Blood Pressure

                                                                 Blood pressure

Introduction

Usually referred to as arterial blood pressure is defined as the pressure exerted through the circulation of blood upon blood vessels and their walls. It varies between systolic which is the maximum blood pressure and diastolic which is the minimum blood pressure.

This pressure depends highly on blood flow from one place to another in the entire circulation and eventually this determines the flow resistance offered by blood vessels. As blood circulation furthers away from the heart through capillaries and arteries, the mean blood pressure reduces due to loss of energy.

Other forces that affect pressure of blood include gravity through hydrostatic forces, breathing and valves in the veins.

As skeletal muscles contract and causes pumping of blood, pressure of blood is also altered. This pressure can be measured at an individual’s upper arm and thus generally pressure measurement in the major artery in the upper arm called the brachial artery.

This pressure is quantified in terms of systolic over diastolic pressure and its units are in millimeters of mercury usually appearing as mm-Hg.

An example is 130/90 indicating 130mmHg of systolic pressure and 90mmHg of diastolic pressure. 

Pressure of blood is usually controlled by the endocrine and nervous systems. If it is at a low value, pathologically, it is expressed as hypotension while when it is pathologically high, it is known as hypertension.

The table below indicates the classification of pressure of blood for healthy adults.

Category                                                  Systolic(mmHg)                                       diastolic(mmHg)

Hypertensive emergency                    above or equal to 180                          above or equal to 110

2^nd Stage Hypertension                         160-179                                                  100-109

1^st Stage Hypertension                          140-159                                                     90-99

Prehypertension                                     120-139                                                     80-89

Hypotension                                            below 90                                                   below 60

Desired (Hypotension)                             90-119                                                     60-79

Types of hypertension

There are a variety of blood pressure types, which include:

·        Malignant hypertension.

·        Renal hypertension.

·        Secondary hypertension.

Causes of hypertension

There are different causes of hypertension, in which, more than 50% is caused by lifestyle traits. They are the following:

·        Obesity.

·        Excessive smoking.

·        Excessive intake of dietary salt in food.

·        History in the family as having hypertension.

·        Lack of proper or any physical activity.

·        Old age.

·        Stress.

·        Chronic disorders such as kidney disease, thyroid and adrenal disorders.

Prevention of hypertension

Although these are day to day attachments and are rare to avoid, there is a number of practices one can take to prevent and cure high blood pressure. They include:

·         Undertaking regular, adequate exercise or physical activity for more than 30 minutes.

·         Proper screening and regular check-ups by your physician.

·         Healthy dietary practices such as eating fruits and vegetables amidst meals. 

Congestion

                                                  Congestion

Introduction                                                                                                                                               Congestion involves the accumulation of too much mucus and fluids in the lungs and other parts of the body. It brings with it, back pain, chest pain and also a number of prolonged coughs. Although it may last for just a few days, some of it can be recurrent and appear frequently.                                                 

They mostly affect the young children and the elderly since their immune systems are relatively weaker. It also affects teens and adults who have a weak system of immune.                                                   

There are ranges of congestion that are experienced by individuals and they affect the following body parts:

·        Nasal.

·        Chest.

·        Head.

Symptoms                                                                                                                  

Signs include the following:

1. Clearing throat urge all the time.
2. Tickling sensation experienced at the throats back due to the accumulation of excess mucusGreat deep coughing with phlegm.
3.  Extreme headaches.
4. Experience of some kind of tightness in the chest area.
5. Difficulty in breathing.
6. Difficulty in swallowing and talking.
7. Wheezing sound when breathing.
8. Severe pain in affected areas such as the chest area if the chest is affected.
9. Coughing up blood known as hemoptysis.
10. High levels of fever.
11. Rashes on the skin’s surface. Colour changes of the mouth area and the fingernails.
12. Deep cracking sound from the chest.
13. Neck region being experiencing stiffness.
14. Levels of chilling which may result to shake at night.  

Causes                                                                                                                                                       A variety of factors can lead to congestion. They may be as a result of common cold, post-natal flu, allergies, post-natal drip which is generally simple causes. There exist extreme causes which are actually very severe and can lead to situations that are dangerous. 

They may be:

·        Asthma, a disease that is responsible for the swell up of airway making them narrow. The airways produce excess mucus making breathing difficult to patients.

·        Bronchitis which is characterized by bronchial tube lining inflammation.

·        Whooping cough which has a hacking cough accompanied by intake of breath that is high-pitched and sounding like a whoop.

·        Pneumonia, which is the inflammation in lungs caused by infection which reduces appetite, increase fever, aches and coughing.

·        Tuberculosis which affects the lungs and is a condition that is greatly contagious.

  

Remedies

These remedies could also cure flu, allergies and some colds. They are:

·        Gaggling a mixture of salt and warm water with the mouth twice or thrice every day.

·        Use of steam inhalation at least once every day.

·        Drinking herbal tea throughout the day.

·        Application of essential diluted oils to the chest, massaging it for few minutes.

·        Application of yoga and aromatherapy reduces chest congestion.

Dandruff

                                                                       Dandruff                                                                            As a skin condition, dandruff generally affects the scalp and is very common with many people. This problem affecting the scalp has effects to all walks of life and thus affects all humanity regardless of their gender, age, skin colour etc.                                                                                                                

It is characteristics involve extreme itchiness and flaking, which at often times causes public embarrassment. The mostly affected groups are young adults, teens and children but at times the elderly can also be affected with it.                                                                                                                  

The good news is that this condition can be remedied so as to reduce public shame, mockery and its impact on one’s social life. Some of the recommended solutions begin with merging routine hair care that is highly effective with other simple solutions.

Signs                                                                                                                                                       

The symptoms of the above condition include the following:

·        Presence of white oily flakes of dead skin coming from one’s hair.

·        Extreme itchiness on one’s scalp.

·        Appearance of white oily flakes of dead skin in one’s clothes such as the shirt’s collar.

Causes                                                                                                                                                       The common reason for dandruff is as a result of excessive drying of the skin and having an extremely oily skin.                                                                                                                                                           Other reasons that cause this condition include:

·        Lack of adequate moisture in the surface of one’s skin that eventually causes drying.

·        Presence of a skin condition known as Seborrheic dermatitis which affects the oil glands and results to yellow and white scales that are flaky in nature.

·        Poor hygiene where there is excess accumulation of dead skin on scalp.

·        Presence of a skin defect called Psoriasis that forms thick scales on the scalp after gathering dead skin cells.

·        Skin’s sensitivity to certain hair products and its ingredients which causes itchiness and peeling of the skin.

·        Presence of yeast infections called Malassezia on scalp which causes skin irritations.

·        Hormonal imbalances merged with high amounts of psychological stress.

·         Low immunity brought by poor nutrition, including other reasons.

Remedies                                                                                   

Dandruff can be rectified by the application of the following products and practices:

·        Application of fermented yoghurt on the scalp, the yoghurt is then left for one hour then rinsed off with mild shampoo and clean water.

·        Apply a mixture of cosmetic vinegar and hot water to the scalp, leave it overnight then rinse it off with clean water and mild shampoo.

·          Application of Aloe Vera gel on the scalp, leave it overnight and rinse it off with water and shampoo.

·        Apply mixture of warm olive oil and ginger on scalp, leave it overnight and rinse it off with clean water and shampoo.

·        Application of oils from lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus, cypress, basil, clary sage, tea tree, thyme and Birch on scalp.  

 

High Blood

                                                                      High blood

Introduction                                                                                                                      

High blood is used in medical terms to refer to a chronic medical condition known as hypertension which is sometimes referred to as arterial hypertension. It is a condition whereby there is an increase in the blood pressure, in the arteries which causes the heart to pump blood harder than normal situations.                 

The normal blood pressure situation is of 100-140mmHg systolic and diastolic of 60-90mmHg. During high blood pressure, the reading is usually at or above 140/90 mmHg.                                            

This kind of disease can cause a heart attack, stroke, aneurysms of the arteries and eventual death.

 

Signs and symptoms                                                                                                          

Its symptoms are rare to note but they can be identified through screening and when seeking treatment for other ailments and one is lucky to be tested for high blood pressure. Some of its signs include:

·        Hypertensive emergency whereby there is severely elevated pressure of the blood.

·        Secondary hypertension where other parts of the body suffer less or more blood pressure and supply due to other defects such as kidney or endocrine diseases.

·        Pregnancy and this has been indicated by research that about 9% of all pregnancies leads to high blood pressure.

Diagnosis and tests                                                                                                

Diagnosis must be done on the basis of high blood pressure that is persistent and tests done by sophisticated instruments are a way to inform practitioners if one is nearly succumbing to hypertension. Some of the tests include microscopic urinalysis, proteinuria, BUN and creatinine which is performed on the renal system, serum sodium, potassium, calcium, TSH made on the endocrine system, fasting blood glucose, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol done on the metabolic system and other tests such as the hematocrit, electrocardiogram and chest radiograph.                                              

In all these tests, the use of the electrocardiogram is most prominent in determination of hypertension.

Treatment and prevention                                                                                                                       Lifestyle changes have been known to be the best cure of high blood pressure. Some of the lifestyle shifts that have been recommended by practitioners in reducing chances of hypertension include:

·        Reduction in consumption of dietary sodium to less than 100 mmol per day.

·        Maintenance of healthy body weight for individuals such as adults at BMI of about 23kg per square meter.

·        Engaging in physical activities that are of vigorous regular and aerobic nature such as running, push-ups. All the activities should be taken for more than 30 minutes each day.

·        Reduction in levels of alcohol consumption to less than 3 units per day for men and 2 units per day for women.

·        Increased intake of diets rich in vegetables and fruits.

Facts about infections.

                                                                        Infection                                                                          This refers to the invasion of an organism’s tissues by organisms that are disease-causing. These organisms upon multiplication and increase of their numbers usually create toxins which eventually create infectious diseases.                                                                                                                                       Evidences of infections are medical signs and symptoms of a certain disease, growth and presence of pathogenic agents when the host’s tissues and cells are tested clinically.                                                    The causative agents of infections include viroids, viruses, microorganisms such as bacteria, arthropods such as tick and lice, fungi e.g. ringworm's, prions and macro-parasites e.g. tapeworms.           

Hosts usually have the ability to fight such infection through the use of their immune system and an example of this is the mammals, whereby, they have an innate system that reacts to infections which yield inflammation and eventually an adaptive response is given by the immune system.                                                                                                                                               Application of various recommended pharmaceuticals is also useful in combating a variety of infections.                                                                                                                                                  

The elements used in classification of infections include the following:

·         The causative agent.

·         The symptoms.

·         The medical signs achieved.

An inactive infection-type is usually known as a latent infection.                                                                           

There are two broad divisions of pathogens which include:

·         Opportunistic pathogens which is characterized by causing an infectious disease with depressed resistance to a host. They are usually caused by microbes that are in contact with the host such as fungi and may also be caused by microbes that have been acquired by the host form other hosts. In order to curb this infection, a series of practices such as impairment of defenses of the host.

·         Primary pathogens which have the ability to cause a variety of ailments due to the presence of those pathogens and the activity they undertake with a healthy, normal host. Most primary pathogens that are found in humans have the ability to infect humans although severe illnesses are caused by those organisms that have been acquired from the environment or certainly those that have been profoundly known to infect other hosts that are not human.

An infection can be categorized by the organ system that is infected and some of the common infections include:

·         Skin infection.

·         Intra-amniotic infection.

·         Urinary bladder infection.

·         Respiratory tract infection.

·         Vaginal infections.

·         Odontogenic infection.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms are usually dependent to the disease type and some may include the following:

·         Loss of appetite.

·         Loss of weight.

·         Severe fatigue.

·         Chronic fevers.

·         Night chills and sweats.

·         Back aches and acute pains.

·         Nausea.

·         Lack of sleep i.e. insomnia

Facts about lice.

                                                                      Lice                                                                                      This refers to over 2500 species of insects of the order Phthiraptera which are wingless and classified as causative agents for some of the human diseases.                                                                                  Since they are parasites, they feed on human skin and other parts that are found on the human body. In humans, they are likely to be found on scalp and pubic hair as their area of inhabitance. They attach their eggs to the human hair with their specialized saliva that creates a bond that is hard to remove from the hair.                                                                                                                                                      They affect humans in the head and are thus known as head lice.                                                              Facts about the members which infest the head include:

·        They are parasites that are commonly found on the head or scalp of humans.

·        They are spread through personal contact, or through the sharing of personal items such as combs, caps, brushes and other types of clothing.

·        They are usually common to children in preschool, school children and teenagers in very rare circumstances.

·        They are known to form feelings of tickling of something that is moving through one’s hair, resulting to itching and eventual sores on the head.

·        People in contact with it should be fully treated to avoid them from spreading to other quarters of the body and to other individuals.

·        A head-lice infection begins with one of them, which eventually bond with another and in the end; one becomes prone to infection.

·        Very young children, preschool and school children should undertake various professional health care screening and evaluation to determine if they have them and if they should be given the necessary treatment.

They are known to cause pediculosis which is defined as an infection caused by head lice.                          This infection is very common, and it is estimated that one in every 10 schoolchildren are infected every year and in the US, the amount used in treating this condition is nearly $1 billion dollars annually.            Treatment can be administered through over-the-counter (OTC) medicine or other prescriptions provided by the local health practitioner.                                                                                                                     The procedure upon treating is summarized as follows:

·        All clothing should be removed.

·        Apply medicine that has been given by the practitioner, hair, should not be washed for one or two days after treating.

·        The infested person should put on clean clothes after that treatment.

·        If live lice still remain in hair, comb them out since the medicine might take very long to kill these lice. Do not apply the treatment again if it doesn't kill lice.

Urinary bladder

                                                Urinary Bladder                                                                                         The bladder is a sac located in the pelvic part just behind the pelvic bone, muscular in nature and extremely useful top the human body in holding urine and due to its muscularity, it contracts and expands rhythmically. The action of expanding allows urine collection and storage while the action of contracting allows the expulsion of urine through the urethra.                                                                                                         It works by collecting urine when it leaves the kidneys and is lodged into the bladder. Then it alerts the nervous system to relax the muscles around the bladder, and once they contract, urine is released.                                                                                                                                                     The normal holding capacity of the bladder is o.4 to 0.6 L and the urine that is expelled passes through the penis by the use of the urethra.                                                                                                           The urinary bladder has three layers which are the following:

·        The detrusor muscles.

·        The sub mucosa layer.

·        The mucosa layer.

There are a number of infections that affect the bladder due to some complications such as inflammation of the bladder caused by a certain variety of bacteria.

Tests                                                                                                                                                         Important tests can be done to determine the condition of the bladder which includes:

·        Urinalysis, which is the primary test performed routinely on urine to ascertain any bladder or kidney defects. If there is any indication of problems with the urine, the urine is checked through a microscope to explain what cells have infections.

·        Cystoscopy, which is primarily where there is an application of a narrow tube that is passed to the urinary bladder through the urethra. It contains a camera, light and other tools which will be useful in diagnosing where the problem is.

·        Urodynamic testing which involves a series of urination tests usually done through a doctor’s observation. The patient urinates and the doctor checks the characteristics of the urine such as urine flow, bladder capacity, pressure and other pivotal measurements which is helpful in identifying any bladder defects.

Bladder conditions                                                                                                                            Some of the common urinary bladder conditions include the following:

·        Urinary stones which form in kidney and lodge in the bladder, thus may block urine.

·        Cystitis, which is the bladder inflammation that causes discomfort and chronic pain.

·        Urinary incontinence, which is chronic urination that is involuntary.

·        Bladder cancer, which is characterized by tumor growth in the bladder.

·        Overactive bladder, where there is involuntary bladder contractions causing urine leakage.

Other defects include urinary retention, hematuna, cystocele, nocturnal enuresis and dysuria.

Treatments                                                                                                                                                                         Treatment includes:

·        Cystoscopy.

·        Surgery.

·        Kegel exercises.

·        Anti-spasms medications.

·        Bladder catheterization.