Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to a group of disorders that damage the lungs. The most common forms of COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The main symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance.
Psoriasis is not contagious. Psoriasis develops when the immune system prompts certain areas of your skin to produce new cells more rapidly than usual, which leads to thickening and scaling. It’s not clear what makes this happen. The condition tends to go through cycles. Flare-ups can last weeks or even months, followed by remission for several months or even a year or longer. While psoriasis strikes more men than women, genetics are a more significant factor in who gets it. Most people with psoriasis have inherited one or more genes that affect the immune system in a way to make them prone to it.
Anxiety can be a temporary excessive worry or unease. Or, anxiety can be a more persistent or recurrent psychiatric disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They share some symptoms, but each type has distinctive characteristics. There are also subtypes when the symptoms of anxiety only happen in certain situations. For example, people with agoraphobia have an intense fear about being in crowded or open places or feeling trapped. Just thinking about it, can cause a racing heart, palpitations, shortness of breath and sweating.
Strictly speaking attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is neither a mental illness nor disability. Attention problems include daydreaming, difficulty focusing and being easily distracted. Hyperactivity refers to fidgeting or restlessness. A person with the disorder may be disruptive or impulsive, may have trouble in relationships and may be accident-prone. Hyperactivity and impulsiveness often improve as a person matures, but attention problems tend to last into adulthood. Children with ADHD are more likely to have learning issues.
Among the most common causes of calf pain are:
• muscle strain or tear
• tendinitis
• trauma
• muscle cramps
• vascular disease (especially atherosclerosis)
• blood clot in a vein near the calf
The most common cause of upper abdominal distention is retained gas within the stomach or intestines. Eating excessive gas forming foods, lactose or other food intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, decreased stomach or bowel motility, or an intestinal obstruction could be the underlying problem. Fluid accumulation in the area between the abdominal organs, known as ascites, would usually cause distention throughout the belly, not just in the upper part of the abdomen.
Dysesthesia refers to an altered or unexpected feeling in one or more parts of the body. It may be present all the time or the dysesthesia may only happen when the affected area is touched. The sensation may be felt as a burning, numbness, tingling or itching. Dysesthesias happen most often when nerves are irritated, pinched or damaged.
In most cases, there is no single, curative treatment for neuropathy of the feet.
For the most common neuropathies affecting the feet, typical treatments include:
• treating any contributing condition – For example
o diabetic neuropathy – good control of blood sugar can reduce the chance it will worsen (though tight blood sugar control will not necessarily improve symptoms once neuropathy is present)
o inflammatory or autoimmune neuropathy – treatment targeting the immune system and anti-inflammatory medications can improve symptoms or even eliminate them in people with conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome or neuropathy due to vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation)
o vitamin deficiency – treatment with supplemental vitamin B12 deficiency can halt progression or even reverse symptoms of related neuropathy
o thyroid deficiency – treatment with supplemental thyroid hormone usually eliminates related neuropathy symptoms
• Treatments to reduce pain or other symptoms, such as
o gabapentin or pregabalin
o amitriptyline or other tricyclic antidepressants
o duloxetine
o many others (including carbamazepine, tramadol and baclofen)
• Treatments to reduce the impact or complications of neuropathy, including:
o Physical therapy
o Bracing, splints, assistive devices, shoe inserts
o Proper foot care
In most people with neuropathy involving the feet, a combination of 2 or more of these approaches is most helpful.
There are many causes of low back pain and in many cases, the cause is unknown even after full evaluation. When a cause can be identified, some of the most common are:
• trauma – injuries to bones can lead to fracture; muscle injury, strain and tears are also common and may lead to muscle spasm
• disc disease – one or more discs may bulge out of its normal location between spinal bones; this is also called a herniated disc or “slipped disc”
• osteoarthritis (also called degenerative joint disease)
• scoliosis
• spinal stenosis – this is a narrowing of the spinal canal, where the spinal cord is located
• nerve compression or irritation – this may complicate any of the conditions above)
Dangerous conditions, such as infection or tumor, are much rarer causes of back pain.
In many cases, low back pain is not caused by a single cause; instead, 2 or more of the conditions noted above contribute to symptoms.
The whooshing sound in one ear is known as pulsatile tinnitus. Some people describe it as a thumbing in the ear. Usually pulsatile tinnitus is not a cause for concern, especially if it lasts just a short time. However, you should contact your doctor. High blood pressure, ear problems, severe anemia and an overactive thyroid gland can cause pulsatile tinnitus. On rare occasions, pulsatile tinnitus can be a symptom of an abnormality of the carotid artery or other blood vessel close to the affected ear.