Posted on April 10th, 2008
A sty (hordeolum) is a red, painful lump on the edge or inside of your eyelid that may look like a boil or a pimple. Usually a sty is filled with pus. As it swells in size, the sty may make it difficult for you to see clearly because you can’t fully open your eye.
More than one sty can occur at a time, leading to a generalized inflammation of your eyelid — a condition known as blepharitis. Fortunately, most sties disappear in just a few days. In the meantime, you may be able to relieve the pain or discomfort of a sty with simple self-care treatments.
Causes
The cause of a sty is a bacterial infection, usually staphylococcus. Usually the bacterial infection develops near the root (follicle) of an eyelash. You may have more than one sty at a time or several in succession.
Sties aren’t especially contagious, but may develop due to poor hygiene habits. Sties may also develop if you use expired cosmetics or leave eye makeup on overnight. Contact lens wearers may develop sties if they don’t thoroughly wash their hands and disinfect their contact lenses before putting their contacts in. Chronic blepharitis may also be a cause of sty formation. Treatment of the chronic blepharitis may help prevent sty recurrence.
Symptoms
Most sties eventually fill with pus and then rupture. The release of pus relieves one major symptom of sties — pain. Usually the sty then disappears.
Symptoms of sties include: Read the rest »
Posted on April 4th, 2008
Laryngitis is an inflammation of your voice box (larynx) due to overuse, irritation or infection. Inside the larynx are your vocal cords — two folds of mucous membrane covering muscle and cartilage.
Normally your vocal cords open and close smoothly, forming sounds through their movement and vibration. But in laryngitis, your vocal cords become inflamed or irritated. This swelling causes distortion of the sounds produced by air passing over them. As a result, your voice sounds hoarse. In some cases of laryngitis, your voice can become so faint as to be undetectable.
Laryngitis may be short-lived (acute) or long lasting (chronic). Most cases of laryngitis are triggered by temporary viral infection or vocal strain and are not serious. But persistent hoarseness can sometimes signal a more serious underlying medical condition.
Symptoms of laryngitis
Signs and symptoms of laryngitis can include: Read the rest »
Posted on April 1st, 2008
Botulism is a rare, but very serious condition. It’s caused by toxin produced by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The toxins that this bacterium produces are among the most poisonous substances.
Botulism comes in three main forms: Read the rest »
Posted on March 27th, 2008
Naegleria infection is caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri — a microscopic organism that lives in fresh water and soil. Naegleria infection most often occurs when the naegleria amoeba enters your body through your nose while swimming or participating in water sports. Once inside your nose, the amoeba makes its way to your brain. There, it causes inflammation and destroys brain tissue.
Naegleria infection is very rare. Only 31 cases occurred in the United States between 1989 and 2002. About 200 cases of naegleria infection have been reported worldwide.
Treatment with certain drugs may be successful if given early in a naegleria infection. But most naegleria infections result in death. Avoiding certain warm bodies of fresh water and wearing nose clips while in the water may help prevent such infections.
Symptoms
Naegleria infection causes a disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (muh-ning-go-uhn-sef-uh-LIE-tis), or PAM for short. This disease causes brain inflammation and destruction of brain tissue.
Early signs and symptoms of naegleria infection generally occur within one to two weeks of infection. Signs and symptoms may include: Read the rest »
Posted on February 25th, 2008
Exposure to viral infection, especially herpes viruses, may be associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy and preterm birth, Australian researchers report.
The findings are a major advance in learning more about the cause of hypertension in pregnancy, according to the authors of the study
Over 10 years, researchers from Adelaide’s Women & Children’s Hospital and the University of Adelaide detected the presence of viral nucleic acid in heel-prick blood samples from 1,326 newborns more than 400 of whom were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
High blood pressure occurs in up to 10 percent of first pregnancies in the United States and other developed nations. It’s a common cause of death among pregnant women in developing countries.
Previously, the Adelaide group identified a link between viral infection in pregnancy, genetic mutations in genes controlling inflammatory and blood clotting processes, and the development of cerebral palsy. They also found an association between several hereditary gene mutations and changes in inflammatory proteins that may cause dysfunction and constriction of blood vessels in the placenta and brain, resulting in increased blood pressure during pregnancy.
