Health Care

By: Robert Baird

The signs and symptoms of renal insufficiency may be similar to those of renal failure, depending on the degree of kidney involvement. If your patient's kidneys lose the ability to concentrate urine, he may develop polyuria and nocturia. If his renal disease is untreated and renal failure progresses, he may develop oliguria. His urine may have a low specific gravity and a high sodium concentration. Also, it may be bloody or tea colored and contain casts and high concentrations of red blood cells (RBCs) and white blood cells (WBCs).

Your patient may have a low serum sodium level because of his kidneys' inability to reabsorb sodium. He also may have a low serum calcium level caused by reduced renal absorption. And his serum potassium and phosphate levels may be elevated because of reduced renal excretion of potassium and phosphate.

If he has elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, his renal disease may result in azotemia. If his kidneys lose their ability to produce erythropoietin, he may become anemic.

Your patient's renal disease also may cause signs in other body systems. He may have jugular vein distention, a full and bounding pulse, peripheral edema, pulmonary edema, and heart failure. He may show signs of metabolic acidosis, including Kussmaul's respirations. And he may develop anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and difficulty concentrating.

Signs and Symptoms of Peripheral Vascular Disease

In the early stages of peripheral vascular disease, your patient may experience pain in the calves or buttocks when walking, depending on the level of the vascular occlusion. Usually, this pain, called claudication, disappears with rest.

You can determine the level of the occlusion by palpating the patient's peripheral pulses. If his femoral pulse is diminished, he may have aorto iliac disease. If his popliteal pulse is absent, he may have a femoral-arterial occlusion.

As the disease progresses, the pain will increasingly limit a patient's activity, and he'll feel pain at rest. The pain may disrupt his sleep, causing him to sleep with his legs in a dependent position. However, this position further compromises venous return, decreasing blood flow to his legs.

He also may experience numbness and tingling caused by ischemic nerve tissue in the affected leg. The skin of the affected leg may be hairless, cold to the touch, dry, and shiny. The toenails may be hypertrophied. When the affected leg is elevated, it may be pale. When it's in a dependent position, it may be ruborous (deep red-blue-purple).

If peripheral vascular disease results in severe ischemia, painful ulcers may form at pressure sites and over bony prominences, such as the heel, ankle, toes, and dorsum of the foot. Usually, these ulcers are round, well circumscribed, and pale gray. They also may be covered with black eschar.

Looking for more information about low blood pressure and bodybuilding ? Also, know more about health diseases

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

By: David Jones

For your patient with diabetic retinopathy, a physician may prescribe eyedrops to lubricate the eyes, control postoperative pain, or fight infection. To make sure the patient administers the drops correctly, give her these instructions:

Wash your hands. Then check the drops for discoloration or sediment. If you see either, return the eyedrops to the pharmacy for a replacement.

Warm the eyedrops container by rolling it between your hands for several minutes.

Wipe any drainage from your eye with a clean cotton ball or a tissue moistened with water. Always wipe away from your eye, not toward it.

Tilt your head back slightly, look up at the ceiling, and pull down your lower eyelid.

Hold the container over the exposed lower part of your eye and place the prescribed number of drops onto the eye. Don't touch the sterile part of the container.

Release the lower lid and gently close your eye.

Then wipe away excess drops with a clean cotton ball or tissue.

Open your eye and keep it open for about 30 seconds. To prevent the eyedrops from being absorbed into your tear duct, gently press on the area where your eyelids join your nose.

Peripheral Vascular Disease: Selecting The Right Shoes

Advise your patient to purchase shoes that are made of natural material, such as leather. Explain that synthetics don't allow enough air circulation. If she has decreased sensation in her feet, suggest that she take a family member along when she buys new shoes. She can ask the family member to feel her foot through the shoe to make sure it isn't too tight. If necessary, tell her how to order adaptive footwear, such as extradepth or specially constructed shoes.

If your patient has an orthotic insert and she's buying regular shoes, tell her to make sure she has enough room between the sole and upper part of the shoe for the insert. Explain that orthotics help avoid pressure sores by dispersing pressure evenly across her foot. If she has foot deformities, such as claw toes, tell her to make sure that her toes don't rub against her shoe.

Tell your patient that good running shoes made of soft fabric may be an acceptable alternative to custommade shoes. Advise her to select running shoes that have a wide toe area and a thick sole and that lace up the front, not the side. Explain that by wearing comfortable running shoes, she'll have better balance and walk more comfortably.

Encourage her to avoid high heels because they increase pressure on the ball of the foot and may decrease sensation. Instead, she should buy low heels or flats.

Wearing New Shoes

Advise your patient to wear new shoes for about 2 hours and then examine her feet for pressure areasred spots that may turn into blisters. If she finds no pressure areas, she can continue to wear the shoes for a few more hours and then examine her feet again. If she still finds no pressure areas, she should increase the wearing time slowly over a few days. If she does notice pressure areas, she should avoid wearing the shoes because a foot ulcer may develop.

Looking for more information about managing diabetes and diabetes mellitus? Also, know more about condition and ailments

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

From the desk of Dr Magne, author of Cancer Free For Life.

In the 17th century, the philosopher and scientist Descartes proposed the separation of the mind from the body. Descartes was encouraged by the Pope that he could pursue the study of human anatomy within the domain of science, as long as he left the study of the soul or mind to the church.

So began the western’s world separation of the body and mind. That disconnection is now being remedied by modern science. Today studies by researchers in the emerging field of Psycho Neuro Immunology, PNI for short, have hard data explaining the mind/body connection. The same proof is now emerging from the field of quantum physics, and the more we research the mechanisms of the universe, the more we realize that we are made of the same primordial stuff and energy, and that all is connected, including the mind and the body.

How does the mind/body connection work? It is explained in the complex pathways that run between the brain and the body’s nervous, endocrine, circulatory, and immune systems. We are literally wired by the brain, but it is our emotions and thoughts that trigger the complex chain of activities that create physical manifestations such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, depletion of immune functions, and disruption of the body’s resting state.

Science has shown that the brain signals the immune system via receptors on the surface of immune system cells, which accept chemical neurotransmitters released by the nervous system. These breakthrough studies have traced the body/mind connection to the level of cellular biology. Some cellular communication has been translated, but the full body language has yet to be unlocked.

How does this information affect us in our everyday lives? Stress is one area in which we can clearly see the body/mind connection. Subject a person to enough stress, and that stress will manifest in the body through nerve-fibre chemicals that tell immune cells what to do. The body expresses the stress as headaches, rashes, irritable bowel, hypertension, insomnia, or pain. Eventually, the physical effects of long-term stress may lead to cancer, heart attack, or other chronic conditions. The reverse is also true as chemicals released by immune system cells affect the brain. For example, when the body is fighting an illness, our minds often become drowsy.

The good news is that while our emotions and thoughts can play a role in making us sick, we can also use them to help make us well. Better still, our minds can potentially keep us from getting ill in the first place. The mind has a tremendous power to heal or harm. How you use this power is up to you: your body does respond to the way you think, feel and act at every moment of every day.

There are some simple ways to use the mind/body connection to benefit health:

• Pay attention to your inner life. Don’t dwell on fear and negative thoughts. your perception or belief about your environment is more important than its reality.

• Express yourself in appropriate ways. Learn to recognize your emotions and what’s causing them. At times we may need the assistance of therapists, doctors and spiritual advisors to help us understand ourselves better.

• Establish social relationships. People involved with family, friends, and community seem to live longer, healthier lives.

• Develop a positive mental outlook and sense of humour, Pollyanna was right. Laugh heartily at least once a day. Judge less and love more.

• Seek spiritual fulfillment. Examine and draw upon what gives you meaning in life.

• Connect with animals. Our pets keep us in touch with our basic needs. Numerous studies show connecting with pets is a significant factor in good health.

• Learn meditation, visualization, prayer, yoga, hypnosis, or biofeedback. Find which of these is right for you.

• Repeat positive affirmations to yourself, such as “I am in perfect balance. I bless my body with love.” These can reverse the changes brought on by stress.

• Get regular exercise, enough sleep, and maintain good nutrition. Why? Aside from the obvious health benefits, societal beliefs list exercise, sleep and proper nutrition as the way to be healthy. When we engage in these activities, our perception is that what we are dong is good for us. These practices change our attitudes and reduce stress and anxiety.

• Do not self-medicate with excess food, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Short-term relief can lead to long-term problems.

Dr Magne has been researching the origins and alternative cures for cancer for the past 25 years. Her book Cancer Free For Life contains many alternative ways to cure yourself of cancer today!!! Visit www.cancer-free-for-life.com to claim your FREE report 10 Ways to Cure Cancer in audio and pdf format.

To learn more about the various gynecomastia treatments, visit our website to learn how to get rid of man boobs naturally. We provide reviews of the various gynecomastia treatments available on the market. Our goal is to show you how to lose man boobs.