Crohn's Disease Treatment

Crohn's disease is a disease that can lead to inflammation anywhere along the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. Compared to a condition known as ‘ulcerative colitis', which can affect only the interior part of the digestive tract; Crohn's Disease can include all the layers of the intestinal wall. The IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease is comprised of two types of diseases-Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Crohn's disease may also be called ileitis or enteritis.

The symptoms of Crohn's disease include:
• Stomach pain and cramps
• Bloody stool
• Mucus in the stool
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Digestive Tract Ulceration
• Fever


Cause of Crohn's Disease:
IBD is known to be an idiopathic disease (disease with no known cause) and Crohn's Disease is also an IBD disease. This disease is known to be hereditary and has been particularly seen in people who hail within the Jewish descent. However, most people with IBD do not seem to have family history of the disease in particular. Some doctors believe that given the nature of the IBD being an auto immune disease, the symptoms of Crohn's Disease are nothing but an allergic response.

This means the body's immune system confuses bacteria and food as foreign substances(antigens) and attacks them. Due to this, the white blood cells begin to collect in the intestines, leading to chronic inflammation and bowel injury. Three factors have been singled out, the immune system of the patient, the environment and of course, the genes.


Blood tests are done to find out the extent of IBD, especially with regard to white blood cell counts and red blood cell. The blood tests an also be used to measure electrolyte levels of potassium and magnesium, to find out if these important minerals have been evacuated due to continuous diarrhea.

Since Crohn's Disease is similar to many types of intestinal disorders like ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, it can be tough to diagnose the condition. Ulcerative Colitis can lead to inflammation in the upper layer of the large intestine layer. In Crohn's Disease, however, all layers of the intestine can be affected. You may just find a healthy bowel lost among sections of impaired bowel.


Crohn's Disease Treatment
A variety of medication can be used as treatment to Crohn's Disease The medications that are administerd usually fall into two categories: fast acting drugs to put a halt to the flare-ups and maintenance drugs to continuously avoid the flare-up from happening.

Cortisone or Steroids.drugs and steroids together known as corticosteriods—provide very efficient results. Prednisone is a regular generic name of one of the drugs in this group of medications. It is administered in large dose when the disease is at its worst and then the dosage is lowered once symptoms have been controlled; because they can cause a lot of side-effects.
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Immune System Suppressors. Some of the medications in this immune suppressing groups are 6-mercaptopurine or a related drug, azathioprine. Immunosuppressive agents work by thwarting the immune reaction that leads to inflammation. These drugs do lead to side effects like like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and may reduce a person's resistance to infection.. SO if the Crohn's disease patient is treated with a combination of When of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, the dose of corticosteroids may ultimately be lowered.

Anti-Inflammation Drugs. Measalamine is one of the drugs that is used to treat patients first to control inflammation. The most commonly used rug is known as . Sulfasalazine. Possible side effects of mesalamine-containing drugs include nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, and headache.

Infliximab (Remicade). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave green signal to the Infliximab as the drug for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease that does not react to standard therapies (mesalamine substances, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents) and as a remedial treatment for open, draining fistulas. There is still additional research going with this drug. Remicade may offer to help people with Crohn's disease.

Antibiotics. If there is a bacterial overgrowth due to fistula, stricture etc, antibiotics are used to treat them. The physician may prescribe one or more of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, sulfonamide, cephalosporin, tetracycline, or metronidazole.

Anti-Diarrheal and Fluid Replacements. Diarrhea and crampy abdominal pain are usually treated when the inflammation reduces but in some cases the doctor may give additional treatment in the form of anti-diarrheal and fluid replacements like diphenoxylate, loperamide, and codeine. Patients who are dehydrated due to diarrhea can be administered fluids and electrolytes.


Surgery is also an option for Crohn's Disease. In fact 70 percent of people with Crohn's Disease go for surgery in the first ten years following the diagnosis. The most common type of surgery is ‘resection' where the impaired part of the intestine is surgically removed.

How Cholesterol Affects Your Heart

The heart works hard to pump that blood throughout the entire body of blood vessels. It is forced to work even harder when we don't take care of it. You may know something about cholesterol, but keep reading to find out how it can be unfriendly to your heart.

Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy-type of fat found in the body. It is produced in the liver mainly, but also in the reproductive organs and the adrenal glands. It is transported through the body as lipoproteins in the blood to sites where it is needed.

Cholesterol is not all bad. It does have a function inside your body, in the right amounts. Cholesterol helps with the integrity of cellular membranes. Because it is insoluble in water (for the most part) it can control what substances go into and out of the cell.

Cholesterol is an integral part of many hormones – estrogen and testosterone are just two of them. These sex hormones are important during puberty and beyond for proper development and reproduction. So, don't doom this naturally occurring substance too soon.
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The Problem with Cholesterol
Now, you have heard about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. You probably know what foods contain which but do you know what it does in your body?

As stated, the liver produces most of the cholesterol. If more is needed, it is processed from the foods we eat. There are healthy fats and not so healthy ones that we eat every day. The unhealthy ones come from processed baked goods, candy bars, fatty meats and the like. Eating these foods once in a while is okay but eating them often and in large amounts affects your body, specifically your heart and blood vessels.

You only need 20% of cholesterol from food. Check the labels. Eating foods that contain cholesterol is not a good choice. Instead, choose foods and ingredients that contain good cholesterol like unsaturated oils (olive, flaxseed, canola) and foods with healthy fats (nuts, cold water fish.
In your body, bad fats are metabolized just like the good ones. LDL (low density lipoproteins) is the bad fats. They are an oxidized form of fat that is quite sticky and can attach to artery walls where they harden into plaque.

These plaques narrow the opening through which blood has to pass resulting in less blood that can pass. To get less blood through the same vessels, the heart has to pump harder. If the narrowed vessels are coronary arteries, then the heart is not receiving enough blood to do its job properly. Compromised blood flow can lead to a heart attack.

The good news is that good fats contribute to HDL levels, or good cholesterol. It travels around the bloodstream picking up stray bad cholesterol and ridding the body of it. Higher HDL levels work to prevent the buildup of cholesterol plaques.

Now that you know about cholesterol, and how it affects your heart you can choose foods that will help your heart do its job and reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack.

Anti Aging Treatment for That Flawless Skin

Aging is a natural phenomenon. Everyone ages but no one wants to reveal his or her age, especially women. To help you appear several years younger than you actually are, there are several anti aging treatment available in the market. Treatment in a proper anti aging clinic will make it is possible to look and feel younger in a matter few days.

Consulting a knowledgeable skin care expert is the first step in your anti aging treatment. To obtain maximum benefits, you should first consult skin care expert, although purchasing anti-aging skin care product off the shelf may give you some of the desired results. A skin care expert can determine the best course of action, evaluate the type of skin you have and finally suggest the best products to use to get the maximum results.

What type of treatment you need and if multiple treatments will be needed, the cause of the anti aging treatment will largely depend. For example, a surgical face peal will cost more than a chemical face peal. In this process, the top layer of your skin from you face is removed. Than a chemical face peal, using an exfoliate will cost less.

Shopping on a budget for an anti-aging solution may not produce very effect results or the results may not last very long. To make sure he or she is a professional, always check out the person who is administering the anti aging treatment. To determine if there are any hazards associated with the type of treatment you have elected to use, you should also use the Internet. On the Internet, there are lots of domains pertaining to anti aging treatment are available to start with. There is abundance of information.

You will get a free assessment in most anti aging clinic. You can determine the type and cost of the treatment you need, after the clinic's assessment. You will need to pay for the treatment out of your own pocket, since most medical insurance companies will not pay for any anti-aging solution. You may want to try some of the low cost, if the cost of the treatment is out of your budget. One can also use of the products that are available in the market, only if you have proper idea about how exactly the product will help your skin.

The skin is rejuvenated and toned by using Aloe Vera. It stimulates the blood circulation and naturally softens the skin. It is a naturally cooling gel. Among eye care products, Vitamin K is popular and it is clinically proven to reduce dark circles around the eyes and treats spider veins. Vitamin E is as an effective antioxidant and it improves our skin's moisture and content. It is good in smoothing the skin.

To the anti-aging process such as reducing wrinkles, improving skin tone, helping to prevent sagging skin as well as improves pigmentation, Bioflavanoids provide visible benefits. Found in most fruits and vegetables, Bioflavanoids are the brightly colored pigments.

Find a good health care professional prior to starting any type of home treatment, if you just feel that you need vitamins, supplements or herbs to fight the aging process.

Pregnant woman be cautious

Pregnancy is the period which is much awaited by a lady.And all of us (women) desires to experience this at least for once in our life cycle. No sooner did a women conceives a number of responsibilities come up like how to rear the newly born baby , taking care of the mother's health,and so on. At the period of pregnancy mother needs special attention as baby inside the womb is growing daily.Various changes come up into the mother's body.As the week passes the size of the womb also increases in diameter,the breast enlarges,period comes to stop for a time being,food seems to be tasteless and mother suffers from nausea.

Another change that takes place during the pregnancy period is the blood pressure.The pregnant lady must visit the consulted doctor as per the schedule. The blood pressure can move from normal to high pressure.In this article the readers will be benefited of all kinds be it new father, pregnant mother or a teenager.A new father and a teenager in the sense a new father has to look after his wife's health and his baby's health and at the same time a teenager to right now a student should have a basic knowledge about all this so that when in future he or she grows in to man or a woman easily handles any type of situation.

Giving birth to a new life is essential in order to form new generation and carry the genes of the ancestors.But it is not a simple process, for this the body and spirit has t o be fully prepared to bring new life in to this world.For a better growth of the baby the mom should dwell in healthy atmosphere and always be happy and have to intake healthy nutritious diet. As weeks months passes on new changes and with it new feelings comes up.

Blood pressure is the force applied on the artery walls by the blood.Though it has been found that women who have suffered high blood pressure have healthy babies but it might prove fatal sometimes both for the baby and the mother.As high blood pressure leads to stroke, kidney failure and other heart disease.

and also cause threat to the fetus.Women who have pre - existing blood pressure is more subjected to more risk at the time of pregnancy mainly known as gestation hypertension.The blood pressure starts ranging from meek to severe.This would result in low birth weight or early delivery. Preeclampsia is another term related with this high blood pressure.this can have an adverse effect on the placenta.When Preeclampsia causes convulsion then it is called eeclampsia.The problem of High blood pressure is to be found in 6to 8%

Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure

Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. This pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may in fact be motivating to another. Many of life's demands can cause stress, especially work, relationships and money problems and when you feel stressed, it can affect everything you do.

There are many ways to manage stress, habits like eating properly and exercising are often the first things to go when we are experiencing stress. We may think we're creating more time in our lives by not taking time to do them, but we also compromise our ability to get through the stressful times.

Practical Ways to Manage Stress

Get Plenty of Sleep
A good night's rest makes all the difference to how well you manage stressful situations. If you are tired and cranky, your patience wears thin more quickly and you are less able to tolerate stress well.

Stay Fit
Be sure to fit some exercise into your routine as exercise is a natural stress reliever that works to reduce the tension that arises from stress.

Eat Healthily
A healthy diet improves your overall health and helps you cope with stress better.

Manage Time
Stay on top of time management, continually running behind on deadlines and appointments is a leading cause of stress. Schedule your day with some padding time to help you stay on track. Don't put things off it will only increase your stress levels.

Relax
Schedule some relaxation time into your day. Be sure to make time for friends and family or to enjoy your favourite hobby.

Take a Break
Make sure to take breaks when working, breaks help you to regather your thought and not feel overworked or under stress.

Socialise
Participate in social events, networks or clubs to have other people to relate to and bond with. Peer groups allow people to share experiences with others who can offer support during tough and stressful times.

Laugh Often
Laughter truly is great medicine a little happiness goes a long way to reducing stress.

Take Care of your Finances
Be careful with your finances as money woes are a top stress inducer. Keep a close watch on your budget and spend money carefully.

Seek Balance
Follow an overall plan for achieving wellness and seek balance and harmony to live as stress free a life as possible.

If you follow these stress management tips you are sure to find yourself much less stressed and more time on your hands to simply relax and enjoy life.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is usually caused by viruses, but bacteria can also be a cause of hepatitis. Current studies conducted by scientists have shown that there are no more than five viruses that can cause hepatitis. All these types of hepatitis are very serious and they can do a lot of damage to your liver. The five types of hepatitis are hepatitis A, B, C, D and hepatitis E.

Hepatitis A is caused by a virus that spreads through water or food. The hepatitis A virus is found in one' s fecal materials. If somehow, this material contaminates water of food, the hepatitis virus is then spread very easily. The symptoms for this type of hepatitis are very similar to those of the flu. If you have hepatitis A, vomiting, nausea, fatigue and abdominal pain will be some of the symptoms. Furthermore, if your urine is dark or your skin and eyes turn yellowish, then you can definitely say that you have hepatitis. In this case, a doctor should be seen right away. He/ she will do some further tests to see if indeed you have hepatitis A or not. If you have hepatitis, then you will start a treatment. In cases of hepatitis A, the best treatment there is is to get plenty of rest and stay away from sexual contact. Hepatitis A can last somewhere between two weeks and half an year. There are corently two vaccines available for hepatitis A. One of the hepatitis vaccine is for those that have already been
exposed to the hepatitis virus and the second one is to prevent hepatitis A.

The second type of hepatitis: hepatitis B spreads through blood and sexual contact. Hepatitis B has almost the same symptoms as hepatits A. Loss of appetite can also be another hepatitis symptom. There are people that can have hepatitis B and still have no hepatitis symptoms at all. The treatment for this type of hepatitis is with medication. For children, vaccines are also available against hepatitis.

Hepatitis C, like hepatitis B is also spread by contact with blood that has been contaminated. In this case of hepatitis, more than half of the hepatitis patients have no symptoms at all. Those who have signs of hepatitis feel a loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue and jaundice. For this particular type of hepatitis there is no vaccine. Treatment for hepatitis C is with interferon or some combinations using this drug.

Like hepatitis B and C, hepatitis D is also spread through blood. In order to develop hepatitis D, you either have to suffer from hepatitis B or get infected with hepatitis B at the same time. This happens because hepatitis D needs the hepatitis B virus in order to replicate. Hepatitis E has no treatment and there are no vaccines for it.

Causes And Risk Factors Of Lung Cancer

There are 25 Lakh cancer patients in the country. Ten lakh new cases are detected annually and 4 lakh people lose there lives to cancer. Cancer is now the third biggest killer in our country. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers inIndia. It is the most common cause of cancer related deaths in men and the second most common cause of death in women (after breast cancer). Lung cancer alone is responsible for 13 Lakh deaths worldwide annually.

Causes And Risk Factors Of Lung Cancer

* Smoking is the single most important cause ----

Smoking, particularly of cigarettes, is by far the main contributor to lung cancer. Across the developed world, almost 90% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. Passive smoking can also lead to lung cancer.

* Air pollution - Gases emitted by industries & vehicles are carcinogenic.

* Radioactive Chemical exposure - Arsenic, nickel, chromium.

Warning symptoms of lung cancer

* Smoker's cough that persists or becomes intense.

* Increase in volume of sputum.

* Wheezing.

* Nonsmoker's cough that persists for more than 2 weeks.

* Change in color of sputum.

* Blood in sputum.

Prevention

More than 90% of the lung cancer cases are due to active and passive smoking and hence preventable. The earlier one stops smoking, better it is.

Prevention is the most cost-effective means of fighting lung cancer. While in most countries, industrial and domestic carcinogens have been identified and banned, tobacco smoking is still widespread. Eliminating tobacco smoking is a primary goal in the prevention of lung cancer, and smoking cessation is an important preventative tool in this process, especially in the youth.

How lung cancer is DIAGNOSED?

* Chest x-ray is the most easily available and cheapest modality for diagnosis of lung cancer which will show the tumor in the lung or in the air passage.


* CT scan is the most important modality because it not only shows the tumor but also gives information about the progression of the disease; whether the tumor is operable or not.
* MRI and PET-CT may also help to know the progression of the tumor.

Treatment

Treatment for lung cancer depends on the cancer's specific cell type, how far it has spread, and the patient's performance status. Common treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Surgery

Surgery is the main modality of treatment for early lung cancer. If investigations confirm lung cancer, CT scan and often positron emission tomography (PET) are used to determine whether the disease is localized and amenable to surgery or whether it has spread to the point where it cannot be cured surgically.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is used with curative intent in patients with lung cancer who are not eligible for surgery. This form of high intensity radiotherapy is called Radical Radiotherapy. Chemotherapy may be added concurrently with Radiotherapy to increase the efficacy of cell kill.

Radiotherapy for lung cancer has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade. IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) is being used to target Lung cancer for the last ten years. But as we all know, lungs move during respiration and so the tumor target may be missed during Radiotherapy. This problem has now been overcome with the new technique of delivering IMRT, which is called IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy). In IGRT, a low dose KV CT Scan is done before treatment and the position of the patient is corrected in all three dimensions if there is any shift from the original position.

Active Breathing control devices are also available with the help of which we target the tumor only during a specific phase of respiration so that the Radiation Beam hits the tumor more precisely and normal tissues are spared of unnecessary Radiation. This is also known as gated or 4D Radiotherapy.

Another major breakthrough in the treatment delivery of IMRT and IGRT is VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy). VMAT is a highly advanced and sophisticated treatment planning system which is available at very few select centers worldwide. Treatment planning with VMAT is far more precise and normal tissues receive only a fraction of Radiation as compared to older techniques. Another major advantage is that with VMAT, the treatment time is reduced from 25 to 30 minutes to just 2 to 5 minutes. Treatment with VMAT is thus not only faster but also more accurate with minimal side effects.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is an important aspect of treatment of lung cancer. Most lung cancer patients require chemotherapy. The latest development is the treatment of lung cancer includes targeted therapies. These "targeted" therapies hit specific targets which are present on cancer cells. Hence, these therapies are considered superior than conventional chemotherapies as they kill specifically the target bad cells and spare the good (normal) cells.

How to improve chances of cure in lung cancer?

* Cancer Screening of high risk population.
* Annual Health Check ups.
* Complete diagnostic check up and staging work up to know the disease stage.
* Tumor Board Evaluation by a panel of cancer experts.
* Integrated treatment at dedicated cancer centers with NABH Accreditation.
* Surgery by dedicated thoracic surgeons skilled in Lung cancer surgery.
* Use of highly effective targeted chemotherapy under expert medical supervision.
* Use of advanced Radiation techniques such as IMRT, IGRT, VMAT and ABC.
* And most importantly, the will to succeed, because with the latest technology available, we will now win the battle against Cancer.