated. Innocent heart murmurs are common in newborns and children, as well as during pregnancy. They may go away on their own over time.

Abnormal murmurs are usually due to a heart defect or valve disease. You?re more likely to develop this type of heart murmur if you have a family history of heart defects, or a condition like high blood pressure, an infection of the heart lining (endocarditis), lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or a weakened heart muscle. In addition to the heart murmur, you may have symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and a bluish color to the skin as the body doesn?t get enough oxygen. An abnormal heart murmur is more serious. You may need treatment such as medicine or surgery to manage the condition that?s causing the murmur. Medicines for abnormal heart murmurs include anticoagulants to prevent blood clots in the heart, water pills (diuretics), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or beta-blockers to lower blood pressure, and statins to lower cholesterol. Surgery can be done to repair or replace a damaged heart valve.

High Blood Pressure Symptoms

When doctors discuss blood pressure, they?re referring to the force of blood pushing against the artery walls when the heart beats and relaxes. High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to push blood through the arteries. Over time, the arteries can thicken, narrow, and become less flexible. Eventually they can narrow to the point where they clog up and lead to a heart attack or stroke.

You may not notice this condition, because high blood pressure symptoms often don?t start until damage has already been done to the heart and blood vessels. When high blood pressure symptoms do occur, they often reflect this damage.

If the flow of blood to the heart is blocked, the heart muscle doesn?t get enough oxygen. Symptoms that can develop include chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath, and nausea. If blood flow to the brain is blocked, sections of brain tissue will die, producing symptoms like weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, trouble speaking, and vision disturbances. Vision changes are high blood pressure symptoms related to damage in the eyes. And if heart damage progresses to heart failure, in which the heart can?t pump enough blood out to meet the body?s needs, symptoms can include swelling in the ankles or legs, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

Because these high blood pressure symptoms often appear so late, it?s important to see your doctor for blood pressure tests on a regular basis. Getting screened is especially important if you have high blood pressure risk factors such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, or a family history of the condition.

If you do have high blood pressure, you may be able to control it with good eating, physical activity, and stress management. When these measures aren?t enough, a number of medicines can also lower blood pressure. These include diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers. Some people will need to take two or more of these medicines to bring down blood pressure.

High Protein Foods

The ideal diet contains a mix of nutrients: carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, fiber, healthy fats, and protein. You need to eat enough protein each day, because this nutrient forms the foundation of your muscles, bones, cartilage, skin, and blood. Protein also provides your body with the calories you need to stay active. High protein foods keep you feeling full longer than high carbohydrate foods. They prevent the blood sugar spikes that lead to food splurges, and contribute to weight gain. The USDA's ChooseMyPlate guideline recommends that women eat 5 to 5 Ω ounces of protein foods, and men eat 5 Ω to 6 Ω ounces daily. If you're an athlete who is looking to build muscle, you may need to increase your protein intake even more. Check with your doctor to find out how much protein is appropriate for you. Meat, chicken, turkey, fish, beans, peas, eggs, soy, nuts, and seeds are all examples of high protein foods. You can also get protein in dairy foods such as Greek yogurt, milk, and cottage cheese. A small chicken breast, one can of tuna, 3 ounces of trout, one egg, or 12 almonds is equal to one ounce of protein. Not all high protein foods are equally good for you. The USDA recommends choosing low-fat or lean protein sources, such as skinless chicken, fish, or tofu. Protein sources like steak, hamburger, pork, or duck tend to be higher in fat and calories. Processed meats are high protein foods, but they are also very high in fat, as well as in sodium and other unhealthy additives. Bacon, sausage, ham, hot dogs, canned meat, and some lunch meats have been linked to an increased risk for cancer, and should therefore be avoided or at least eaten in very limited quantities.

How To Stop Snoring

About 45 percent of Americans snore from time to time, and 25 percent habitually saw wood. Snoring is more than an annoyance to your bed partner. It could be a sign of pauses in breathing called sleep apnea, which could lead to serious medical complications. You snore when air encounters an obstacle while trying to make its way into the air passages in the back of your nose and mouth. Instead of the air flowing freely downward, it pushes the tongue and upper throat against the soft palate and uvula, producing a noisy vibration. If the sound bothers your partner or keeps you awake, you might be wondering how to stop snoring. You can start with an evaluation by your primary care provider or an ear-nose-throat (ENT) doctor. Sleep apnea is treated with a machine called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which gently blows air into the mouth throughout the night to keep the air passages open. Other advice on how to stop snoring centers on lifestyle interventions. Don't sleep on your back, the position in which you're most likely to snore. If you naturally tend to flip over while you sleep, tape a few tennis balls to the back of your pajamas to keep you on your side. You can also elevate the head of your bed a few inches, which will help air flow into your airways more easily. Being overweight is one of the main risk factors for sleep apnea. Weight loss can dramatically improve sleep apnea symptoms. Also, avoid alcohol in the hours before bed. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the back of your throat, making you more likely to snore. Sleeping pills and sedatives can have a similar effect. Establish good sleep habits. Go to bed at the same time each night, and wake up at the same time each morning. Keep your room dark, cool, and comfortable to help you fall asleep and stay that way.

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Kidney Pain

The kidneys are the organs that filter wastes out of your blood to produce urine. They?re located near your back muscles, which is why kidney pain is often misinterpreted as a back injury. You?ll usually feel kidney pain in your side or upper back. It can feel sharp, or like a dull ache. Often, kidney pain is accompanied by symptoms like fever or trouble with urination.

A number of different conditions can cause kidney pain. Kidney stones are clusters of substances such as calcium and oxalate that build up and form hard masses. Stones typically don?t cause symptoms while they?re in your kidneys, but when they try to exit through the narrow ureters, the pain can become intense. Pain from a kidney stone is called renal colic.

Bacteria can get into the kidneys and cause a type of urinary tract infection called pyelonephritis. Along with kidney pain, you?ll notice other symptoms of an infection, such as fever and chills. Urination may also be painful.

Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited condition that causes fluid-filled sacs, called cysts, to form in the kidneys. Symptoms often don?t appear until the cysts have grown quite large. Kidney pain and pain in the sides are common with polycystic kidney disease.

Cancer can form in your kidneys, just as it does in other organs. Besides kidney pain, symptoms of kidney cancer include blood in the urine, weight loss, and fatigue.

Other conditions that can cause kidney pain include blood clots (renal vein thrombosis), bleeding (hemorrhage) in the kidneys, or swelling caused by a backup of urine in the kidneys (hydronephrosis).

Call a doctor if you experience kidney pain, particularly if you also have symptoms like fever or blood in your urine. Tests can determine the source of the pain, and help your doctor find the right treatment.

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Lactose Intolerance

About 65 percent of people sometimes or often experience abdominal discomfort after drinking a glass of milk or eating cheese. Difficulty digesting the sugar (lactose) found in dairy products is called lactose intolerance.

Normally, an enzyme called lactase, which is produced in the small intestine, breaks down lactose. People with lactose intolerance don?t produce enough of this enzyme. Because their bodies can?t break down lactose properly, it arrives in the intestines undigested. Bacteria in the gut feed on the lactose, which produces uncomfortable symptoms like abdominal bloating and pain, gas, nausea, and diarrhea. Symptoms usually start between 30 minutes and 2 hours after eating lactose-containing foods.

In most people, lactose intolerance has genetic origins. However, it may also be triggered by disease or injury to the small intestines.

Doctors diagnose lactose intolerance with a hydrogen breath test. After you drink a beverage containing lactose, you breathe into a container. Then, the doctor tests how much hydrogen is in your breath. Undigested lactose will produce larger-than-usual amounts of hydrogen. In children, doctors sometimes use a stool acidity test, which measures lactic acid?a type of fatty acid produced by undigested lactose.

You can manage lactose intolerance by limiting or avoiding foods containing lactose. Dairy foods such as milk, cheese, and ice cream are the most obvious sources, but lactose can also hide in foods where you wouldn?t expect it. Baked goods, breakfast cereals, soups, potato chips, processed meats, salad dressings, protein powders, candy, and some medications also contain lactose.

Lactose limitations should be individualized, because some people can tolerate more lactose than others. To prevent deficiencies of calcium and vitamin D, anyone with lactose intolerance who is avoiding dairy should eat and drink alternative sources of these nutrients, such as lactose-free dairy products and soymilk.

Leukemia Symptoms

Leukemia is cancer of the bone marrow, which is where blood cells are made. This cancer can affect different types of blood cells?white blood cells that fight infection, red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to the body, and platelets that clot the blood. As the cancerous blood cells multiply, they crowd out healthy blood cells in bone marrow, resulting in fewer healthy cells.

Leukemia symptoms depend on what type of leukemia you have, and whether it is acute or chronic. Types of leukemia include acute lymphoblastic, acute myeloid, chronic lymphocytic, chronic myeloid, and chronic myelomonocytic. Acute leukemia grows quickly. Chronic leukemia grows more slowly.

Acute leukemia symptoms may resemble those of the flu, including achy joints, fever, fatigue, and swollen glands. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as easy bruising or bleeding, clotting problems, and tiny red spots on the skin (petechiae) can develop.

Chronic leukemia often doesn?t cause symptoms early on. People may be diagnosed when a blood test that is done for another reason detects a high white blood cell count. Later in the disease, chronic leukemia symptoms include fatigue, fever, frequent infections, sweating, night sweats, swollen lymph glands, loss of appetite, unplanned weight loss, and easy bruising and bleeding.

If you?ve noticed any of these leukemia symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor. The doctor can order blood tests to measure levels of white blood cells and platelets. Any abnormal results will be followed up with a bone marrow biopsy, in which a long thin needle is inserted into your hipbone to remove a bone marrow sample. That sample is then examined under a microscope to determine what type of leukemia you have, and what form of treatment will work best against it. Treatments for leukemia include chemotherapy, radiation, biological drugs, and a stem cell transplant.

Low Carb Diet

Carbohydrates make up the majority of our diet. They provide glucose, which our body uses as energy. According to dietary guidelines, half or more of our total daily calories should come from carbohydrates; fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Low carb diets limit these carbohydrate sources, and increase intake of protein and fat to encourage weight loss. Carbs come in two types: simple and complex. When you eat carbs, your body converts them into sugar and your blood sugar rises. Then your pancreas releases insulin to move that sugar into the cells to be used as energy. Whatever sugar you don't need right away is stored as fat. The two types of carbs have different effects on your blood sugar. Simple carbs such as cookies, brownies, pastries, white bread and pasta, and candy are made with white flour and white sugar. Your body breaks simple carbs down quickly and blood sugar spikes as a result. Complex carbs digest slowly, so they have less of a dramatic effect on blood sugar. Low carb diets lower insulin levels, so less sugar is stored as fat. Several different types of low carb diets, from Atkins to South Beach, exist. Each diet recommends a slightly different composition of carbohydrates to fats and protein. Some low carb diets are very restrictive, allowing almost no carbs. One of the Atkins diet plans allows only 40 grams of "net carbs" (total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols) a day. Compare that to the Dietary Guidelines, which recommend 225 to 325 grams of carbs a day. Other low carb diets are less strict. They allow small amounts of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. One of the biggest concerns with low carb diets is that they may replace carbohydrates with unhealthy protein and fat sources, such as red meat. Anyone who is considering switching to a low carb diet should consult a doctor to make sure the plan is healthy and appropriate for them.

Lung Cancer Symptoms

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women. It is also the deadliest cancer in both genders, accounting for more than one quarter of all cancer deaths. One reason the lung cancer death rate is so high is because lung cancer symptoms usually don?t appear until the disease has already reached an advanced stage, when it is harder to treat and less likely to be cured.

Recently, the American Cancer society began to recommend lung cancer screening with a low-dose CT scan for people at high risk for the disease. This includes people between the ages of 55 and 74 who have at least a 30 pack-year smoking history and either still smoke, or have quit smoking within the last 15 years.

In most cases, lung cancer symptoms don?t appear until the disease has already advanced to the point where it is incurable. Yet sometimes, symptoms can start earlier in the disease. See your doctor as soon as possible if you notice any lung cancer symptoms, such as persistent coughing, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, or chest pain. Other lung cancer symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite. If the cancer spreads to the skin or lymph nodes, it can form lumps. Lung cancer symptoms that indicate it has spread to the bone or brain include bone pain, dizziness, headache, or weakness in one arm.

Smoking is by far the leading cause of lung cancer. The longer you smoke and the more packs of cigarettes you smoke each day, the more your risk increases. Smoking cigars or pipes also puts you at risk. If you are at high risk, watch for lung cancer symptoms and talk to your doctor about screening. When a CT scan suggests lung cancer, your doctor will recommend follow-up tests such as a biopsy of lung cells, or a test of sputum.

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Migraine Symptoms

Migraines are more than just a headache. They cause intense pain, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances.

Researchers aren?t sure exactly what causes migraines, but factors such as brain chemical imbalances may be involved. Certain foods, drinks, smells, sounds, and environmental changes (such as the weather) can set off a migraine attack.

Migraine symptoms sometimes start a day or two before the actual headache hits. This is called prodrome. These pre-migraine symptoms can include depression, food cravings, irritability, and a stiff neck.

An actual migraine produces a throbbing or pulsing sensation, rather than the typical pain of a headache. Often the pain is in just one part of the head. Nausea, vomiting, and dizziness are other possible migraine symptoms. Some people become so sensitive to light and sound from a migraine that they have to lie down in a dark, quiet room until the headache passes.

Aura is another hallmark migraine symptom. People who experience auras with their migraines describe seeing flashes or spots of light. They may also feel strange sensations, or have trouble speaking.

Migraines typically last for a few hours, but some can continue for a day or two. Triptans are a class of drugs that constrict blood vessels to relieve migraine pain, but they must be taken immediately after the migraine starts to be effective. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help with less severe migraine pain. Medicines such as metoclopramide (Reglan) and prochlorperazine (Compro) help with nausea and vomiting. Beta-blockers, antidepressants, Botox, and anti-seizure drugs can help prevent migraines before they start.

Lifestyle measures like avoiding food triggers, getting enough sleep, and using relaxation techniques may also help prevent migraines. Some people find that keeping a headache diary helps them pinpoint their triggers.

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Narcolepsy

Some conditions, like sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome, interrupt sleep and keep you awake. Narcolepsy is a condition that causes you to sleep, but at all the wrong times. In people with narcolepsy, the brain is unable to properly regulate the body's normal sleep-wake cycles, leading to disjointed sleep at night and an uncontrollable urge to sleep during the day. About 1 in 3,000 Americans have narcolepsy, and many don't realize they live with the condition because it can be difficult to diagnose. People with narcolepsy sleep for the same number of hours each night as those without the condition; however, their sleep doesn't follow normal patterns. Typically when people fall asleep, they first drift into a stage of light sleep. Then, after about 90 minutes, they enter the deeper rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage. Those with narcolepsy enter REM sleep right away, and may experience periods of REM sleep throughout the day. The primary symptoms of narcolepsy are excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks, which can occur often enough to interfere with normal activities. Many people report falling asleep at work, in school, or in the middle of social situations. Often these sleep episodes last for just a few seconds. It's common for people to continue what they were doing. For example, taking notes in class or cooking a meal, while they sleep. Cataplexy; a sudden loss of muscle tone and control, is another hallmark symptom of narcolepsy. Some people experience sleep paralysis during transitions between sleep and wakefulness. During these episodes, they are suddenly frozen and unable to move for seconds to minutes at a time. Two drugs; modafinil (Nuvigil) and sodium oxybate (Xyrem) are FDA-approved to treat narcolepsy. These medicines help recharge the central nervous system to create a feeling of alertness. Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can help control cataplexy. Doctors also prescribe sedatives to improve sleep at night. Taking naps during the day, and following a set sleep schedule at night can also help with narcolepsy.

Natural Energy Boosters

A lack of energy can set in at the end of a long work day or week, leaving you too tired to concentrate and too listless to function. Often people reach for a cup of coffee or candy bar to pick them up, but these highly caffeinated and sugary foods can actually sap your energy even more. Instead, try one of these natural energy boosters to get you going again.

When you?re worn out, a workout might be the last thing you want to do, but exercise is actually one of the most effective and efficient natural energy boosters. As you climb stairs or walk around the block, oxygenated blood surges to your organs and tissues?including your heart, muscles, and brain. Even a quick 10-minute workout is enough to get your blood pumping and give your brain a boost.

Food is the fuel that powers you through your day. Some foods in particular make excellent natural energy boosters. Snacks that combine protein with slow-burning carbs?like peanut butter and banana on a whole-wheat cracker?are ideal because they maintain your blood sugar at a steady level. A handful of nuts is another good choice. Nuts are high in protein, magnesium, and folate?nutrients your body needs for energy. Don?t skip meals, especially breakfast. A nutritious morning meal will help launch your day. High-fiber foods like oatmeal are morning?s best natural energy boosters because your body digests them slowly. That means they?ll stick with you all the way to lunch.

Keep a tall glass of water close by at all times. Getting dehydrated can leave you feeling worn out. You can stick with the often-recommended eight glasses a day, but if that feels like too much, at least drink enough to keep your urine dilute and prevent thirst.

You?ll find one of the simplest natural energy boosters right outside your front door. A walk out in the sunshine is a great way to rejuvenate and recharge at any time of day.

Nervous Breakdown

Worry and anxiety can become so severe that a person is no longer able to go to work or function in his or her day-to-day life. This phenomenon is sometimes called a nervous breakdown. It's not a real medical term, but rather a description of symptoms. The inability to function is serious, and it requires help from a mental health provider. Stress and anxiety affect everyone from time to time. But sometimes the stress becomes so overwhelming that a person is entirely unable to function. The extreme reaction that sometimes follows excessive stress was referred to in the mid 20th century as a nervous breakdown, although the term is used less often today. A nervous breakdown isn't a true medical condition or diagnosis. Instead, it's an unhealthy response to stress that produces severe and life-altering symptoms. Essentially, the body just shuts down, no longer able to cope. Someone who has been working around the clock, or who has been under intense pressure to perform may be more vulnerable to having a nervous breakdown. An underlying mental health issue, such as depression, can often precipitate a nervous breakdown. Nervous breakdowns typically come with warning signs. Some people began hallucinating; seeing or hearing things that aren't really there. Others may become listless, losing energy and interest in activities they once enjoyed. A nervous breakdown can come on slowly, or someone may "snap" and be immediately rendered unable to function. In the midst of a nervous breakdown, a person may completely withdraw from life. He or she might repeatedly call in sick to work or school, avoid interactions with friends, stop eating, and sleep all day. If you notice any signs of intense stress or an impending nervous breakdown, try to take time off to do things you enjoy. Exercise, go to a movie, or get a massage to ease the building tension. Relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation can often calm the worries that precipitate a nervous breakdown. If relaxation and breaks don't help, get evaluated by a mental health professional, such as a therapist or counselor. Today, what was previously referred to as a nervous breakdown will be more specifically diagnosed as depression, an anxiety disorder, or another mental health issue.

Nutrition

Good nutrition is essential to maintaining health, especially as you get older. The food pyramid is a guide, created by the USDA, to help Americans choose the right combination of foods each day for optimum nutrition. It divides foods into groups?bread, cereal, rice, and pasta; fruit; vegetables; milk, yogurt, and cheese; meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts; fats, oils, and sweets?and describes how much of each food group people should eat. In recent years, MyPlate, also from the USDA, has replaced the food pyramid. MyPlate features a divided plate graphic representing the major food groups?fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy.

Certain food groups can help you lose weight. Eating high protein foods such as lean chicken breast, beans, fish, and tofu curb hunger, so you eat less. Protein is an important component of any diet, but it shouldn?t entirely replace other food groups, including whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

A low carb diet such as Atkins or South Beach is another approach to weight loss that focuses on protein and fats, and limits carbs from grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, and other sources. Yet this diet may not be a good long-term approach. While low carb diets do encourage weight loss in the short term, after a year or two they offer little advantage over traditional low-fat diets. And very restrictive low carb diets could potentially lead to nutritional deficiencies.

Watching your calorie intake is another way to control your weight. An online calorie counter can help you determine how many calories are in the foods you eat, and how many calories you consume each day. Pair up a calorie counter with a weight loss calculator, in which you input your weight, height, age, activity level, and the amount of weight you?d like to lose. The weight loss calculator will help you determine how many calories you should eat each day to reach your goal.

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Osteopenia

Osteopenia is a close relative of the bone-weakening disease, osteoporosis. It, too, is bone mineral density that is lower than normal, but it?s not low enough to qualify for a diagnosis of osteoporosis. If you have osteopenia, it?s important to strengthen your bones, because you are at greater risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures in the future.

Your risk for osteopenia increases as you age, because bones begin to break down faster as you get older. In women, the rate of bone loss speeds up dramatically after menopause because the body no longer produces the hormone estrogen, which helps build bones. Other risk factors include a family history of osteoporosis and a slim body frame. You may also be more prone to thinning bones if you?ve had an eating disorder like anorexia, you received radiation or chemotherapy to treat cancer, or you took steroid medicine to treat an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteopenia doesn?t cause any symptoms. You might not realize you have weak bones until the condition progresses and you develop a fracture. Your doctor can diagnose osteopenia and osteoporosis with a bone density test, called a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. This test compares the mineral content, or density, of your bones against those of a younger person of your gender. The result is reported as a T-score. A T-score of between -1.0 and -2.5 means you have osteopenia. A score of -2.5 or lower means you have osteoporosis.

If your bone density is low, your doctor will recommend that you start doing more weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or dancing. Nutritional interventions include getting more calcium and vitamin D, and limiting caffeine and alcohol. Bone-building medicines such as alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel), or raloxifene (Evista) may also be an option.

Osteoporosis -2.5

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become thin and brittle, to the point where they are more vulnerable to fractures. Bones constantly undergo a process of breaking down and rebuilding. With age, bone breakdown happens at a faster pace than rebuilding, leaving bones weaker. Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men, especially if they have a family history of the disease and a small body frame.

Because osteoporosis often causes no symptoms until you?ve already broken a bone, the only way to know whether you have the condition may be to screen for it. If you?re at risk for osteoporosis, your doctor will do a test called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to determine how much mineral your bones contain. This test can determine whether you have osteoporosis. Women age 65 and over, and men age 70 and over should consider having a DXA scan. Central DXA scans measure bone density in the hip and spine. Peripheral DXA scans measure bone density in the wrist, heel, or finger. Your doctor will tell you which measurement you need.

The DXA test result is reported as a T-score. This score compares your bone density to that of a 30-year-old person of your gender. A T-score between -1 and -2.5 is considered low bone mass, or osteopenia. A T-score of -2.5 means you have osteoporosis. An osteoporosis -2.5 score indicates you are at greater risk of fracturing a bone in the future.

Your T-score results can help your doctor determine which treatment option is right for you. If your fracture risk isn?t high, you might be able to manage bone strength with a combination of diet and exercise. A score of osteoporosis -2.5 may require bisphosphonate medicines, such as alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel), ibandronate (Boniva), or zoledronic acid (Reclast). Other osteoporosis medicines include denosumab (Prolia), teriparatide (Forteo), and raloxifene (Evista).

Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

Ovarian cancer affects the ovaries?the female reproductive organs that produce eggs. Just over 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, but this is one of the deadliest cancers in women, in part because only one in five ovarian cancers is diagnosed at an early stage. No screening tests for ovarian cancer exist, as they do for breast and prostate cancers.

The later ovarian cancer is found, the harder it is to treat. That?s why it?s critical to stay alert for any ovarian cancer symptoms and report them to your gynecologist right away. Seeking prompt medical help for ovarian cancer symptoms will enable you to receive treatment that could save your life.

Ovarian cancer symptoms can include bloating, feeling full quickly when you eat, and abdominal or pelvic pain or pressure. The disease can cause changes in urinary habits, such as feeling like you have to urinate more frequently. Less common ovarian cancer symptoms include pain during sex, fatigue, back pain, menstrual changes, and stomach upset.

Although early-stage ovarian cancer can cause symptoms, warning signs are more likely to develop after the disease has already spread beyond the ovaries. Many ovarian cancer symptoms are the same as those of other, noncancerous conditions, which can confuse diagnosis. One way to distinguish ovarian cancer symptoms from those of other conditions is that they will typically be new for you, and they?ll be continuous.

Knowing your family history can also help you determine whether you have ovarian cancer symptoms. Your risk of getting ovarian cancer is higher if a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) had the disease, or if you have a family history of colorectal or breast cancer. Your doctor will test for ovarian cancer with a transvaginal ultrasound and/or a blood test to check for a protein called CA-125. Levels of this protein rise in women who have ovarian cancer.

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Pain

About 100 million Americans live with chronic pain. For them, a condition like arthritis, fibromyalgia, nerve damage, migraine headaches, or cancer has caused unrelenting pain that persists day after day, month after month. Migraine headaches are a common source of chronic pain, affecting 1 in 10 Americans, most of them women. These are not just everyday headaches. Migraine symptoms also include nausea, vomiting, light and sound sensitivity, auras, and other visual disturbances. Because doctors still don?t fully understand what causes migraines, they haven?t been able to develop a cure for this condition. Treatments aim to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks and relieve symptoms when they start. Fibromyalgia is another poorly understood condition. The estimated 5 million Americans who have this condition experience fatigue and pain in particular spots around their body. Other fibromyalgia symptoms include sleep problems, headaches, sensitivity to heat and cold, bowel issues, and memory problems. Back problems are another source of chronic pain. Sciatica affects the lower back and legs. It starts in the sciatic nerve, which runs down the lower back, hips, buttocks, and legs. A herniated disk that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve often triggers sciatica. Spinal stenosis?a narrowing of the spine?can also put pressure on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can be very painful, but medicines, physical therapy, and other treatments usually improve the pain within a few weeks. Sometimes back pain can be traced to the kidneys, which are located on the back side of the body. Many people mistake kidney pain for back muscle strains. The most common causes of kidney pain are infection, kidney stones, polycystic kidney disease (in which growths called cysts form in the kidneys), bleeding, and kidney cancer. Because kidney pain can signal a more serious condition, it?s important to call the doctor for any constant, dull pain on one side of the back.

Panic Attack Symptoms

You're about to walk into an important meeting, when suddenly you feel dizzy and you can't catch your breath. Your hands shake and break out in a cold sweat. Your heart pounds so intensely that it feels like it's about to burst from your chest. Are you having a heart attack? Though these symptoms can resemble a heart problem, they also can signal a panic attack.

Panic attacks throw your body into emergency mode. A surge of stress chemicals gets you ready to respond in the event of a life-threatening danger, even though none exists. Panic attacks usually start abruptly, and they seem to come out of nowhere. They launch with a sudden surge of overwhelming, intense fear that peaks within seconds or minutes.

Panic attack symptoms can include trembling or shaking, difficulty taking a breath or controlling breathing, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and sweating that is sometimes profuse. Many anxiety symptoms; like a pounding heart, sweating, and chest pain or discomfort, closely mirror those of a heart attack. In fact, the symptoms of these two conditions can be so similar that many people check themselves into a hospital fearing they are in the midst of a heart attack, only to find that what they are experiencing is a panic attack.

Other panic attack symptoms that may be unexpected or different include ringing in the ears, feeling very hot or cold (or alternating between the two temperature extremes), and numbness or tingling in the extremities. A feeling of impending doom, like you're about to lose control or die, is also common among panic attack symptoms.

Although most panic attacks last just a few minutes, some people have repeated episodes. These lengthier panic attacks can last for hours, with intense feelings of anxiety between the episodes.

Pilates Exercises

Pilates is an exercise program designed primarily to work the core?the muscles of the abdomen, back, hips, and pelvic area. It also strengthens muscles of the arms and legs, and increases flexibility. You can do Pilates exercises at home with a video, in a class, or in a studio with special equipment. Boxer and performer Joseph Pilates developed the program in the early 20th century, and it has steadily gained popularity over the years.

The advantage to Pilates exercises is that they?re slow and easy enough for people of all ages and fitness abilities to do. One of the best-known Pilates exercises is ?the hundred,? which works the abdominal muscles. You lie on your back with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle, or hovering a few inches off the ground. As you breathe in and out, you pulse your hands and count until you reach 100.

The roll-up is another Pilates abdominal strengthener. You lie on your back with your knees bent or straight, and your arms stretched out straight up over your head. Then you curl upward, raising your arms straight up, and then out in front of you until you?re reaching out all the way over your toes. Curl back, bringing your lower back and then your upper back down to the floor and returning to the starting position. Do eight to 10 repetitions, gradually adding more reps as your stomach strengthens.

Single-leg circles are one of the Pilates exercises that work the lower body. To do this exercise, lie on your back with one leg raised straight into the air. Pull in your abdominal muscles to anchor your body. Lower one leg straight down and cross it over the other hip. Sweep the leg around in a small circle, and then raise it back up into the air. Repeat 10 times on each leg.

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

The walnut-shaped prostate gland is part of a man?s reproductive system. Its primary role is to add fluid to sperm to produce semen. Just as cells elsewhere in the body can turn cancerous, the cells of the prostate gland can become prone to cancer.

Some men will have no prostate cancer symptoms, especially when the disease is in its early stages. Others will experience a number of different symptoms. Many of the signs involve urination. Urinary prostate cancer symptoms can be similar to symptoms of noncancerous prostate growth, including difficulty starting urination or emptying the bladder. Some men experience a weaker than usual urine stream. Prostate cancer can also reveal itself as blood in the urine.

Some prostate cancer symptoms become apparent during intercourse. Men may notice blood in their semen, or discomfort when they ejaculate. They may also have pain in the pelvic area.

When prostate cancer spreads, it sometimes reaches the bones. Metastatic prostate cancer symptoms can include pain in the bones, particularly in the bones of the pelvis, hips, and spine.

Men who have prostate cancer symptoms should see a urologist or other health professional for testing. Prostate cancer is diagnosed by removing a piece of tissue from the prostate gland?a procedure called a biopsy. Typically, several pieces of tissue are taken from different areas of the prostate. The tissue samples are sent to a pathology lab for examination. Prostate cancer is graded using a system called the Gleason score, which indicates how likely the cancer is to spread. Prostate cancers with a lower Gleason score are less likely to spread, while cancers with a higher score are more likely to spread. The Gleason score, along with the stage of the cancer, helps the doctor determine which treatment will be most appropriate and effective.

Prostatitis

Prostatitis refers to not one, but several conditions in which the prostate becomes swollen and inflamed. Unlike the prostate growth known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which typically affects older men, prostatitis is more common in men under age 50.

A few different types of prostatitis exist. By far the most common form is chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. What causes this condition isn?t clear, but it may stem from a bacterial infection, an immune response to a past infection, or damage to the pelvic nerve.

Symptoms of chronic prostatitis include a frequent and urgent need to urinate, painful urination, lower abdominal pain, and uncomfortable ejaculation. The condition can be hard to diagnose, because tests for bacteria are usually negative. Chronic prostatitis treatments include antibiotics to clear up an infection, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain, and alpha-adrenergic blockers to relieve urinary symptoms.

Acute bacterial prostatitis and chronic bacterial prostatitis are less common forms of prostatitis. In acute bacterial prostatitis, bacteria infect the prostate gland, causing sudden and painful inflammation. Symptoms are similar to those of chronic prostatitis, including frequent and urgent urination. The main treatment is a two-to-six-week course of antibiotics.

Bacteria also cause chronic bacterial prostatitis, although the symptoms tend to be milder and last for at least three months. Treatment also involves antibiotics, but the course is longer than it is with acute bacterial prostatitis. Men must take antibiotics for at least four to 12 weeks, and sometimes for several months, to fully eradicate the infection.

The rarest form of this prostate condition is asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis, which is usually detected during an examination for another urinary tract or reproductive condition. Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis causes no symptoms?the only evidence of the disease is white blood cells in the urine or semen?and it does not need to be treated.

Psa Test

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland that can be detected in blood. Blood PSA levels typically rise in men who have prostate cancer. Since the 1990s, the PSA test has been used, along with the digital rectal exam (DRE), to regularly screen men over age 50 for prostate cancer.

The trouble is, noncancerous prostate conditions such as prostatitis (prostate inflammation) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can also cause a rise in PSA level. Urinary tract infections, prostate surgery, bladder tests, certain medications (such as NSAIDs, statins, and diuretics), and recent ejaculation can also affect PSA test results. The difficulty in distinguishing prostate cancer from these benign conditions can contribute to false positive results, which can lead men to have unnecessary biopsies (the removal of prostate tissue to test for cancer). Some evidence has shown that only 25 percent of men who have undergone a prostate biopsy because of a high PSA level actually have prostate cancer.

Even when a PSA test correctly identifies prostate cancer, it?s hard to know whether that cancer will be life-threatening. Many prostate cancers are slow growing and don?t need treatment. A high PSA level may result in men being treated for cancers they don?t have or that wouldn?t have spread, exposing them to treatment side effects and unnecessary anxiety.

Doctors have also had difficulty agreeing on what constitutes a ?normal? PSA level. In the past, a PSA of 4 nanograms per milliliter of blood (ng/ml) was considered normal. However, more recent students have shown that some men with PSAs below 4 have prostate cancer, while some men with PSA levels over 4 do not have cancer.

As a result, many medical organizations have pulled back on their recommendation that men get routine PSA screening. Most groups agree that screening should be individualized based on a man?s age, risk factors, and overall health.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Arthritis is a condition that affects the joints?the cushioning surfaces between bones?that leads to pain, stiffness, swelling, and reduced range of motion. Psoriatic arthritis is a form of the disease that causes not only sore and swollen joints, but also patches of red and silvery scales, called plaques, to form on the skin.

Lifestyle changes such as starting an exercise program can also help people manage psoriatic arthritis. Exercise is a good way to maintain flexibility and range of motion in the joints. Walking, cycling, swimming, and yoga are all low-impact exercises that strengthen joints.

About 15 percent of people with the skin condition, psoriasis, will also develop psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is caused by an overactive immune response, which attacks the joints and leads to the excess production of skin cells. The joints?especially those in the fingers, toes, spine, and pelvis?become inflamed. Excess skin cells die, slough off, and form scaly patches on the skin. Some people also develop nail changes like pits in the nail or a separation of the nail from its bed. Skin symptoms usually start before the joints become affected.

Treatment for psoriatic arthritis aims to slow disease progression, bring down swelling, reduce pain, and prevent permanent joint damage. Often the first step is to take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) to control pain and swelling. Some people with psoriatic arthritis take disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to slow the rate of joint damage. These medicines include sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall, Otrexup), or leflunomide (Arava). Recently introduced biologic drugs such as adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), golimumab (Simponi), and infliximab (Remicade) treat both psoriatic arthritis joint inflammation and skin psoriasis. These drugs target a protein called tumor necrosis alpha-factor (TNF-alpha), which contributes to the development of psoriatic arthritis.

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Ringing In Ears

After attending a concert or being exposed to an intensely loud noise like a jackhammer, many people notice a ringing sound in their ears. This ringing in ears is usually short-lived, disappearing soon after the source of the noise is removed. Yet sometimes the ringing can be constant and life altering.

Hearing sound with no outside source, whether it?s buzzing, roaring, hissing, humming, or ringing in ears, is called tinnitus. Between 50 and 60 million Americans have tinnitus. The noise can either come and go, or be persistent. Having a constant ringing in ears can be distracting and annoying. Tinnitus can keep you up at night, and destroy your ability to concentrate.

Sometimes tinnitus stems from damage to hair cells in the inner ear, which can be caused by age, exposure to loud noses, cardiovascular disease, or medicines such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or diuretics. These hair cells normally convert sound waves into electrical signals for the brain to decode. When they are damaged, the brain doesn?t receive the right signals. As the brain tries to ?turn up the volume? to hear the sounds it?s missing, it produces an electrical-type noise.

To diagnose ringing in ears, your doctor or an audiologist will give you a hearing test. Most people with tinnitus have some degree of hearing loss. You will sit in a soundproofed room wearing headphones, while sounds are played into your ear to find out how well you can hear. You might also have imaging tests such as a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to look for a growth or blood vessel issue that might be triggering the problem.

Tinnitus can?t be cured, but you can learn to live with it. Wearing a hearing aid amplifies sounds around you, which masks ringing in the ears. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can make the constant sound less distressing.

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Sciatic Nerve

If you?ve injured or pinched your sciatic nerve, you?ll know it by the pain that radiates from your lower back into your buttocks and down your legs. The sciatic nerve runs through this entire region of your body.

A herniated disk, bone spur, or narrowing of the spine (spinal stenosis) can all put pressure on the sciatic nerve, causing a condition called sciatica. Compression of this nerve causes pain that can range from mild to severe. Sometimes, you might feel an almost electric jolt down your back and legs. The pain can get worse with sudden movements, like a sneeze or cough. Along with the pain, you might have symptoms like numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness. Often, only one side of the body is affected.

To diagnose a problem with your sciatic nerve, your doctor might first ask you to perform several tasks, such as squatting or raising a straight leg. Imaging tests such as x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or computed tomography (CT) scan can show whether you have a herniated disk or other condition that can cause sciatica. The doctor may also do a test of nerve impulses, to see if there is any compression on the sciatic nerve. This test is called electromyography (EMG).

If you do have sciatica, your doctor can prescribe anti-inflammatory medicines, muscle relaxants, or antidepressants to help manage the pain. Holding cold or heat to the area can also help make you feel more comfortable. Steroid injections help bring down inflammation around the sciatic nerve. Once your pain is under control, a physical therapist can teach you exercises to strengthen your back, improve flexibility, and prevent future injuries to the sciatic nerve. Surgery is an option if your pain doesn?t improve with other treatments, or you have more serious symptoms like a loss of control over your bladder or bowel movements.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

As fall transitions to winter, the weather cools in much of the country and the days grow shorter and darker. Many people find that their mood darkens along with the days. They feel sad and hopeless, want to do little more than sleep, and barely have enough energy to get through their days. People who feel down during the winter months have a condition known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

Seasonal affective disorder isn?t the same as the ?winter blues,? a mild feeling of sadness that coincides with the winter months. It?s a real medical diagnosis, with symptoms that are severe enough to affect a person?s day-to-day life. Seasonal affective disorder is more common in northern climates than in southern climates. Women are more likely than men to have this condition, particularly if they have family members with seasonal affective disorder or depression.

Experts don?t know exactly what makes some people depressed during the winter months. They suspect seasonal affective disorder stems from a disruption to the body?s internal clock, called the circadian rhythm. Shorter days interrupt the production of melatonin, a natural chemical that helps us fall asleep.

Even though seasonal affective disorder typically lasts only as long as the season, it does need to be treated. Like other forms of depression, it can get worse over time, and can even lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.

One way to relieve sadness during the winter is with light therapy. Patients sit in front of a light box every morning for about 30 minutes. The light exposure can help reset circadian rhythms, and relieve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. For some people, light therapy isn?t enough. They also need talk therapy to combat the negative thoughts that are preoccupying their mind.

Senior Alert

Senior alert systems are safety devices for older adults who live alone. These systems use technology to call for medical assistance in the event of a fall, heart attack, or other health emergency. The earliest systems, which were introduced in the 1970s, were nothing more than a push button worn around the neck, which sent an alert to a call center. Most Americans became familiar with these systems though the often-parodied commercial in which a woman proclaimed, ?I?ve fallen and I can?t get up!? These systems were often mocked and stigmatized for their portrayal of a feeble, desperate older woman. In reality, they provide a valuable service to active seniors who want to remain independent in their homes.

Today?s senior alert systems are more functional and accessible than ever before. They can be worn around the wrist or neck, or placed on a wall of the home. They offer far greater functionality than earlier models. Some can detect a fall or health issue and call for help automatically. Others come equipped with GPS, which can summon help during a fall or other medical emergency away from home.

Several different companies offer senior alert systems, including Life Alert, Medical Alert, MobileHelp, Alert1, ADT, and Rescue Alert. These products typically charge an activation fee, which ranges from $50 to $200, and a monthly fee, which ranges from $25 to $60, depending on the scope of services offered. Medicare and private insurance plans typically won?t cover the cost.

Before purchasing any senior alert plan, research it carefully. Make sure you know which services the plan offers. Also find out whether the company has its own call center that?s staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even the best senior alert system won?t do you any good if you don?t use it. Keep it around your neck or wrist, so help will always be on-call when you need it.

Signs Of Diabetes

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, yet 8 million of them have no idea they live with the condition. The reason this disease often goes unnoticed is that diabetes symptoms can be subtle and hard to spot. Missing the signs of diabetes can prevent you from getting treatment. Without therapy, you can develop complications like nerve damage and vision loss, which could be irreversible.

One of the most typical signs of diabetes is a constant need to use the bathroom. As your kidneys try to flush excess sugar out of your blood, they draw in more water, resulting in a frequent urge to go. You might also notice that you?re producing more urine than usual. Because your body is losing more water, you?ll become dehydrated, which will make you thirstier than usual.

When you have diabetes, sugar doesn?t move efficiently from your bloodstream into your cells for energy. The lack of enough glucose in cells and a resulting drop in daily calories leads to two other signs of diabetes?weight loss and hunger. The hunger is also due to an increase in the production of insulin by your pancreas?your body?s attempt to lower your blood sugar. Insulin signals your brain that it?s time to eat.

High blood sugar over time can damage nerves. Signs of diabetes nerve damage include numbness and tingling, particularly in the hands and feet. Nerve damage can make it harder for you to find and treat sores in your feet before they become infected. High blood sugar can also affect the lens of the eye, reducing its focusing ability. One of the early warning signs of diabetes eye damage is blurred vision. As the disease progresses, it can compromise your sight.

Sinus Infection

The sinuses are the hollow spaces behind the cheekbones, nose, and forehead. Normally, these spaces are empty, with the exception of a thin layer of mucus. Sometimes if fluid becomes trapped inside the sinuses, bacteria or viruses can grow and cause the tissue lining the sinuses to swell up. This is known as a sinus infection, or sinusitis. Viruses cause most sinus infections, although some can be due to bacteria.

A sinus infection produces many of the same symptoms as a cold?including a stuffed and runny nose, green or yellow nasal discharge, and headache. It can also cause pain in the face or teeth, coughing, fever, bad breath, and fatigue. Sinusitis can be acute, in which case symptoms come on quickly and last for three to eight weeks. When the condition lingers for more than eight weeks, or keeps returning, it?s known as chronic sinusitis.

Not every sinus infection needs to be treated with antibiotics, but when bacteria are the cause the doctor may prescribe an antibiotic. A 10- to 14-day course of antibiotics usually clears up the infection. Over-the-counter cold and sinus remedies can relieve symptoms of a sinus infection. Nasal decongestants and antihistamines bring down swelling in the nasal passages to open up a clogged nose. Nasal steroid sprays also reduce swelling in the nose.

For chronic sinusitis, your doctor might prescribe steroid pills to bring down inflammation. You can also try a few home remedies to ease symptoms. A saline nasal spray can help break up congestion. Inhaling steam from the shower or a vaporizer is another way to alleviate congestion. Warm compresses can help with sinus pain.

To prevent future sinus infections, wash your hands with soap throughout the day. Keep up with all of your recommended vaccinations. And avoid close contact with anyone who is sick.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

If a bed partner has told you that you snore, you might have sleep apnea. In this condition, a blockage of airflow into the airway causes repeated pauses in breathing throughout the night. As your body restarts breathing, it wakes you up, leading to continually interrupted sleep.

The most obvious of the sleep apnea symptoms is snoring, which may be loud enough to interrupt your spouse?s sleep. Your partner may also notice that you choke or gasp for air. If you?re not sleeping well at night, chances are you will be sleepy during the day. You might even doze off.

Other common sleep apnea symptoms include difficulty remembering or concentrating, feeling irritable or depressed, and having headaches or dry mouth when you wake up in the morning. Sleep apnea symptoms in children can manifest as behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, anger, and difficulty in school. Kids with this condition may be described as ?mouth breathers,? inhaling and exhaling through their mouth instead of their nose.

If your bed partner tells you that you snore, or you feel excessively tired during the day, it may be time to see your doctor for an evaluation. In addition to performing an exam, your doctor might recommend a sleep study, in which you sleep in a center while hooked up to equipment that measures your breathing and vital signs.

About half of people with sleep apnea are overweight, and weight loss can be an effective strategy for managing the condition. Sleeping on your side, rather than on your back, can also prevent snoring and other nighttime sleep apnea symptoms. If lifestyle interventions aren?t effective, the doctor can prescribe a machine called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). A mask that fits over the nose and mouth blows air gently into your throat to keep the airway open while you sleep. A device called an oral appliance can also be helpful for adjusting the lower jaw and tongue to keep air flowing into the lungs. Some people may need surgery to correct sleep apnea. Procedures typically remove or stiffen excess tissue to widen breathing passages.

Spinal Stenosis

The spine is the body?s scaffolding. Its stacked column of 26 bones supports the head, shoulders, and upper body, and enables you to stand upright, bend over, and move. A number of conditions can affect the spine, causing pain and disrupting mobility. Spinal stenosis involves a narrowing of the spaces in various parts of the spine. This narrowing can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, causing pain or numbness in the back, arms, and/or legs. Some people with spinal stenosis also have trouble controlling bowel or bladder function.

You?re more likely to develop spinal stenosis as you get older, due to wear and tear on the spine. Some people inherit a vulnerability to spinal narrowing. Other causes of spinal stenosis include herniated disks, tumors, and spinal injuries that dislodge or fracture the vertebrae of the spine.

Doctors use imaging tests such as x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect damage to the spine and diagnose spinal stenosis. Treatment for spinal stenosis can include medicines to ease nerve pain and reduce inflammation, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), muscle relaxants, antidepressants, and anti-seizure drugs. Opioid medicines can help with severe discomfort, but these powerful pain relievers need to be used with caution because they can become addictive.

Steroid injections can help relieve inflammation and reduce pressure on the spine. Physical therapy helps to strengthen the muscles that support the spine. A physical therapist can also teach exercises that improve flexibility and balance. Some people may need to use assistive devices, such as a cane or walker, to give them more stability while walking.

When these treatments don?t help, surgery may be an option. Procedures for spinal stenosis remove part of the affected vertebrae, creating an opening that relieves pressure on nerves. Metal hardware may be implanted to fill the gap left by the removed section(s), and keep the spine upright.

Stress And Anxiety

Everyone feels stressed out from time to time. The leading causes of Americans? stress include finances, work, family responsibilities, and health issues. Constant stress can lead to worry or anxiety. In people with anxiety disorders, the worry is constant, and detrimental.

Anxiety symptoms include trouble relaxing, sleep issues, and difficulty concentrating. People with anxiety often report physical symptoms too, such as headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, sweating, and nausea.

A psychologist or psychiatrist can diagnose the condition by asking about anxiety symptoms. Taking an online anxiety test can also help you identify whether you have a problem. Anxiety tests include questions about symptoms such as excessive worry and inability to control that worry, fatigue, trouble concentrating, difficulty sleeping or eating, and problems with alcohol or drug use.

Social anxiety is a particular type of anxiety in which people fear social interactions because they worry others will judge them. About 15 million Americans have social anxiety disorder. The condition can interfere with normal relationships, work, and education. Social anxiety symptoms include sweating, blushing, shortness of breath, dizziness, fast heartbeat, nausea or vomiting, and trembling in social situations.

Another physical manifestation of stress and anxiety is a panic attack. A panic attack produces paralyzing fear that causes real, physical symptoms. Panic attack symptoms can include a pounding heartbeat (palpitations), sweating, shortness of breath, shaking, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, and chills. Sometimes these symptoms resemble those of a heart attack.

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Ulcer Symptoms

The word ?ulcer? refers to a sore. Ulcers are sores in the stomach (gastric ulcer) or upper part of the intestines (duodenal ulcer). They?re caused by stomach acid that wears away at the stomach or intestinal lining.

Most people who develop ulcers don?t have any symptoms at first. When ulcer symptoms do begin, they usually involve pain in the upper part of the abdomen. The pain may feel dull, and it can come and go or persist for days or weeks. Sometimes eating relieves the abdominal pain, and sometimes food makes it worse.

Other ulcer symptoms include bloating, a feeling of fullness, nausea, and vomiting. The most serious ulcer symptoms are due to bleeding. A bleeding ulcer can cause anemia, which produces symptoms such as fatigue, pale skin, and shortness of breath. Bleeding in the stomach and intestines can cause a person to vomit blood or a substance that resembles coffee grounds, or to have bloody diarrhea or severe stomach pain. These ulcer symptoms are indications that there is a hole in the stomach or intestines, or a blockage in the stomach. If you notice any of these symptoms, call 911 or go to a hospital right away for treatment.

To diagnose an ulcer, the doctor may do an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), in which a flexible tube with a camera on the end is inserted into the mouth and lowered to let the doctor see the stomach and beginning of the small intestine. An upper GI series, which involves x-rays of the esophagus and stomach after drinking barium, may also be done.

Ulcers are treated with proton pump inhibitors or H2 blockers?two medicines that reduce stomach acid production. Often, ulcers are caused by an infection with H. pylori bacteria. Antibiotics can treat this infection.

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Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia involves problems with thinking or remembering caused by a disruption in blood flow in the brain. It can start after a large stroke or a series of small strokes blocks blood vessels in the brain. Or, vascular dementia can occur when blood vessel damage causes bleeding in the brain. Conditions like high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries contribute to the damage that triggers vascular dementia.

When blood vessels are blocked or narrowed, brain tissues are prevented from getting the oxygen-rich blood they need to function normally. Without blood, the tissues die, leading to cognitive problems.

Vascular dementia can occur on its own, or together with Alzheimer?s disease or other forms of dementia. Vascular dementia might come on suddenly if it follows a stroke. Or, the memory loss and mental decline may be more gradual if they result from a series of small strokes.

Symptoms of vascular dementia depend on how much brain tissue and which areas of the brain have been damaged. They may include memory loss, confusion, trouble concentrating, difficulty making decisions, agitation, depression, and trouble speaking or understanding.

Anyone who has had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke) may be at risk for vascular dementia. People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood vessel disease are also at higher risk. Those with risk factors may need screening to evaluate their memory and thinking ability.

No treatments exist for vascular dementia, but some of the drugs that have been approved to treat Alzheimer?s disease?including the cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne) and memantine (Namenda)?can help with symptoms.

Vascular dementia is preventable with lifestyle modifications. Controlling your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol with diet and exercise can reduce your risk of getting this condition. Avoiding cigarettes and limiting alcohol are two other good prevention strategies.

Vertigo Treatment

If it seems like the world is spinning and you aren?t on a merry-go-round, you might have vertigo. This unnerving condition usually stems from a problem in the inner ear?particularly in the vestibular system, which controls balance. Vertigo can also be triggered by a head or neck injury, stroke, or the use of certain medications.

Vertigo produces symptoms like spinning, swaying, loss of balance, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, headache, and abnormal eye movements. After an exam and tests of your balance, your doctor can rule out other conditions that cause dizziness and confirm whether you have vertigo.

Sometimes, vertigo disappears on its own within a few weeks or months. To relieve symptoms sooner, several types of therapies are available. One common vertigo treatment is called canalith repositioning, or the Epley maneuver. Normally, small calcium carbonate crystals, called canaliths, are attached to a membrane in the inner ear. Aging, injury, or infection can detach these crystals and cause them to enter the fluid-filled canals in your inner ear. There, they stimulate hair cells, which produces a false sensation of movement. The doctor will move your head into certain angled positions and hold it there for several seconds to shift the canaliths back into the inner ear where they belong.

Vestibular rehabilitation is another vertigo treatment that corrects any problems in your vestibular system. This program can involve balance retraining, neck motion exercises, and vision stability training.

Diet changes may help with vertigo treatment. Avoiding foods high in sugar or salt, limiting alcohol and caffeine, and drinking enough fluid throughout the day can help regulate fluid imbalances that contribute to certain types of vertigo. Some people find that talking to a counselor helps them deal with the emotional impacts of the disease. If standard vertigo treatment doesn?t work, surgery can be done to correct inner ear function.

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Weight Loss Calculator

To lose weight, you need follow a formula: take in fewer calories each day than you burn off with activity. In general, the established formula is that you'd have to consume 3,500 fewer calories, or burn off an extra 3,500 calories each week to lose one pound. However, everyone's body is different, and each person has a unique metabolism and calorie requirement. A weight loss calculator is a digital tool that can help you reach your weight loss goals. Typically with online weight loss calculators, you enter your height, weight, age, activity level, and the amount of weight you would like to lose. Then, the weight loss calculator figures out how many fewer calories you need to eat each day to reach your target weight, and how long it will take you to achieve that weight. Some weight loss calculators give you different daily calorie options, so you can fine-tune your diet. Yet they typically will not go below 1,200 daily calories for women, and 1,500 calories for men, because anything lower would be too restrictive and wouldn't be healthy. Several commercial weight loss calculators are available online. The National Institutes of Health also offers its own Body Weight Planner. It was created by mathematician Kevin Hall, PhD, after he analyzed a number of weight-loss studies to find the factors that had the greatest effect on weight loss. To use the NIH calculator, you input your weight, gender, age, height, and physical activity level. Then, you input your goal weight, and the date by which you'd like to reach it. And, you indicate how much you're willing to increase your activity level. The weight loss calculator tells you how many calories you need to trim to reach your goal weight within your ideal time frame. Any weight loss calculator can help you trim down if you carefully follow the daily calorie recommendations. Using a calorie counter along with it can help you keep track of the number of calories you eat, and burn, each day.

What Causes Diabetes

What causes diabetes depends on the form of the disease. The origins of type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ, although experts believe that both types stem from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

In type 1 diabetes, the body?s immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin?a hormone that moves sugar (glucose) from the bloodstream into the body?s cells. A genetic predisposition is at least partly responsible for this immune system attack. Certain viruses, including enteroviruses, could potentially initiate the autoimmune reaction that leads to the disease.

What causes diabetes type 2 is increasing resistance of the cells to the effects of insulin. As a result, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. Having an excess of fatty tissue can make the cells more resistant to insulin, although it is possible to get the disease without being overweight. A sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in saturated fat can also contribute to diabetes risk, in part by leading to weight gain. Exercise helps the body use glucose and makes cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin. The risk of diabetes increases with age, which may be due in part to weight gain that naturally occurs in the later years. High blood pressure and smoking are also factors in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a form of the disease that occurs during pregnancy. What causes diabetes in pregnant women? Hormones produced during those nine months make the mother?s cells more resistant to insulin. The pancreas is not always able to keep up with the increased demand for insulin. Women who enter their pregnancy at a higher than normal weight are at increased risk for gestational diabetes. A family history of diabetes, or a personal history of prediabetes or gestational diabetes also makes women more likely to develop gestational diabetes. Having diabetes during pregnancy increases a woman?s risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

What Is Bph

What is BPH? A man?s prostate gland starts out life roughly the size and shape of a walnut. As he ages, the prostate typically begins to grow. This growth is called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. BPH is very common, affecting about half of men ages 51 to 60, and 90 percent of men over age 80.

BPH isn?t cancerous, and it doesn?t spread. However, as the prostate grows, it squeezes down on the urethra?the tube through which urine exits the bladder and leaves the body. The bladder has to continually work harder to push urine past the obstruction. Over time, the muscular bladder walls can become overworked and weakened to the point where a man has trouble urinating and emptying the bladder fully. Men with BPH may feel a sudden and constant need to urinate?including in the middle of the night. When they do urinate, their stream is often weak, and they have trouble fully emptying their bladder.

Doctors use several tests to check for BPH. In the digital rectal exam (DRE), the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum to feel for prostate enlargement. Urine tests and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test may also be done. Additional tests may be done to measure the strength of the urine flow (uroflowmetry), see how much urine is left in the bladder after urination (postvoid residual urine test), and visualize the prostate gland (ultrasound).

What is BPH treatment? Treatments depend on the severity of symptoms and a man?s overall health. A few medications are used to treat BPH symptoms. Alpha-adrenergic blockers such as tamsulosin (Flomax) and terazosin (Hytrin) relax the smooth muscle of the prostate and bladder to improve urine flow. 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors like finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart) block the production of a hormone that triggers prostate growth.

If medicines alone aren?t enough to relieve symptoms, surgery may be done to remove excess prostate tissue. The doctor can remove tissue in the inner part of the prostate with an electric current or laser during a procedure called transurethral prostatectomy (TURP). Men with smaller prostates can have transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), which widens the urethra to relieve pressure. Holmium laser enucleation of prostate (HoLEP) uses lasers to vaporize excess prostate tissue.

What Is BPH Treatment?

Treatments depend on the severity of symptoms and a man's overall health. A few medications are used to treat BPH symptoms. Alpha-adrenergic blockers such as tamsulosin (Flomax) and terazosin (Hytrin) relax the smooth muscle of the prostate and bladder to improve urine flow. 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors like finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart) block the production of a hormone that triggers prostate growth. If medicines alone aren't enough to relieve symptoms, surgery may be done to remove excess prostate tissue. The doctor can remove tissue in the inner part of the prostate with an electric current or laser during a procedure called transurethral prostatectomy (TURP). Men with smaller prostates can have transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), which widens the urethra to relieve pressure. Holmium laser enucleation of prostate (HoLEP) uses lasers to vaporize excess prostate tissue.

What Is Dementia

What is dementia? It?s not a disease itself, but is rather a term used to describe memory loss and problems with thinking that are severe enough to have an impact on your day-to-day life.

Dementia encompasses several different conditions. The most common form, which affects up to 80 percent of people with dementia, is Alzheimer?s disease. In Alzheimer?s, abnormal proteins called beta-amyloid and tau build up in the brain and destroy nerve cells, leading to memory loss, loss of judgment, and other symptoms of the condition.

Vascular dementia stems from blocked or bleeding blood vessels in the brain, which can be due to a stroke. A lack of blood flow eventually damages brain cells.

What is dementia with Lewy bodies? It begins when a protein called alpha-synuclein clumps together in the brain and causes damage. When the different forms of dementia occur together, they are called mixed dementia.

No single test can determine with any certainty whether someone has dementia. Diagnosis involves several different examinations and tests, including a health history, physical exam, neurological tests, brain imaging, blood tests, and tests of mental status.

While there currently is no cure for Alzheimer?s or other forms of dementia, treatments can address symptoms and help people live better with the disease. Some drugs target the irritability and moodiness that can accompany dementia. Other medicines improve sleep, which becomes more difficult as dementia progresses. Two types of drugs?cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne) and memantine (Namenda)?can slow memory loss from Alzheimer?s disease, although they can?t halt it entirely.

Researchers are currently trying to develop drugs that will prevent the damaging proteins that cause dementia from forming, or clear up proteins that have already formed. These and other therapies offer hope for a more effective dementia treatment, or one day, a cure.

What Is Emphysema

What is emphysema? This lung disease is one of two conditions, along with chronic bronchitis, that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Emphysema damages the air sacs, or alveoli, in the lungs. When you breathe in, air travels down the branching bronchial tubes and bronchioles, into the alveoli. Oxygen enters the bloodstream through blood vessels in the alveoli walls, while carbon dioxide leaves the bloodstream to be removed during exhalation.

In emphysema, damage causes the thin walls of the air sacs to weaken. Over time they break open, leaving one big space where there once were many small spaces. Because the lungs can no longer absorb as much oxygen, you?ll begin to have trouble breathing. Your oxygen level can drop to the point where your lips or fingernails turn blue.

Smoking causes most cases of emphysema. The longer you smoke, and the more cigarettes you smoke each day, the greater the lung damage becomes. Exposure to chemical fumes at work, and to outdoor air pollution can also cause emphysema.

Emphysema can take many years to progress. At first, you might not realize you have the condition. Over time, you?ll start to develop shortness of breath. You can become so short of breath that you have trouble walking, climbing stairs, and going about your normal activities. Usually, you?ll have emphysema together with chronic bronchitis. Bronchitis causes symptoms like a consistent cough, which often produces mucus.

Though you can?t reverse or cure emphysema, you can treat it with medicines that open up the airways and relax constricted breathing. Inhaled bronchodilators and steroids are foundations of emphysema treatment. You may need to breathe in oxygen from a canister, especially when you exercise or do activities around the home. A program called pulmonary rehabilitation incorporates exercise, nutrition, counseling, and education to help you manage your condition. If you smoke, quitting can prevent further lung damage and help you breathe easier.

What Is Gluten

Gluten-free foods seem to be everywhere these days, from supermarket shelves to restaurant menus. But just what is gluten? And why do some people need to avoid it?

Gluten is a type of protein that?s found in grains like wheat, rye, and barley. It?s actually made up of two types of protein: gliadin and glutenin. Gluten helps foods stay together and maintain their shape, and gives bread its chewy texture.

Gluten isn?t unhealthy, but it can cause problems for people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or wheat allergy. In celiac disease, the immune system reacts in the presence of gluten, damaging the small intestine and preventing nutrients in foods from being properly absorbed. Celiac disease causes symptoms like stomach upset, joint pain, skin rashes, and fatigue when people consume gluten-containing foods. Gluten sensitivity causes symptoms similar to those of celiac disease?including diarrhea, fatigue, and joint pain, but no intestinal damage is occurring. People with a wheat allergy develop a reaction after eating wheat-containing foods. That reaction can involve hives, swelling of the face, nausea, diarrhea, and rash.

Anyone who has celiac disease must stay away from gluten. People with allergies and sensitivity also need to be very careful about what they eat. Anyone with gluten intolerance needs to know which foods contain gluten, and then avoid or limit them. The most obvious place to find gluten is in grain products?cereals, baked goods, breads, and pasta. Yet gluten can also be an ingredient in non-grain foods, such as soups, sauces, salad dressings, food colorings, malt vinegar, and beer. When grocery shopping, people with gluten intolerance should read food labels. And when they dine out, they need to let their server know they have a gluten sensitivity, allergy, or celiac disease.

Many different grain products contain gluten. Varieties include durum, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, graham, kamut, rye, triticale, wheat starch, and malt.

What Is Gout

What is gout? Gout is a type of arthritis that causes severe pain, redness, stiffness, and swelling of the joints. Often, the big toe is affected.

People develop gout when they have a buildup of uric acid in their joints. Uric acid is a byproduct produced when the body breaks down substances called purines, which are found in foods like liver, mackerel, beans, peas, and beer. When too much uric acid builds up in the blood, it can congregate in the joints and form sharp crystals.

You?re more likely to get gout if you eat a diet high in purine-containing foods. People who are overweight or obese are also more prone to this condition, because their body naturally produces more uric acid, and their kidneys have to work harder to remove it. Diseases that accompany obesity, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, contribute to gout risk. Certain medicines, including diuretics and cyclosporine, also make you more likely to develop gout.

To determine whether you have gout or another type of arthritis, your doctor may take a sample of fluid from your joint and examine it to look for uric acid crystals. Gout is typically treated with medicines that bring down inflammation and reduce pain, such as NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, and others), steroids, and colchicine. You may also get medicine to block uric acid production, or help the kidneys remove it more efficiently. Lowering your intake of foods high in purines, and exercising to keep your weight in check are two ways to prevent?and relieve?gout.

What Is Physical Fitness

What is physical fitness? It?s a state of good health in which your muscles are strong, your joints are fluid, and you?re able to accomplish everyday tasks with relative ease. As you get older, it?s more important than ever to keep your body in good shape. Physical fitness can help you maintain your independence and avoid diseases such as osteoporosis and diabetes.

To stay physically fit, you need to be active. Experts recommend that you do a combination of aerobic, strength training, flexibility, and balance exercises to achieve an ideal fitness level. Aerobic exercise gets your heart pumping and your lungs working. It trims excess weight, and improves your physical endurance. Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, playing tennis, or riding a stationery bicycle. Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week.

Strength training exercises build muscles. Lifting light weights or working with resistance bands are examples of strengthening exercises. Do these exercises about twice a week.

Balance starts to erode as you age, and when it does, your risk of falling increases. You can incorporate balance exercises throughout the day; for example, by standing on one leg for a few seconds, and then switching to the other leg. Or you can walk heel-to-toe.

Stretching improves flexibility. Something as simple as bending over to touch your toes or leaning to each side can help keep your joints more limber.

Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program. Make sure the exercises you plan to do are safe for you, especially if you have a health condition. It?s always a good idea to start with a class or personal trainer to ensure you?re doing the exercises correctly. Start slowly, working only to your ability. You can gradually add length and intensity to your workouts as you get more comfortable.

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