Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Body RingWorm Symptoms

Ringworm is also referred to as dermatophytosis and is known to affect various parts of the skin. Ringworm is also referred to as dermatophytosis and is known to affect various parts of the skin. Since the term used is ringworm, people think it is a worm, but it is actually a fungi that triggers this skin infection.


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Stomach Ulcer Symptoms

The stomach has a layer of muscles that enables it to grind food into semi-liquid form. The stomach is also like an expandable bag that stores the digested food temporarily.


Green Poop: Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment and Complication

Changes in stool colour or texture is quiet normal. Most changes can be evaluated at times. The colour of normal stool is usually light brown or dark brown. The brown colour of the excreta is a left over mix of dead red blood cells and all the waste from the bacteria in your bowels. Most likely, the poop is another colour because the food isn’t spending enough time in the digestive tract. The colour of the stool can be dark, green, black and various reasons are contributed for the colour changes. This change in colour is a result of not properly absorbing the food in the body.



What does green poop mean?

seem scary but causes vary. This change may happen due to bile pigment in the stool because diarrhoea moves food quickly through the intestines. Due to which the chemicals can’t break down. At times the green colour of the poop is contributed to certain food intakes mostly green leafy vegetables or green food colouring.

Green poop is commonly seen in new born babies, infants who are fed formula milk. Babies pass on stool meconium which is usually green in colour and this colour changes slowly to brown once they are introduced to breast milk.

How does the stool get normal brown colour?

The liver secrets a bright green fluid which is called as bile. This bile is secreted into the intestines and stored in the gallbladder. Bile plays a very important role in absorption, emulsification and digestion of fat and the fat soluble vitamins. Bile also helps to soften stools and is responsible for giving the brown colour characteristic. It helps to alkalinise all the contents present in the intestines. As bile makes it way from the small intestine to large intestine via the ducts called as bile ducts it is then that it changes colour from green to yellow and then brown due to the acting bacteria in the large intestine on the bile salts.

Causes of green poop 

Various conditions are contributed to the stool colour showing green. Few of those are mentioned below:

  •        Current medical condition
  •        Intake of antibiotics for any current or ongoing illness. Especially strong antibiotics for major infections. These lower the population of brown straining intestinal bacteria. At times medications can also cause side effects resulting in change in stool colour.
  •       Any recent medical procedure or surgery. If the body rejects the surgery or transplant undertaken it can develop and cause serious gastrointestinal upset which can lead to green stool or diarrhoea.
  •        Bacterial or parasitic infection. If there are infections caused due to air borne, food or water borne diseases it can also upset the stomach leading to green poop.
  •         Dietary changes or intake of high – chlorophyll plants
  •         Some foods contain food colouring agent which do not get processed properly. This in turn upsets the tummy.
  •          Intake of unprocessed food leading to food poisoning.
  •         Intake of laxatives
  •          Traveller’s diarrhea
  •          Crohn’s disease
  •          Cancer
  •         Consumption of alcohol. Ethanol present in alcohol stimulates the bowel motility.
  •        Stress is also a factor causing green poop. When the body reacts to stress, the bowel movement gets released much quickly without giving time to pick up additional waste and bacteria thus it making it green in colour.

Diagnosis of green poop 

If one has frequent green poop over several days, then go in for immediate doctor’s consultation.  Also when you notice mucus or blood in the stool or experience nausea, vomiting, rectal pain and sudden fever then it’s time to inform the doctor.

The doctor will conduct stool culture analysis, blood tests and colonoscopy. These tests would be carried to rule out any abnormalities which results in green stool.

Complications of green poop 

Passing green stool is not sign of any danger however frequent passing of green poop is definitely not a good sign. It is a sign of certain complications in the body which must be mentioned to your doctor.

Green poop during pregnancy 

During pregnancy it is quiet common for women to pass on green stool. There is variety of reasons for this which includes prenatal vitamins, antibiotics started during prenatal stage, changes in diet wherein women are advised to have food rich in vitamins and minerals and decreased colon transit time.

Treatment for green poop 

Based on the cause of green poop, the doctor would prescribe or go in for certain treatments. If the cause of concern for green stool is dehydration, the doctor would suggest increasing fluid intake. If the cause of green poop was food poisoning the doctor would suggest going in for bland food for few days until the stool colour normalises. If the cause of concern is intake of iron supplements, the doctor would suggest proper dosages.

The next time you visit the toilet don’t just flush it off ensure to check your stool. Since the colour, smell, shape and consistency of your faecal matter says a lot about your health and digestive tract. It is not something to be ignored.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

What is Tramadol?

Tramadol is an opioid-like painkiller that mitigates moderate to moderately severe pain. Unlike opioids like Morphine, codeine, and others, Tramadol has a different chemical structure.



Related: Is Tramadol a Narcotic?

All About Sacroiliitis

1. What is sacroiliitis?


An inflammation of one or both the sacroiliac joints is termed as Sacroiliitis. This is situated where the lower spine and pelvis connect. In other words, we can say that sacroiliac joint is a union of sacrum and ilium. The Latin word denoting inflammation is called “ltis”. The sacroiliac joints disorder can either be unilateral or bilateral affecting one or both the joints. One can experience pain in lower back or buttocks which further extends down to one or both the legs. Any pain caused by sacroiliitis means that there is either too much or not enough motion in the sacroiliac joints. 



2. Causes of sacroiliitis

The various causes for sacroiliac joints pain are mentioned below:

  • ·          Infection
  •        Arthritis
  •         Pregnancy
  •         Injury
  •         Lifting heavy objects
  •         Obesity


3. Symptoms of Sacroiliitis

An individual suffering from sacroiliitis may come across the below signs;
  • Individuals complaining of sacroiliac joint pain also experience pain and stiffness in thighs, lower back and buttocks.
  • The pain also extends to hips and shoulders.
  • Fever
  • While walking the pain may worsen since the swinging motion causes strain in the sacroiliac joints.
  • Skin inflammation
  • One may experience inflammation in one or both the eye.
The pain in the sacroiliac joints can worsen due to the below:
  •          Running
  •         Standing for longer durations
  •         Climbing stairs constantly
  •          Sitting at one place for longer duration.
  •          Bearing the weight of your body completely on one leg
  •         Running for longer periods
  •          Suddenly changing the position from being seated to standing


4. Diagnoses of Sacroiliitis

The doctor will try to identify the cause of pain by moving your legs in different positions to gently stress on the joints. They may also press the places of your hips and buttocks. During the initial stages it becomes difficult for the doctors to diagnose sacroiliitis because the conventional methods of radiographs may show normal. Various techniques currently used to diagnose sacroiliitis are:

Anaesthetic or numbing injections – A numbing injection is given into your sacroiliac joints; if this injection stops the pain then the problem lies in your sacroiliac joints. However, this test is not completely reliable since there are chances of this medicine getting leaked into nearby structures.

Imaging tests – The doctor would suggest an X-Ray of your pelvis to identify the damage in the joints. The doctor may recommend MRI if its suspects ankylosing spondylitis. The sacroiliac joints are located deep in the buttock region which is covered with thick muscle hence X-ray is conducted to visualise the joint. Imaging tests is reliable in determination of any inflammation of sacroiliac joints.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – The MRI has the ability to differentiate the degrees of inflammation and localise edema. It’s a good visualisation of the complex anatomy of the sacroiliac joint. MRI at times is enough to diagnose and verify the severity of the condition.

Blood Tests – This is usually recommended by the doctor if they suspect an existing infection contributing to the inflammation.

5. Treatment of Sacroiliitis

The treatment for sacroiliitis helps the individual in mobility to a great extent hence there should not be any delay in starting the course of treatment.  The treatment completely depends on the root cause of sacroiliitis and the various signs and symptoms associated with it. However, there are certain medications and therapy your doctor might recommend:

Pain Relieving Medicines – Pain killers provided at over the counter are not strong enough to relieve the pain hence doctors would suggest a stronger version of such drugs.

Muscle relaxants – The muscle spasms often linked with sacroiliitis can be reduced with the help of cyclobenzaprine.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) - This therapy includes etanercept and infliximab which block certain cell protein and acts as an inflammatory agent. This helps reduce pain, stiffness and swollen joints.

Physiotherapist – A physical therapist can help you in various light stretching and strengthening exercises which would main the flexibility of the joints as well as make your muscles more stable. Specific pelvic exercises, training muscles of the trunk are useful in patients dealing with sacroiliitis. Strengthening of the pelvic floor muscles is very important because they oppose movements of the coxal bones. This stabilises the sacrum position.

One can also go in for light low-impact aerobic exercises which are designed to prevent recurrence.

If the above procedures do not help in relieving the pain, the doctors would then prescribe surgical or other procedures:

Electrical stimulation – An electrical stimulator is implanted into the sacrum. This helps in reducing pain caused by sacroiliitis.

Joint Injections – There are certain steroids which reduce the joint pains. One of them is corticosteroids. This injection is taken with fluoroscopic guidance. It is a type of live x-ray machine which shows the physician the correct placement of the needle in the joint. This injection includes a numbing agent and a steroid which is an anti-inflammatory medication.



There are certain home remedies for the pain;

Alternating ice and heat treatment – Ice and heat alternation helps in easing the pain down. This is also called as passive treatment.

Rest – Take adequate rest when such pain arises. Avoid carrying out any heavy activities which can further worsen the case. Maintain proper posture and do not bear weight on one leg specially the one which hurts.

Sleeping posture – Maintaining the correct sleeping position has also helped relieve pain. 

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

How To Get Rid of a Yeast Infection Naturally

A vaginal yeast infection is a very common condition faced by women, and most women will have a yeast infection at least once in their lifetime.