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Common types of management options for health concerns

Common types of management options for health concerns

Medical science has made notable progress in making life easier. It deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of health conditions. Doctors use various techniques, such as prescription options, surgery, and other treatments, to reduce pain and improve the overall quality of life for those with health issues. Treatments fall into three categories: curing illnesses, relieving symptoms, and preventing the onset of health conditions. The following are some of the most common medical treatments:

Non-surgical procedures
Non-surgical procedures can help diagnose, measure, and treat injuries or ailments. Doctors use these methods to understand the severity of the disease and determine the best course of treatment for patients. Common diagnostic techniques include:

  • Lab tests: These involve testing bodily fluids such as blood and urine tests.
  • Imaging tests: X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) are non-invasive diagnostic tools that generate images indicating activities inside the body.
  • Endoscopy: A procedure in which a thin tube (endoscope) is inserted into the body for a visual examination. This procedure is used for treatments like a colonoscopy (examination of the bowel), gastroscopy (stomach), cystoscopy (bladder), bronchoscopy (lung airways), and laparoscopy (abdomen).

Therapy
Therapeutic procedures improve or cure a condition and help restore function. These procedures are far less invasive than surgery. Such treatments could involve prescription options, psychotherapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and radiation therapy.

Surgical procedures
Such procedures may also be recommended to deal with an injury, disease, or some kind of abnormality. The common types of surgical procedures are:

Cataract surgery: Cataracts, which cause the eye lens to become cloudy, are common among older adults. This condition results in vision problems requiring surgery. Here, the surgeon replaces the natural eye lens with an artificial one to improve vision and prevent the weakening of the eyes with age. Cataract surgeries typically cost between $2,300 and $3,000.

C-section: Women with health issues may need a C-section to safely deliver their baby. Other women might need a C-section if complications, like high blood pressure, develop during their pregnancy or delivery. The complications could arise due to a problem with the baby’s position, placenta, or umbilical cord. A C-section costs about $13,000, usually $4,000 more than a vaginal delivery.

Joint surgery: Knee replacement surgery is common among older adults and professional athletes. Surgery may also be used to treat damaged hip, shoulder, and ankle joints. Here, the surgeon removes and replaces the damaged joint with a new, artificial joint. Joint replacement surgery typically costs between $16,500 and $33,000.

Coronary artery bypass: This surgery is recommended for treating angina (chest pain) and issues with the coronary artery (plaque buildup). Here, a vein is transplanted above and below a blocked coronary artery, creating a new path for blood to flow around the blockage. Although leg veins are mostly used for bypass transplants, arteries from the chest may also be used.

Hysterectomy: This procedure removes the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries in women. This surgery helps avoid complications such as uterine fibroids and endometrial cancer. The cost of open abdominal surgery is around $13,000. The figure is typically higher if the surgeon uses robot-assisted technology.

Additionally, alternative treatments may help relieve pain, treat the condition, and improve the quality of life. Acupuncture, relaxation techniques, and ayurveda are common examples of alternative medical treatments.

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Stay at the top of your health game with these 4 tips

Stay at the top of your health game with these 4 tips

Think of the human body as a car. Pouring the cheapest gasoline (unhealthy food) in a car can damage the engine (bodily organs). Instead, if you can take care of yourself by committing to fitness via proper nutrition, it can take you a long way. In a recent study, it was found that approximately 55 percent of people derive daily calories from refined and processed foods. This can be counterproductive as these foods are full of unhealthy fats and devoid of essential nutrients. How are fitness and nutrition related to each other? Fitness and nutrition go hand in hand. Consuming foods containing healthy nutrients enables your body to function in a way conducive to physical and mental well-being. You may find yourself becoming more active, and burning calories off in a healthy manner. If you continue to maintain an exercise routine without getting adequate nutrition, it will have an adverse effect. So, here are some useful tips that can help you to be at the top of your health game: Keep a tab on your calories This is one of the smartest tips to stay healthy. Several diet plans focus on the number of calories that need to be eaten each day.
7 facts everyone must know about gout

7 facts everyone must know about gout

Affecting an incredible eight million-plus people in the United States, Gout is a serious form of arthritis that causes insurmountable pain in the joints. The condition, which is one of the oldest prevailing medical illness in society, develops due to the accumulation of uric acid in the joints, mostly troubling overweight adults and men. Delving further, here are seven must-know facts about this condition. In women, it is more common after menopause Gout basically occurs due to the accumulation of uric acid, which then forms needle-shaped structures in the joints and leads to pain, inflammation, and redness. Estrogen, a hormone found in women, naturally leads to uric acid being released through urine. However, after menopause, their estrogen levels start to drop, which makes the uric acid content in their blood rise. Gout can take birth even with normal levels of uric acid While most patients suffering from gout have a high concentration of uric acid in their bloodstream, some gout attacks can even occur with normal uric acid levels — a rare condition termed as asymptomatic hyperuricemia. Alcohol increases its risk Along with meat, fish, and poultry, alcohol consumption drastically increases the chances of developing gout. This is because alcohol has a high content of purine, a chemical compound that breaks down into urea in the body.
Top 4 reasons for unnatural hair loss patterns

Top 4 reasons for unnatural hair loss patterns

Hair loss is a natural process that automatically gets rid of old tissue and hair to promote new growth. So don’t be alarmed when you do find a few strands of hair tangled in your comb. However, a clearly visible scalp and a receding hairline are indicative of developing the problem of permanent hair loss. There are several internal and external factors that can accelerate hair fall, leading to pattern baldness in both men and women. Here are the top four reasons that trigger unnatural hair fall. Stress Stress ranks among the top risk factors associated with many medical conditions. In fact, one way or the other, taking physical or psychological stress harms the body more than you can imagine. For hair loss, especially, excessive shedding starts right after the body undergoes physical or psychological distress. A few examples include experiencing high fever, blood loss due to accident or injury, or even post-surgery recovery can result in stress that causes hair loss. Stress, coupled with anxiety, results in accelerated hair loss. To cope with this problem and reduce its effects, stress management is of crucial importance. Hormonal changes Men and women both experience hormonal changes throughout their lifetime. However, an imbalance associated with various conditions can trigger hair loss.
Learn about these 3 types of hearing loss

Learn about these 3 types of hearing loss

Hearing loss, deafness, or impairment is the partial or total inability to hear sounds. People with low to moderate hearing impairment face challenges in understanding what the other person is saying in a noisy environment. Whereas, people with severe deafness cannot hear anything, and rely completely on lip-reading and sign language skills. There are three main types of hearing loss: sensorineural, conductive, and a combination of both. Let’s understand these types in detail and learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of each type. Sensorineural hearing loss It’s the most common type of hearing loss. Sensorineural is permanent hearing loss often caused by damage to the tiny hair cells that line the inner ear or the auditory nerve. The damage stops or weakens the transfers of nerve signals to the brain. These signals are essentially the intensity and clarity of sounds. Causes: Aging and exposure to loud noises for a long period of time are the most common cause of the damage. Certain medications and illnesses can also increase risks. It can even be genetic, and pass on to the child in the mother’s womb. Treatment: There is no medical or surgical treatment available to repair the tiny hair cells once they’re damaged.
Simple lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of heart diseases

Simple lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of heart diseases

The heart is the most crucial organ in the body and as the system will cease to function if the heart stops or loses momentum pumping fresh oxygenated blood. This is why it is vital to not neglect your heart health at all and responsibly maintain a healthy, stress-free, and more importantly, a happy lifestyle. Here are a few simple lifestyle changes that will help support a healthy heart function. Switch to a healthy diet Avoid eating foods that are rich in trans and saturated fats. Most foods you find on the shelves of the supermarket contain large quantities of one or the other. Instead, switch to low-fat high fiber alternatives to help manage cholesterol. Maintaining a healthy cholesterol level in the body automatically reduces the risk of heart diseases. The simple reason for this is that fats that normally block major arteries and blood vessels are eliminated from these foods choices. It is also advisable to limit the salt (sodium) intake to control blood pressure and sugar to reduce the risk of diabetes simultaneously. Change certain lifestyle habits Reduce the number of alcoholic or carbonated drinks you have regularly. For men, it is advisable to have not more than two drinks and day and women must have only one.

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