Acupuncture Safe in Kids, Study Finds

Treating kids with acupuncture is a common practice and generally safe, according to a new study.

“Like adults, acupuncture is very safe when applied to the children’s population,” said Jamie Starkey, an acupuncturist from the Cleveland Clinic, who did not take part in the study. “And so it basically mimics exactly what is seen in the adult population.”

Researchers at the University of Alberta studied data from different countries spanning 60 years. They looked at the association between needle acupuncture and the different adverse events in children.

Out of 279 adverse effects, 253 were mild, according to the researchers.

The other 25 adverse effects were likely related to sub-standard techniques.

Adverse effects included bruising, bleeding and worsening of symptoms after treatment.

“Any of the serious side effects that they found were definitely due in part to the clinician’s malpractice,” Starkey said. “So, it was certainly somebody who was not necessarily the most trained. The take-home message is that it is absolutely safe in both the adult and pediatric world, but you have to go to somebody who is trained.”

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Scottish Doctors Use Ultrasound to Heal Broken Bones

Ultrasound Scanner     Wikipedia

Doctors in Scotland are using ultrasound to help patients with severe bone fractures, and finding it speeds recovery time by more than one-third. The ultrasonic pulses induce cell vibration, which doctors say stimulates bone regeneration and healing.

The technology is similar to the type used on pregnant women to image growing fetuses, but it uses a different sound frequency and a different pulse rate, according to the BBC. Patient Gary Denham received the treatment for a shattered ankle he sustained after falling 20 feet. “It's got a wee strap and that goes round where the break was,” he told the BBC.
Technology, Rebecca Boyle, broken bones, fractures, health, medical technology, Scotland, ultrasound, ultrasound probesA water-based gel is applied to a transducer like the type seen above, which then goes inside the strap and stays there for 20 minutes. The patient doesn’t feel anything, but the sound waves penetrate tissue to stimulate cellular activity.
Typically, Denham’s type of injury would take six to 12 months to heal properly — if it does at all — but his foot healed after four months, according to his physician, Dr. Angus MacLean. He said evidence suggests the ultrasound speeds up healing by about 40 percent.
Scottish doctors first developed ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in the 1950s, using adapted sonar technology from Glasgow’s Western Infirmary, the BBC explains. It’s now used for a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic purposes — we’ve seen ultrasound used to heal punctured lungs, for instance, and it has the potential to break up blood clots, among other uses. But the Glasgow group is the first we’ve seen to use it for bone regeneration.
Apparently the treatment remains fairly expensive, so for now it’s only being used in complex fractures like Denham’s, the BBC says. But as ultrasound devices get smaller and cheaper, future fractures may be much faster to heal.

[BBC]

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Understanding Diseases/Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is thought to be caused by itchiness of the 9th cranial nerve. Symptoms commonly begin in people above forty years of age. In most cases, the actual reason for the discomfort isn't discovered. Certain factors could be tumors or contamination within the throat and mouth area, compression of the glossopharyngeal nerve by nearby arteries, and various lesions in the base of the skull.

causes

• Blood vessels pressing on the glossopharyngeal nerve
• Abnormal growths at the base of the skull pressing on the glossopharyngeal nerve.
• Tumors or infections of the throat and mouth pressing on the glossopharyngeal nerve.

Symptoms

Symptoms incorporate extreme pain in regions associated to the ninth cranial nerve:

Backside of the nose and throat (nasopharynx) , Back of the tongue , Ear,  Throat,  Tonsil area, Voice box (larynx)

Often the pain appears in episodes and may be intense. It is generally on one particular part, and seems jabbing. The episodes can take place a lot of occasions every day, and wake up the particular person from sleep.

This can occasionally be initiated by:

Eating ,  Coughing , Having a laugh , Talking , Swallowing

Examinations and Tests

Tests will certainly be carried out to identify problems, such as tumors, at the base of the skull. Tests could include:

• Blood checks (sugar level) to look for the reasons of neural injury
• CT scan of the brain
• MRI of the head
• X-rays of the brain or neck
• At times the MRI may show inflammation (swelling) of the glossopharyngeal nerve.

To find out whether a blood vessel is pushing on the nerve, photographs of the brain arteries may be taken using:

• Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)
• X-rays of the arteries with a dye (conventional angiography)

The goal of remedy is to handle pain. Over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol) are not pretty effective for minimizing glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

Cure

The most efficient drugs are antiseizure medications, like as carbamazepine, gabapentin, and phenytoin. Some anti-depressants, such as amitriptyline or nortriptyline, may help out certain people.

In critical scenarios, when pain is difficult to handle, surgical treatment to take pressure off the glossopharyngeal nerve may be necessary. Or, the nerve can be cut (rhizotomy). Both surgeries are normally considered successful. If a cause of the neuralgia is found, therapy should handle the underlying problem.

People with Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia Disease should not loose their heart rather they should join Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia support group where he/she can learn many things from different discussions.

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Understanding Diseases/Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis an inflammatory disease that can start at an early age (from age 20) and whose cause is unknown.  

Their main target is the synovial tissue (covers or "lining" to the joint), suffers from the 1% of the population and can lead to disability and major limitation if not diagnosed or treated. 

Chronic joint disease characterized by involvement of muscles, tendons and cartilage. Sometimes the eyes and blood vessels are affected. It is three times more common in women than in men, aged between 20 and 60, with a point of greatest incidence between 35 and 45.

CAUSE

Unknown, but probably autoimmune origin.

SYMPTOMS

The most characteristic symptoms are: redness, pain, heat and hardening and deformation of any of the joints of the hands, hips, elbows, feet or knees, so symmetrical, starting with the small joints of the hands. Tenths of temperature. Numbness morning of the joints, which is yielding to the activity. nodules under the skin and joint deformities, Fatigue.

RISK FACTORS

Personal or family history of rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune diseases.

Women between 20-50 years.

PREVENTION

There are no concrete measures, ignoring the root cause.

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Diagnostic blood tests. Radiology. Arthroscopy with biopsy in exceptional cases. Treatment gloves to keep the heat at night. Treating pain with dry or moist heat. Hard mattress or placing a board over the mattress (or mattress sheets or known "bodyguard.") Exercise bound, unless there is low-grade fever, then to rest until they drop. Physical therapy can help improve the condition. Sleeping 10-12 hours and not getting too tired. Medication non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirin and other salicylates, gold salts and immunosuppressive provided by prescription and under close medical supervision, the side effects of these drugs. Cortisone is effective for short periods to relieve pain, but causes more side effects and does not prevent the degeneration of the joints.

Regarding the best time to go to consultation by a joint problem, recommended when:

Muscle pain or arthritis in a sudden and intense back or other joints, and prevent the development of normal activities.

There is discomfort in joints still being tolerable persists for long periods of time (weeks or months), or progressively more intense and limiting (when pain prevents feet or knees down stairs, for example).

Joint inflammation appears with other complaints, including fever, malaise, fatigue, hair loss, skin sensitivity to sun and dry eyes or mouth.

They have problems with arthritis or discomfort in muscles or skeleton only controlled with medication and have not been assessed recently by a specialist.

The results of any lab tests suggest a rheumatic disease, which has not led therapy.

A woman at age close to menopause or after it has received attention and surveillance to monitor the health of your bones and joints.

POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS

Impaired vision.

Deformities permanent limbs.

Digestive problems by medication.

The disease can be mild or severe.

It is incurable, but the decrease in pain and disability prevention may be possible with early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

75% of patients on a very considerable improvement. 5-10% does not despite it.

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Understanding Diseases/Varicose Veins

Whether you have been diagnosed with varicose veins or not, you've probably heard of them before, and you probably have an idea of what they look like. If you have or think you might have them, here is some information that we hope can help you decide whether or not you should seek treatment.

What Causes Them?

Varicose veins are characterized by weakened veins that are close to the surface of the skin. They tend to be stretched which is what causes them to be weaker than a normal vein. This occurs when blood pools within a vein due to damaged or malfunctioning valves within the veins themselves. When the blood pools, the vein is forced to expand, stretching and weakening the walls of the vein.

Symptoms

There are both visible and non-visible symptoms of varicose veins. If you have them, you may notice your legs feeling achy and heavy after standing or restless when lying down. You also may notice that the skin over your veins is abnormal colored or shiny, and you may experience swollen, itchy, and painful ankles or feet. Injuries to them tend to bleed more than normal as well.

Diagnosis

While they can usually be diagnosed by a simple physical examination, there are also a number of tests that may be done. The Trendelenburg Test requires you to raise your leg to the level of your heart allowing excess blood to leave your leg. Once you stand up, your doctor will watch your legs for varicose veins as they will become visible almost immediately as the blood rushes back to your legs. Another test uses a tourniquet to stop the blood flow to the leg and then uses the same procedure. In addition, ultrasound and venography are tests that may be used to determine what is causing your varicose veins.

Treatment

Unfortunately, once varicose veins causes the walls of a vein to be weekend and stretched, they will never return on their own. Fortunately, most people are able to find relief without having to undergo any medical procedure. Lifestyle treatment can involve elevating the legs occasionally to reduce swelling and wearing compression stockings to improve circulation. For people who require medical treatment to relive symptoms from varicose veins, there are a number of minimally invasive procedures that can help. Endovenous laser ablation and endovenous radiofrequency ablation use a catheter to seal of the vein using a laser or radio energy. Sclerotherapy is the injection of a solution that irritates the inside of the vein, causing it to swell and stick together, and creating scar tissue and destroying the vein. For the most severe of varicose veins, surgical treatment may be required.

If your symptoms are getter tough to bear, consider contact a varicose veins doctor near you.

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