Friday, September 19, 2014
What is finger clubbing?
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What is finger clubbing?
Finger clubbing is a thickening of the
fingertips that gives them an abnormal rounded appearance. The exact cause of
finger clubbing is not known, but it is a common symptom of respiratory
disease, congenital heart disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Respiratory diseases associated with finger
clubbing include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer,
cystic fibrosis (thick mucus in the throat and digestive tract), and
bronchiectasis (destruction of the large airways). Congenital heart diseases
(heart diseases present since birth) that lead to finger clubbing are typically
cyanotic, meaning that they cause a person to appear blue due to reduced oxygen
in the blood. Clubbing has been seen in pregnancy and acromegal (gigantism due
to pituitary tumor).
Gastrointestinal disorders that can lead to
clubbing of the fingers include celiac disease, Crohn's disease, inflammatory
bowel disease, and liver disease, especially in severe cases, such as cirrhosis
of the liver. Other diseases associated with finger clubbing include Hodgkin’s
lymphoma and Graves’ disease (thyroid condition). Clubbing may be accompanied
by cyanosis (blue coloration of the skin) and shortness of breath.
Finger clubbing can be associated with
symptoms of a serious or life-threatening condition. For serious symptoms, such
as severe difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, bluish coloration of the
lips or fingernails, change in level of consciousness or alertness, and rapid
heart rate. Calling on emergency if serious symptoms .
What other symptoms might occur with finger
clubbing?
Finger clubbing may accompany other
symptoms, which vary depending on the underlying disease, disorder or condition
and may also involve the respiratory, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal
systems.
Respiratory system symptoms that may occur
along with finger clubbing
Finger clubbing may accompany other
symptoms that affect the respiratory system including:
·
Coughing up blood (hemoptysis)
·
Coughing up clear, yellow, light brown, or green mucus
·
Cough that gets more severe over time
·
Difficulty breathing
·
Loose, wet cough that produces thick white or yellow
phlegm
·
Rapid breathing (tachypnea) or shortness of breath
·
Wheezing (whistling sound made with breathing)
Cardiovascular system symptoms that may
occur along with finger clubbing
Finger clubbing may accompany symptoms
related to the cardiovascular system including:
·
Bluish lips, nails or skin (cyanosis)
·
Chest pain or pressure
·
Irregular heart rate (arrhythmia
·
Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
·
Squatting posture in young children
Gastrointestinal symptoms that may occur
along with finger clubbing
Finger clubbing may accompany symptoms that
are related to the gastrointestinal system including:
·
Abdominal bloating
·
Abdominal pain or cramping
·
Abnormally foul-smelling stools
·
Blood-streaked stools
·
Chronic or persistent diarrhea
·
Indigestion
·
Loss of appetite
·
Nausea with or without vomiting
·
Unexplained weight loss
Serious symptoms that might indicate a
life-threatening condition
In some cases, finger clubbing can be a
symptom of a life-threatening condition. Seek immediate medical care (call 911)
if you, or someone you are with, have any of these life-threatening symptoms
including:
·
Bluish coloration of the lips or fingernails
·
Change in level of consciousness or alertness, such as
passing out or unresponsiveness
·
Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
·
Respiratory or breathing problems, such as shortness
of breath, difficulty breathing, labored breathing, wheezing, not breathing, or
choking
What causes finger clubbing?
The exact cause of finger clubbing is not
known, but it is a common symptom of respiratory disease, congenital heart
disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Respiratory disease causes of finger
clubbing
Finger clubbing may be caused by
respiratory diseases including:
·
Bronchiectasis (destruction and widening of the large
airways)
·
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
including emphysema and chronic bronchitis
·
Cystic fibrosis (thick mucus in the lungs and
respiratory tract)
·
Lung abscess
·
Lung cancer
·
Pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs)
Congenital cardiac disease causes of finger
clubbing
Finger clubbing can also be caused by
congenital cardiac diseases including:
·
Tetralogy of Fallot (combination of four structural
defects)
·
Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR; rare
condition in which the pulmonary veins do not empty into the heart)
·
Transposition of the great vessels (rare condition in
which the major vessels entering or leaving the heart are misconnected
Gastrointestinal disease causes of finger
clubbing
Finger clubbing can also be caused by
gastrointestinal diseases including:
·
Celiac disease (severe sensitivity to gluten from
wheat and other grains that causes intestinal damage)
·
Cirrhosis of the liver
·
Inflammatory bowel disease (includes Crohn’s disease
and ulcerative colitis)
·
Liver cancer
Other causes of finger clubbing
Finger clubbing can also have other causes
including:
·
Acromegaly (gigantism caused by a pituitary tumor)
·
Atrial myxoma (tumor arising within heart(
·
Dysentery (infectious inflammation of the colon,
causing severe diarrhea)
·
Endocarditis (inflammation of heart tissue, often
infectious(
·
Graves’ disease (type of hyperthyroidism resulting in
excessive thyroid hormone production(
·
Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer of the lymph tissues(
·
Pregnancy
Questions for diagnosing the cause of
finger clubbing
To diagnose your condition, your doctor or
licensed health care practitioner will ask you several questions related to
your finger clubbing including:
·
Do you have any other symptoms?
·
Do you have difficulty breathing?
·
What medications are you taking?
·
When did you first notice finger clubbing?
·
What are the potential complications of finger
clubbing?
Because finger clubbing can be due to
serious diseases that cause cyanosis, failure to seek treatment can result in
serious complications and permanent damage. Once the underlying cause is
diagnosed, it is important for you to follow the treatment plan that you and
your health care professional design specifically for you to reduce the risk of
potential complications including:
·
Heart failure
·
Long-term physical disability
·
Organ failure or dysfunction
·
Respiratory failure
·
Spread of cancer
·
Spread of infection
Treatment:
No specific treatment for clubbing is
available. Treatment of the underlying pathological condition may decrease the
clubbing or, potentially, reverse it if performed early enough. Once
substantial chronic tissue changes, including increased collagen deposition,
have occurred, reversal is unlikely. Treatment for related problems, such as
pain, is symptomatic.
Source : http://www.healthgrades.com/
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Do you need an eye exam? Free eye exam ...
Do you need an eye exam? Free eye exam ... Home
Periodic eye and vision examinations
are an important part of preventive health care. Many eye and vision problems
have no obvious signs or symptoms. As a result, individuals are often unaware
that problems exist. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems
are important for maintaining good vision and eye health, and when possible,
preventing vision loss.
A comprehensive adult eye and vision
examination may include, but is not limited to, the following tests. Individual
patient signs and symptoms, along with the professional judgment of the doctor,
may significantly influence the testing done.
Eye examination is a series of tests performed by an ophthalmologist
(medical doctor), optometrist, or orthoptist assessing vision and ability to
focus on and discern objects, as well as other tests and examinations
pertaining to the eyes. Health care professionals often recommend that all
people should have periodic and thorough eye examinations as part of routine
primary care, especially since many eye diseases are asymptomatic.
Do you need an eye exam?
Do you need to focus to read the text on
TV? Do you think it's hard to see the road signs? Do you suffer from headache?
Do you think that the text often is blurry when you read? It might be time to
check your eye sight and do an online eye exam.
Does your head hurt when you read? Does
your eyes get dry when you read in front of the computer screen?
If you answered yes to any of the
questions, it might be time to do an eye exam to check your eye sight. Just by
needing to focus on a screen might not feel like a reason enough to buy an
expensive test at your optometrist. Wouldn't it be great to do a first test
online? So do we think and have therefore created this eye exam and will let
you do an initial test for free.
Source : http://www.eyeexamonline.com/
Monday, September 15, 2014
FREE ... CALORIE CALCULATOR APPLICATION FOR ANDROID
FREE ... CALORIE CALCULATOR APPLICATION FOR ANDROID Home
The Calorie Calculator can be used to estimate the calories you need to consume each day. This calculator can also provide some simple guideline if you want to gain or lose weight.
To estimate how many calories you should consume in order to maintain your weight , you'll need to do a little math. By using a simple formula called the Harris-Benedict principle, you can assess your basal metabolic rate -- also known as your BMR.
Women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
Please note that this formula applies only to adults.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Five of the world's deadliest diseases !?
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Five of the world's deadliest diseases !?
·
Smallpox
Before being eradicated in the 20th
century, smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in human history.
The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977,
according to WHO.
The only known cases since then were caused by an
accident in a Birmingham laboratory in 1978, which killed one person and
created a limited outbreak.
WHO has a small stockpile of smallpox vaccine, as do
other countries and organisations, but there has been concern in recent years
that terrorists could get hold of the virus to use as a biological weapon.
·
Influenza
Seasonal influenza is thought by WHO to
have annual global attack rate estimated at 5%-10% in adults and 20%-30% in
children.
This means an there are an estimated three to five
million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths each year.
The most notorious outbreak in modern history was the
Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, which is said to have killed more people than
World War One - about a third of the world's population, or 500m people were
infected and estimates suggest 50m died.
A strain of avian influenza or bird flu has been
spreading mainly through Asia since 2003, with 650 deaths confirmed by WHO.
·
Plague
During the 14th and 17th centuries the
Black Death ravaged Europe and Asia.
Infection was spread from large numbers of rats to man
through bites from fleas, causing deadly bubonic plague and a highly contagious
strain of pneumonia.
In 2010, 17 people were found to have plague in Peru -
four were pneumonic plague, 12 were bubonic plague and one was septicemic
plague.
Other outbreaks of plague, which can have symptoms
including a cough, swollen lymph glands and high fever, have occurred in China,
Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years.
·
Sars
In 2003 doctors from WHO became aware of
the virus Sars, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The virus, first spotted in China, went on to infect
more than 8,000 people and kill more than 750.
Sars causes sufferers to run a fever, have flu-like
symptoms and have difficulty breathing. There is currently no known cure or
vaccine.
·
Malaria
Everyone despises being eaten alive by
pesky mosquitoes in the summer, but you would be surprised how many of those
annoying bugs could actually lead to our demise! Malaria is caused by a
parasite that is transmitted from one human to another through the bite of an
infected mosquito. In humans, the parasites travel to the liver, where they
mature. Once matured, they release another parasite that then enters the
bloodstream and infects the red blood cells. The parasites multiply at a rapid
speed, but symptoms could take up to one year to show. The disease is a major
health problem in much of the tropics and subtropics. It is estimated that
there are 300-500 million cases of malaria each year, and more than 1 million
people die from the disease. It presents a major health hazard for travelers to
warm climates — something definitely to be weary of when planning that
once-in-a-lifetime trip to the rain forest.
Reference:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Did you know that you kill yourself by drinking soft drinks !!
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Did you know that you kill yourself by drinking soft drinks?
Did you know that you kill yourself by drinking soft drinks?
- the one canister containing the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of
sugar is sufficient to destroy the vitamin B deficiency, which leads to poor
digestion and poor infrastructure and neurological disorders, headaches,
insomnia, depression and muscle spasms.
- Also contain
carbon dioxide, which leads to depriving the stomach from salivary yeasts
important in the digestion process and that when ingested with food or after
and lead to the abolition of the role of digestive enzymes secreted by the
stomach and thus to obstruct the process of digestion and lack of access to
food.
- Contain
caffeine, which leads to increased heart rate and high blood pressure, diabetes
and increased acidity in your stomach and increase the hormones in the blood,
which may cause infections and ulcers of the stomach and duodenum is also
working on a fold pressure valve lower esophagus, which in turn leads to reflux
of food and acid from the stomach into the esophagus, causing pain and
inflammation.
- Also contain phosphorous acids lead to bone
fragility and weakness, especially in adolescence, making it more susceptible
to breakage.
- Contain phosphoric acid and malic Rponik that cause erosion of
the protective enamel layer of the teeth.
- Diet of them contain artificial sweeteners that threaten the
brain and lead to memory loss and progressive fibrosis of the liver injury. -
Rate of acidity in soft drinks, for example, Soft drink product = 4
and 3, this degree of acidity sufficient to melt the teeth and bones with the
passage of time. Our bodies stop building bone after thirty, and then begin
degradation 8-18% annually, according to the amount of acids that we consume in
our food. (The ratio of these acids does not depend on the taste of our food,
but depends on the proportion of each of potassium, chlorine, manganese, and
other minerals to phosphorous).
- Dissolved calcium accumulates in the veins, skin cells, vital
organs, which affects kidney function and cause gallstone college.
- Soft drinks do not provide any benefit to the body of food, but
contain more sugar and acids as well as for preservatives and colorful.
Research:
In a meta-analysis of 88 studies, we examined the
association between soft drink consumption and nutrition and health outcomes.
We found clear associations of soft drink intake with increased energy intake
and body weight. Soft drink intake also was associated with lower intakes of
milk, calcium, and other nutrients and with an increased risk of several
medical problems (e.g., diabetes).
Study design significantly influenced
results: larger effect sizes were observed in studies with stronger methods
(longitudinal and experimental vs cross-sectional studies). Several other
factors also moderated effect sizes (e.g., gender, age, beverage type).
Finally, studies funded by the food industry reported significantly smaller
effects than did non–industry-funded studies. Recommendations to reduce population
soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science.
Other studies:
The results of animal experiments announced at the annual meeting
of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases has lent credence
to the belief that sugary soft drinks play a role in the development of liver
disease.
The effect of sugar-sweetened water was tested on the livers of
mice. Another group was fed artificially sweetened water as a comparison.
Examination of the livers of the mice showed an increased
incidence of fatty liver disease, especially among mice who were given the type
of sugar called fructose.
High fructose consumption may
be directly toxic to the liver, as well as causing damage through over-feeding.
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