What is hepatitis C?

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What is hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by a virus that causes inflammation. It is contagious and people get it when it is passed on when an infected person’s blood enters their body. This usually happens when people share needles when using illegal drugs like heroin. Most people don’t have any signs or symptoms, and therefore are unaware they even have it until it causes liver damage. The infection can progress for many years and cause life-threatening complications like cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. There are about 2.7 million people in the United States that are infected with hepatitis C.

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Stomach Flu Signs

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Stomach Flu Signs

Also called Viral Gastroenteritis, many argue the stomach flu is one of the worst minor illnesses one can get. This gastric flu or stomach virus has many symptoms including, abdominal pain, nausea, cramping, diarrhea, chills, low-grade fever, headache, muscle aches and weakness.  How does this begin? Well, gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and intestines, caused by viruses.

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What is gout?

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What is gout?

Gout is a type of arthritis that is caused by too much uric acid in the body. Too much uric in the body occurs for two reasons: when the body produces an excess amount of uric acid or when the kidneys fail to get rid of the proper amount of it. When uric acid builds up in the body, it builds up within the fluid that surrounds the joints. This eventually causes severe joint pain and inflammation and most often affects the big toe, heels, ankles, knees, fingers, wrists, and elbows. This can later lead to kidney stones and lumps of uric acid crystals under the skin.  About five out of 1,000 people in the U.S. have gout.

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Autoimmune diseases are one of the leading causes of suffering in the world

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Autoimmune diseases are one of the leading causes of suffering in the world

There are now two times more Americans living with autoimmune diseases than heart disease, according to The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. Despite billions of dollars spent on care every year, people are struggling with autoimmune problems more than ever before.

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What is heat stroke?

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What is heat stroke?

Heat stroke is also known as hyperthermia. It is a condition that occurs when the body becomes overheated as a result of being exposed to high temperatures for a long period of time. More specifically, heat stroke occurs when your internal body temperature is greater than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Simply being in the sun/hot weather for a long time can cause heat stroke. Some people may think heat stroke can be taken lightly, but it is actually a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment. About 334 people in the United States die each year from heatstroke.

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What is Deep Vein Thrombosis?

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What is Deep Vein Thrombosis?

Blood clotting is necessary to help stop bleeding after an injury. However, sometimes blood clots form where they shouldn’t and can spell trouble for your health.  When blood clots form abnormally, they can be dangerous and block a vein or artery.  Blood clots in the veins and arteries increase the risk for heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms and miscarriages.  Obviously this all depends on where the clot forms. 

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Living with Coronary Artery Disease?

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Living with Coronary Artery Disease?

Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when the coronary arteries of the heart become damaged or diseased. The coronary arteries are the main blood vessels of the heart that provide it with oxygen, blood and essential nutrients. When cholesterol, calcium, or other substances from the blood build up over a period of time, plaque can develop on the walls of the coronary arteries. This causes the arteries to stiffen and become narrow, which limits the blood flow to the heart. 

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Learn About Cystitis

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Learn About Cystitis

Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder. The inflammation of the bladder is caused by a urinary tract infection or UTI, which is a bacterial infection. Cystitis more commonly affects women, however men can get it too. In either case, cystitis can affect a person’s quality of life and therefore requires treatment. Men who suffer from an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), kidney stones, or a urethral stricture have an increased risk for cystitis. 

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Brain Aneurysm: 3 million cases per year

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Brain Aneurysm: 3 million cases per year

Brain aneurysms, also known as an intracranial aneurysms, develop from the thinning of artery walls. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart and off to the rest of the body.  When these weaknesses appear in the blood vessels that supply blood the brain, they can balloon, fill with blood, and in rare cases rupture and cause a stroke.  Brain aneurysms are considered common in the United States, as this country sees 200,000 to 3 million cases per year.

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What is congestive heart failure?

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What is congestive heart failure?

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is also known as heart failure and is a chronic condition that occurs as a result of the heart muscle not pumping blood as effectively as it should. It affects the chambers of the heart which we as humans have four of: two atria and two ventricles. The ventricles send blood to the rest of your body while the atria receive blood from the rest of the body. With congestive heart failure, the ventricles are unable to pump blood in ample volume. As a result, blood and other fluids get backed up inside the lungs, abdomen, liver, and lower body which can be life-threatening. About five million people in the U.S. have congestive heart failure.

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How Cold Sores are Treated

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How Cold Sores are Treated

Also called, fever blisters or oral herpes, cold sores are quite common, affecting 600,000 new people  each year in the U.S. Cold sores cause red, painful blisters on the mouth, lips and each sore is filled with fluid. They also are known to cause fever and swollen glands with the first outbreak, especially. 

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Cystic Fibrosis: What You Need to Know

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Cystic Fibrosis: What You Need to Know

Cystic Fibrosis affects about 30,000 people in the U.S. It's an inherited disease that causes the body to produce abnormally thick and sticky mucus. What this mucus does is block the passages in the lungs and pancreas. Over time, it can cause life-threatening damage and severe digestion problems. Symptoms usually start during childhood with repeated lung or sinus infections. Other symptoms include: chronic cough, fatigue, wheezing, constipation, salty-tasting skin, poor growth and greasy stools. 

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Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease

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Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease

Kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease, is a life-long condition in which the kidney gradually loses function. About 26 million American adults have chronic kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Millions of others are at an increased risk for developing the disease and are not aware of it.

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Signs of an Eating Disorder

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Signs of an Eating Disorder

While it looks eating disorders are about food and weight, they often develop as a way to cope with some type of emotional pain a person is suffering from inside. They develop when a person feels overwhelmed by something they cannot control in their life, and as a coping method, they take control of what they eat, how much or little they eat, and ultimately how much they weigh. People suffering from an eating disorder may believe this makes them feel better, but in reality, they are doing serious damage to their emotional and physical health.

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Itchy skin? Learn About Eczema

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Itchy skin? Learn About Eczema

Eczema is also known as atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory and itchy skin condition often occurring mostly in children. Symptoms include dry skin, redness, itching, swelling and oozing. It can also be used to widely describe any rash-like skin condition and is often used interchangeably with dermatitis, a general term meaning inflammation of the skin. This can have many causes and comes in various forms. 

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Learn about Berger’s Kidney Disease

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Learn about Berger’s Kidney Disease

erger’s disease is also known as IgA nephropathy, or called idiopathic hematuria within the medical community.  It’s unlikely you’ve ever even heard of it, but one of the most common signs of it is blood in the urine.  This kidney disease occurs when the antibody immunoglobulin A abnormally deposits into the kidney, and subsequently damages the tiny filtering units within the kidney. The protein immunoglobulin A is abbreviated as IgA, as you will see here. By damaging these filtering units within the kidney, IgA hinders the kidney from doing one of its most important jobs – filtering waste, toxins, and excess water/electrolytes from the blood. 

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Feeling anxious? You May Have Acute Stress Reaction

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Feeling anxious? You May Have Acute Stress Reaction

Acute Stress Reaction is a very real condition that brings on shortness of breath, anxiety, nervousness, sense of impending doom, feeling unable to cope, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, anger and insomnia. Also called, acute stress disorder, this physical and psychological reaction to a stressful situation actually affects millions of Americans. These reactions can be normal after an unusually severe and stressful event such as the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, or physical violence.

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The Science Behind Panic Attacks

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The Science Behind Panic Attacks

Almost 1% of people in the U.S. have agoraphobia, a condition or panic disorder that causes panic attacks due to fear of open places or any situation where escape would be difficult. Symptoms of agoraphobia include fear of being in a place or situation where a panic attack might occur, where you feel you can't escape, or can't get help.

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Alopecia: A Balding Disorder

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Alopecia: A Balding Disorder

One of the harder moments in adulthood comes at the realization that you’re getting older.  It doesn’t fully sink in, however, until that exact moment when you look in the bathroom mirror and start to see your hair thinning.  You are losing a little bit of yourself with every strand. Every memory of combing your hair before picture day in school, shaving your head for summer swim meets, growing it long in winter to keep your head warm, are all fading.  One truth is all that matters now, and that is that you will never have what you once did.  You will forever be looking in the mirror to see how much is gone.

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Signs and Symptoms of Anemia

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Signs and Symptoms of Anemia

Our blood has three main components: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to our body’s tissues. White blood cells help our immune system by fighting off bacteria and preventing infections and disease. And platelets are essential to help blood clot. Our blood is also made up of plasma, the liquid portion of our blood, in which red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended.

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