Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis or TB is a very serious condition that affects a person’s lungs. TB kills millions of people all across the globe each and every year and is a disease that is continuously on the rise. The disease is spreading dramatically due to an increase in bacteria and a growing resistance for drugs that are currently on the market. The disease itself can be defined as an infection but is scientifically labeled as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. TB can affect any part of the body but the most common part is the lungs. The disease often begins in the lungs and then can spread further throughout the body very rapidly.

The danger of TB is that it can be spread very easily through coughing, sneezing or any other process that distributes bacteria. However, in most instances if you are healthy there is very little chance that you will contract TB just by simply breathing it in. The problem is that anyone with an inefficient immune system can be very susceptible. If your body is unable to fight off the bacteria then the condition can affect the lungs and all other areas. The disease may not even activate until months or even years after it is contracted.

The first symptoms of TB include a dry cough that continues to worsen at a steady pace. After a while, a patient will start to cough up phlegm that contains some blood traces. On top of this a sufferer may experience a loss in appetite, fever and constant chest pains. If the problem is not diagnosed the lungs can be severely damaged which can lead to breathing problems. This can also lead to an infection that can cause death in a lot of cases.

Tuberculosis is a condition that has been present for a staggering number of years and it is actually a lot more common that most people realize. In some instances it is thought TB was responsible for over 20 percent of all deaths in the earlier centuries. There have been advances in medicine and treatment that have lowered these rates but it is still a very fatal disease. Penicillin alone has played a major role in the decline of the TB death rate but it has begun to rise again as people are becoming immune to the medicine.

In many cases the development of TB is attributed to poor health and a bad diet. However there are a number of other causes that have ensured that tuberculosis is a very dangerous disease. To this day it is still responsible for over three million deaths per year. The most common way to diagnose TB is through a skin prick test that reveals infection. Yet in some cases can take a couple of months for the tests to come back conclusive enough to determine that the condition is present.

Antibiotics are the main form of treatment known to this day and include a number of varying medications. A six month dose of pills such as pyrazinamine and athambutol are given to a patient to try and ward of the serious effects of the disease. Even if you being to feel better about three or four months, it is highly recommended that you continue to ingest the medication for the entire duration of the 6 month period. There is also a preventative vaccine that is available for people that carry an inherent risk for contracting the disease. In many cases the vaccine is thought to prevent the disease in at least 70 percent of cases.

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Menopause

Menopause can affect women who are entering the infertile stages of their lives. The decrease in sex hormones within a female’s body brings on this occurrence and is a regular process in the life cycle. Usually it affects women between the ages of 40 and 50 but it can occur earlier and even during childhood in very rare cases. When this process occurs a woman will stop going through her usual menstrual cycle and will become unable to achieve pregnancy. In some cases menopause can be brought on in unnatural ways to due invasive surgery or other abnormal factors.

While the main side affect is the inability to produce children there are also a number of according symptoms that can prove to be very unpleasant. Some of these symptoms are known to be host flashes and extreme dryness within the vagina which can make sex very unpleasant and uncomfortable. This can lead to a drastically reduced sex drive and a risk for women to contract brittle bone disease. In many cases doctors advise women to deal with the symptoms as best they can on their own in order to not deal with the side effects that can be brought on by menopause medication. It is only in serious cases that doctors will willingly subscribe to hormonal therapy.

A common treatment for menopause is hormone replacement therapy. This therapy can reduce the effects of the side effects and make the whole process a lot more bearable. The main hormone used is estrogen but that alone can lead to an increase in the risk of contracting cancer. So in most cases oestrogen is given in doses along with progesterone to decrease the likelihood of a patient developing cancer. Even though the drug treatment can help it can also lead to other symptoms such as headaches and mood swings.

While it is more common for menopause to occur in middle aged women it can affect young girls in some cases. This can be due to growth hormone issues and is referred to as premature menopause. This is much more serious than normal menopause and needs to be treated right away to avoid further complications. In some cases when premature menopause is dedicated a woman can choose to freeze her eggs so that she still has the ability to produce children later on in life. This new technology is going a long way to reduce the misery that can be inflicted due to premature menopause.

Premature menopause is usually a man made problem and can come about when ovaries are removed or manipulated through surgery or as a side effect to other drug treatments such as chemotherapy. If a woman has gone through chemotherapy before or other serious drug treatments then they are often denied the use of hormone treatment to combat menopause. In these situations the patient has to deal with the symptoms in a natural way and can only be prescribed painkilling medication.

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Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Erectile dysfunction or ED is a medical issue that involves the inability for a main to gain or maintain an erection. This leads to a severe decrease in sexual desire and in some cases a complete inability to have any form of sexual intercourse. It is unknown just how many males suffer from ED as there are many undiagnosed cases. This is due to the extremely sensitive nature of the issue itself and many males unwillingness to deal with the problem. With that being said it is estimated that over 5 percent of men over the age of 40 and 25 percent of men over 65 deal with this condition on a regular basis.

An erection within a male occurs when blood enters the two chambers within the penis. When a man is aroused, the blood is sent rushing to the area and the surrounding nerves relax in order to let more in. This relaxation of the nerves and increase blood flow cause the corpora cavernosa to enlarge and increase in size. There is also a membrane known as the tunica albuginea that traps the blood within the area in order for the erection to remain for an extended period of time. When the muscles in the penis contract the blood flow to the penis is slowed down and the erection subsides.

Erectile dysfunction is caused when one of these events does not occur. There are a number of things that need to happen in order for an erection to be sustained and if one does not occur, an erection cannot last. The most common reason for ED is tissue damage that does not allow the process to happen naturally. This can usually be a side effect of other diseases and medical conditions such as diabetes, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis and kidney disease. On top of this, physical damage to the penis and mental conditions can also cause erectile dysfunction. Some common medicine such as antidepressants and blood pressure drugs can also lead to these issues. Mental conditions such as an increase in stress, guilt or low self esteem can also increase a male’s risk of contracting ED.

There are a number of treatments available for erectile dysfunction including psychological therapies, drugs and even surgery. Depending on the individual case different remedies may be more suitable for different people. When it comes to drug therapy, Viagra has become known as the international treatment of ED since the late 1990s. It works by increasing the chemicals within the body that are needed to perform all the tasks that go into causing and sustaining an erection. The drug was actually discovered by accident and was created as a treatment for angina.

Some men choose to go the route of penile injections or choose to use vacuum devices. With a penile injection certain drugs are injected directly into the penis in order to cause an erection. Vacuum devices work by creating a vacuum surrounding the penis that forces blood to the region. These devices consist of a cylinder, a pump and an elastic band.

When it comes to surgery for erectile dysfunction there are a few options including implanted devices, inflatable cylinders or a surgical removal of damaged arteries that are causing a blockage. Each case of ED is different and doctors will prescribe different remedies for different people but usually surgery is used as a last resort.

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

While many people are aware of respiratory problems such as asthma, many are unaware of the complications and amount of people that suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. COPD affects over 600,000 people in the UK alone and is actually responsible for killing more than 30,000 people every year. Even with this staggering numbers many people do not even realize that COPD is a dangerously fatal medical condition.

COPD is the common name for a number of varying conditions that affect the lungs such as bronchitis and emphysema. In all cases, the condition arises from obstructed airways and a difficulty when it comes to regular breathing. The harder it is for a person to engage in the normal act of breathing, the harder it becomes to live a healthy and lengthy life.

In most cases COPD is caused by smoking. It has been labeled as a smokers’ disease and the damage that is caused by tobacco directly correlates with damaged lungs within a patient. There are other factors though including air pollution or even certain jobs that force someone to be in an unhealthy environment. However it is very uncommon for people that do not smoke to suffer from COPD.

The first symptom of this condition is a cough that does not seem to ever go away. This cough is the body’s way of trying to get more oxygen in and more phlegm and mucus out. In less serious cases of COPD these symptoms may only actually occur during certain points of the year such as an especially cold winter. In severe cases a patient becomes unable to perform routine tasks such was walking or lifting objects without becoming too short of breath.

While there is no clear-cut cure for COPD simply quitting smoking or never starting will almost altogether take away any risk you may have of suffering from the condition. However, if you have smoked for years, the damage may already be done and there is no way to reverse it. Your best bet is to quit smoking as soon as possible or better yet, never begin. Aside from smoking, engaging in regular physical activity and eating healthy can go a long way to reducing your chances of getting COPD.

In other cases, people who suffer from other lung diseases are advised to get regular checkups that may test for COPD. If a case of COPD gets too serious it can be a very problematic condition. The worse a person’s lungs get, the less oxygen is able to get into the bloodstream and it can lead to ever worse medical conditions.

In terms of treatment the most common form is inhalers and bronchodilator medications. This treatment can open up the airways and make it easier for oxygen to get in and out of the body. In very serious cases often steroid medications are used in order to strengthen the body and lungs so that the body can combat the condition more effectively and thus protect itself from relating issues.

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