Tag: Small Intestine

Oats And Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a condition brought about by the accumulation of gluten. Gluten is protein preset in bread, pasta, cookies, crust and other food that is made out of wheat, barley or rye. Oats also contain the protein gluten. There are many controversies surrounding oats and celiac disease.

A person with celiac disease experiences vitamin deficiencies with the brain, nervous system, bones, liver and other vital organs and other illnesses. What happens is that the person with celiac disease who eats foods with the protein gluten experiences an immune reaction in the small intestine. This may lead to small intestine damage and malabsoption of certain vitamins and nutrients from the food. There is no cure for celiac disease but people inflicted with this manage their disease by removing gluten from their diet.

It is believed that celiac disease is a relatively rare disorder, it is now through to affect about one in 250 people worldwide. To manage their disease, patients with celiac disorder is advised to have a gluten-free diet, oats is one of the food that they take out of their list.

But there has been debates if it is acceptable for celiac disease patients to eat oats, since oat proteins are not the same as those in wheat, barley and rye. Even so, oats were believed to have toxic effects with people who are inflicted with this disorder that is why they are advised to avoid them.

Now, there are some celiac disease societies and medical centers who are advising their patients to eat limited amounts of oats which is said to even provide beneficial effects to them. There are studies with adults and children citing majority of patients with celiac disease who could tolerated limited amounts of oats. When they consumed no more than about half to three quarters of a cup of rolled dry oats per day for adults and a quarter of a cup per day for children, there were no abdominal symptoms. (Lapid, Nancy; Are Oats Safe for Patients with Celiac Disease?)

In an article written by Jefferson Adams entitled Effects of Various Kinds of Oats on Celiac Disease, he cited different kinds of study conducted by different groups of scientists and doctors about the relation of oats to celiac disease.

According to Adams, there were a team of Italian and Australian doctors who conducted tests on three kinds of oats: the avenins of the Italian variety Astra , the Australian variety Mortlook and the Austrlian Lampton variety. In the study conducted it showed that Lampton is much safer than either the Astra or Mortlock.

However, even if the Lampton variety is still safer it still has to be processes in a contamination free facility that tests oats if they are gluten free. For oat products to be considered gluten-free, they may show less than 220ppm of gliadin.

Even if there are patients who respond well to oats, there are still a small number of patients who could not tolerate oats. Even oats with low gluten content like the Lampton variety. With these patients, a protein in oats called avenin triggered an immune response similar to gluten. There was no way to tell in advance which patients would be sensitive to avenins.

Including oats in the diet of a celiac disease patient is of course a physicians call. Including oats in the diet should always be done under doctors supervision. Oats can provide the necessary nutrients, fiber and diversity much needed to a celiac patients diet. But it should not compromise the overall well being of the patient.

New celiac disease patients are not advised to eat oats until their symptoms or disease in under control. Patients who are eating oats are still advised to see their doctor regularly to monitor any abnormalities or symptoms. Besides, patients with celiac disease are still to consume oats that are pure, uncontaminated and gluten-free. Oats and celiac disease can still dance together.

What Are Kidney Stones

Kidney stones form when minerals or salts which are normally found in the urine become solid. Most of the time, they are too tiny and do not cause any damage to the kidney because the body is able to expel it. But if they build up inside the kidney, then we have a problem.

The problem starts when the stones move out of the kidney and then go to through the ureters which are the little tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder. If it gets stuck here, an infection will occur which may lead to kidney damage.

You will find out if you have a kidney problem when there is pain in one side of your back or on both, you experience spasms, notice bloody, cloudy or smelly urine, you dont not feel well, you urinate frequently and when you have fevers and chills.

The symptoms mentioned are very similar to UTI or urinary tract infection and you will only know what is going on when you have yourself checked by a doctor.

What causes kidney stones is still not known. What doctors know is that this happens often to men than to women.

These individuals fall within the 20 and 40 age group, have a family history of kidney stones, take certain medications such as antacids, diuretics and thyroid medications, have one kidney or one that is abnormally shaped, eat a lot of protein in their diet, often dehydrated, have poor mobility and have had a disease in the small intestine or small intestinal bypass. Although it is treatable, a new one can develop within the next 5 years.

Doctors tell the difference between UTI and kidney stones through a variety of tests. These include blood test, urine analysis, x-rays, ultrasound and non-contrast helical computerized tomography. If initial reports confirm the findings, then treatment is administered.

Treatment for someone who has a kidney stone varies per patient because this depends on the type of stone that is inside the body. If it is nothing serious, the doctor may not even have to do anything except tell you to drink lots of water and stay physically active.

It is going to hurt trying to expel the stones out from your system so this can be identified which is why you may be prescribed a paracetamol or codeine to reduce the pain. It is only when there is an infection that antibiotics will be given and surgery will have to be performed.

Examples of such procedures include extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, ureteroscopic stone removal and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. In simple terms, the doctor may use one machine to break the stones down using shockwaves, by simply pulling it out or using later to cut them into small pieces.

Kidney stone can easily be removed thanks to advances in modern medicine. If you have one or you think that you could have one, it is best to visit your doctor to see what is really the problem and the proper action can be taken.

When it is all over and the kidney stones are removed, it is best to make some lifestyle changes because they could come back and you will have to go through this ordeal all over again. Surely, you wouldnt want that to happen.

Pinworms in Children

Pinworms develop as a result of unhygienic habit of not washing hands before having food. They are small worms who resemble to small thread pieces and cause itching in the anus area. Pinworms infect humans only and reside in the intestines. Every school going kid encounters this problem at one time or the other. They can touch another kid infected with pinworm or an object having the eggs of the pinworm.

The eggs of the pinworms eggs get on the fingernails and that why it is a good idea to wash the hands regularly. If the food is eaten without washing hands, these eggs go inside the body, by the digestive system. In the small intestine, the eggs hatch and the pinworms move towards the large intestine. There, they cling onto the walls of the intestine and stay there for few weeks to mature. After that the female pinworms go towards large intestines end to lay eggs near the anus region. Usually the eggs are laid at night and that is the time when the area itches. It takes one to two months time period after the consumption of the eggs, for the maturing of the pinworms who lay new eggs. The eggs get hatched on the anuss skin and the baby pinworms will crawl inside the body in order to grow.

Pinworms eggs are found anywhere like on the kitchen counter, school desk or bed. They are also found on utensils, clothes and towels. When outside the human body, the eggs can live up to two weeks. Within that time period when they are touched, there is a chance to enter the human body and flourish. Pinworms are contagious and can spread from one human to another. Also they can spread by air as the eggs are lightweight and the wind can blow them and they can be breathed in or swallowed by anyone. The child can intake more eggs when he scratches his bottom and doesnt wash his/her hands immediately.

Children infected with pinworms can see worms in their stool after they pass and even on the underwear. The worms look like small white threads. But the eggs arent visible to the naked eyes. If the child observes these symptoms he/she should inform the adults about the condition. The itching caused by pinworms can be so bad that it can wake the child in the middle of the night and make him/her squirm. The doctors usually prescribe some medicine to kill the pinworms. The doctors also take samples from underneath the fingernail and the anus to check for eggs. The medicine will take about two weeks to get rid of the worms completely. If the itching is very irritating and wakes the child in the middle of the night, a cream is prescribed by the doctor. Sometimes other members of the house will also be asked to take the same medicine as a precautionary measure. The parents should wash all the clothes, towels and sheets used by the pinworm infected child.

The best way to deal with pinworms is taking precautionary steps in the first place. The child must cultivate a habit of washing hands before eating food, after using the bathroom and after playing outdoors. The fingernails should also be clipped regularly to not to allow eggs depositing there. The eggs also hang onto clothes, so it is a good habit to change underwear daily. And other clothes should be washed after every few days.

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