Allergies

An allergy is a reaction by your immune system to something that does not bother most other people. People who have allergies often are sensitive to more than one thing. Substances that often cause reactions are

Normally, your immune system fights germs. It is your body’s defense system. In most allergic reactions, however, it is responding to a false alarm. Genes and the environment probably both play a role.

Allergies can cause a variety of symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, itching, rashes, swelling, or asthma. Allergies can range from minor to severe. Anaphylaxis is a severe reaction that can be life-threatening. Doctors use skin and blood tests to diagnose allergies. Treatments include medicines, allergy shots, and avoiding the substances that cause the reactions.

 

source: https://medlineplus.gov/allergy.html

Ear Infection

Health Basics

Ear infections are one of the most common reasons parents take their children to the doctor. The most common type of ear infection is called otitis media. It is caused by swelling and infection of the middle ear. The middle ear is located just behind the eardrum.

An acute ear infection starts over a short period and is painful. Ear infections that last a long time or come and go are called chronic ear infections.

Anything that causes the eustachian tubes to become swollen or blocked makes more fluid build up in the middle ear behind the eardrum. Some causes are:

  • Allergies
  • Colds and sinus infections
  • Excess mucus and saliva produced during teething
  • Infected or overgrown adenoids (lymph tissue in the upper part of the throat)
  • Tobacco smoke

Ear infections are also more likely in children who spend a lot of time drinking from a sippy cup or bottle while lying on their back. Getting water in the ears will not cause an acute ear infection, unless the eardrum has a hole in it.

Acute ear infections most often occur in the winter. You cannot catch an ear infection from someone else. But a cold that spreads among children may cause some of them to get ear infections.

Risk factors for acute ear infections include:

  • Attending day care (especially centers with more than 6 children)
  • Changes in altitude or climate
  • Cold climate
  • Exposure to smoke
  • Family history of ear infections
  • Not being breastfed
  • Pacifier use
  • Recent ear infection
  • Recent illness of any type (because illness lowers the body’s resistance to infection)

Symptoms

In infants, often the main sign of an ear infection is acting irritable or crying that cannot be soothed. Many infants and children with an acute ear infection have a fever or trouble sleeping. Tugging on the ear is not always a sign that the child has an ear infection.

Symptoms of an acute ear infection in older children or adults include:

  • Ear pain or earache
  • Fullness in the ear
  • Feeling of general illness
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Hearing loss in the affected ear

The ear infection may start shortly after a cold. Sudden drainage of yellow or green fluid from the ear may mean the eardrum has ruptured.

All acute ear infections involve fluid behind the eardrum. At home, you can use an electronic ear monitor to check for this fluid. You can buy this device at a drugstore. You still need to see a health care provider to confirm an ear infection.

Exams and Tests

The provider will look inside the ears using an instrument called an otoscope. This may show:

  • Areas of dullness or redness
  • Air bubbles or fluid behind the eardrum
  • Bloody fluid or pus inside the middle ear
  • A hole (perforation) in the eardrum

The provider might recommend a hearing test if the person has a history of ear infections.

Treatment

Some ear infections clear on their own without antibiotics. Often, treating the pain and allowing the body time to heal itself is all that is needed:

  • Apply a warm cloth or warm water bottle to the affected ear.
  • Use over-the-counter pain relief drops for ears. Or, ask the provider about prescription eardrops to relieve pain.
  • Take over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen for pain or fever. DO NOT give aspirin to children.

All children younger than 6 months with a fever or symptoms of an ear infection should see a provider. Children who are older than 6 months may be watched at home if they DO NOT have:

  • A fever higher than 102°F (38.9°C)
  • More severe pain or other symptoms
  • Other medical problems

If there is no improvement or if symptoms get worse, schedule an appointment with the provider to determine whether antibiotics are needed.

ANTIBIOTICS

A virus or bacteria can cause ear infections. Antibiotics will not help an infection that is caused by a virus. Most providers don’t prescribe antibiotics for every ear infection. However, all children younger than 6 months with an ear infection are treated with antibiotics.

Your provider is more likely to prescribe antibiotics if your child:

  • Is under age 2
  • Has a fever
  • Appears sick
  • Does not improve in 24 to 48 hours

If antibiotics are prescribed, it is important to take them every day and to take all of the medicine. DO NOT stop the medicine when symptoms go away. If the antibiotics do not seem to be working within 48 to 72 hours, contact your provider. You may need to switch to a different antibiotic.

Side effects of antibiotics may include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Although rare, serious allergic reactions may also occur.

Some children have repeat ear infections that seem to go away between episodes. They may receive a smaller, daily dose of antibiotics to prevent new infections.

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000638.htm

Eczema

Health Basics

Eczema is a term for several different types of skin swelling. Eczema is also called dermatitis. Most types cause dry, itchy skin and rashes on the face, inside the elbows and behind the knees, and on the hands and feet. Scratching the skin can cause it to turn red, and to swell and itch even more.

Eczema is not contagious. The cause is not known. It is likely caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Eczema may get better or worse over time, but it is often a long-lasting disease. People who have it may also develop hay fever and asthma.

The most common type of eczema is atopic dermatitis. It is most common in babies and children but adults can have it too. As children who have atopic dermatitis grow older, this problem may get better or go away. But sometimes the skin may stay dry and get irritated easily.

Treatments may include medicines, skin creams, light therapy, and good skin care. You can prevent some types of eczema by avoiding

  • Things that irritate your skin, such as certain soaps, fabrics, and lotions
  • Stress
  • Things you are allergic to, such as food, pollen, and animals

source-www.medlineplus.gov

Urinary Tract Infection

Symptoms:
Urinary tract infections do not always have symptoms but some may include:
The urge to urinate
A burning sensation upon urination
small amounts of urine
Urine that looks cloudy
red, bright pink or cola-colored — might be blood in the urine
abnormal odor in urine
Pain in pelvic, in females — center of the pelvis and area surrounding the pubic bone

Types of UTI
Kidneys (acute pyelonephritis)
Upper back and side pain
High fever
Shaking and chills
Nausea
Vomit
Bladder (cystitis)
Pelvic pressure
Lower abdomen discomfort
Frequent, painful urination
Blood in urine
Urethra (urethritis)
Burning upon urination
Discharge

Description:
UTI’s typically happens when a bacteria enters the urinary tract through the urethra, and it spreads. When this occurs, bacteria may grow and develop into an infection in the urinary tract.
UTI’s are more common in women.
Infection of the bladder is commonly caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is more likely found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, there may be other bacteria also responsible. Sexual intercourse may also cause cystitis.
Infection of the urethra happens when GI bacteria spread from the anus to the urethra. The female urethra is close to the vagina which causes sexually transmitted infections.

Treatment:
Antibiotics are the first line treatment for UTI. The drugs prescribed and for how long depends on your health condition and which type of bacteria is found in your urine.
Medicines commonly recommended for simple UTIs include:
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, others)
Fosfomycin (Monurol)
Nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin, Macrobid)
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
Levofloxacin (Levaquin)
Cephalexin (Keflex)
Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)
Azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax)
Doxycycline (Monodox, Vibramycin, others)
Commonly symptoms clear up within a few days of treatment. However, you may need to continue antibiotics until the antibiotics are gone.

Headaches

Health Basics

There are many different types of headaches. Although not all headaches are the same, they all share at least one thing in common — they cause pain. But many headaches also cause other unwanted symptoms, including nausea and vomiting.

Tension Headaches

People with tension headaches commonly report these symptoms:

Episodic Tension Headaches (occur less than 15 days per month)

  • Pain is mild to moderate, constant band-like pain or pressure
  • Pain affects the front, top or sides of the head.
  • Pain usually begins gradually, and often occurs in the middle of the day
  • Pain may last from 30 minutes to several days

Chronic Tension Headaches (occur more than 15 days per month)

  • Pain may vary in intensity throughout the day, but the pain is almost always present
  • Pain comes and goes over a prolonged period of time.
  • Headache upon awakening
  • Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Disturbed concentration
  • Mild sensitivity to light or noise
  • General muscle aching

The symptoms of migraine headaches can occur in various combinations and include:

  • Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect the whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other
  • Sensitivity to light, noise or odors
  • Blurred vision
  • Nausea or vomiting, stomach upset, abdominal pain
  • Loss of appetite
  • Sensations of being very warm or cold
  • Paleness
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Fever (rare)
  • Bright flashing dots or lights, blind spots, wavy or jagged lines (aura)

  • Cluster Headaches

  •  Intense one-sided pain described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant
  • Pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region, without changing sides.
  • Pain lasts a short time, generally 30 to 90 minutes (but can last for three hours); the headache will disappear, only to recur later that day (most sufferers get one to three headaches and some up to eight per day during a cluster period).
  • Headaches occur very regularly, generally at the same time each day, and they often awaken the person at the same time during the night.

    Sinus Headaches

  • Deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose.

  • The pain usually intensifies with sudden head movement or straining and usually occurs with other sinus symptoms, such as nasal discharge, feeling of fullness in the ears, fever, and facial swelling.

  • Come to our Emergency Room if:

  • You are having the worst headache ever
  • You are having your worst migraine attack ever
  • Your headache is accompanied by the following symptoms:
  •  Unresolved loss of vision
  •  Loss of consciousness
  • Uncontrollable vomiting
  •   The pain of your headache lasts more than 72 hours with less than a solid four-hour pain-free period while awake.
  •   You experience a headache or a migraine attack that presents unusual symptoms that are abnormal for you and frightening

Source:https://www.webmd.com

Asthma

Health Basics

Sometimes asthma symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after minimal treatment with asthma medicine. Other times, symptoms continue to get worse.

When symptoms get more intense and/or more symptoms occur, you’re having an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flareups or exacerbations (eg-zas-er-BA-shuns).

Treating symptoms when you first notice them is important. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can be fatal.

Asthma (AZ-ma) is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning.

Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United States, more than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children.

Overview

To understand asthma, it helps to know how the airways work. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways. The inflammation makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances.

When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This narrows the airways, causing less air to flow into the lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways might make more mucus than usual. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow the airways.

This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are inflamed.

 

Source – www.nhlbi.nih.gov

Anemia

Health Basics

What Is Anemia?

Anemia is a condition that develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a main part of red blood cells and binds oxygen. If you have too few or abnormal red blood cells, or your hemoglobin is abnormal or low, the cells in your body will not get enough oxygen. Symptoms of anemia — like fatigue — occur because organs aren’t getting what they need to function properly.

What Causes Anemia ?

There are more than 400 types of anemia, which are divided into three groups:

  • Anemia caused by blood loss
  • Anemia caused by decreased or faulty red blood cell production
  • Anemia caused by destruction of red blood cells

 How Do I Know if I Have Anemia?

To diagnose anemia, your doctor will likely ask you about your medical history, perform a physical exam, and order blood tests.

Blood tests will not only confirm the diagnosis of anemia, but also help point to the underlying condition. Tests might include:

  • Complete blood count (CBC), which determines the number, size, volume, and hemoglobin content of red blood cells
  • Blood iron level and your serum ferritin level, the best indicators of your body’s total iron stores
  • Levels of vitamin B12 and folate, vitamins necessary for red blood cell production
  • Special blood tests to detect rare causes of anemia, such as an immune attack on your red blood cells, red blood cell fragility, and defects of enzymes, hemoglobin, and clotting
  • Reticulocyte count, bilirubin, and other blood and urine tests to determine how quickly your blood cells are being made or if you have a hemolytic anemia, where your red blood cells have a shortened life span

What Are the Treatments for Anemia?

Your doctor may not treat your anemia until the underlying cause has been established. The treatment for one type of anemia may be both inappropriate and dangerous for another type of anemia.

Source: https://www.webmd.com

Pneumonia

Health Basics

Pneumonia is when there is an infection in one or both lungs.
It is caused by many germs including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Pneumonia is also caused by inhaling a liquid or chemical.The people that are most at risk are children under age two and elderly over sixty- five, also those who already have medical problems.
Symptoms of pneumonia include high fever, chills, cough with phlegm that does not get better. Shortness of breath may develop and chest pain may occur.

Treatment:
If it is caused by bacteria antibiotics will help. If it is viral then an antiviral medicine will treat it.

Prevention:

There are vaccines to prevent pneumococcal pneumonia and the flu.
Hand washing and not smoking are also preventative measures.

 

Pneumonia

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/19680.htm

 

Stitches

Serious cuts or incisions from surgical procedures may require stitches, or sutures, to hold tissues together while they heal. The goal is to piece together the edges so that skin and other tissues can fuse back together. Then the stitches are removed.

Although it’s natural to feel a little anxious if you’re getting stitches, especially if you’ve just experienced trauma. And stitches will help cuts heal with minimal scarring or risk for infection.

Signs a Cut May Need Stitches

It’s not always easy to tell if a cut requires stitches.  You should seek medical care for any cut that:

  • Is deep, jagged, or gaping
  • Is on the face or another part of the body where scarring may be an issue
  • Bleeds profusely without stopping after 20 minutes of direct pressure
  • Feels numb
  • Is in a hand or limb that doesn’t function properly after being cut

If any of these criteria apply to your injury, see a doctor as soon as you can. In the meantime, apply direct pressure to help control bleeding. It might also help to raise the injured area above the level of your heart, if possible.

If you are injured and have not had a tetanus shot in more than five years visit us today.

 

Source: https://www.webmd.com/

Stomach Virus

Health Basics

You’ve probably heard people talking about the stomach bug or stomach flu going around at work or your child’s school. But what exactly is it? The technical term for this sickness is viral gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Food poisoning is different. It’s more common than the stomach bug. About 1 in 6 Americans, or roughly 48 million people, experience food poisoning each year.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms

Symptoms of a stomach bug

If you have the stomach bug, or viral gastroenteritis, you may have one or more of the following symptoms:

  • diarrhea
  • stomach cramps
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • a fever
  • weight loss
  • joint aches
  • muscle aches

Symptoms of food poisoning

Typical symptoms of food poisoning include:

  • stomach cramping
  • fatigue
  • diarrhea or constipation
  • a fever
  • chills
  • muscle aches
  • headaches
  • sweating
  • thirst
  • general malaise

In severe cases, you can have:

  • bloody stool or vomit
  • severe abdominal cramping
  • shock
  • a loss of consciousness

The symptoms of food poisoning usually appear two to six hours after initial exposure. Symptoms typically don’t last longer than two days. Food poisoning can occur in anyone, but it is most common in babies, young children, and the elderly.

Most forms of food poisoning aren’t lethal. One form called botulism can even be fatal if they’re not treated properly. A strain of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum causes botulism. It produces toxins that impact the nervous system. Botulism can cause blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, as well as other symptoms. See your doctor if you suspect you have botulism. Botulism is extremely rare in the United States.

If you are experiencing stomach virus call us today.

 

 

Source: https://www.healthline.com/

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