Claudication is pain caused by too little blood flow, usually during exercise. Sometimes called intermittent claudication, this condition generally affects the blood vessels in the legs, but claudication can affect the arms, too. At first, you'll probably notice the pain only when you're exercising, but as claudication worsens, the pain may affect you even when you're at rest. Although it's sometimes considered a disease, claudication is technically a symptom of a disease. Most often, claudication is a symptom of peripheral artery disease, a potentially serious but treatable circulation problem in which the vessels that supply blood flow to your legs or arms are narrowed. Fortunately, with treatment, you may be able to maintain an active lifestyle without pain.

Too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to cardiovascular disease. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. Over 2,100 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, an average of one death every 40 seconds. The good news is, you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Working with your doctor is key. It takes a team to develop and maintain a successful health program. You and your healthcare professionals each play an important role in maintaining and improving your heart health. Work with your doctor to determine your risk and the best approach to manage it. In all cases, lifestyle changes are important to reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke. In some cases, cholesterol-lowering statin medicines may also provide benefit. Learn how to make diet and lifestyle changes easy and lasting. Also make sure you understand instructions for taking medication because it won't work if you don't take it as directed. Lifestyle Changes Your diet, weight, physical activity and exposure to tobacco smoke all affect your cholesterol level. Know Your Fats Knowing which fats raise LDL cholesterol and which ones don't is the first step in lowering your risk of heart disease.

Before deciding how to treat one episode of high blood glucose, it is important to figure out why the number is high. Some possible causes include eating a heavy meal, not getting enough physical activity, forgetting to take diabetes medication, and dealing with illness and stress. Insulin is the medication that will bring blood glucose down the fastest. Someone who uses mealtime insulin can take correction doses to lower blood glucose. This requires a thorough understanding of when to inject, how often to give correction doses, and how much insulin to use. You will need to work with your doctor or diabetes educator to learn how to do this. Apart from administering insulin, the fastest way to lower your blood glucose is to engage in physical activity. Exercise results in an increased sensitivity to insulin. It causes your muscle cells to take up more glucose, leaving less of it to circulate in your bloodstream during and after the physical activity (which means a lower blood glucose when you test). Frequent, regular exercise is very important to good blood glucose control no matter what type of diabetes you have. Research has shown that it is vital in warding off long-term complications like neuropathy, retinopathy, and heart and kidney diseases. Don't forget to check with a doctor, though, before making any major changes to your exercise routine. And, if you have type 1 diabetes and your glucose is 250 mg/dl or higher, check for urine ketones. You should not exercise if ketones are present.

Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline. Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. ... Exercise regularly. ... Eat a healthy diet. ... Reduce sodium in your diet. ... Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.

Absence of a woman's monthly menstrual period is called amenorrhea. Secondary amenorrhea is when a woman who has been having normal menstrual cycles stops getting her periods for 6 months or longer. Causes Secondary amenorrhea can occur due to natural changes in the body. For example, the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea is pregnancy. Breastfeeding and menopause are also common, but natural, causes. Women who take birth control pills or who receive hormone shots such as Depo-Provera may not have any monthly bleeding. When they stop taking these hormones, their periods may not return for more than 6 months. You are more likely to have absent periods if you: Are obese Exercise too much and for long periods of time Have very low body fat (less than 15 to 17%) Have severe anxiety or emotional distress Lose a lot of weight suddenly (for example, from strict or extreme diets or after gastric bypass surgery) Other causes include: Brain (pituitary) tumors Drugs for cancer treatment Drugs to treat schizophrenia or psychosis Overactive thyroid gland Polycystic ovarian syndrome Reduced function of the ovaries

Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture that is caused by damage that occurs to the immature, developing brain, most often before birth. Signs and symptoms appear during infancy or preschool years. In general, cerebral palsy causes impaired movement associated with abnormal reflexes, floppiness or rigidity of the limbs and trunk, abnormal posture, involuntary movements, unsteady walking, or some combination of these. People with cerebral palsy may have problems swallowing and commonly have eye muscle imbalance, in which the eyes don't focus on the same object. People with cerebral palsy also may suffer reduced range of motion at various joints of their bodies due to muscle stiffness. Cerebral palsy's effect on functional abilities varies greatly. Some affected people can walk while others can't. Some people show normal or near-normal intellectual capacity, but others may have intellectual disabilities. Epilepsy, blindness or deafness also may be present.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) is the pressure inside the skull and thus in the brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). ICP is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and, at rest, is normally 7–15 mmHg for a supine adult.

Pleurisy is a condition in which the pleura — a membrane consisting of a layer of tissue that lines the inner side of the chest cavity and a layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs — becomes inflamed. Also called pleuritis, pleurisy causes sharp chest pain (pleuritic pain) that worsens during breathing. A variety of underlying conditions can cause pleurisy. Treatment of pleurisy involves pain control and treating the underlying condition.

Encephalitis (en-sef-uh-LIE-tis) is inflammation of the brain. Viral infections are the most common cause of the condition. Encephalitis can cause flu-like symptoms, such as a fever or severe headache. It can also cause confused thinking, seizures, or problems with senses or movement. However, many cases of encephalitis result in only mild flu-like symptoms or even no symptoms. Severe cases of encephalitis, while relatively rare, can be life-threatening. Because the course of any single case of encephalitis can be unpredictable, it's important to get a timely diagnosis and treatment.

What are the symptoms of spinal meningitis in adults? Causes. The most common cause of viral meningitis is. ... Symptoms. Viral meningitis usually begins with symptoms of a viral infection, such as fever, a general feeling of illness (malaise), cough, muscle aches, vomiting, loss of appetite, and headache. ... Diagnosis. ... Treatment. ... Prognosis.

Bacterial meningitis is very serious and can be deadly. Death can occur in as little as a few hours. While most people with meningitis recover, permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities can result from the infection. There are several types of bacteria that can cause meningitis. Some of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis in the United States include Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Listeria monocytogenes.

Infections can cause inflammation of the brain ( encephalitis). Viruses are the most common causes of encephalitis. Infections can also cause inflammation of the layers of tissue (meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord—called meningitis. Often, bacterial meningitis spreads to the brain, causing encephalitis.

Pyogenic liver abscess Email this page to a friend Email this page to a friend Facebook Twitter Google+ Pyogenic liver abscess is a pus-filled area in the liver. Causes There are many potential causes of liver abscesses, including: Abdominal infection, such as appendicitis, diverticulitis, or a perforated bowel Infection in the blood Infection of the bile draining tubes Recent endoscopy of the bile draining tubes Trauma that damages the liver The most common bacteria that cause liver abscesses are: Escherichia coli Bacteroides Enterococcus Klebsiella pneumoniae Staphylococcus aureus Streptococcus In most cases, more than one type of bacteria is found.

Pyogenic granuloma (lobular capillary hemangioma[1] ) is a relatively common benign vascular lesion of the skin and mucosa whose exact cause is unknown. Also see the Medscape Reference article Oral Pyogenic Granuloma. Pyogenic granulomas are misnamed; they are neither infectious nor granulomatous. The lesion usually occurs in children and young adults as a solitary, glistening red papule or nodule that is prone to bleeding and ulceration. Pyogenic granulomas typically evolve rapidly over a period of a few weeks, most often on the head, neck, extremities, and upper trunk. Pyogenic granuloma often arises in pregnancy (or rarely with oral contraceptive usage), particularly on the gingiva or elsewhere in the oral mucosa, and then is termed the "pregnancy tumor." Other pyogenic granuloma variants that have been well documented include the disseminated, subcutaneous, intravenous, and medication-induced (for example, retinoid, antiretroviral, and oncologic agent) subtypes. Removal of pyogenic granuloma is indicated to alleviate any bleeding, discomfort, cosmetic distress, and diagnostic uncertainty. A number of malignant tumors may clinically mimic pyogenic granuloma, making histopathologic confirmation important if the presentation is atypical. Aside from cutaneous and oral lesions, pyogenic granuloma has been reported throughout the gastrointestinal tract and upper airway, at various ocular locations, the central nervous system, the bladder, and the internal vasculature. This article discusses only cutaneous and oral involvement.

Plastic Surgery Disasters

Face transplant candidates go through an extensive screening process that is likely to last several months. This screening includes a psychiatric and social support evaluation and a series of imaging tests to help determine a patient’s physical and mental readiness for the procedure. If, upon completion of the screening process, it is determined that a patient is a suitable candidate, we will place the patient on a transplant waiting list. We will then begin working with the New England Organ Bank (NEOB) team to find a donor who matches the recipient’s tissue requirements – e.g., similar age, right blood type. This search could take many months, and, if a suitable donor is not found within one year, we will speak with the patient to determine whether they’re willing to continue waiting. When a donor is found, we will immediately inform the patient about when to arrive at the hospital for the operation. As the timing for this type of procedure is extremely important, patients are expected to be readily available, i.e., reside within a 12-hour travel radius of BWH.

Liver transplantation is surgery to remove a diseased or injured liver and replace it with a healthy whole liver or a segment of a liver from another person, called a donor. People with either acute or chronic liver failure may need a liver transplant to survive.

The most frequent incision utilized to open the abdomen for liver surgery is called a chevron incision. In this incision a cut is made on the abdomen below the rib cage. The cut starts under the armpit below the ribs on the right side of the abdomen and continues all the way across the abdomen to the opposite arm pit thereby the whole width of the abdomen is cut to provide access to the liver. The average length of the incision is approximately 24 to 30 inches. This is one of the longest incisions is utilized in abdominal surgery. The incision is frequently associated with significant discomfort after the surgery and in some patients the discomfort can continue for many months, particularly when some of the nerves in the abdominal wall have been cut during the surgery. Laparoscopic surgery provides advantages over open surgery for the liver since the chevron incision is completely avoided and the surgery is performed through tiny incisions. As a consequence the duration of stay in hospital, the amount and duration of post operative discomfort, and the length of recovery is much shorter after the laparoscopic procedure compared to open surgery

Bacterial abscess of the liver is relatively rare; however, it has been described since the time of Hippocrates (400 BCE), with the first published review by Bright appearing in 1936. In 1938, Ochsner's classic review heralded surgical drainage as the definitive therapy; however, despite the more aggressive approach to treatment, the mortality remained at 60-80%.[1] The development of new radiologic techniques, the improvement in microbiologic identification, and the advancement of drainage techniques, as well as improved supportive care, have reduced mortality to 5-30%; yet, the prevalence of liver abscess has remained relatively unchanged. Untreated, this infection remains uniformly fatal. The three major forms of liver abscess, classified by etiology, are as follows: Pyogenic abscess, which is most often polymicrobial, accounts for 80% of hepatic abscess cases in the United States Amebic abscess due to Entamoeba histolytica accounts for 10% of cases [2] Fungal abscess, most often due to Candida species, accounts for fewer than 10% of cases

Dysentery is an infection of the intestines causing diarrhoea that contains blood or mucus. There are two main types of dysentery: Shigellosis, or bacillary dysentery, is the most common type experienced in the UK, caused by the shigella bacteria. Amoebic dysentery, also called amoebiasis, is caused by a single-celled parasite called Entamoeba histolytica. This form of dysentery is more common abroad in tropical countries. This article focuses on amoebic dysentery, This is usually caused by poor hygiene or contaminated food or water. Amoebic dysentery is a notifiable disease, so your GP must let the local health authority know if you have contracted it. Causes of amoebic dysentery Once inside the body, amoeba clump together to form a cyst that is protected by the stomach’s digestive acid. When the cyst passes through the intestines it breaks open infecting the body. The amoebae burrow into the intestinal wall and cause small ulcers or abscesses. Cysts exit the body via faeces but are still able to live outside, which is how many people become infected. Severe dysentery is more common in developing countries due to compromised hygiene. You can get sick in a number of ways including: Eating contaminated food Drinking contaminated water Contracting dysentery from another infected person. Symptoms of amoebic dysentery Symptoms can appear as many as 10 days after exposure and infection by the parasite. Signs of infection include: Watery diarrhoea with blood or pus in it Nausea or vomiting Stomach pain High temperature Chills Bleeding from back passage (rectum) Weight loss Loss of appetite. Complications of amoebic dysentery If the parasite gets into your bloodstream it can spread to other parts of your body, including the liver. When this happens you run the risk of developing a liver abscess. Symptoms include: High temperature Weakness Cough Jaundice Nausea Loss of appetite Weight loss