Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Gallstone n Kidney stone(renal stone)..What is the different?

Hola...2day i would like 2 share about 3 different types of disease...Gallstone,Kidney stone(renal stone) n hydronephrosis...Ni pun i collect semua atikel from different source.cari dlm bahasa melayu,tp sayang..elek.Why?bcaus last time my hubby didiagnosed with 3 penyakit tu la.mula2 tu katanya kidney stone...lepas 2 wujud la pulak hydronephrosis n last but not least..gallstone.dia py simptom...hampir sama je.cuma lokasinye yang x serupa...baca la ye..



Gallstones


Gallstone disease is a common medical problem, affecting well over 25 million people. Nearly 1 million new cases of gallstone disease are diagnosed every year . Approximately one-quarter of these require treatment, with a cost to society of several billion dollars annually. In recent years, important advances have been made in the understanding of gallstone disease and in the development of new treatments.





The Gallbladder


The gallbladder is a sac, about the size and shape of a pear, which lies on the undersurface of the liver in the upper right-hand portion of the abdominal cavity. It is connected to the liver and the intestine by a series of small tubes, or ducts. The primary job of the gallbladder is to store bile, which is produced and secreted continuously by the liver, until the bile is needed to aid in digestion. After a meal, the gallbladder contracts and bile flows into the intestine. When digestion of the meal is over, the gallbladder relaxes and once again begins to store bile.
Bile is a brown liquid which contains bile salts, cholesterol, bilirubin and lecithin. About 3 cups of bile are produced by the liver every day. Some substances in bile, including bile salts and lecithin, act like detergents to break up fat so that it can be easily digested. Others, like bilirubin, are waste products. Bilirubin is a dark brown substance which gives a brown color to bile and stool.



Gallstones & How They Form


Gallstones are stones that form in the gall (bile).
Bile is a watery liquid made by the cells of the liver that is important for digesting food in the intestine, particularly fat.
Liver cells secrete the bile they make into small canals within the liver.
The bile flows through the canals and into larger collecting ducts within the liver (the intrahepatic bile ducts).
The bile then flows within the intrahepatic bile ducts out of the liver and into the extrahepatic bile ducts-first into the hepatic bile ducts, then into the common hepatic duct, and finally into the common bile duct.
From the common bile duct, there are two different directions that bile can flow.
The first direction is on down the common bile duct and into the intestine where the bile mixes with food and promotes digestion of food.
The second direction is into the cystic duct, and from there into the gallbladder (often misspelled as gall bladder).
Once in the gallbladder, bile is concentrated by the removal (absorption) of water. During a meal, the muscle that makes up the wall of the gallbladder contracts and squeezes the concentrated bile in the gallbladder back through the cystic duct into the common duct and then into the intestine. (Concentrated bile is much more effective for digestion than the un-concentrated bile that goes from the liver straight into the intestine.) The timing of gallbladder contraction-during a meal-allows the concentrated bile from the gallbladder to mix with food.
Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; however, they also may form anywhere there is bile; in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts.
Gallstones also may move about within bile, for example, from the gallbladder into the cystic or common duct.


Gallstones are pieces of hard solid matter in the gallbladder. They form when the components of bile — including cholesterol and bilirubin — precipitate out of solution and form crystals, much as sugar may collect in the bottom of a syrup jar. Almost 80 percent of patients with gallstones have cholesterol stones.


Gallstones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball, and the gallbladder may contain anywhere from one stone to hundreds. Sometimes the gallbladder contains only crystals and stones too small to see with the naked eye. This condition is called biliary sludge.
It is not entirely known why some people develop gallstones and others don’t; however, certain factors are known to increase the likelihood of developing gallstones:
· An increased amount of cholesterol or bilirubin in bile
· Poor contraction of the gallbladder muscle with incomplete emptying of the gallbladder
· Obesity
· Sedentary lifestyle
· Female gender
· Age over forty years old
· Diabetes
· Liver disease
· Family history of gallstones


Pigment (bilirubin) gallstones are found most often in:
· Patients with severe liver disease.
· Patients with some blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and leukemia.

Cholesterol gallstones are found most often in:
· Women over 20 years of age, especially pregnant women, and men over 60 years of age.
· Overweight men and women.
· People on “crash diets” who lose a lot of weight quickly.
· Patients who use certain medications including birth control pills and cholesterol lowering agents.

Gallstone Symptoms
Many people with gallstones have no symptoms. Often the gallstones are found when a test is performed to evaluate some other problem. So-called “silent gallstones” are likely to remain silent, and no treatment is recommended.
The most typical symptom of gallstone disease is severe steady pain in the upper abdomen or right side. The pain may last for as little as 15 minutes or as long as several hours. The pain may also be felt between the shoulder blades or in the right shoulder. Sometimes patients also have vomiting or sweating. Attacks of gallstone pain may be separated by weeks, months or even years.

Gallstone Complications
It is thought that gallstone pain results from blockage of the gallbladder duct (cystic duct) by a stone. When the blockage is prolonged (greater than several hours), the gallbladder may become inflamed. This condition, called acute cholecystitis, may lead to fever, prolonged pain and eventually infection of the gallbladder. Hospitalization is usually necessary for observation, for treatment with antibiotics and pain medications, and frequently for surgery.
More serious complications may occur when a gallstone passes out of the gallbladder duct and into the main bile duct. If the stone lodges in the main bile duct, it can lead to a serious bile duct infection. If it passes down the bile duct, it can cause an inflammation of the pancreas, which has a common drainage channel with the bile duct. Either of these situations can be extremely dangerous. Stones in the bile duct usually cause pain, fever and jaundice (yellow discoloration of the eyes and skin) sometimes accompanied by itching.

Pain from gallstones
You get pain in your abdomen when a gallstone gets stuck in one of the tubes that carry bile. This pain is steady and bad. You usually feel it in the upper right side of your abdomen. It feels like cramping. Doctors call it biliary pain or biliary colic.
You often get this pain in the evening or at night. And it typically comes on fast, often after you eat. It may stop after only fifteen minutes. But it typically goes away after four hours to six hours. Sometimes it lasts up to 24 hours.
With time, the gallstone may pass. It just goes into your bowel and out in your stool. In that case, your pain goes away.
Your first attack of biliary pain may scare you a lot because it hurts so much. You may think you're having a heart attack. You may have to stop what you are doing. Usually, painkillers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen don't work for this kind of pain. Moving around or passing gas doesn't help either.
During an attack of biliary pain, you may also feel sick to your stomach and throw up. You may be sweaty and feel restless. And your abdomen may still feel sore even after the attack has passed.
If you get regular attacks of biliary pain from gallstones, you may also:
· Feel full earlier than usual when eating
· Get indigestion
· Belch a lot after eating
· Get gas or indigestion after eating fatty food.

irritable bowel syndrome


Irritable bowel syndrome is a common condition that causes symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. It can be cause long-term discomfort but it doesn't usually lead to serious health problems. Your doctor will check for these, too.

Tests Used to Diagnose Gallstones

The most important parts of any diagnostic process are the patient’s description of symptoms and the doctor’s physical examination. When gallstones are suspected, routine liver blood tests are helpful since bile flow may be blocked and bile may back up into the liver.
o Abdominal ultrasound: Most commonly used to determine the presence of gallstones. A special instrument is used to bounce sound waves against hard objects like stones. Ultrasound is approximately 95 percent effective in diagnosing gallstones; however, it is not very accurate in determining if a stone has passed out of the gallbladder into the bile duct.
o Cholescintigraphy, or HIDA scan: A radioactive tracer is injected into a vein, taken up by the liver and excreted, or eliminated, into the bile. This exam can help determine how well the gallbladder contracts in addition to giving information about whether stones are present within the cystic or common bile ducts.
o CT scans: May detect gallstones; however, are less accurate than abdominal ultrasound.
The most accurate tests to identify stones in the bile duct include:
o Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
o Endoscopic ultrasound or EUS (which utilizes a small ultrasound probe at the tip of an endoscope passed into the stomach).
o Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or ERCP (X-ray dye injected into the bile duct through an endoscope passed through the mouth).
These tests may carry small risks. It is important to talk to your gastroenterologist about which test is most appropriate for you.

Treatments for Gallstones
When gallstones are not causing symptoms, treatment is usually unnecessary. Surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the most widely used therapy when symptoms have arisen from gallstones. Patients generally do well after surgery and have no difficulty with digesting food, even though the gallbladder’s function is to aid digestion.
In laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the surgeon makes several incisions in the abdomen through which a tiny video camera and surgical instruments are passed. The video picture is viewed in the operating room on a TV screen, and the gallbladder can be removed by manipulating the surgical instruments. Because the abdominal muscles are not cut, there is less postoperative pain, quicker healing and better cosmetic results. The patient usually can go home from the hospital within a day and resume normal activities within a few days.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become common and is now used for more than 90 percent of all gallbladder removals. However, it cannot be used in all cases. For instance, it may be difficult or dangerous to remove a severely inflamed gallbladder laparoscopically. It may also be more difficult to remove a stone from the bile duct laparoscopically, if one is found at surgery to have passed out of the gallbladder and into the duct. However, stones in the bile duct can frequently be removed with ERCP.
Gallbladder surgery may be complicated by injury to the bile duct, leading either to leakage of bile or scarring and blockage of the duct. Mild cases can frequently be treated without surgery, but severe injury generally requires bile duct surgery. Bile duct injury is the most common complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Gallstones - Prevention
There is no sure way to prevent gallstones. But you can reduce your risk of forming gallstones that can cause symptoms.



Maintain a healthy weight
Stay close to a healthy weight. Research shows that intentional weight loss (dieting, not weight loss from illness) followed by unintentional weight gain may increase your risk for forming gallstones, especially if you are a woman.If you need to lose weight, do so slowly and sensibly. When dieting, aim for a weight loss of only 1lb to 1.5lb per week.


it is also important to avoid rapid weight loss and starvation diets. If you are on a rapid weight-loss diet, it is recommended that you be under a health professional's care. You may want to ask your health professional about taking medicines to help reduce your chances of developing gallstones while you are on such a diet.

Eat regular, balanced meals
Research shows that eating regular meals that contain some fat (which causes the gallbladder to empty) can help prevent gallstones. Eat plenty of whole grains and fiber, and have regular servings of food that contain calcium (found in green, leafy vegetables and milk products). Limit saturated (animal) fat and foods high in cholesterol.


Exercise regularly
Increased levels of physical exercise also may be an important way to reduce your risk of forming gallstones. One study has shown that women who exercised regularly decreased their risk of having to have the gallbladder removed. Exercising 2 to 3 hours per week reduced the women's risk by 20%.

In a large study of men, 2 to 3 hours of moderate running per week reduced by 20% the risk of forming gallstones that cause symptoms. Along with eating a low-fat diet, exercise is also an effective way to help you stay close to a healthy weight and lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Deciding whether to take estrogen
Some evidence shows that taking hormones such as estrogen after menopause or taking high-dose birth control pills may increase a woman's risk of forming gallstones that cause symptoms.If you are taking such hormones, talk with your health professional.


Source:


1.Consumer report-health.org
2.webmd.com
3.medicinenet.com















































































































































































Wednesday, June 10, 2009

honey & cinnamon

Facts on honey and cinnamon
It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most Diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side Effects for any kind of diseases.
Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a Magazine in Canada , on its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:
HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also, those who have already had an attack, if they do this Process daily they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get
clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.
ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, One cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, They found that within a week, out of the 200 people
So treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain..
BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.
TOOTHACHE:
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.
CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. By the way, if you're taking cholesterol medicine, STOP! They all contain STATIN which weaken your muscles...including YOUR HEART and none has been shown to stop heart attacks or strokes!!!!
COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.
UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.
GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.
IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant Use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to
fight bacterial and viral diseases.
INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.
INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient which kills the influenza germs and Saves the patient from flu.
LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year o starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.
PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.
SKIN INFECTION:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts, cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.
WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.
CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.
FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.
BAD BREATH:
People of South America , first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.
HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing