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95 Results for search "Diseases &, Conditions: Misc.".

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Back surgery is a booming business. About 500,000 Americans undergo surgery each year for low back problems alone. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, we spend more than $11 billion each year on operations to relieve back pain. Unfortunately, it doesn't always buy relief. For patients with serious structural problems or disease, back operations are often highly successful...

How can my diet help me stave off osteoporosis? The foods you eat can work to keep your bones strong as you age, and some can even help you replace lost bone mass. If you're a woman, you're at particularly high risk for osteoporosis, the brittle-bones disease. After menopause, declining estrogen stores cause women to start losing bone at a rate of about 3 percent a year. Eighty percent of those...

Disks are your spine's shock absorbers, flexible cushions that fit in between vertebrae. When you move your back, the disks absorb the pressure on your spine. They're incredibly strong, but they're subject to wear and tear. As you and your back age, the outer covering of these cushions can wear thin, especially if you strain your back. Eventually, the jelly-like center of one or more disks may sta...

The neck and the lower back lie at opposite ends of the spinal column, but they have much in common. They both support heavy loads, and they both tend to hurt. According to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, roughly 13 percent of American adults suffer from neck pain at any given time. Half of all adults can at least remember a time when their neck felt sore and stiff. Like back pain, n...

What is osteoporosis? If you thought that shrinking and stooped shoulders were an inevitable part of your golden years, there's good news. As it turns out, those phenomena are due to a bone disease called osteoporosis -- and it's largely preventable. Osteoporosis is a thinning and weakening of the bones that strikes many women after menopause, as well as some older men. The disease makes your bo...

The lower back is a hub for many nerves, including sciatic nerves, the largest nerves in the body. Two sciatic nerves -- each as big around as a finger -- run from the bottom of the spine, through the buttocks, and down each leg. If anything presses against one of the nerves, you will feel the pain of sciatica. Sciatica comes in many different guises. Some people experience a mild pins-and-needle...

What are the sinuses? The sinuses are four sets of air-filled cavities located behind and around the nose and eyes. Many people (adults as well as children) only become aware of these spaces when they begin hurting, so they may not appreciate their value. Sinuses make a person's skull lighter (so that we can hold our head up) and filter out many irritating airborne particles in the air that's br...

Anyone who has spent time with children knows that some of them can bend themselves into positions that defy logic. A teenager may think nothing of dropping into full splits in front of the television. A child with extra flexibility may love impressing her friends by bending her thumb all the way back to her wrist. Dexterity is a good thing. But it can go too far, even in kids. Children and teena...

What is fifth disease? It's one of five common contagious childhood ailments that cause fever and a rash. After doctors figured out what to call measles, rubella, roseola, and scarlet fever, they apparently ran out of catchy names and called the fifth disease just that. Its technical name is erythema infectiosum, but the illness does have a more colorful moniker: "slapped-cheeks disease." That's...

More than 90,000 Americans contract potentially life-threatening infections every year from drug-resistant staph bacteria, according to the first federal study of invasive disease caused by such infections. The study estimates suggest that drug-resistant staph may kill more than 18,000 people a year in the United States, which would exceed the number of annual deaths caused by AIDS, according to t...

How do I know if I have a urinary tract infection? A urinary tract infection (UTI) isn't difficult to recognize: You'll feel a pressing need to empty your bladder every few minutes, though little or no urine may come out, and you'll feel a burning sensation when you do urinate. You may also have discomfort in your lower back or just above your pubic bone or pain during sex. Like any infection, it...

Diane Berman* started young. She remembers being at dinner when someone began talking about a man who had died from hardening of the arteries. "I realized I had all the symptoms: chest pain, trouble breathing," Berman recalls. "I remember being beside myself, going to my mother and saying, 'I think I have that!'" Berman was 4 years old at the time. This was her first brush with hypochondria, a psy...

When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury over southern Louisiana, it wiped out more than just buildings and homes. Survivors escaped harm only to find themselves reliving the nightmare again and again. More than a month after the hurricane passed, nearly half the survivors still showed signs of emotional distress, including intense fear and anxiety, according to a survey by the Centers for Diseas...

Under certain conditions, one or more vertebrae can start to crack under the weight of the spine. This is called a compression fracture. As painful as it is, a compression fracture doesn't have to be a debilitating injury. With proper treatment, most people can either recover completely or keep their symptoms under control. What causes compression fractures? If your bones are young and healthy,...

What is trichomoniasis? It's a sexually transmitted disease that causes vaginitis (vaginal inflammation) and infects a man's urethra. Each year, more than seven million Americans get it. The culprit is the tiny organism Trichomonas vaginalis, which produces symptoms such as vaginal itching and redness as well as a bad-smelling discharge in women. (The discharge is typically "frothy" and yellow, gr...

Doctors once believed that the body and mind were completely separate, a belief that has gone the way of the 8-track tape player. There's no longer any question that chronic negative moods and emotions can encourage disease or that positive thoughts can speed healing. See how much you know about the mind-body connection. 1. A 13-year study of 1,500 people found what remarkable connection between...

You owe your life to your immune system. Without all of those antibodies and white blood cells and other warriors working in your defense, your body would soon be overridden with infections and cancers. But there's another side to the immune system. Like an army that suddenly turns against itself, the cells of the immune system can start attacking the body, resulting in an autoimmune disease. Mill...

At first glance, asthma and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) seem like completely unrelated problems. After all, asthma is a chronic lung condition that causes the airways to narrow in response to triggers like allergies, while GERD is a condition in which stomach acid often splashes into the esophagus. One leaves you gasping for air; the other makes you regret eating that last slice of pizz...

Many people -- including more than a few patients -- have misconceptions about multiple sclerosis. Confusion about MS can cause unnecessary worry, and keep people from enjoying life to the fullest. When it comes to MS, can you separate fact from fiction? Take this short quiz to find out. 1. Multiple sclerosis usually shortens a person's life. True False 2. People with MS should avoid w...

Until recently, doctors had almost no idea what caused these often painful breaks in the stomach lining, and they were just as puzzled about treatments. (A medical text from 1957 recommends hourly feedings of milk and cream.) Ulcers are no longer such a mystery to doctors, but many myths and misunderstandings remain. Test your knowledge of stomach ulcers with this quiz. (And, by the way, skip the ...

What is cerebral palsy? The growth of a human brain is an incredible feat of nature. Even before a baby is born, many billions of neurons have to fit together as precisely as the pieces of a puzzle. With that kind of complexity, it's no wonder that there's sometimes a glitch in the assembly. If the part of the brain that controls muscles is damaged or undergoes deviations while the brain is growin...

What is COPD? COPD -- which stands for "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" -- is a catch-all term for two common and very serious conditions: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. As the full name suggests, COPD blocks the flow of air into and out of the lungs. If you have chronic bronchitis, your airways tend to become swollen and clogged with mucus. A diagnosis of emphysema means that the sacs t...

Ever since the mid 1960s, doctors have been harnessing the power of human growth hormones to improve the lives of children with growth-stunting diseases such as chronic renal failure and Turner syndrome. In recent years, the hormone has attracted a whole new group of customers, including athletes looking for a competitive edge and older people looking for a fountain of youth. How much do you know ...

In the last decade or so, Gaucher (pronounced go-SHAY) disease has made the leap from a medical mystery to a huge success story. People with this disease lack a crucial enzyme that breaks down a fat called glucocerebroside. The fat then builds up in the body, causing an array of complications ranging from an enlarged liver and spleen to skeletal deformities. For many patients, these problems are a...

Humans aren't the only creatures who love juicy hamburgers, fresh fruit, chicken, potato salad, and other foods of summer. In fact, we have plenty of competition from the likes of E. coli, campylobacter, and salmonella bacteria. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food-borne germs cause 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and more than 3,000 deaths in the ...

Exercise used to be off-limits to people with hemophilia. As late as the early 1960s, doctors worried that something as gentle as walking or a jog through the park could trigger internal bleeding. Today, people with hemophilia are hitting the gyms and playing just about everything except rough contact sports. They're having fun, staying fit, and enjoying all of the other standard benefits of exerc...

High blood pressure is always worrisome, but it's especially dangerous in the lungs. Primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) can hamper breathing, damage the heart, and even threaten a person's life. While modern treatments can often relieve symptoms, patients have to do their part to control the disease. Do you know how to stay on top of PPH? Take this short quiz to find out. 1. People with PPH ...

Not long ago, in the early 2000s, the disease known as "SARS" -- short for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- was causing panic in the countries affected by it. Thousands of people had been infected and hundreds killed by the new disease, a little-understood bug that traveled quickly around the globe. Even the economies of those areas hardest hit by the disease -- China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and To...

What is hepatitis A? The liver is a large, hard-working organ that protects the body from toxins. It can handle all sorts of insults, but it also has its weaknesses. It doesn't like too much alcohol, and it definitely doesn't like viruses that cause hepatitis or inflammation of the liver. There are five types of hepatitis viruses: hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and F. Of these, A, B, and C are by far ...

What is yellow fever? Yellow fever is a tropical disease caused by the yellow fever virus. It is spread by certain types of mosquitoes. There was a time when yellow fever was one of the most feared diseases in America. In the 1700s and 1800s, yellow fever killed more than 100,000 Americans from New Orleans to Boston. The last epidemic in this country ended in 1905, but yellow fever continues to ...

When summer is in full swing, you can bet that people will want to be outdoors. Unfortunately, it's also the time that mosquitoes come out. You should take care to protect yourself from West Nile virus, one of many germs that mosquitoes can carry. The insects pick up the virus by feeding on infected birds and transmit the disease when they bite other animals. The virus has been found in many diffe...

In the 1800s, a germ native to India's Ganges Delta started spreading to other lands. One outbreak followed another, killing millions of people across the world. The germ is now known as Vibrio cholerae, and the disease is called cholera, an intestinal illness that causes violent and sometimes life-threatening diarrhea. Today, many people in the United States know about cholera largely through rom...

What is rabies? Rabies is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind, and it used to be cause for panic and hysteria. A Spanish neurologist even speculated that rabies may have spurred legends of vampires. Until recently, being bitten by a rabid animal was a death sentence. Even now, we can only prevent the disease, not treat it. Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal. Thanks to ef...

What's new Every year the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Academy of Family Physicians revise their schedule of childhood immunizations. In 1995, they added a vaccine that protects against the varicella virus which causes chicken pox; in 2000, they added one that fights pneumococcal bacteria, which cause pneumonia; and in 200...

If you've ever looked over the list of recommended vaccines -- DTaP, Hib, MMR -- you might have felt like you were looking at the rough draft of an eye chart. Rest assured, there are some import medicines behind that jumble of letters. It's worth knowing what those letters mean and what each vaccine can do. The more you know about vaccines, the more likely you'll be to keep yourself and your child...

What are immunizations? Immunizations are a way of teaching the body how to fight a particular disease. Although the body's natural defense mechanisms are triggered whenever it encounters germs, vaccines target a specific enemy. Vaccines contain dead or weakened viruses or bacteria or traces of the poisons they produce. When you're vaccinated, your body makes cells especially equipped to destroy ...

We all get that drained feeling every once in awhile. Usually, we can pinpoint the cause -- perhaps a restless night's sleep, a hard day's work, or a long drive through uninteresting country. Most people can perk up with a little well-deserved rest. But if fatigue is following you throughout your day, you need to find out what's going on with your energy supply. Here's a look at ways to overcome ...

What type of running shoes should I wear? Whether you're jogging at the gym or sprinting after a tennis ball, running puts tremendous stress on your feet. Finding a pair of good-fitting shoes that provide adequate support is the best thing you can do to protect them. If you're a serious runner who puts in at least several miles each week, you should definitely do your shoe shopping at a specialty ...

In the early years of the epidemic in the United States, AIDS seemed exclusively like a gay men's disease. In the early 1980s, when the disease first appeared, intravenous drug users and men who had sex with men were the primary sufferers. During that time, as many as 3,000 people a week became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Most who were getting sick and dying were gay men; they w...

To date, thousands of children living in the United States today -- and millions of children around the world -- got HIV from their mothers before, during, or shortly after birth. But thanks to aggressive treatments for pregnant women, the number of new cases of childhood AIDS in this country has declined. Children who already have HIV need extensive medical care, including medications to attack t...

Some girls are born with a genetic condition known as Turner Syndrome, which causes a group of related symptoms including short stature, late sexual development, and infertility. First recognized in 1938 by a doctor named Henry Turner, the condition occurs when one of the two X chromosomes is either missing or abnormal, with some genetic material missing. Turner Syndrome is relatively common, oc...

What is Prader-Willi Syndrome? Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), which was named for the two doctors who first identified it, is a complex genetic disorder that causes short stature, weak muscle tone, incomplete sexual development, and obesity, as well as cognitive disabilities and behavior problems. About one in 15,000 babies inherits the genetic abnormality that causes Prader-Willi Syndrome. DNA t...

Is there any way to avoid catching a cold? Cold viruses can lurk just about anywhere during cold and flu season, but that doesn't mean that you have to sniffle through the winter. A cold virus can't make you sick unless it finds a way into the upper reaches of your nose. If you can simply keep your fingers away from your nose and eyes (where tear ducts drain into your nasal cavity), you're unlik...

You're working away on your computer, but lately you've been plagued by numbness and tingling in your fingers and wrist. You've felt more than an occasional sharp pain, and more puzzling, you've been waking up at night with a "pins and needles" sensation in one hand. There might be other explanations, but the symptoms suggest you may have carpal tunnel syndrome. What causes carpal tunnel syndrome?...

Do you have trouble getting enough sleep at night? Join the crowd -- the bleary-eyed, cranky, exhausted crowd. An estimated three out of four American adults have trouble sleeping peacefully. They either have trouble falling asleep or they wake up too early, or both. Fortunately, there are some simple solutions for better sleep. Try these tips and see if they help you get more satisfying slumber: ...

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