Blood clots can be life-saving when it plugs up a broken blood vessel but it can also be deadly when it forms inside an intact blood vessel. You may have a deadly blood clot forming or flowing through your bloodstream without any symptoms. It is only when this blood clot blocks most of the blood supply to an organ that the >> Read More ...
Iron is an essential mineral that is needed by the human body. It has to be sourced on a continuous basis and since the body cannot produce iron, it has to acquire iron from food. One of the most important roles of iron is that it partly makes up hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells. Hemoglobin is necessary to >> Read More ...
Blood clots are the body’s way of sealing off a break in a blood vessel. It stops blood loss and is eventually dissolved by the body once the damaged area is healed. Most of us see blood clots often on the skin surface following an injury and in these cases we refer to the clot as a scab. However, blood clots can >> Read More ...
Guillain-Barré syndrome is an uncommon disease but has been thrust into the spotlight with the Zika virus outbreak. The disease affects about 3 in 100,000 Americans and is more common in adults, particularly in the elderly. However, with the Zika outbreak there is concern that Guillain-Barré syndrome may be more commonly >> Read More ...
There are many types of diseases that are caused by the immune system malfunctioning. Some are mild like in allergies where the immune system is hypersenstive (although some allergic reactions can be deadly) while others are more serious. Among the latter, lupus is often dreaded because it is serious and can be severe. >> Read More ...
Whether it is a fall, slip of a knife or a paper cut, we all occasionally injure ourselves to a point that leads to bleeding. In most instances these minor cuts (lacerations)are not serious. Bleeding can be stopped quickly. Infections do not tend to set in with proper wound care. Apart from the pain that lasts for a few >> Read More ...
We usually consider surface bleeding as a break in the skin from where blood pours our (hemorrhage). However, it is possible for bruising to occur on the surface without a break in the skin or bleeding into the environment. This appears as a tiny patches ranging from red to blue or even purple in color. We refer to it as >> Read More ...
The stomach has an extensive blood supply to nourish it during digestion and can carry away some nutrients. Arteries carry blood that is rich in oxygen and nutrients to the organ while veins drain out wastes and carbon dioxide for processing. However, when most people talk about the stomach arteries they are actually >> Read More ...
There are many different types of autoimmune diseases yet Sjogren’s syndrome which is among the more common of these conditions is not very well known. It is a condition marked by dry eyes and a dry mouth but there is much to this disease that can extend to almost every part of the body. There is no cure for >> Read More ...
Immunization programs across the globe have effectively reduced the risk of serious infections, lifelong disability and even death from certain dangerous microorganisms. Prior to the development of vaccines, many of these infectious diseases were decimating large portions of the population during outbreaks and contributing >> Read More ...
