Refined Salt Triggering Autoimmune Disease

Refined Salt Triggering Autoimmune Disease
On Wednesday, March 06, 2013, Yale researchers identified refined salt triggering autoimmune diseases.  According to their study, “adding salt to the diet of mice induced production of a type of T cells previously associated with autoimmune diseases and that mice on salt diets developed a more severe form of an MS animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.”
Dr. David Hafler, the Gilbert H. Glaser Professor of Neurology, professor of immunobiology, chair of the Department of Neurology, and senior author of the Yale paper states  “Humans were genetically selected for conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, where there was no salt.  Today, Western diets all have high salt content and that has led to increase in hypertension and perhaps autoimmune disease as well.”
While I don’t believe that refined salt is the only problem with autoimmune diseases, it does make sense with my choosing calories over sodium prior to developing Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). For example, I used to eat Healthy Choice TV dinners at least 3-4 times a week prior to my diet change.  Not only did it contain medium-high levels of sodium, but the list of additives and other ingredients helped trigger my autoimmune disease. Since the beginning of changing my food habits in early 2012, I’ve stopped table salt and switched to mineral-rich Himalayan Sea Salt when needed.  More importantly, I prepare and eat most of my meals at home versus eating at restaurants which are notorious for foods with high levels of sodium.
If you want to kick AS or any autoimmune disease, learn to cook with healthy whole foods and switch refined salt to Himalayan sea salt.

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Dealing with disease - multiple sclerosis health advice

When the term multiple sclerosis is said we also often quick to think about as debilitating slow in degradation of a person in a State that they are not able to live their own. The truth is that this is not always the case. There are things that a person can do to improve their existence and to slow the rate of loss of bodily control that they experience. With these tips that you can easily extend the time that you can enjoy a high quality of life, even with Ms.

You can live a life of quality, even with multiple sclerosis
One of the first things you need to do is assess your lifestyle and see what does not work to improve your overall level of health. Once you have this information, you must take action measures to change these things and get yourself to a level of fitness that will help you combat the lovely MS. effects Some of these factors are, eat more healthy stress levels, lowering and enhance mental health. If you are a stop smoking and if have hypertension or diabetes get these control condition sunder. The healthier your body is the best equipped you are to fight this disease.

Include natural herbs in your diet.
One thing that has been established to help control the effects of multiple sclerosis is natural grass. Herbs that are beneficial for the support of the brain and central nervous system have been demonstrated to reduce the severity of the symptoms of MS and slow the onslaught of the disease. Three of the more popular rare yerba mate, root of valerian and gotu kola.

Take control of your diet.
One of the best ways to help improve your overall health and slow the progression of Ms is to get your eating under control. It is not to say that the occasional cheeseburger will hurt you, infect it is something to say about the benefits of pleasant indulgences of this kind, but you need to get in right of healthy eating habits and remain as much as possible. A healthy body begins with a healthy diet and a healthy body is what you need to combat this disease.

Admire the Sun
The light of the Sun is one of the best sources that our bodies have to d. vitamin d is one of the most important vitamins for a healthy body overall. The good news is that vitamin d is also known to have a very positive effect on your battle with MS. Be careful to not get a burn, but make sure that you are able to out each day unclothed and without sun protection for about 20 minutes in bright sunlight. This will not only have a positive effect on your body, but also the cool breeze and the hot sun on the bare skin will have a very beneficial effect on the mind.

You remain active
It is vital. MS affects your nervous and muscle system. You can fight it by keeping as hard as possible. This means that you want to stay active and dynamic as much as you can. Do not help the disease so that, if it is also difficult that you can to make it is a pity.

Reduce your consumption and your Interaction with heavy metals
Although we do not fully understand why, there is some correlation between contact and the use of heavy metals, with the development of Ms. These heavy metals are found in your water, drugs food and beauty products. Make it a point to begin to pay attention to what you consume to reduce the impact of heavy metals in your life.

Keep Positive yourself
It is a key step. The body is in harmony with the spirit. If you have a positive mental attitude on your life you will see that your health is better because of this. Do you have a duty to keep you in good state of mind and will be dealing with your condition easier in the long term.
As you can see if you do not have to consider MS to be a sentence of death that you left without the opportunity to live a productive and meaningful life on your own. You can overcome the challenges and difficulties that are associated with MS and will continue to live a comfortable existence with the condition.

Brent McNutt enjoys networking with online health professionals. He also likes to talk about Landau Scrubs and Shoes of Landau and also likes to write articles on various subjects.

How to Grow Tall Taller http://your-health-guru.blogspot.com

Millions Around the World Observe Rare Disease Day

Kelley Sperry has been bullied and taunted about the way she looks. She’s lost jobs because of her symptoms. The 19-year-old from Windsor, Colorado has a rare disease that’s making half of her face waste away. Little by little, her right eye is sinking into its socket. One side of her nose is twisting and shrinking, and her lip has pulled up into an expression that some people mistake for a sneer—problems that have been diminished, but not fully corrected by recent reconstructive surgery.

Kelley’s disease, Parry-Romberg syndrome, isn’t just skin deep. A series of strokes, starting at age 9, have robbed her of much of the vision in her right eye. For most of her life, she’s endured stares and comments about her appearance. At one school, classmates contorted their faces into a cruel parody of hers, calling it “the Kelley face.” Six years ago, I wrote about how this courageous teen found true friends who can see the beauty that’s on the inside, in my Reader’s Digest article, Face Value.

These days, Kelley continues to grapple with evolving symptoms that now include recurring seizures, resulting in months of hospitalization and losing jobs. Despite the many challenges she faces, she’s managed to get her certified nursing assistant degree and has just landed a position in her field, where she hopes to help others, drawing on the insights her own disease has sparked. “I’ve had so many hospital experiences and a few bad nurses along with way. This is work where you need a true passion and compassion for the patients.

Today, people around the world will observe Rare Disease Day, as a coalition of more than 500 patient organizations, medical societies and government agencies join the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in working to raise awareness of the more than 6,800 rare diseases that have been identified so far, which collectively affect 30 million Americans. Because rare diseases often stem from inherited problems, more than half of those battling them are kids, says Mary Dunkle, NORD’s vice president of communications. “It’s not unusual for families to spend five or more years trying to get an accurate diagnosis. It’s devastating for parents to have a sick child and not even be able to put a name to what’s wrong.”

Kelley’s parents had to consult more than a dozen doctors, some of whom brushed off their concerns, says her dad, Jay. “One ear-nose-throat specialist’s attitude was, ‘So what? Everyone has little imperfections. We felt like we were being scolded for paying too much attention to our daughter’s looks when we were worried about her health.” Once Kelley finally did get a diagnosis, she and her family found resources and support online and through NORD, which maintains a database of organizations focused on specific diseases and also provides genetic information for parents and patients affected by inherited disorders.

Only about 200 rare diseases currently have treatments—and for the others, there’s a dearth of research into cures, adds Dunkle. “For many of these disorders, including ones that are disabling or even life-threatening, nobody is looking into treatments, leaving patients and their families with no hope for improvement.” In some cases, medications approved for other conditions are used “off-label” for rare diseases, says Dunkle. “Because a lot of treatments are experimental, insurance companies often won’t pay for it.”

Another issue for babies with inborn errors of metabolism—diseases that affect the body’s ability to break down nutrients in food—is that plans may not pay for the medical foods and infant formula these kids need to prevent lifelong mental or physical disabilities. “Parents will be told that special nutritional formulas are a food, not a drug, so aren’t covered,” reports Dunkle. Widespread use of newborn screening tests are helping identify babies with these disorders before serious complications set, making treatment with the right diet a crucial component of prevention.

By connecting millions of patients and healthcare groups around the world, Rare Disease Day hopes to both boost funding for research into cures and to shatter the isolation that many people with rare diseases often feel. Through online groups, Kelley and her parents now have friends all over the world who are also affected by Parry-Romberg syndrome, says her dad. “It’s a relief to talk to other people with the same disease, to find out what may occur and how they’re handling it. This disease is rare enough that without the Internet, our daughter might have gone through her whole life without ever meeting anyone else who has it.”

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Recognizing and Treating Chicken pox

By April Reinhardt - Health.Tips.Net

Categorized as one of the five childhood exanthems—or rashes—chickenpox was once a significant cause of childhood death. The five classical rashes are German measles, roseola, chickenpox, measles, and fifth disease. Mumps is not considered a childhood exanthem since it does not cause a rash. Chickenpox causes a rash and is a skin disease-causing illness.

If you're a baby boomer, you may recall being vaccinated in school with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine in the early 70s. I still bear the lumpy scar on my upper left arm at the multi-needle injection site. Today, children are vaccinated against MMR as well as chickenpox as part of their regular childhood vaccination schedule, and most grade schools and colleges require proof of immunization before they are accepted to attend the school.

Because chickenpox produces a skin rash, it is often confused with other exanthems. Characteristics of chickenpox are:

•A rash that starts as red, raised lesions or welts
•The lesions form blisters, fill with pus, burst, and then scab over
•Severe itching
•Slight fever
•Lethargy and tiredness
•The rash manifests itself mostly on the scalp, face, and trunk, and sometimes on the arms and legs
Chickenpox is highly contagious, spread from person to person through the air from an infected person's sneezing or coughing, and via direct contact. If you touch the fluid from a chickenpox blister, you can spread the disease. A person who has chickenpox is contagious for two days before a rash appears, and until all of the blisters have scabbed over—usually five to ten days.

Since chickenpox is viral in nature, antibiotics are not used to treat the disease. There are ways to treat the symptoms of chickenpox and to ease the itch and pain of the skin lesions:

•Use calamine lotion or other over-the-counter anti-itch creams to relieve itching.

•Bath in oatmeal. There are several oatmeal bath products on the market, specifically geared for relieving itching and swelling.

•Use cool compresses on the relieve itching.

•Do not scratch the rash. Scratching will open the blisters, subjecting them to possible infection.

•Use acetaminophen to reduce fever and pain.

•If you have chickenpox inside your mouth, avoid acidic foods and juices.
Since chickenpox is highly contagious, wash your hands often if you have the disease, or are treating someone at home who has chickenpox. The fluid within the chickenpox blisters carries the virus and can be spread until the blisters scab over. Keep soiled towels, bedding, clothes, and other contaminated items separate from the rest of the household laundry, and use very hot water to wash and high heat to dry those items. Keep the infected person away from pregnant women, newborns, and elderly people, as their auto-immune systems may be compromised.

http://health.tips.net/Pages/T003640_Recognizing_and_Treating_Chickenpox.html

Living with Celiac Disease

By Health.Tips.Net

Licorice. Soy Sauce. Pasta. Bleu cheese. BBQ sauce. What could these foods possibly have in common? The answer is that they are all off limits to anyone with Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is a digestive disorder that causes a severe immune reaction in the small intestine when foods containing protein gluten are consumed. For someone living with Celiac Disease, the only way to effectively manage this disease is through a very restrictive diet that does not incorporate any wheat gluten.

Over the years, Celiac Disease has gained more attention in the medical community and in the general population. It is now thought that 1 in every 100 Americans suffer from Celiac Disease, many completely unaware that they have the disorder until symptoms begin to manifest.

If diagnosed with Celiac Disease, the first thing to do is to find out which foods are off-limits to a gluten-free diet. Because gluten protein is such a common ingredient, this list will grow longer and longer as food labels are analyzed and further research is conducted. It's hard not to be daunted by all the foods that are suddenly out of the question, and though it may seem impossible to have a normal diet again, there is some good news.

As Celiac has gained more prominence, the availability and variety of gluten-free products has sky-rocketed. These days almost every major supermarket carries gluten-free products. In fact, they might even have a section specifically set aside for gluten-free foods and ingredients. Many of these foods will go unnoticed by people who don't have to deal with Celiac Disease, but a supermarket employee can be helpful in finding the gluten-free section. There you may find mixes for pancakes, pizza crust, and bread dough, soups, sauces and condiments, candy, and a host of other replacement food items that you can easily enjoy while on a Celiac friendly diet.

Outside of the gluten-free area, it is best to avoid any type of processed or pre-packaged food item. Even if a type of protein gluten such as wheat or rye isn't listed on the label, the item could have been manufactured in a factory that also makes food with gluten in them.

Plus, a nutrition label may not always list gluten, wheat, or rye as one of the ingredients because there are hundreds of different names for gluten-based ingredients. If you have Celiac and you still want to try your luck at processed or pre-packaged foods outside of the gluten-free section, compile a thorough list of not only the different types of gluten but also the different names a gluten-based ingredient may go by. These steps may seem extreme, but even the smallest amount of gluten can cause a painful flare-up of Celiac symptoms.

Life with a restricted diet is by far the more favorable option over a life riddled with the painful side effects caused by Celiac Disease. Knowledge of foods that are off-limits, and a constant awareness when shopping at the grocery store are crucial to successfully managing Celiac Disease. If you are diagnosed with this disorder, don't look at it as the end of the word, but the beginning of a new one without the painful complications of this disease.

http://health.tips.net/Pages/T007510_Living_with_Celiac_Disease.html

Dengue - fatal disease, causes and cures

By Health Tips & Technics

How to fight Dengue? Causes and Prevention of Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a flu kind of illness spread by mosquito bites. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family virus. This is also widely known as 'Break bone fever' due to the severe joint pain caused during the attack. Dengue can be diagnosed by blood test. The infected person as such cannot spread the infection but can be a source to spread it.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is often complicated and severe. This rather can be termed as a complication dengue fever. Those bitten by the mosquito can get dengue fever and those already infected once if infected again are prone to higher risk of getting dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue is an infectious disease causing frequent epidemics. There are various factors that contribute like lack of effective mosquito control, lack of public health systems to control the epidemic, the increase usage of plastic items which are the breeding sites of the mosquitoes.

Dengue is spread by the bite of an 'Ades' Mosquito. This mosquito bites the infected person and then bites someone else who is not affected thus transmitting the infection. These mosquitoes are active during the day time and spread the infection during day time. These mosquitoes live among human beings and breed in discarded tyres, flower pots, water stores etc.

Kaiser Quotes health insurance for individual quotes

Dengue fever starts suddenly accompanied by headache, severe joint pain ,rashes, nausea and lack of appetite. The illness can last up to 10 days and the complete recovery could take about four to six weeks. Widely the dengue infections result in relatively mild illness however in some cases it may lead to the dengue hemorrhagic fever. In the complicated stage the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding through mouth, nose and gums. This is most prevalent among children and young adults. This stage requires close medical attention.


Treatment for Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever

As far as the treatment is concerned there is no specific course, However the affected person is treated with Paracetamol to bring down the fever. The person is usually adviced to drink lots of fluids. The infected person should be isolated until recovery from the rest of the family to prevent further infections.

Although there is no vaccine to prevent this epidemic certain preventive measures as specified below can be taken to control the epidemic.

Preventive Measures to control Dengue Fever

Use mosquito repellents.

discard all unwanted items getting gathered around the living area to avoid the breeding of mosquitoes.

Keep the water stores clean and closed.

keep yourself well covered when outside.

Take prompt medical advice once fever starts.

http://www.healthtips.in/dengue-causes-cure.asp

Preventing communicable diseases

By Health Tips & Technics

An infectious diseases is scientifically proven disease caused by microbes that are pathogens (called as pathogenic microbial agents). These are of multiple types.

Pathogenic bacteria, causes diseases such as plague, anthrax and tuberculosis
Protozoa,causing diseases like malaria, toxoplasmosis and sleeping sickness
Fungi, causes infections like ringworm, candidiasis or toxoplasmosis
Pathogenic viruses cause diseases like influenza, yellow fever or AIDS, which are basically not living organisms and are not microorganisms
These agents can cause diseases in animals or plants or both. These are usually qualified as communicable diseases ( also called contageous diseases) as they have the capabilities of transmission from one person to many others.

This transmission can happen in multiple ways. Air, physical contact, food, blood transfusion, body fluids or through contaminated objects.

http://www.healthtips.in/prevention-communicablie-infectious-diseases.asp

Health Tip: Signs That You May Have Ulcerative Colitis

By Diana Kohnle MedicineNet.com (HealthDay News)

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the large intestine and rectum. There is no known cause, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.

The agency lists these common symptoms of ulcerative colitis:

•Pain in the abdomen, which often subsides after a bowel movement.
•Unusual gurgling sounds in the abdomen.
•Diarrhea and fever.
•Losing weight.
•Frequent feeling like you need to have a bowel movement.
•Vomiting and nausea.
•Pain in the joints.
•Gastrointestinal bleeding.

-- Diana Kohnle

Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Having Health Insurance Improves Control of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes

By Dr Cary Presant MD

It would seem obvious that having health insurance helps to provide better access to doctors and provide better treatments for serious illnesses. However, since many patients without health insurance can access urgent care clinics, emergency rooms, attend health clinics, and obtain primary care for cash, it is important to look at the impact of health insurance on control of important illness, and the relative impact of health insurance on different races and ethnicity.

In a recent analysis, Dr. J. M. McWilliams and his co-workers from Harvard Medical School (Annals of Internal Medicine, Volume 150, Page 505-515, 2009) looked at the control of blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes in patients with and without medical insurance from 1999 to 2006. In their study, the authors evaluated the results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which was conducted yearly between 1999 and 2006. This survey, called NHANES, was a nationally representative study given to individuals through interviews, physical examination, and clinical testing. Between 1999 and 2006, over 41,000 people were evaluated, of which over 12,000 were between the ages of 40 and 85 years. The authors then looked at how often blood pressure was normalized to under 140/90 and how often the hemoglobin level was normal (the hemoglobin A1C under 7.0), and how often cholesterol was controlled to a normal level of under 200.

The quality of care of all of these people improved significantly over the seven years for all of the measures that they were evaluating. These trends showed an improvement regardless of race, with the exception that Latino patients showed little improvement in diabetes care. For example the control of hypertension improved from 46% to 56%. The control of diabetes improved from 38% to 59%. The cholesterol level improved from 43% control to 63% control. Importantly, improvements were seen in each of the races, and improvements were seen in all socioeconomic categories. However, at the end of the treatment period, racial differences which had existed before were still present, although they were less pronounced. Black and Hispanic patients still had inferior control rates for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol.

When the control rates were evaluated for patients who were under the age which made them eligible for Medicare compared to older ages, it was apparent that individuals over age 66 had reduced the differences between race, indicating that the increased ability of Black and Hispanic individuals to have health insurance (Medicare) resulted in a reduction in their degree of poor control of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol.

This finding of improvements in control over the most serious health risks in Americans by availability of universal health coverage for individuals in the Medicare ages suggests that as a nation we can improve health by providing universal healthcare to United States residents. Since 50 million individuals in the United States lack health insurance, finding some method to make health insurance available to those individuals is important in increasing the prevention of serious health conditions, and minimizing utilization of healthcare resources because of uncontrolled health risks. In that regard, the recent expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program will contribute to improved long-term care. Since there is currently a debate on healthcare reform, examples of the benefits of health insurance such as the studies of these authors should result in improved decision making by our representatives who will try to improve the quality of care for all Americans.

But let’s look at the news from this study in other terms. The good news is that as a nation, the control of our most serious health problems (hypertension, diabetes, high blood pressure) has improved dramatically. So what is the bad news? The rate of control is still very poor for a country that spends as much on health care as we do. I am shocked that less than 2/3 of people have satisfactory control of these illnesses.

So here are the take home messages for you this week. Always have health insurance, because control of serious illnesses is less without it. And even with or without health insurance, be sure your illness is controlled well: know the target lab test values and see your health care provider often enough to adjust your treatments until you are a winner, and your numbers are good, less than the quality target level!

Signs and Symptoms of Various Liver Diseases

by Jo Jordan from Puristat.com

Liver disease is a collection of conditions, disorders, and infections that affect the cells, structures, and tissues of the liver, causing the organ to malfunction or stop functioning altogether.

Do You Have Liver Disease?
Symptoms for the Most Common Liver Diseases.

1. Acetaminophen Toxicity

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that when given the maximum approved daily dosage of acetaminophen – a substance present in a range of common medications including Tavist Allergy/Sinus/Headache Caplets, Vicks DayQuil Multi-symptom Cold/Flu Relief Liquid, and Tylenol – test subjects developed early signs of possible liver damage.1

Signs and Symptoms of Acetaminophen Toxicity


•Itchy skin
•Yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes
•Dark urine
•Upper right-sided abdominal tenderness
•Unexplained flu-like symptoms

2. Alcoholic Liver Disease

In 2000, cirrhosis was one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Alcoholic liver disease usually develops after years of excessive alcohol intake. The longer the period during which alcohol is excessively consumed and the greater the amount ingested, the higher the likelihood of developing alcoholic liver disease.

Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholic Liver Disease

Symptoms are usually worse after an episode of heavy drinking, and tend to vary with the severity and progression of the disease. Sometimes symptoms do not present themselves until the disease is relatively advanced.


•Abdominal pain and tenderness
•Ascites (excess fluid between the membranes lining the abdomen and abdominal organs)
•Confusion
•Dry mouth / excessive thirst
•Fatigue
•Fever
•Jaundice
•Loss of appetite
•Nausea
•Weight gain due to ascites

Additional symptoms associated with the disease:
•Abnormally dark or light skin
•Agitation
•Altered level of consciousness
•Bloody or dark, black, or tar-like bowel movements
•Breast development in males
•Difficulty concentrating
•Fluctuating moods
•Hallucinations
•Impaired judgment
•Impaired short- or long-term memory
•Light-headedness or fainting
•Paleness
•Rapid heart rate when rising to a standing position
•Redness on feet or hands
•Slow, sluggish, lethargic movement
•Vomiting blood or a sludge-like material

3. Primary Liver Cancer

Primary liver cancer generally remains undetected until it has reached the advanced stages because most people do not exhibit symptoms early on. By protecting yourself from cirrhosis and hepatitis – the two leading causes of the disease – you can greatly reduce your risk of developing liver cancer.

Signs and Symptoms of Primary Liver Cancer

•A yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
•Abdominal pain, especially in the upper right part of the abdomen
•Abdominal swelling
•An enlarged liver
•General weakness and fatigue
•Loss of appetite
•Nausea and vomiting
•Weight loss

4. Liver Cirrhosis

Liver Cirrhosis is generally considered to be the 4th stage of Alcoholic Liver Disease, a progressive condition.

The most common cause of liver cirrhosis, chronic alcoholism accounts for approximately forty percent of the 26,000 people who die from the disease.2 Cirrhosis is characterized by the replacement of healthy tissue with fibrous tissue, regenerative nodules, and liver scarring. The resulting hardening of the liver interferes with blood circulation, eventually leading to a complete loss of liver function.

Signs and Symptoms (and Complications) of Liver Cirrhosis

During the early stages, many people with cirrhosis experience no symptoms. However, as scar tissue replaces healthy cells, and liver function begins to fail, a person may experience a variety of symptoms and complications (*):


•Abdominal pain
•Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites)
•Bleeding from engorged veins in your esophagus or intestines
•Dark, cola-colored urine
•Easy bruising
•Exhaustion
•Fatigue
•Gallstones *
•Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes *
•Itchy hands and feet
•Lack of appetite
•Liver cancer *
•Liver failure *
•Loss of interest in sex
•Nausea
•Other system malfunctioning such as impotence, kidney dysfunction and failure, and osteoporosis *
•Portal hypertension (an increase in blood pressure in veins that carry blood from the abdominal organs to the liver) *
•Sensitivity to medications *
•Small, spider-like blood vessels under the skin
•Swelling of legs and feet from retained fluid (edema)
•Hepatic encephalopathy (toxins in the blood or brain – signs include forgetfulness, confusion, trouble concentrating; change in sleeping habits; behavioral, personality, and mood changes; and in advanced cases, delirium and coma) *
•Varix (an abnormally dilated or swollen vein, artery, or lymph vessel) *
•Weakness
•Weight loss
•Yellowing of skin and eyes (jaundice)

5. Liver Cysts

Also known as a hepatic cyst, a simple liver cyst is a thin-walled bubble, a fluid-filled cavity in the liver. A common condition, liver cysts are normally benign and pose no problems or health risks.

In some cases, however, liver cysts may grow large enough to cause pain or discomfort in the upper right part of the abdomen, liver enlargement, bile duct infection, or obstruction of the bile ducts, causing the cyst itself to become infected. In these cases, it is necessary to drain and/or remove the cyst.

Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cysts


•Liver cysts do no normally produce any signs or symptoms. They are sometimes detected by chance during other types of testing.

6. Fatty Liver Disease (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease – NAFLD)

Fatty Liver Disease (or steatosis) is generally considered to be the 1st stage of Alcoholic Liver Disease, a progressive condition.

The exact cause of NAFLD is unclear. Many researchers, however, believe that metabolic syndrome — a cluster of disorders that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke3 — plays a crucial role in the development of NAFLD.

NAFLD Levels of Severity


•Simple fatty liver (steatosis) – There are no symptoms.
•NASH (Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) – Inflammation and signs of necrosis begin to appear. Eventually, scar tissue forms as more liver cell injury occurs.
•Cirrhosis – Liver scarring results in a hard liver that is unable to function properly. Cirrhosis can be fatal.

Signs and Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

You may have NAFLD without any signs or symptoms. If there are symptoms, they are normally vague and non-specific. In the early stages, you may experience fatigue, malaise, or a dull ache in your upper right abdomen.

At a more advanced stage of NAFLD, you may experience:

•Bleeding from engorged veins in your esophagus or intestines
•Fatigue
•Fluid in your abdominal cavity
•Itching of your hands and feet, and eventually your entire body
•Lack of appetite
•Liver failure
•Loss of interest in sex
•Mental confusion, such as forgetfulness or trouble concentrating
•Nausea
•Small, red spider veins under your skin, or easy bruising
•Swelling of your legs and feet from retained fluid
•Weakness
•Weight loss
•Yellowing of your skin and eyes and dark, cola-colored urine

7. Liver Fibrosis

Liver Fibrosis is generally considered to be the 3rd stage of Alcoholic Liver Disease, a progressive condition.

Liver fibrosis is characterized by the formation of fibroids or fibrous tissue, regenerative nodules, and liver scarring, all of which impede blood circulation, and lead to progressive loss of liver function.

Commonly caused by alcoholism and hepatitis C, cirrhosis is a degenerative disease of the liver.

Signs and Symptoms of Liver Fibrosis


•Abdominal pain
•Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites)
•Bleeding from engorged veins in the esophagus or intestines
•Dark, cola-colored urine
•Easy bruising
•Exhaustion
•Fatigue
•Itchy hands and feet
•Lack of appetite
•Loss of interest in sex
•Nausea
•Small, spider-like blood vessels under the skin
•Swelling of legs and feet from retained fluid (edema)
•Tenderness and enlargement of the liver
•Weakness
•Weight loss
•Yellowing of skin and eyes (jaundice)

8. Hepatitis

A gastroenterological disease, hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is not one, but many diseases – Hepatitis A through E – in which the liver becomes inflamed, and its cells are damaged as a result of inflammatory chemicals being produced and released in the liver.

Signs and Symptoms of Hepatitis

The symptoms of various hepatitis forms are similar, the most noticeable being jaundice. As the viral infection spreads throughout the liver, the organ becomes enlarged, often causing abdominal pain.

•Abdominal pain
•Dark urine
•Diarrhea
•Enlarged liver
•Fatigue
•Fever
•General achiness
•Headache
•Jaundice
•Joint aches
•Loss of appetite
•Malaise
•Mild fever
•Vomiting two to three times per day, during the first five days

Some forms of hepatitis show very few symptoms, presenting only when longstanding inflammation has already led cirrhosis.

Note that Alcoholic Hepatitis (steatonecrosis or acute hepatitis) is generally considered to be the 2nd stage of Alcoholic Liver Disease, a progressive condition.

9. Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)

Cholangitis is inflammation of the bile ducts of the liver. Sclerosing is inflammation that leads to the extensive formation of fibrous and scar tissue. In primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), the bile ducts inside and outside the liver have become inflamed and scarred.

Signs and Symptoms of PSC

Because PSC progresses slowly, the disease can be present for many years before symptoms appear. The predominant symptoms are,

•Bile duct infection (can cause chills and fever)
•Fatigue
•Intense itching
•Malabsorption (especially of fat) leading to decreased levels of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K.
•Severe jaundice (causing yellowing of the eyes and/or skin)
•Signs of cirrhosis
•Steatorrhea (a build-up of fat in stool, and loose, greasy, foul bowel movements)

10. Jaundice

Jaundice is not a disease, but rather a symptom that can occur as a result of a variety of diseases. It appears as a yellowish discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (sclerae) caused by the abnormal buildup of bilirubin in the blood.

An orange-yellow pigment, bilirubin is part of bile; it forms in the liver as a byproduct of old blood cells. When there are too many red blood cells dying for the liver to cope with, yellow pigment builds up in the body resulting in jaundice.

The presence of jaundice is an indicator that a person is suffering from one of a variety of diseases including,

•Acetaminophen toxicity
•Alcoholic liver disease (alcoholic cirrhosis)
•Autoimmune hepatitis
•Biliary stricture (an abnormal narrowing of the biliary duct)
•Bilirubin processing disorders present at birth (Crigler-Najjar, Dubin-Johnson, Gilbert's, or Rotor's syndromes)
•Blocked bile ducts (caused by gallstones, infection, or tumors)
•Chronic active hepatitis
•Drug-induced cholestasis (bile pools in the gallbladder as a result of certain drugs)
•Drug-induced hepatitis
•Fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
•Hemolytic anemia
•Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (bile pools in the gallbladder because of the pressure in the abdomen during pregnancy)
•Ischemic hepatocellular jaundice (jaundice caused by inadequate oxygen or blood flow to the liver)
•Pancreatic cancer
•Primary biliary cirrhosis or sclerosing cholangitis
•Primary liver cancer
•Malaria
•Viral hepatitis (A, B, C, D, and E)

Liver Disease – What’s Next When You’ve Got Symptoms?
Once you’ve had an opportunity to consider the symptoms you’ve been experiencing, the next step is to educate yourself about the possibilities in terms of determining potential diseases. Remember, nobody knows your body better than you do.

An exploration of the various diseases will help you to decide whether or not you wish to pursue further testing. And education is doubly crucial because the more you know, the more face time your health care provider will be able to extend to you.

Testing will help to determine what the underlying issue is.



Types of Screening and Diagnosis

•Blood tests to measure bilirubin and electrolyte levels


•Computerized tomography (CT or CAT) scans take cross-sectional X-ray images of your internal organs


•Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) combines the use of X-rays and an endoscope (a long, flexible, lighted tube) to diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas


•Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans use magnetization and radio waves to produce images of the internal organs


•Stool tests to measure the amount of fat in feces


•Ultrasound (ultrasonography) is a non-invasive test using high-frequency sound wave technology to create an image of your liver



Other Types of Testing:
Elevated Liver Enzymes (Liver Blood Tests)

An elevated liver enzyme reading may be an indication of a liver disorder, damage to liver cells, or an obstruction to the biliary tract (also known as the gallbladder and bile ducts). Having elevated liver enzymes, however, is not an indication of a specific liver disease. It’s not uncommon to have elevated liver enzymes, but to determine the underlying cause, testing is necessary.

Liver Function Tests

Early detection of liver disease is vital to recovery, but often in the initial stages diseases of the liver result in very mild symptoms and, in some cases, none at all. Liver function tests can reveal an increased presence of certain enzymes, released by the liver when it is damaged. For this reason, in certain instances these tests are performed to detect, evaluate, and monitor liver disease or damage.

Liver Biopsy

A liver biopsy is performed to diagnose and monitor diseases that affect the liver and bile ducts. In most cases, a liver biopsy can provide a very specific diagnosis.

Normally performed under local anesthesia, this procedure involves the removal of a small sample of tissue from the liver. Several methods are used to obtain liver samples including laparoscopic liver biopsy, percutaneous image-guided liver biopsy, and open surgical liver biopsy. The sample is then examined under a microscope.

Liver Transplantation

A liver transplant, also known as hepatic transplant, provides the only chance of survival for someone whose liver has been destroyed by injury or illness. Transplantation surgery provides the organ recipient with a healthy liver so that the body can return to relatively normal functioning.

While transplant rejection and the life-long need for immunosuppressive drugs are serious considerations, liver transplantation prognosis is very good: Nationally, the overall patient survival rate one year post-surgery is over eighty-six percent, and almost seventy-eight percent after three years.4

What is Influenza (flu)?

By Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS

Influenza (flu) is a viral infection. People often use the term "flu" to describe any kind of mild illness, such as a cold or a stomach virus, that has symptoms like the flu. But the real flu is different. Flu symptoms are usually worse than a cold and last longer. The flu usually does not cause vomiting or diarrhea.
Most flu outbreaks happen in late fall and winter.

What causes the flu?
The flu is caused by influenza viruses A and B. There are different strains, or types, of the flu virus every year.
What are the symptoms?
The flu causes a fever, body aches, a headache, a dry cough, and a sore or dry throat. You will probably feel tired and less hungry than usual. The symptoms usually are the worst for the first 3 or 4 days. But it can take 1 to 2 weeks to get completely better.
It usually takes 1 to 4 days to get symptoms of the flu after you have been around someone who has the virus. Most people get better without problems. But sometimes the flu can lead to a bacterial infection, such as an ear infection, a sinus infection, or bronchitis. In rare cases, the flu may cause a more serious problem, such as pneumonia.
Certain people are at higher risk of problems from the flu. They include young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with long-term illnesses or with impaired immune systems that make it hard to fight infection.

How is the flu diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and examine you. This usually gives the doctor enough information to find out if you have the flu, especially if many cases of a similar illness have occurred in the area and the local health department reports a flu outbreak.
In some cases, the doctor may do a blood test or take a sample of fluid from your nose or throat to find out what type of flu virus you have.

How is it treated?
Most people can treat flu symptoms at home. Home treatment includes resting, drinking plenty of fluids, and taking medicine to lower your fever.
If you think you have the flu, your doctor may be able to give you medicine that can make the symptoms milder. But you need to start taking it within 2 days of your first symptoms.

Can the flu be prevented?
You can help prevent the flu by getting the flu vaccine every year. The best time to get the vaccine is in October or November, just before the start of flu season. You can get the vaccine as a shot or in a spray that you breathe in through your nose.
Almost anyone over 6 months old can have the flu vaccine. The vaccine is especially important for people who are at higher risk of problems from the flu, including:1
 Children 6 months through 4 years of age.
 Adults ages 50 and older.
 Adults and children who have long-term health problems or an impaired immune system.
 Women who will be pregnant during the flu season.
The flu vaccine is also recommended for health care workers and anyone who lives or works with a person who is at higher risk of problems from the flu. Your doctor can help you decide if the flu vaccine is a good choice for you.
The vaccine usually prevents most cases of the flu. But even if you do get the flu after you've had the vaccine, your symptoms will be milder and you'll have less chance of problems from the flu. You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccine.