Intestinal Obstruction

An intestinal obstruction occurs when food or stool cannot move through the intestines. The obstruction can be complete or partial. There are many causes. The most common are adhesions, hernias, cancers, and certain medicines.

Symptoms include:

• Severe abdominal pain or cramping
• Vomiting
• Bloating
• Loud bowel sounds
• Swelling of the abdomen
• Inability to pass gas
• Constipation

A complete intestinal obstruction is a medical emergency. It often requires surgery.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Ischemic Stroke

What is an ischemic stroke?

A stroke happens when there is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain. Your brain cells cannot get the oxygen and nutrients they need from blood, and they start to die within a few minutes. This can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.

There are two main types of strokes, ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic stroke is the more common type. An ischemic stroke happens when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain. Quick treatment can save a life and improve the chances of recovery.

Ischemic strokes are usually caused by one or more of the following:

• A blood clot. A clot can form in an artery that supplies the brain (thrombosis), or it can travel from another part of the body (embolism).
• Atherosclerosis. A disease in which plaque, a sticky substance made up of cholesterol, fat, and other substances, builds up inside your arteries.
• Irregular heart rhythms. Conditions like atrial fibrillation can cause clots to form in the heart, which may travel to the brain.
• Other heart and blood conditions. Such as heart valve diseases or sickle cell disease.

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is caused by a brief blockage of blood flow to the brain. It usually lasts a few minutes. Having a TIA can mean you are at risk for having a more serious stroke.

Symptoms of stroke often happen suddenly. They include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

If you think someone is having a stroke, the F.A.S.T. test can help you remember what to look for. Think "FAST" and look for:

• Face drooping on one side when smiling.
• Arm weakness that occurs when the arms are raised, and one arm drifts downward.
• Speech is slurred or strange.
• Time to call 911.

To make a diagnosis, your health care provider may do a physical exam, ask about your symptoms and medical history, and use imaging tests. Other heart tests may be done to help find the cause of the stroke.

It is important to treat strokes as quickly as possible. The most common treatments include:

• Medicines such as blood thinners or thrombolytics (which break up and dissolve existing clots) may be used to prevent or treat ischemic stroke.
• Surgery or stenting may be used to open narrowed arteries or remove plaque build-up from the carotid arteries, which supply blood to the brain.

After treatment, rehabilitation can help you regain lost skills and independence. Your provider may also order other medicines to manage your blood pressure,cholesterol, or other health problems such as diabetes that may increase your risk for stroke.

The best way to prevent stroke is by making heart-healthy lifestyle changes to lower your risk. If lifestyle changes aren't enough, your provider may prescribe medicine to help manage your risk factors.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Itching

What is itching?

Itching is an irritating sensation that makes you want to scratch your skin. Sometimes it can feel like pain, but it is different. Often, you feel itchy in one area in your body, but sometimes you may feel itching all over. Along with the itching, you may also have a rash or hives.

Itching is a symptom of many health conditions. Some common causes are:

• Allergic reactions to food, insect bites, pollen, and medicines
• Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and dry skin
• Irritating chemicals, cosmetics, and other substances
• Parasites such as pinworms, scabies, head and body lice
• Pregnancy
• Liver, kidney, or thyroid diseases
• Certain cancers or cancer treatments
• Diseases that can affect the nervous system, such as diabetes and shingles

Most itching is not serious. To feel better, you could try:

• Applying cold compresses
• Using moisturizing lotions
• Taking lukewarm or oatmeal baths
• Using over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream or antihistamines
• Avoiding scratching, wearing irritating fabrics, and exposure to high heat and humidity

Contact your health care provider if your itching is severe, does not go away after a few weeks, or does not have an apparent cause. You may need other treatments, such as medicines or light therapy. If you have an underlying disease that is causing the itching, treating that disease may help.

Jaundice

Jaundice causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow. Too much bilirubin causes jaundice. Bilirubin is a yellow chemical in hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen in your red blood cells. As red blood cells break down, your body builds new cells to replace them. The old ones are processed by the liver. If the liver cannot handle the blood cells as they break down, bilirubin builds up in the body and your skin may look yellow.

Many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life. It usually goes away. However, jaundice can happen at any age and may be a sign of a problem. Jaundice can happen for many reasons, such as:

• Blood diseases
• Genetic syndromes
• Liver diseases, such as hepatitis or cirrhosis
• Blockage of bile ducts
• Infections
• Medicines

Joint Disorders

What are joints?

Your joints are places where two or more bones come together. Your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and knuckles are all joints. Your spine has joints, too.

But joints are more than bones. They include the soft tissues around them, such as cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Cartilage is the hard slippery flexible tissue that covers the ends of your bones at a joint. Tendons are tough, flexible bands that connect your muscles to your bones so you can move your joints. Ligaments connect the bones of the joint to each other to keep them stable when you move.

Joint disorders are diseases or injuries that affect your joints. Injuries can happen because of overuse of a joint. Or you could have a sudden injury, such as an accident or a sports injury.

Many diseases can affect the joints. They often cause joint pain and make your joints stiff, red, or swollen. Most of them are chronic. That means they last a long time. Some may never go away completely. Some of the diseases that affect the joints include:

• Arthritis. Arthritis may cause joint pain and swelling. There are many types of this disease. Osteoarthritis is the most common type. Over time, arthritis can cause severe joint damage. It can affect people of all ages. A joint injury when you're young may cause osteoarthritis later in life.
• Lupus. This autoimmune disease affects many parts of the body and can cause joint and muscle pain. Some types of lupus often cause arthritis.
• Sjögren's Syndrome. This autoimmune disease affects glands that make moisture in many parts of the body. The main symptoms are dry eyes and mouth, but it often causes joint pain, too.

Treatments are different depending on the disease. But most treatments include medicines and therapies to relieve pain and other symptoms.

Joint disorders from sudden injuries include:

• Sprains and strains. Sprains are stretched or torn ligaments. Acute strains are stretched or torn muscles or tendons that happen from a sudden injury or movement, such as lifting a heavy object.
• Dislocated joints. A joint is dislocated when the bones are pushed or pulled out of position. A joint dislocation is a medical emergency.

Treatment depends on the type of injury. You can treat many sports injuries at home. But you should call your health care provider if you:

• Have a lot of joint pain, swelling or numbness
• Can't put weight on the joint
• Have pain from an old injury with more swelling, an unstable joint, or a joint that isn't normal in another way

Overuse injuries usually damage the soft tissues of the joint. They can happen when you work a joint too hard by doing the same movements over and over. For example, you could get an overuse injury from playing a musical instrument, playing sports, or doing certain jobs, such as carpentry or painting.

Joint overuse injuries include:

• Bursitis. The bursa is a small fluid-filled sac. It works as a pad between the bones of a joint and the moving parts around it, such as muscles, tendons and skin. With bursitis, the bursa becomes irritated and swollen with extra fluid. Overuse is the most common cause, but injuries, infections and other conditions, such as arthritis, can cause bursitis.
• Tendinitis. This condition happens when you overuse a tendon. It swells and makes the joint painful to move.
• Chronic strain. A strain becomes chronic when your muscles or tendons stretch or tear slowly over time from repeating the same movements.

The treatments for bursitis, tendinitis, and chronic strain are often the same. They usually include rest, keeping the injured joint higher than your heart, and taking medicine to reduce swelling. Your provider may recommend gentle exercise and other treatment. In some cases, your provider may suggest an injection (a shot) of medicine into the joint. If these do not help, you may need surgery.

Getting enough physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to prevent or slow joint disorders. Activity strengthens the muscles around your joints and helps them work better.

When you play sports, wear the right equipment to protect your joints, such as knee pads. If you already have joint problems, ask your provider what type of activities are best for you.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases