Tag: Doctors

Deaf People Can Benefit From Cochlear Implants

Some people suffer from a deafness problem that cannot be corrected. Fortunately, there is a way to make them hear sounds.

This is where cochlear implants come along. This device is surgically planted and instead of amplifying sounds which hearing aids do, it stimulates the functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with an electric field stimulated through an electric impulse.

This implant consists of many small parts. These include a microphone, speech processor and an RF transmitter. Not that many people have undergone this procedure because it is very expensive and there are still other options available before this will be utilized.

But is it worth the money? Most of the patients who have undergone cochlear implant say so because although you get almost near to normal hearing.

A study has shown that adults who have had cochlear implants benefit almost immediately and their hearing improves quite rapidly after the first 6 months of tuning sessions. This is not the same for children because it will take them more time to adjust to the implant.

The device helps them distinguish different types of sound and understand speech without the need to lip read. In fact a surprising number are able to use the telephone.

The only limitation to cochlear implants is that background noise is still present and this will interfere with the persons ability to understand. When this happens, he or she has to rely more on speech or lip reading instead of this listening device.

This is why doctors say that although there are benefits to cochlear implants, to what degree really depends on the patient. These factors depend on auditory memory, exposure to sound before hearing was lost, shorter period of deafness before surgery, the condition of the cochlea and the auditory nerve fibers.

Once the device has been implanted, the patient has to visit the clinic regularly for the first 6 months to adjust the volume and to make sure that everything is working. If a child was the one who underwent the cochlea implant, they will need to develop their listening and speech skills compared to adults.

So what is the price tag for a cochlear implant? The cost could go from $40,000 to $100,000. This depends where it was performed and who was the specialist in charge of the operation. Money should not be an issue anymore given that most third party health insurance health plants now cover a certain percentage for those who need a cochlear implant.

The cochlear implant is the only device to date that can help people who have permanent deafness problems. In fact, research is now ongoing to see if this can also help people with other types of hearing loss.

In the US alone, 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received them. Most of the children who had this were between two to six years of age but the age requirement was lowered in 2000 making it possible for even a one year old to undergo the implant.

There is no doubt that someone who is deaf or is suffering from a permanent deafness problem will benefit from a cochlear implant. You might even call it life-changing given that you are given second chance to hear again the different sounds that life has to offer.

Treating Lymphoma: The Various Procedures

When you think about Lymphoma, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Lymphoma are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Cancer is a word that most of us dread to hear from our doctors. We know that its something that should not be prejudiced lightly, plus we cant even count how many times we have seen in the movies and television about the difficulties of the disease and more often than not the sad ending that follows. So hearing you have cancer of the lymph cells, which what lymphoma really is, is more than enough to give you and your family a scare. Treating lymphoma is never easy both physically and mentally for the patient. Having the full support of the family is a good thing to have in situations like these.

Lymphoma develops when the lymph cells begin to multiply quickly beyond what is normal. This abnormal growth soon forms tumors. These lymph cells are found in blood and lymph nodes thus with the grown of the cancer cells it is only natural that the lymph nodes enlarge and manifests as painless lumps in the neck, armpits or groin.

There are two main types of lymphoma. The most common one is the Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This type is distinguished from the rest by the presence of the Reed – Sternberg cell. The spread of the cancer cells in Hodgkin’s lymphoma is more predictable and often quite limited unlike the non – Hodgkin’s lymphomas situation cancer cells develop first in changed organs before spreading suspicion the lymph nodes. The non – Hodgkins types of lymphomas are classified according low – grade, intermediate – grade or high – grade lymphomas which basically is based on how quickly the cancer cells spread.

Because of the number of types of lymphomas, the treatments vary. Often the treatments are combinations of various therapies and procedures. It is normal to have a number of treatments for a single lymphoma situation. Once the type of lymphoma has been diagnosed and identified, the closest step is to determine what stage it is in now. The kinds and extent of treatment of the cancer is dependent on the age of the patient and the degree or advance of the lymphoma. The treatment methods are either through chemotherapy, radiation therapy, antibody therapy ( or biological therapy ) and bone – marrow or stem cell transplantation. Again, combining one or two of these treatment methods is possible to address the present condition of a patient.

Chemotherapy uses various drugs to kill the tumor or cancer cells. The drugs can substitute taken orally or through injection. The advantage of using chemotherapy is that the drugs do not cause that much damage to the nearby normal and healthy cells. Radiotherapy, on the other hand, uses X – rays to kill the tumor cells. The rays damage the DNA of the cancer cells and because the DNA is damaged the cancer cells are unable to multiply which halts that growth of the cancer. Nearby healthy cells are damaged from the radiation bombardment so the goal in radiotherapy is minimize the damage to nearby, healthy cells. That is why those who undergo radiotherapy is scheduled to receive small doses of radiation at a time to lessen the damage to the cells.

Another treatment is the antibody therapy which uses antibodies which target unique molecules of a cancer cell. This attack from the antibody will eventually kill the cancer cells. And finally, the last way of treating lymphoma is by bone marrow or stem cell transplantations. These are medical procedures where the stem cells that were destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy are replaced buttoned up surgery.
Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about Lymphoma into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about Lymphoma, and that’s time well spent.

Vital Symptoms of Lymphoma

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Lymphoma is certainly no exception.

The symptoms of lymphoma are very common in many variant sicknesses, which is why you really retain to be vigilant about your condition and consult a doctor whenever you feel like there is something wrong. It may actually take some time before you realize that you have this kind of sickness because during the first few days or weeks, you may not even feel that something has changed. If in doubt, do not hesitate and set an appointment with your doctor before you conclude anything and start looking for treatments.

These are the usual signs and symptoms of this kind of illness. Make sure that you dont easily panic once you perceive that you have two or more of these, because as stated above, most of these are also common in incommensurable kinds of disorders.

1. Losing dominion rapidly. This can occure after some months and you will be surprised to lose about 15 pounds in a touch of months without doing anything. You will easily notice such change if you already keep a servile upper hand and you are not limiting your food intake neither you are exercising regularly. This will be harder to determine and conclude that it is already a symptom to a sickness if you are really trying to lose weight.

In many cases, the weight loss occurs after you hold lost appetite. This stage transpires when the illness has already grown and start spreading in your habitus. When you are starting to lose more than 10 % of your ideal weight, you should be very concerned as to what is causing such and make sure that before your weight drop even lower, you have already sought the doctors help.

2. The most common and usually the first symptoms that you will encounter if you hold this are lumps in the groin area, armpits and snog. These enlarged lymph nodes are painless and you may never notice these if you will not inspect your body thoroughly. These enlarged nodes cause the other signs that are included in this list, but these nodes can also be present if you hold at odds kinds of illnesses.

3. When the nodes start to swell, you will experience fever that may last for some time. For example, for people who got what is called Hodgkin tone of this illness, they will suffer from a fever that is referred to as Pel – Ebstein.

4. The cells that are infected with the disease ensconce special chemicals that cause itchiness that will affect your whole body.

5. Some people seasoning excessive sweating at night. They usually get up with their bodies drenched in sweat without any specific reasons. This happens even when they are in a very comfortable situation and they really cant find any reason to sweat a lot.

There are other unusual symptoms that can be felt by people who are suffering from lymphoma, depending on where the sickness occurred. This can actually take place in any organ of the body and as the cancer cells grow improved, the person who has this will feel weaker over the infected areas use farther of the nutrients inside the body.
You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Lymphoma will come in handy. If you learned anything new about Lymphoma in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.

How to Deal with Eczema

Eczema treatment is possible but before we mention what these are, we should know what it is first.

Eczema is a dry skin condition that happens commonly among children. There are different degrees by which someone is affected and the only good news is that it is not contagious.

When you do have it, your skin will not only look dry but also itchy and red. In severe cases, there may be bleeding, crusting and weeping.

So how do we treat eczema? The first thing you have to do to prevent it from getting worse is not to scratch it because constant scratching causes the skin to bleed and split making it vulnerable to infection. Should this happen to you, there are oral and topical antibiotics available that can kill the bacteria.

Since this is easier said than done, you should apply creams and lotions over the affected area to keep the skin moist. The best time to apply it to the skin is after bathing so the moisture from the bath is still locked into the skin.

Another option is to apply cold compress. If this still does not work, then you can go to the drug store and apply nonprescription corticosteroid creams and ointments that are designed to reduce inflammation.

If the nonprescription corticosteroid creams and ointments are not effective, then it is time to try those that are prescribed by the doctor. You should know that there are some side effects and to prevent this from happening, you must limit the length of treatment time and the locations where this will be applied. Instead of topical prescribed medication, the doctor may even give you oral corticosteroids.

The creams and ointments mentioned will not be able to help if you have severe itching. For that, doctors will recommend sedative antihistamines that are available in both prescription and over-the-counter varieties. Since drowsiness is a common side effect, this is usually given during the evening so you will be able to get a good nights sleep.

For those who want to use something else, they can try tar treatments and phototherapy. The only problem with tar treatments is the fact that it is messy.

The last resort for eczema treatment if nothing seems to work is a drug called cyclosporine A. This is designed to modify the bodys immune response at a price because it is known to have serious side effects.

But for people who are suffering from atopic dermatitis which is another form of eczema, there are two topical medications to choose from that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These are namely tacrolimus and pimecrolimus which belong to a class of drugs called calcineurin inhibitors which work by modulating the immune response. The best part is that there are no side effects even during long term use.

Can eczema be prevented? The answer is yes. If you have children, make sure they are wearing breathable clothes like those made of cotton, use mild soaps when they bathe, keep their room clean from dust mites and avoid sudden temperature changes.

Eczema can happen at any age. Studies have shown that there are 15 million people in this country who have one form or another. The good news is that there is eczema treatment available. If over the counter creams, ointments and medications dont work, consult with your dermatologist so something stronger can be given.