Tag: Laboratory Tests

What You Should Know About IBS

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder in the body that affects the digestive system, particularly the large intestine or the colon, which is assigned to regulate and man over the excretion of solid wastes of the body.

Although it may not seem true, irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common diagnosed functional problems in the body. In the country alone, one out of five people are afflicted with the problem. This translates to about 20 percent of Americans. Still, little is known about the problem. Unlike other disorders that have already had awareness campaigns, irritable bowel syndrome still remain under the shadows. There is a lot of confusion as to how it starts and if a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome is appropriate.

What is doubly hard for this problem is the fact that there are no laboratory tests that can confirm the presence of irritable bowel syndrome. Diagnosis as mentioned before is solely dependent on the examination and study of the symptoms based on the account of the patient as well as on the medical history. Unlike other diseases that are directly caused by bacteria, virus and other organisms, irritable bowel syndrome has no known organic cause. Indirect causes or factors that may trigger the problem include stress, food items that may serve as irritant in the colon as well as milk products.

The numbers of cases of irritable bowel syndrome can actually even grow further as most people who have the problem do not even know that they have the problem. This is perhaps because of the fact that most of its symptoms are similar to symptoms of other body disorders. There is actually no distinctive symptom. This also the reason why it is classified under the term syndrome. Because there is a clear lack of a symptom that will differentiate it from other problems, diagnosis will depend on a set of symptoms that must be present. But what are the symptoms?

One of the main symptoms that doctors often watch out for in irritable bowel syndrome is the abdominal pain. This is actually one of the differentiating factors that doctors use to make a conclusion or final diagnosis. According to the Rome II Diagnostic Criteria, which is often used in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms include abdominal pain and discomfort episodes that may last for about 12 months.

How to Diagnose Someone with Bipolar Disorder

Have you ever wondered if what you know about bipolar is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on bipolar.

Diagnosing someone who is a typic candidate for bipolar disorder can easily be resolved if the person is already exhibiting symptoms. Although, if the symptoms arent that prominent and the person is subject to coming back to his normal status, it wouldnt be likely to enact diagnosed because of the apparent signs.

To mentally suspect someone having a bipolar disorder within the family or the community is hard especially when you have no idea where to start. Its best to leave it to the experts.

Its easier to diagnose something that is shown than something that is not. When you see someone with bleeding hands, you know that you have to fix medications and clean the wound of the affected any. When it comes to diagnosing a person with such a psychological disorder, it wouldnt be simple as telling that he has broken ears or swollen fingers.

Tests must be prepared to diagnose if the person is really undergoing a stage of the disease. Upon testing a person, he goes into numerous psychological and medical examinations which can maintenance assume or rule out any kind of problem. These tests can also help check if there are any related complications that own occurred to support the problem.

The tests to help diagnose a problem generally consist of:

Laboratory tests. Testing via laboratory usually includes CBC or complete blood count, other blood tests, and thyroid tests. Urinalysis may also be provided.

Physical tests. This is all about the outer physique of a person that includes the measuring of weight and height, fascinating of vital notation such through the persons temperature, respiratory and throb rate and blood pressure, auscultation of the lungs and heart and examining the abdomen as a whole.

Psychological exam. Uttered as one of the most important part of the test. Here, the physician leave initiate conversation and trigger some of the patients inner thoughts and feelings. Psychological exams can help distinguish the behavioral pattern that might have caused the disorder.

The considerate may also be asked to fill out intended questionnaires that can help in psychological assessments. With proper permission from the patient, the doctor can also question close relatives and friends that can further provide information of episodes of depression or mania.

Criteria for diagnosis

In order to be diagnosed with the disorder, a person must meet certain criteria that are stated by the manual published by the association which is responsible for American psychiatric society indicated since the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This manual can substitute the basis for health providers to diagnose conditions regarding deranged health.

Upon diagnosing a person, the criteria duty be based specifically on the type of bipolar disorder because well as the types of episodes and history. To be able to learn more on the situation, you have to talk intently to your doctor and ask the lofty term treatments to the condition. Researchers say that bipolar disorder can be regarded owing to a series of disorders with varying symptom and degrees.

It is very important to early diagnose a person with bipolar disorder. In the event that people are misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, the person affected will not get sufficient cure because the treatment may be benumbed or inappropriate. Thus, treatment will just go to waste.
If you’ve picked some pointers about bipolar that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

Coping with Lymphoma During and After Treatment

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with Lymphoma.

When a person is diagnosed with a condition known whereas lymphoma, his life should evolve in higher than just having laboratory tests and deciding what treatment to take. During the entire hike of the treatment and several years following its issue, there are many other issues that would come and go, jibing coping with side effects from treatments, possible remission and relapse, understanding the concepts of disease response, and arranging for necessary funding for the treatment. The immediate family of the patient should also readily provide support in any form other than financial. The issues should be immediately understood and addressed.

Remember that lymphoma treatment could be long and very complicated. Every type of treatment ( radiation, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, and antibodies ) could bring about its own complications and issues. Learned are known side effects of taking jibing lymphoma treatments. They include hair annihilation, tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite, sore mouth, and sore skin. Red blood and hoary blood count could also fall as such cells could also be killed along with cancer cells during treatment. In some cases, there is nausea, vomiting, and trial or pain in swallowing and drinking.

For the financial aspect, understand that lymphoma treatment could be significantly profitable. Several treatments and drugs may be covered under health insurances and government grants but still overall costs could be high. The perceptive could opt to take financial succour from the manipulation specifically granted to cancer patients. There are even non – government organizations that provide financial support to lymphoma and other cancer patients.

The patient should understand treatment response as well as survival. When treatment is completed, the doctors should pdq assess treatment flurry. Once all diseases seem to have already disappeared, the patient has had a exhaustive response. He is in a stage of remission. When the disease reappears in the imminent, there is a condition called a relapse. The patient should special well understand the possibility for both remission and relapse. The doctor should explain each very carefully to the patient.

There are issues following the lymphoma treatment. Patients who win the initial battle against the disease should still expect significant issues in the coming years. Lymphoma and the treatments used have long – term effects. The survivors battle is not yet over after complete recovery. In the coming years after the treatment, these could still be expected: cancer – related fatigue, infertility, memory problems, and possible heart damages.

Lastly, the lymphoma patient should not feel alone. The patient needs to feel that his battle against the disease is not fought by him alone. Moral and emotional support could be important. The family members and the loved ones of the patient could holding significant roles in supporting the affected individual. Some people ignore to recognize the fact that recovery from lymphoma goes beyond mere monetary expenses. Physical recovery from the disease should be complemented by emotional and mental recovery. In this aspect, making the patient feel loved and supported by people around him would all right help.
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 Are Kidney Stones Diagnosed

Do you have kidney stones? You will never know until you are examined by a doctor because the symptoms associated with this problem are very similar to UTI or urinary tract infection.

So, you have to set an appointment with the doctor. While there, he or she will review your medical history and conduct a physical examination before running some tests.

If you are a regular patient of the doctor, it will be easy to pull your file out. However, if this is your first time, you will have to fill up the form and get your medical files.

Your medical history does not say much about kidney stones especially if you have never had this before which is why the next step is to conduct a physical examination. Here, the doctor will look at you physically and touch certain areas. This is hard for the doctor to do if the patient is in extreme pain.

So the best way to confirm initial findings is through laboratory tests. The doctor will either extract blood or ask a urine sample from you.

You may also have to be scanned and there are a variety of machines for that. These include a computed tomography (CT) scan, intravenous pyelogram (IVP), retrograde pyelogram, and the regular X-ray.

The CT scan is used for various examinations. A scanner and a computer are used to create images of the urinary system. The only problem is that it has difficulty detecting small stones if they are located near the bladder. If a stone is found, an x-ray follows to determine the orientation, shape and size of the kidney stone.

Intravenous Pyelogram or IVP is done after a contrasting agent is injected into the vein. Within minutes, the test will show if there is a kidney stone blocking the ureter. This is perhaps the best method to check if you have kidney stones even if there is a slight risk for an allergic reaction to the fluid that was injected into the vein.

If you think that the ultrasound is only used to see the baby growing inside the womb, think again because it can also be used to detect a dilated upper urinary tract and kidney if the stone is lodged in the ureter. Its limitation is that it cannot detect kidney stones that are no longer in the kidney area.

Another term for retrograde pyelogram is a cytoscopy. The test begins by inserting a telescopic instrument into the bladder. Then, similar to the IVP, a contrast agent is injected into this opening and an x-ray is done to find the kidney stone.

Some doctors say this is better than IVP because there is no way to get an allergic reaction from the contrasting agent. This is because you will first be injected with anesthesia so in essence, you dont feel anything.

Among the different tests done to detect kidney stones, this is only used when other tests have proven to be inadequate or unsuccessful.

It is only after careful diagnosis that doctors will be able to tell if you have kidney stones or not. From there, they can treat you by giving some medication or advising you to drink lots of water because you may be able to expel the stones on your own. But if this does not work, then surgery is the next option.