Cachexia is a wasting syndrome of the body from chronic illness such as cancer, AIDS, heart failure, kidney disease, and COPD. Symptoms include extreme weight loss, muscle weakness, poor appetite, and fatigue. While addressing the underlying cause is the best way to treat cachexia, appetite stimulants, nutritional supplements, specialized exercise programs, and counseling can help.
Palpitations refers to the sensation that your heart is beating fast or irregularly. The first thing to do is sit or lay down and take some slow deep breaths to help you relax. Most often the palpitations will resolve quickly. However, if the symptoms persist and you also have chest pain, shortness of breath, a cold sweat or feeling as though you might pass out, call for immediate medical advice.
Hematemesis is the medical term for vomiting blood. The blood almost always comes from the upper digestive tract. Bleeding from the esophagus could be caused by esophageal varices (dilated superficial blood vessels in the wall of the esophagus), esophagitis (an inflamed esophagus), an esophageal ulcer or a tear in the lower part of the esophagus from violent vomiting.
Bleeding that comes from a stomach source includes gastritis (stomach inflammation), an ulcer, stomach varices, or rarely cancer. An ulcer in the first part of the small intestine, called a duodenal ulcer, is another potential reason for hematemesis.
Eating a high fiber diet, staying physically active and maintaining good hydration are the best ways to manage diverticular disease. The recommended daily fiber intake is at least 20 grams per day, but a healthier goal is 35 grams of fiber daily, preferably from fruits, vegetables and grains. You might also consider adding unprocessed bran or a fiber product. It is important to increase fiber intake gradually to help limit bloating and excessive gas.
There are a many simple lifestyle changes you can make to control acid reflux:
• Elevate the head of your bed at least six inches. If possible, put wooden blocks under the legs at the head of the bed. Or, use a solid foam wedge under the head portion of the mattress.
• Avoid foods that cause the valve between the stomach and esophagus to relax during their digestion, such as coffee, chocolate, fatty foods, peppermint and spearmint.
• Limit acidic foods that make the irritation worse when they are regurgitated. These include citrus fruits and tomatoes.
• Avoid carbonated beverages. Burps of gas force the esophageal sphincter to open and can promote reflux.
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
• Do not lie down after eating.
• Do not eat during the three to four hours before you go to bed.
• If you smoke, quit.
• Lose weight if you are obese. Obesity can make it harder for the esophageal sphincter to stay closed.
• Avoid wearing tight-fitting garments. Increased pressure on the abdomen can open the esophageal sphincter.
• Use lozenges or gum to keep producing saliva.
There are two types of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), dry AMD and wet AMD. Most people with the dry type will have a slow loss of vision. If it converts to the wet type, the time to potential blindness is faster. People with a history of smoking are more likely to develop AMD. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, try to quit. Some (but not all) evidence suggests that a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, fruits, fish and nuts may reduce the risk of AMD.
Psychiatric paranoia includes paranoid personality disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and delusional (paranoid) disorder. The identifying mark of paranoid personality is fear and expectation of attack and betrayal. Paranoid personalities are suspicious, touchy, quick to take offense and slow to forgive, self-righteous, and often argumentative. Paranoid personalities find causal connections everywhere; nothing is coincidental. They think that others are taking special notice of them and see references to themselves in innocuous behavior and irrelevant events. They are constantly on guard, searching for hidden motives and meetings.
The most common causes of shoulder pain include:
• bursitis
• rotator cuff tendon injury and tendinitis
• arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica
• adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
• labral tear (cartilage injury)
Sometimes, problems outside the shoulder cause pain in the shoulder, a phenomenon called referred pain. Examples include neck arthritis, liver or lung diseases, and even heart attack.
The best treatment for inflammation depends on the type of inflammation and its cause.
Some common causes of acute inflammation and examples of their treatment include:
• Infection – antibiotics or antiviral medications
• Gouty arthritis – anti-inflammatory medications (in the short-term) and treatments to lower uric acid (in the long-term)
• Trauma – splinting, casting or surgery
Some common conditions marked by chronic inflammation and examples of their treatment include:
• Rheumatoid arthritis – anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive medications
• Cancer – chemotherapy, surgery, radiation
• Obesity – loss of excess weight
Low-grade, chronic inflammation may accompany an unhealthy lifestyle. An “anti-inflammatory diet” (such as the Mediterranean Diet), loss of excess weight, regular exercise, and stress reduction may help reduce this type of inflammation.
A hallucination is the perception of an experience which does not have confirmation in reality. The five types are:
• Auditory hallucination: hearing things that have no external sound
• Visual hallucination: seeing something that isn’t visible to others.
• Olfactory hallucination: smelling something that doesn’t smell to others.
• Gustatory hallucination: experiencing a taste, often an unpleasant one, that shouldn’t happen
• Tactile hallucination: a false sensation on the skin