Tag: disorders

What Causes Childhood Arthritis?

What Causes Childhood Arthritis?
David Chandler

What is childhood arthritis?Childhood arthritis is a disease that occurs in children under the age of 16. It causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in one or more of the joints. This pain, stiffness, and swelling are called inflammation. With childhood arthritis, the inflammation lasts longer than six weeks, and is not caused by an injury or other illness. Childhood arthritis is also called juvenile arthritis.How common is childhood arthritis? It affects 1 in 1,000 US children under the age of 16. Both boys and girls are affected by childhood arthritis. Arthritis is not just a disease of old people. In fact, approximately one in 1,000 children under the age of 16 suffers from arthritis. Juvenile arthritis is among the most common chronic childhood disorders.What causes childhood arthritis?The exact cause of childhood arthritis is unknown. Childhood arthritis does not usually run in families and cannot be passed from one person to another. The onset of childhood arthritis may follow an infection or injury, but these events do not cause the arthritis. With childhood arthritis, the body’s immune system stops working properly. The immune system’s job is to fight off germs and disease. However, in a child with childhood arthritis the immune system attacks healthy tissues. What triggers this process is unknown.What can you do about childhood arthritis? If your child has inflammation, in one or more joints for more than six weeks your doctor may perform a physical examination of your child and order tests, such as x-rays and blood tests to find out what is causing the inflammation. There is not just one single symptom, sign, or test that will give a diagnosis of childhood arthritis.If your doctor thinks your child has childhood arthritis, he or she will usually refer your child to a rheumatologist (pronounced room-a-tol-o-jist). A rheumatologist is a doctor who has received special training in the diagnosis and treatment of problems involving inflammation of the joints, muscles and other parts of the body. About the Author
For more information, visit www.ArthritisInfoCenter.com

Frequent Headaches and Migraine in Children

Children who get frequent headaches and migraine attacks have chronic illness. Such children and their parents face problem to adjust with school and their rules. Extra preparations and steps should be taken to cope with such illness. Pediatric specialist in migraine and headaches exist should be consulted for treatment and other precautionary & preventive measures. Also the triggers vary from child to child, which should be recognized accurately.

Firstly, it is the strict attendance rule in most of the schools that children with chronic illness find it difficult to deal with. To add to it, majority of the schools have zero tolerance policy regarding medications, even including over the counter medicines. Reports of students getting expelled for merely carrying Advil in school with them are common. Prior to making appointment with the doctor, it is recommended that parents read the policy of the school the child is attending. It is good to ask questions before hand, than feeling sorry later. Some of the schools asks for letter or medical record as a proof, incase the student didnt attend because of a health problem. Some schools consider sick leaves as regular leaves and in this case, the attendance gets affected greatly.

School nurses can be given the prescribed medicine so that they can give the medicine to the child at the required time. If this is the case, things such as medicine storage location and availability of substitute should be checked. Apart from not attending regularly, the child can sometimes be unable to take part in co-curricular activities especially physical education and outdoor recess. Other possible options should be discussed with the teacher. Usually a recommendation letter from the physician will do the needed. In all the cases, some kind of medical identification can be carried by the child at all times. If the child is attending an after school babysitter or program, directly after school, extra measures should be taken. The babysitter or program in charge should be told about the problem in advance. Their cooperation can be asked for timely administration of the medicine and for taking special care of the child. If the child himself is grown enough to understand the matter, the child should be educated about taking medications. They should also be made to understand that it is harmful to take medicines from any un-trustable source even if their fellow students do. Budge them to ask questions and clarify any of their fears of concerns.

Most of the children lack the ability to convey their problem properly. The situation is further aggravated because of different kinds of headaches. They can be related to chronic illness, tension, sinus or fever. Only diagnosis can bring out the correct problem. If the rate of headache becomes more frequent, like more than twice a month, doctors appointment should be taken instantly. Younger kids find it more difficult to explain the problem. If they become cranky, restless, irritating, tired, is having sleeping disorders and is not eating properly, a problem surely exists. Most of the children complain of headaches during exams because of increased stress. Seventy five percent of the children experience headaches because of tension. If so, stress management education, along with counseling, should be given to the kid.

Headaches can be an indication of other problems, too. So, thorough diagnosis is highly recommended. The childs previous medical history provides important clue. Prior to the doctors appointment, notes can be made after referring the medical history. Maintaining a log about the childs headache frequencies, pain location, time of occurrence, symptoms, etc. also helps. If not due to illness, headaches can also be a result of head injury. Sometimes, headache can be hereditary, like in the case of migraines.

Headaches can also be caused because of infections, vision problems, odd levels of blood pressure, neurological problems, muscle weakness, improper ear balance or serious problems such as tumor, blood clots, etc. If the doctor is not able to diagnose the problem, he/she can refer the child to a headache specialist or neurologist. Test such as CT scan or MRI are done if there is a serious problem. After the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes medication or will ask to take over the counter medicines. According to a study, children who face headaches and migraine take overdose of over the counter medicines for immediate pain reliving. In some of the cases, the parents are clueless about this situation. This practice is risky and mostly children above six years are involved in such cases.

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Male Menopause: Symptoms and Treatment

The term “male menopause” is used to refer to the condition of men who have hormone levels drop after mid-life.

Male menopause is a subject of controversy in the medical society. In the case of women, menopause is related with the termination of a bodily operation, like when the monthly menstruation periods stop. Also, a critical drop in the hormone levels in women occurs along with menopause. For these reasons, doctors are debating on whether male menopause really exists.

In the case of men in their middle and elderly years, smaller quantities of testosterone are being created by the testicles. This is believed to be the underlying reasons behind the occurrence of symptoms of male menopause.

Men with menopause usually suffer from irritability, sleep disturbance, low sex drive, sweating, anxiety, sadness, memory problems, and erectile dysfunction.

In most cases, erectile dysfunction may be caused by other disorders. But testosterone deficiency may be one possibility.

It is important that men who suffer from symptoms related to low levels of testosterone be subjected to medical investigations like blood tests to evaluate testosterone levels.

Other reasons for having short testosterone levels include testicular dysfunction and probable inherited features.

As a treatment, hormone replacement therapy is being recommended for men with low levels of testosterone and symptoms that come with it.

Hormone replacement may not be applicable to older men who seek treatment for their erectile dysfunction unless they actually have very minimal levels of androgen. As for younger men with known hormone deficiency, it has been proven that nominal doses of testosterone can improve interest in sex.

Testosterone replacement therapy, which is also called as androgen replacement therapy, aims to reduce the symptoms brought about by male menopause. This method is a lifelong treatment, since testosterone deficiency is generally a permanent condition.

Testosterone replacement therapy is usually given as an oral prescription, implants, or injections.

The injection of testosterone is usually carried out once every two weeks.

The oral drugs are especially prescribed to those who can’t stand injections or implants.

The testosterone implants, which are being inserted under the skin of the buttock or abdomen work for a period of months. The implant works by releasing testosterone directly into the bloodstream.

Androgen therapy, however, comes with potential side effects and risks.

With low testosterone levels, the prostate tends to shrink. Hormone replacement therapy cannot recover a physically reduced prostate since it does not have influence in the levels of prostate specific antigen.

Androgen therapy may not be a cause of increased risk of prostate cancer for those who have naturally greater testosterone levels in the same age bracket.

On the other hand, the safety of hormone replacement therapy and its possible effects on the prostate, mental functioning, and cardiovascular system still need to undergo proper researches. Moreover, there is also a need to assess the probable benefits of androgen therapy on the bones and muscles.

Androgen therapy is said to increase the risk of heart diseases, although researches on this subject are uncertain. It is a known fact, however, that those with low testosterone levels have been found among heart attack victims. This opens the possibility that hormone replacement therapy could help prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Older men undiagnosed of prostate cancer should also take caution when being applied with androgens.

Sleep apnea, or the cessation of breathing during sleep, is also considered as a rare risk with hormone therapy.

Keeping A Healthy Brain While You Age

An active mind is a healthy mind, so keeping your mind sharp is a good portion of aging well and living a better life as you grow older. If you continue to challenge and engage your brain with activities such as continued learning and healthy dieting you can maintain your healthy brain. Some activities like completing daily crossword puzzles or learning a hobby, or maybe exploring a new language will add content and continued exercise of the brain. Expanding your horizons daily and engaging in activities that require you to think on your feet and assess information quickly and accurately will make a world of difference as you grow older. Sometimes it may take a little more effort than it used to require, but continuing to stretch your brain muscles will definitely pay off in good memory and cognitive skills.

If you are interested in maintaining brain health in the later years of life and continuing to keep your mind sharp, then listen up. Brain masses shrink a little as you get into your sixties, with some areas shrinking more than others like the frontal lobe which is the area of the brain that handles mental abilities, and the hippocampus where memories are formed. Thinning of the brain in the area of the cortex, and decreases in white matter are some reasons why brain disorders occur in the elderly. Changes in these areas are what slow down the cognitive processing which handle decision making, problem solving, and attention. All of which have a tendency to fade as you grow older, unlessyou continue to exercise these areas by forming new memories daily and allowing for a good intake of new information. With this said, aging is not a decline of brain activity. In fact the brain grows stronger and sharper as long as you continue to use it. For example; if you were an avid reader in your younger years and you continue to be a voracious reader into your golden years the rate of speed that you read and the amount of information that you are able to process as you read will increase as in practice makes perfect, you are actually getting better with time. Most of our abilities normally get better with time, including wisdom and problem solving skills. Keep in mind that other illnesses and ailments may contribute to any decline in the normal activity in the brain.

Simple things, like more formal education, can contribute to intellectual stimulation of the brain and may ever strengthen the brain cell networks to help in preventing mental function damage. Physical activity has always been know to have positive effects on the brain and brain functioning. Getting into an aerobic regime is the best for continued brain health as oxygen is free flowing and throughout the body and is particularly beneficial to the brains proper functioning. Having a good sense of self and knowing that the things that you do in life make a difference and believing that you are contributing to the common good has shown to reduce cognitive decline in older adults.

So to slow down the effects of the degenerative parts of the brain it would be wise to learn to concentrate and make an honest effort to pay attention. Stay organized and dont rush, so that you are able to focus on the tasks that you are attempting. The all time favorite is repetition. Also, try your best to stay as stress free as possible as tension causes some types of memory lapses. Those senior moments can turn into senior memories if you continue to exercise your brain. So do whatever it takes to preserve your mental agility, and keep happy even as you enter your older years. When you look at the attitudes of older people, you see either depressed people, or extremely happy and satisfied people. Try to leave yourself in the latter category.