General Illness Information Medical Term: CONSTIPATION Common Name: CONSTIPATION Description: Constipation is a condition in which a person has hard, dry stools causing difficult, uncomfortable or infrequent bowel movements. In most cases, constipation is harmless, but can indicate an underlying disorder. Acute constipation begins suddenly and noticeably. Chronic constipation begins insidiously and persists for months or years. Causes: Causes for constipation are listed below: Insufficient fiber in the diet. Fiber…
General Illness Information Common Name: Claudication Medical Term: Claudication Description: Muscle fatigue and pain in an extremity, after a period of minimal exertion. Resting the extremity always relieves this. Repeating a similar exercise can reproduce the pain. It is more common in the lower extremity. Causes: Blockage of an artery in the affected area. Prevention: Stop smoking; Lose weight, if obese; Routine exercise program; Minimize the amount of saturated fats…
General Illness Information Common Name: Cirrhosis of the liver Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Pathological process characterized by liver fibrosis (scarring), and nodular liver cell regeneration. Leads to loss of normal liver function. Third leading cause of death in individuals aged 45-60 years old. Regardless of cause, the basic process is the same: inflammation of liver, followed by destruction of liver cells, cell regeneration and scarring. Causes: Possible causes of…
General Illness Information Medical Term: HERPES SIMPLEX Common Name: Cold Sores, Fever Blister. Description: A common, contagious virus (herpes simplex or HSV-1) infection. Usually involves the lips; gums and mouth area; cornea (rare); occasionally genitals. Causes: It is a herpes virus , a DNA virus of two major types: HSV1 and HSV2; most often HSV1 is associated with oral lesions and HSV2 with genital lesions but reverse occurs also ,…
General Illness Information Medical Term: Upper Respiratory Infection, URI Common name: Common Cold Description: A contagious viral infection of the upper-respiratory passages Causes: Any of at least 100 viruses. Virus particles spread through the air or from person-to-person contact, especially hand-shaking. Prevention: Wash hands frequently, especially after blowing your nose or handling food; To prevent spreading a cold to others, avoid unnecessary contact during the contagious phase (first 2 to 4…
General Illness Information Medical Term: Colic in Infants Common Name: None Specified Description: Colic is a disorder in which an otherwise healthy infant has severe and paroxysmal crying spells (usually occurring in the late afternoon or evening). May occur 1-2 times per day, lasting 1-3 hours occurring more than 3 days per week. Onset under 4 weeks of age and may continue up to 5 months old. More common in…
General Illness Information Common Name: Leukemia, Chronic Lymphocytic Medical Term: None Specified Description: A slow growing cancer of blood forming cells, which produce a specific kind of white blood cell (lymphocyte). This causes proliferation of mature lymphocytes, with resulting infiltration of bone marrow. More common in men over 60. Uncommon before 10 years of age. Rare in China and Japan. Causes: Unknown. There may be a familial component. Prevention: None…
General Illness Information Common Name: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Profound fatigue of at least 6 months duration, in the absence of other causes of fatigue. Does not resolve with bed rest. Impairs daily activity below 30% usual level for at least 6 months. Occurs mainly in adults between ages of 20 to 40 years. Twice as common in women than men. Causes: Unknown. Immunological and viral…
General Illness Information Common Name: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Chronic airway obstruction resulting from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or a combination of the two. Estimated to affect 12-15 million people in North America. Males are more affected than females. Incidence in females is rising. It is the fourth common cause of death Causes: Damage to airways occurs from: Cigarette smoking – most important cause; Air…
General Illness Information Common Name: Cholecystitis and Cholangitis Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Infection or inflammation of the gallbladder, which collects and concentrates bile from the liver (Cholecystitis). Infection or inflammation of the ducts that drain bile from the liver to the gallbladder (cholangitis). More common in women and some ethnic groups (North American Indians). Incidence increases with age. Causes: Unknown. Postulated to be caused by inflammation or bacterial infection,…
