Lupus: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

April 27, 2018 Leave a comment

Lupus is a disease that can affect anyone at any age. It is most often diagnosed in young women. Although the exact cause is still unknown the eternal factors due to which lupus triggers are many. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that happens when the immune system attacks healthy cells of the body by mistake, and this mistake can potentially damage many parts of the body. The cure for lupus is still ambiguous, though effective treatments are available.

Most of the time Lupus remains misdiagnosed because its signs and symptoms often mimic those of other ailments. The most peculiar sign of lupus is a facial rash that resembles the wings of a butterfly across both cheeks.

Causes

Some people are born with a tendency toward developing lupus, which gets triggered by certain external factors. People with an inherited vulnerability to lupus may develop the disease when they happen to come in the environment that can trigger lupus. The cause of lupus in most cases, however, is unknown. Some potential triggers are:

Sunlight. Exposure to the sun may trigger an internal response in susceptible people.
Infections. Having an a prolonged and chronic infection can initiate lupus.
MedicationLupus can be triggered by certain types of blood pressure, heart problems, and other antibiotics.

Symptoms

Fatigue

The fatigue of lupus can be caused by many factors that include anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, vitamin D deficiency etc.

Malar Rash

Many people with lupus experience a characteristic red colored rash across the cheeks and bridge of the nose in the shape of butterfly wings. These rashes last for several days and can be itchy and scaly at times. Rashes may also occur in the different parts of the body.

Joint Pain and Swelling

A study has shown that Up to 90 percent of people having lupus tend to have arthritis. The most common symptoms of arthritis are stiffness and aching of joints.

Natural treatment for lupus

Anti-inflammatory diet

Following a healthy, unprocessed diet plays a crucial role in managing lupus because it helps control inflammation stemming from poor gut health, reduces the risk for complicates health issues.

Exercise

In general, it lowers stress, improves sleep quality, helps the heart and lung get strengthened.

Stress reduction

Effects of stress relievers may vary from person to person. Meditation, yoga, and acupuncture can be considered as best treatment modes for many people, as they have numerous benefits for both body and mind.

Getting sufficient sleep

Fatigue is a considerable hindrance for many people with lupus, take measures to make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep every night and taking rest during the day is important.

What Is Amnesia? Causes and Symptoms

April 23, 2018 Leave a comment

Forgetting important and key events in life is completely different from being a little forgetful. When you start forgetting important milestones in life, memorable events, key people in our lives, and vital facts we have been told or taught, it is called Amnesia. People with Amnesia may have trouble learning new information and forming new memories.

This means that Mild memory loss can be a normal part of aging. Whereas, significant memory loss or inability to form new memories is development stage of amnesia disorder.

Causes of Amnesia:

Anoxia

Depletion of oxygen levels can lead to memory loss. This condition is called anoxia. In some cases where the anoxia isn’t severe enough for causing brain damage, then the memory loss can be temporary.

Head injuries

Traumatic head injuries and stroke, can also cause damage to your brain. This damage can cause problems related to permanent memory loss. Commonly disrupt memories of the hours, days, or weeks before and after you were injured can be experienced.

Trauma

Severe stress or trauma can be a big cause behind amnesia. In this condition, your mind rejects thoughts, feelings, or information that you’re too overwhelmed to handle.

Dementia

A memory’s location in your brain is thought to depend on its age. People suffering with dementia usually forget recent memories first and are able to keep older memories longer.

Damaged hippocampus

Your hippocampus is a part of the brain and is responsible for memory. Its usual functions involve forming memories, organizing memories, and retrieving them when needed. When your hippocampus is impaired, you will have difficulty forming new memories.

When to see a Doctor?

When a person starts to experience unexplained memory loss, confusion or head injury that requires immediate medical attention. Or, help the person get some medical attention, if he has the below mentioned symptoms of Amnesia.

Symptoms of Amnesia are:

Memory loss
Inability to form new memories
Difficulty recalling facts, events, places, or specific details
False memories (confabulation), made up of genuine memories misplaced in time or either completely invented
Confusion

Ultimate Facts About Cholesterol That May Leave You Surprised

April 20, 2018 Leave a comment

Nearly every one of us has heard about cholesterol and all of us have misconstrued this fact that cholesterol is always bad for health. Often, it is only talked about in terms of the dangers of having too much of it, a condition is known as hypercholesterolemia. But on the contrary, it is a natural vital substance that can be extremely beneficial too. Here are some facts that may surprise your cholesterol.

Cholesterol performs Important functions

Cholesterol in excess can be extremely hazardous to health, but on the other hand, it performs some essential functions in the body. It helps in forming the outer layer of the cells. Helps in formation of bile acids that aids in the digestion of the food. And the third most important function is, that it lets the body to make Vitamin D and hormones, like estrogen in women and testosterone in men.

All the Cholesterol in the Body Doesn’t Come from Diet

The body produces all the cholesterol required by itself without relying on external sources. As a matter of fact, if someone eats a diet that contains zero cholesterol, the body would still make approximately 1,000 mg it needs for digestion, cell development and vitamin and hormone production. Although all cells can make cholesterol, but the liver is an organ that can produce and export cholesterol the along with metabolizing excess cholesterol and recycle it.

Not All Cholesterol is harmful

There are two different types of cholesterol, Low-density lipoproteins, and high-density lipoproteins. Too much LDL in bloodstream results in deposition of excess cholesterol in the arteries, which can further cause heart disease.

High Cholesterol Can Be Inherited

Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a condition in which an individual inherits abnormal chromosomes from their parents. It makes people more prone to premature heart disease caused by narrowing of the arteries and plaques.

High Cholesterol Can Have an Effect Even Before Birth

If parents have FH, their childrenare more likely to the disease and are at greater risk of having FH. This condition can further lead to severe heart disease. If both parents have Familial Hypercholesterolemia, each child will have a 50 percent chance of inheriting one FH gene and a 25 percent chance of inheriting two FH genes. Which aggravates narrowing and then blocking of the blood vessels very rapidly, if not treated in time.

Hereditary High Cholesterol is common and can be treated

In families with a pattern of early heart disease or high cholesterol, children at a very younger age are at the risk of such chronic diseases. Many medications & lipid-lowering therapies have come into existence to treat Familial Hypercholesterolemia. Appropriate treatment can decrease the risk of early heart disease associated with inherited hypercholesterolemia.

Few Things you Must Know About Asthma

February 15, 2018 Leave a comment

What is Asthma?

Breathing is the task that is taken for granted by all of us. Although, for some people catching their breath is not always an easy task. In fact, 1 in every 5 Indians has a breathing problem. Most common amongst them is Asthma, which is a lung disease caused by inflammation that leads to shortness of breath, chest tightness, and uncontrollable coughing. Many people with asthma also have a family history of breathing allergies, making it a common ailment and complaint.

What are the Symptoms of Asthma?

When the airways responses to asthma triggers, people tend to experience asthma flare-ups or in common term, asthma attack. An asthma attack basically occurs when muscles around the lining of the air passages stiffen. Swelling reduces the amount of air that can pass through the airways and leads to wheezing.

Symptoms of an asthma attack include:

Coughing
Chest tightness
Wheezing
Sudden gasping

What is the Treatment for Asthma?

Asthma is a disease that cannot be cured absolutely but, it can be controlled by certain preventive measures. Asthma is aimed at controlling airway inflammation and avoiding known allergy triggers. The main goals are to restore normal breathing and preventing asthma attacks. Asthma treatments commonly involve inhalers that are the most preferred method by the doctors because it results in easier and direct reach of the drug into the lungs in smaller doses &lesser side effects. If the problem is serious, patient should speak with their doctor about how to manage their condition.

How to use an Asthma Inhaler?

Talk with your doctor and develop an emergency asthma action plan, particularly for the time of asthma attack. Make sure to use the inhaler correctly and carry it along all the time. If your asthma is not well controlled you might need to use the inhaler more than twice, and evidently, it’s not a good sign. consult your doctor to manage the condition.

Practice using your inhaler. Medicine works best if they are used correctly. Here are few steps that can help you use the inhaler correctly:

Prepare your inhaler:

Remove the cap. Check the mouthpiece, there should be nothing that blocks the ejection of medicine.
Shake the inhaler to mix the medicine present in it.
Hold the inhaler upright, with the mouthpiece pointing towards the mouth.

Time to breathe in the medicine:

Keep your mouth away from the mouthpiece, and take a long breath to clear your lungs.
Place the mouthpiece into the mouth and tighten your lips around the nozzle to form a seal and prevent the leakage of medicine
Start to breathe in slowly through your mouth it helps the medicine to get into your lungs.
Hold your breath for at least 5 seconds after following the previous step.
Gargle with warm water to remove any leftover medicine from your mouth and throat.

Take care of yourself. You can help the doctor in preparing an action plan for yourself.

The above information is just an educational help. It doesn’t aim towards advising individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, before following any medical regimen make sure it is safe and effective.

Symptoms Leading to Severe Heart Disease

February 15, 2018 Leave a comment

Cardiovascular diseases generally, refers to the conditions that involve blocked blood vessels leading to a heart related serious problems. Other heart conditions, affecting heart’s muscles, valves or rhythm, are being considered as heart disease. Our body always warns us about forthcoming health risks through different signals. We out of our ignorant towards these signals happen to miss out this indication which further leads to severe health risks in future. Some of these symptoms that our body indicates are as follows:

Chest Pain

Chest pain is the classic sign of a heart attack, yet many people take it as something very normal and not a medical emergency. If you suddenly feel pain in chest and you feel extremely uneasy. If it’s a heart attack, it’s usually described as a heaviness and a sort of constricting feeling.

Stomach Pain

There are various reasons for stomach pain, indigestion being one of them. But if you feel the perpetual urge to vomit and constant heartburn then there is something that should be bothered about. If you feel the risk of any heart issue then it is recommended to see a doctor and let the doctor diagnose the main reason for all the problems that you have been facing.

Feeling Exhausted and Sweaty

Sweating while you have been working out in the gym or because of the raised temperatures is nothing to worry about. But feeling exhausted abruptly along with chest pains is a sign that you should not be ignorant about. Consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Arm Pain

Many people will question how is arm pain associated with heart? but it is a fact that it can be a sign of a heart attack. If you have a heart pain that goes down the arm, especially the left arm, that it is more likely that the pain is related to heart more than any other health issue

Swollen Ankle

Swelling of ankles shouldn’t be ignored, especially if the ankles get huge, as it signals towards poor heart condition, but it is also very common and has lots of other causes. ankles. If you’re getting swollen ankles, and swelling isn’t subsiding then it is enough to fix an appointment with your doctor.

Irregular Heartbeat

If your heart is going very fast and jumping around erratically then it is extremely important to visit your doctor and get yourself diagnosed.

Heart diseases is a grievous and fatal health issue that should not be neglected. Always try to prevent heart problems by following the proper diet and proper work out. If still, you face any of the symptoms mentioned above don’t wait much to visit your doctor.

Pipl Health

Category: Ailments