preeclampsia

Formerly called toxemia, preeclampsia is a condition that pregnant women develop. It is marked by high blood pressure in women who have previously not experienced high blood pressure before.

 Preeclamptic women will have a high level of protein in their urine and often also have swelling in the feet, legs, and hands. This condition usually appears late in pregnancy, generally after the 20 week mark, although it can occur earlier.

If undiagnosed, preeclampsia can lead to eclampsia, a serious condition that can put you and your baby at risk, and in rare cases, cause death. Women with preeclampsia who have seizure are considered to have eclampsia.

There's no way to cure preeclampsia, and that can be a scary prospect for moms-to-be.

 But you can help protect yourself by learning the symptoms of preeclampsia and by seeing your doctor for regular prenatal care. When preeclampsia is caught early, it's easier to manage.

source: webmed

shoulder separation

A shoulder separation is not truly an injury to the shoulder joint. The injury actually involves the acromioclavicular joint (also called the AC joint). The AC joint is where the collarbone (clavicle) meets the highest point of the shoulder blade (acromion).

mechanism of injury:

The most common cause for a separation of the AC joint is from a fall directly onto the shoulder. The fall injures the ligaments that surround and stabilize the AC joint.

If the force is severe enough, the ligaments attaching to the underside of the clavicle are torn. This causes the "separation" of the collarbone and wingbone. The wingbone actually moves downward from the weight of the arm. This creates a "bump" or bulge above the shoulder.

The injury can range from a little change in configuration with mild pain, to quite deforming and very painful. Good pain-free function often returns even with a lot of deformity. The greater the deformity, the longer it takes for pain-free function to return.

• A mild shoulder separation involves a sprain of the AC ligament that does not move the collarbone and looks normal on X-rays.
• A more serious injury tears the AC ligament and sprains or slightly tears the coracoclavicular (CC) ligament, putting the collarbone out of alignment to some extent.
• The most severe shoulder separation completely tears both the AC and CC ligaments and puts the AC joint noticeably out of position.

Treatment:

Nonsurgical Treatment

Nonsurgical treatments, such as a sling, cold packs, and medications can often help manage the pain. Sometimes, a doctor may use more complicated supports to help lessen AC joint motion and lessen pain.

Most people return to near full function with this injury, even if there is a persistent, significant deformity. Some people have continued pain in the area of the AC joint, even with only a mild deformity. This may be due to:

• Abnormal contact between the bone ends when the joint is in motion
• Development of arthritis
• Injury to a disk-like piece of cushioning cartilage that is often found between the bone ends of this joint

It is often worthwhile to wait and see if reasonable function returns without surgical treatment.

Surgical Treatment

Surgery can be considered if pain persists or the deformity is severe. A surgeon might recommend trimming back the end of the collarbone so that it does not rub against the acromion.

Where there is significant deformity, reconstructing the ligaments that attach to the underside of the collarbone is helpful. This type of surgery works well even if it is done long after the problem started.
Whether treated conservatively or with surgery, the shoulder will require rehabilitation to restore and rebuild motion, strength, and flexibility.


source: ortho info

shoulder dislocation

The shoulder joint is the body's most mobile joint. It can turn in many directions. But, this advantage also makes the shoulder an easy joint to dislocate.

A partial dislocation (subluxation) means the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) is partially out of the socket (glenoid). A complete dislocation means it is all the way out of the socket. Both partial and complete dislocation cause pain and unsteadiness in the shoulder.

Symptoms to look for include:

• Swelling
• Numbness
• Weakness
• Bruising

Sometimes dislocation may tear ligaments or tendons in the shoulder or damage nerves.

The shoulder joint can dislocate forward, backward, or downward. A common type of shoulder dislocation is when the shoulder slips forward (anterior instability). This means the upper arm bone moved forward and down out of its joint. It may happen when the arm is put in a throwing position.

Treatment: 

The doctor will place the ball of the upper arm bone (humerus) back into the joint socket. This process is called closed reduction. Severe pain stops almost immediately once the shoulder joint is back in place.

source: ortho info

AIDS

AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a syndrome caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The illness alters the immune system, making people much more vulnerable to infections and diseases. This susceptibility worsens as the syndrome progresses.

HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person (semen and vaginal fluids, blood and breast milk). The virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivering the baby during childbirth, and through breast feeding.

HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as vaginal, oral sex, anal sex, blood transfusion, and contaminated hypodermic needles.

Both the virus and the syndrome are often referred to together as HIV/AIDS.

There is currently no cure for HIV or AIDS.

 Treatments can slow the course of the condition - some infected people can live a long and relatively healthy life.

source: MNT

Tetanus

Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a serious infection caused by Clostridium tetani; this bacterium produces a toxin that affects the brain and nervous system, leading to stiffness in the muscles.

If Clostridium tetani spores are deposited in a wound, the neurotoxin interferes with nerves that control muscle movement.

The infection can cause severe muscle spasms, serious breathing difficulties, and can ultimately be fatal.

Although tetanus treatment exists, it is not uniformly effective. The best way to protect against tetanus is to take the vaccine.

The tetanus vaccine

The tetanus vaccine is routinely given to children as part of the DTaP (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis) shot. The DTaP vaccine consists of five shots, usually given in the arm or thigh of children when they are aged:

• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 15 to 18 months
• 4 to 6 years

A booster is normally given between the ages of 11 and 18 years, and then another booster every 10 years. If an individual is traveling to an area where tetanus is common, they should check with a doctor regarding vaccinations.

If anyone receives a deep or dirty wound and has not had a booster shot over the last 5 years, they should have another booster.

source:MNT

Written by Christian Nordqvist