Post-Hepatic Jaundice

Post-hepatic (or obstructive) jaundice, also called cholestasis, is caused by interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system. The most common causes are gallstones in the common bile duct, ductal careinoma, pancreatitis and pancreatic pseudo cysts. A rate causes of obstructive jaundice is Mirizzi's syndrome.

The complicators or the damages to the lever cause jaundice. A person suffering from it cannot sleep well, feels bored, dizzy and sometimes become unconscious in the extreme cases. This disease is mostly found in alcoholic people. Alcoholism enlarges the liver and makes it delicate. The soft liver may give in any time. People usually suffer from jaundice when they have complications of liver.

If the jaundice has been caused by the alcoholism, it is cured with the patient abstaining from alcohol. The extreme stage of this disease may kill the patient. The severity of the effects of alcoholism may differ from person to person. Therefore, this disease has been regarded as one of the most fatal diseases.

Causes and symptoms of Jaundice

The increase in the deposition of the substance called Bilirubin in blood causes jaundice. Its patients have yellow eyes and skins. The urine also seems very yellow.

Hepatitis A virus causes jaundice. These viruses are transferred from excreta of the patient suffering from jaundice. Patients loses appetite, feels nausea and has fever. After four to seven days, the skin and the eyes start turning pale. During this period, the liver becomes large and soft. This stage remains for two to six weeks and it takes many months to completely recover.

Sometimes, liver is damaged very badly and the patient dies within ten days. Such damage is seen in people who came in regular contact with its victims without any immunity. Therefore, this disease should be prevented from being transferred from one person to another. The next  microbe that causes jaundice is Hepatitis B virus. They are transferred especially through blood transfusion. Another Jaundice causing microbe is yellow fever virus. It is the most dangerous virus. This virus has already been eradicated from the world.

Controlling Measures

The patients of jaundice should take enough rest. Special care should be taken in nutrition. The well ripen food should be given to the patient as they tend to vomit the unappetizing food. The person having jaundice should not take oily food because they cannot digest fats. Since the intestines of the patient lacks bile, they cannot digest fats and digest the food. Patient should be given plenty of carbohydrates to maintain energy. Milk and other nutritious foods should be given to the patient after they have felt a bit better.

Janudice

Jaundice comes from the French word jaune, which means yellow is a yellowing of the skin, sclera and mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the human body.

Causes of Jaundice

When red blood die, the heme in their hemoglobin is converted to bilirubin in the spleen and in the kupffer cells in the liver. The bilirubin is processed by the liver, enters bile and is eventually excreted through feces.

Consequently, there are three different classes of causes for jaundice. Pre-hepatic or hemolytic causes, where too many red blood cell are broken down, hepatic causes where the processing of bilirubin in the liver does not function correctly, and post-hepatic or extra hepatic causes, where the removal of bile is disturbed.

Pre-hapatic

Pre-hepatic (or hemolytic) jaundice is caused by anything that causes an increased rate of hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells). In tropical countries, malaria can cause jaundice in this manner. Certain genetic diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency can lead to increase red cell lysis and therefore hemolytic jaundice. Defects in bilirubin metabolism also present as jaundice. Jaundice usually comes with high fevers.

Hepatic Jaundice

Hepatic causes include acute hepatitis, hepatotoxicity and alcoholic liver disease whereby cell necrosis reduces the liver's ability to metabolize and excrete bilirubin leading to a build up in the blood. Less common causes include primary biliary cirrhosis, Gilbert's syndrome and metastatic carcinoma. Jaundice commonly seen in the newborn baby is another example of hepatic jaundice.

Goitre

All human beings have a thyroid gland in their neck. The swelling of this thyroid gland is called goitre. This disease is caused when there is lack of iodine. The thyroid gland produces thyroxin hormone which helps the growth and development of the person to perform various functions of the body. This gland deposits the iodine received from the food and on the need of the body, it changes into the thyroxin. Thus, it supplies the iodine.

But when the food taken the iodine, the thyroid gland cannot produce thyroxin. In order to produce thyroxin, the thyroid gland itself enlarges and appears swelling in front of the neck. This condition of the thyroid gland at the neck is known as goitre. The occurrence of goitre is a preliminary symptom of the deficiency of iodine. It can be treated at the primary stage. As it becomes too large, it is difficult to treat and reduce it.

Symptoms of Goitre

• The thyroid gland enlarges in the throat. As a result, a swelling is visible in front of the neck.
• The weight of the thyroid gland increases from its usual weight (25 grams to 200 grams even up to 500 grams.)
• It disturbs the physical and mental development.
• Dwarfness if not treated timely.

Preventive measures of Goitre

The food in our daily meal should contain iodine. Among the sources of iodine, the fished of the sea and the vegetables grown near sea sides are found highly rich in iodine compound. If these items of food are not available, we can use the salt mixed with iodine. In case, iodine is not available, we can use iodine tablets or even iodine injection too. If the goitre has already appeared, according to the advice of the physician it is better to take an injection of iodine or potassium iodine and thyroxin. This type of treatment reduces the goitre. But if goitre has already grown too large, it cannot be treated at all. So, adopting preventive measure in time is the best solution.

Night Blindness

Night blindness is a disease of a person who cannot see well at early dawn and in the evening time. But during the day, the person suffering from this disease can see like other healthy people. This disease is caused by the deficiency of vitamin A in their daily diet. If a pregnant mother can not get food that contains vitamin A, her baby may suffer from night blindness. Mainly, children and pregnant women are suffered from this disease. Apart from it, if babies are not treated in time, they may become completely blind in their future.

Causes of Night Blindness

Vitamin A keeps retina healthy. There are two types of cells in retina, which are called rods and cons. Rods help to see at dim light and cons help to see at bright light. The capacity of vision depends upon the substances called Rhodopsin which is found in retina. Rhodopsin is obtained from vitamin D. The deficiency of vitamin A minimizes the vision power. Deficiency of vitamin A causes dryness in cornea and conjunctivitis of eyes.

Symptoms of Night Blindness

• In dim light and in the evening, they can not see the objects well.
• If the children have this disease, they cannot move here and there in the evening. They are found to be sitting inn one place.
• They cannot see very well in the bright light.
• Their eyes seem bright, rough and dried.
• There appear small spots called Bitot's spot in the white part of the eyes.

Preventive measures of night Blindness

In order to prevent this disease, the babies should be saved from diseases like diarrhea, hookworms and measles. Children should be immunized. Proper hygiene should be maintained to prevent these diseases. Foods containing vitamin A like green vegetables, carrot, pumpkins, papaya, eggs, fish, meat, milk, ghee, mango, orange etc. should be taken which keep our eyes healthy. If there is a slight doubt about this disease we must consult physician.

Anaemia

Anemia
Anemia is also known as Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) caused due to the shortage of iron, important micro nutrients of food. Iron is one of the most important micro nutrients essential for making hemoglobin, which supplies oxygen to each and every tissue of the body from lungs. Anemia is mostly found in children and pregnant women. Deficiency of iron in the body makes it weak and reduces immunity power. Females, especially pregnant and postnatal ones suffer from it. The babies, born from mother suffering from anemia have low weight and are more vulnerable from death. The adults, victims of anemia, seem feebler and have low capacity to perform different tasks. Children suffering from anemia grow slowly, understand very late and may die early.

Causes and symptoms

Anemia is a disease caused by the deficiency of haemoglobin or the lack of red blood cells. This problem is mostly found in small children, woman and pregnant mother. This caused due to the lack of iron in food. It may also be caused by hookworm parasites.
Symptoms

• Feeling of dizziness and tiredness
• In the case of babies, loss of appetite and weeping for no specific reason can be observed
• The facial appearance is pale and yellow
• Pigmentation of the skin, paleness in the eyes and the fingernails
• The patient feels giddiness
• Difficulty in breathing

Safety measures of Anemia

• We should take iron containing food like livers, meat, fish, eggs, green vegetables, grains, beans, cereals etc.
• Food that contains vitamin ‘C’ like lemon, orange, vegetables etc should be taken, which help to absorb the iron element in the food.
• Hookworm is one of the major causes of anemia. So, we must have a habit of wearing shoes.
• Iron tablets can also be given to babies for immediate supply of iron.

Diabetes

Diabetes 

Diabetes is also known as sugar disease. It is the disorder in which either the pancreas cannot secrete insulin at all or body cannot use the secreted insulin. The pancreas may still secrete insulin for all the ells of the body, but some cells may not respond to it. Again glucose can’t enter into the cells and energy is not produced to satisfy the body’s needs. Consequently, it causes extremely high concentration of sugar in the blood. This condition is called diabetes. Depending on the nature, diabetes can be grouped into two types: i.e. Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus.

Diabetes insipidus
In diabetes insipidus, there is insufficient production of pituitary hormone (vasopressin), that controls the function of kidneys. In this condition, a rare metabolic disorder appears in the patient’s body and the water passed by blood vessels to kidneys is not absorbed properly by them. As a result, the patient with diabetes insipidus produces large quantities of dilute urine and he is constantly thirsty. This type of diabetes is observed because of diseases like encephalitis, meningitis, syphilis or injury in brain especially at pituitary gland. Patient of this disease feels raging thirst, increased appetite and weakness. This disease can be treated with the intake of vasopressin injection.

Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an auto immune disease which mainly occurs in children between ages of 5-15 years. It commonly occurs after throat infection by the causative agent of group ‘A’ beta hemolytic streptococcus. The body produces antibodies against these organisms but, there antibodies can cross reach with cells of the heart, joint and kidney. It affects joints to cause rheumatic arthritis, and affect heat to cause rheumatic heart disease. So, it is described as “Rheumatic fever licks the joint but bites the heart.”

Rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic heart disease is caused by bacteria called ‘Beta-Haemolytic Streptococcus’. It is the most common acquired heart disease in Nepal. It commonly damages the vulves of the heart. This disease begins with pain in throat initially. Untreated throat infection (Tonsilitis and Pharyngitis) can later on lead to infection of heart and this condition is attributed to damage of the vulves of the heart in the secondary stage. This disease mostly attacks the children from 3 to 15 years age group.