Tag Archives: CDC Infographics

Dr. C's Journal, Medicine

Dr. C’s Journal: Some Facts Regarding Tuberculosis

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Tuberculosis is an ancient killer, and is one of the few diseases that has been traced back to Ancient Egypt and beyond. TB has ravaged humanity for millennia, and was commonly called consumption due to its tendency to produce weight loss.

Once thought to be under control, TB has received a new lease on life with the emergence of AIDS. All countries except North America, western Europe, and Australia have a problem with tuberculosis, which kills more than 1 million people each year.

The tuberculosis germ is unusual in that It has a cell wall high in the lipid, mycolic acid. This protects the germ when it is engulfed by first responders such as macrophages. The infected cell Is surrounded by other macrophages, lymphocytes and Fibroblasts to form a granuloma. This creates a standoff, where the tuberculosis germ is still alive, but walled off, and becomes an inactive or “latent” case of tuberculosis, a small percentage of which become active each year.

Active tuberculosis produces the usual infectious symptoms of fever, chills, and cough, often productive with blood. The tuberculosis germ multipliesu much more slowly than most other bacteria and the symptoms are long and drawn out; a cough lasting for more than a month, especially if accompanied by weight loss, should raise the suspicion of TB.

TB can spread to infect bones, kidneys, liver, and brain,  but prefers the lung.

A spot on the Lung, confirmed by a Tuberculin test, or a blood test called a T-spot, will confirm the diagnosis.

The slow multipication of the tuberculosis Germ requires much longer treatment, and the combination with AIDS has caused a  rapid development of resistant organisms. Fortunately, there are several drugs available.

Only one immunization is currently available, namely BCG. This has been used a lot in Europe and other countries . BCG produces a weekly positive tuberculin test.

A large number of conditions which reduce immunity, such as cigarette smoking, drug use, and immunosuppressive treatments associated with organ transplants and cancer will  predispose a person to catching tuberculosis. TV is transmitted in the tiny droplets from sneezing, coughing, or talking such as we were accustomed to thinking about during Covid. The same preventative measures, such as  masks and avoiding close contact with infected individuals should be practiced to prevent spread from an infected person.

If you follow a healthy lifestyle and are careful when traveling, you will most likely have no trouble with this nasty infection. Please check with the following reference or more complete information.

—Dr. C.

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Infographics, Medicine, Studies

Conditions: How Chronic Kidney Disease, Diabetes & Heart Disease Are Linked

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The body is complicated! While organs in your body each have a specific job to do to keep you healthy, they still rely on each other to function well. When one organ isn’t working the way it should, it can put stress on other organs, causing them to stop working properly as well.

The relationship between chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, and heart disease is one example of the ways our organs are connected.

The body uses a hormone called insulin to get blood sugar into the body’s cells to be used as energy. If someone has diabetes, their pancreas either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should.

If someone has CKD, their kidneys are not able to filter out toxins and waste from their blood as well as they should.

Heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common condition, coronary artery disease, leads to changes in blood flow to the heart, which can cause a heart attack.

Make the Connection

So how are these three conditions connected? Risk factors for each condition are similar and include high blood sugar, high blood pressure, family history, obesity, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.

High blood sugar can slowly damage the kidneys, and, over time, they can stop filtering blood as well as they should, leading to CKD. Approximately 1 in 3 adults with diabetes has CKD.

When the kidneys don’t work well, more stress is put on the heart. When someone has CKD, their heart needs to pump harder to get blood to the kidneys. This can lead to heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Change in blood pressure is also a CKD complication that can lead to heart disease.

Luckily, preventing or managing one condition can help you prevent and manage the others and lower the risk for more complications.

Dr. C's Journal, Infographics, Medicine

Dr. C’s Journal: Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs)

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Sexually transmitted diseases are so common they deserve their own acronym, STDs. Down through the ages, Sexual activity with multiple partners has been so popular that the ever-resourceful bacteria, fungi, and viruses all compete for this ever present ecosystem. It is not uncommon to have multiple STDs at the same time.

Since STDs have many symptoms and physical findings in common, it is essential to go to the doctor for a diagnosis; certainly the treatments very widely.

Until the mid 20th century, treatments were very unsatisfactory, and the infection of the vagina would often lead to deeper infections of the uterus and abdominal cavity; pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)was fairly common then, and still occurs in people foolish enough to postpone getting their problem treated properly.

The common STDs include bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papilloma virus infection(HPV), Syphillis  and Trichomoniasis. These are sufficiently different in their symptoms and treatment as to deserve their own discussion among the 101 common disorders. Now we have a new kid on the block, Monkeypox, that is helping out AIDS as a plague to the homosexual community.

I have a dear friend who is a physician for a student health department at a major university. STDs, depression, and other psychiatric problems are among the more common things that she sees in her practice.

—Dr. C.

Dr. C "Comments", Men's Health, Prevention, Resources, Women's Health

CDC INFOGRAPHICS: ‘HEAT STROKE & HEAT EXHAUSTION’

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COMMENTARY:

THERMOREGULATION, preservation of the normal body temperature, is well developed in humans, and monitoring the body temperature has been useful since the development of thermometers.

Indirect measurement by Infrared detectors is being widely used today to detect FEVER as a sign of Covid in gatherings such as schools. Reactive increase of body temperature in a cool environment is a body defense mechanism that I have discussed earlier. Contrary to general practice, Fever, in my opinion, should be left untreated unless excessive, such as above 103 degrees F., or even 104 degrees.

Excessive environmental temperature, such as in a closed car, Jacuzzi, or heat wave can defeat the body’s ability to defend the normal temperature. Children, with their high body surface to mass ratio, are particularly at risk, as periodic newspaper articles testify. HEAT STROKE is the most serious of heat-related illnesses, leading to high and increasing body temperature, mental symptoms, even convulsions, and is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

The treatment is to call 911, and to lower the body temperature by removing insulating clothing, and immersing in cold water. There are a variety of other conditions based on excessive exertion, water or salt loss.

These include HEAT EXHAUSTION. Older Workers are particularly susceptible, and medical clinic attention may be needed for fluid and electrolyte replacement. MUSCLE CRAMPS and even damage( Rhabdomyolysis), FAINTING (this has been discussed before) and Heat Rash can result from too hot an environment. Furry Animals Pant instinctively to get their highly vascular Tongue to “air condition” their bodies. Humans should dress and exercise appropriately when the environment requires it.

–Dr. C.