Sunday 17 February 2013

The Most Observable Symptoms Of Emphysema

Emphysema is simply one of the many diseases that entail interference in the normal functioning of the lungs. The person's lungs should be kept in its proper shape to prevent any interference. Oxygenation of the blood takes place in the lungs, and that is also where gases interchange.

When the lungs do not function normally, it could mean that the tissue that maintains its shape is malfunctioning or even destroyed. Symptoms will become more observable, and this is our attempt to define what those symptoms are. Be reminded, however, that you cannot expect to witness these symptoms all at once. In truth, they will become more observable one after the other, starting with the simpler ones to the more complicated symptoms.

A person with emphysema will first show signs of breathlessness. This is one of the first symptoms of this lung disease. Destruction of the lung tissue ' which this specific disease is all about ' takes quite a while, which explains the gradual progression of the disease. Breathlessness would set in after a major exertion, and this happens at the beginning of the disease or when the problem starts. Soon, the breathlessness will become a regular occurrence, even without major exertion, because the lung tissue is deteriorating. If left unchecked, it could even reach the point when the patient will start becoming breathless even when he is sitting or standing still. At first, people would treat bouts of breathlessness as something that is normal. The symptoms could then become distressing if left too long. That is when the person decides to get proper medical treatment for their condition.

If you have emphysema, you will also notice a bit of chest expansion going on. This is the obvious result of the breathing difficulties associated with the disease. The chest would have to expand to noticeable extent in order to compensate for the lack of air and difficulty in breathing. Evidence for the expansion is normally found when the antero-posterior diameter measurement of the chest is taken, and compared with what would ordinarily be expected.

Skin discoloration is also another symptom of this lung disease. You will see the skin of the patient suddenly turning shades of blue. You will find this to be a symptom common among many lung diseases since there isn't enough oxygenation of the blood. The medical term for this symptom is cyanosis. Just like usual symptoms of lung diseases, they do not happen in a flash. Cyanosis, in the beginning, is barely noticeable. But if you don't do a thing about your emphysema, it could become even worse; the bluish tint on the skin becoming even more glaring.

Recommended Link:
Treatment For Emphysema

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Strategies Through Which Nations Can Reduce Syphilis Infection Rates In Their Populations


Nations want to reduce the rates of syphilis infection in their populations, and there are several ways they can go about it. The fact that syphilis is a fatal disease and could become quite harmful to people's lives motivates these nations to see these infection rates to go down. And considering the kind of investment a nation makes in its citizen from the time he or she is born, it tends to be a huge loss when that citizen dies prematurely -- especially on account of a preventable and treatable disease. While it is true that not everyone dies because of this disease, the fact that they are suffering from it would mean their productivity would be seriously impaired and they wouldn't be able to contribute much. On yet another level, we have to keep it in mind that this is an infectious disease. It is one that can very easily spread through a population. It is therefore in the state's interest to keep the infection rates low, because it can otherwise turn into an embarrassing public health crisis. Let us now look into the various steps and strategies that can be employed by nations to protect their population and ensure that the rate of syphilis infection would not be too much and kept under control.

Investing in public education and information dissemination about the disease known as syphilis is one good strategy that nations should adopt. It is clear that most of the people who acquire this infection get infected because they weren't made aware or weren't educated enough about this disease and how to prevent it from getting to them in the first place. It will do the state good to apply this strategy. They will be able to save a lot of money, achieve their goal and the cost of providing public education about this infection would be quite minimal in comparison.

Encouraging the practice of safe sex is also another effective strategy to ward of syphilis infection and keep it from occurring in greater numbers. The state could do this by providing the tools and accessories needed for the practice of safe sex. A good example of such items would be condoms. We are not saying that the risks of syphilis infection will be completely eliminated when condoms are made use of. It will be better to use the condoms, though, since that means the risks of syphilis infection would be under control, and the scenario where the spread of the infection would be quite fast would also be reduced considerably. If you compare the costs that would be incurred by the state between investing on safe sex tools such as condoms to the costs that would have to be spent on medical treatments for syphilis infections left on its own, the latter would be much more costly and cumbersome.

If medical treatment  for syphilis infections is easily accessible and made easily affordable to the general public, it will also go a long way in keeping the syphilis infection rates low within the population. There is a simple explanation for this, really. Given the fact that the longer an infected person stays untreated, the higher the chances of him or her infected even more people, it makes sense to ensure that those who do get infected are treated as soon as possible. The only way to achieve that (at a national level) is, in turn, by making treatment affordable and accessible to all members of the society.

Recommended Links
Cures For Syphilis