Tag: Diagnosing

bookmark_borderMedical Procedures Of Diagnosing Diabetes

Posted on by Tim Warren

What is diabetes? Diabetes is the metabolic disorder over the body’s inability to properly absorb and burn glucose in the blood. The process needs insulin. The most common diabetes is the Type 2 diabetes. This is the type of diabetes that is developed over time and during adulthood. Type 2 diabetics produce ineffective insulin. Type 1 diabetes is developed while the patient is still young, and in their case, their bodies do not produce enough insulin or none at all. Another type of diabetes is the gestational diabetes developed while still in the mother’s womb.

Nine out of every ten diabetics have Type 2 diabetes. Most of the causes are coming from unhealthy lifestyles and indulgence of fatty foods. The most notable complication of the Type 2 diabetes is the rare and extremely painful diabetic amyotrophy. Below are the most common contributing factors in developing the disease: Obesity, Unhealthy diet, Inactive lifestyle, Smoking, Abusive drug use, Excessive alcohol intake.

Type 2 diabetes is developed over time. Here are some symptoms that indicate the need to properly diagnosing diabetes: Excessive thirst and hunger , Unexplained fatigue, Blindness, blurring of vision, Dry mouth, Frequent urination, Uncontrollable weight loss or gain, Hard to heal wounds, blisters and sores, Yeast infections, Darkening of the armpits, neck and groin areas.

Here are two of the most common ways of diagnosing diabetes:

  • Fasting Plasma Glucose Test – Also referred to as fasting blood glucose test or the FPG test. This test requires at least eight hours of fasting. Blood samples will then be taken from the patient. Glucose level should be 99mg/dl or less. 100-125mg level indicates pre-diabetes, placing the patient at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Over 125mg of glucose in the blood indicates full blown diabetes.
  • Oral Glucose Tolerance Test – This type of test for diagnosing diabetes is more reliable than the FPG. This also requires fasting of at least eight hour. After the fasting period, the patient will be given a dose of glucose. Several blood testing will be performed at timed intervals. The purpose of the test is to determine how fast the body absorbs the infused glucose. Patients taking the test should be in perfect health, and normally active. To ensure accurate results, aside from the strict fasting, smoking and drinking coffee is also not allowed. The blood samples taken after 2hrs should indicate glucose level of below 140mg to be considered healthy. 140-199mg is already a pre-diabetes level and 200mg and above indicates diabetes.

Patients within the pre-diabetes level have increased risk of developing full blown Type 2 diabetes. In order to reverse the condition, the patient should follow the type 2 diabetes diet of foods low in cholesterol. It is always best to avoid developing diabetes, but if symptoms are indicative, diagnosing diabetes early will help in proper treatment and possible reversal of the disease.

bookmark_borderAbout Diagnosing Ovarian Cancer

Posted on by Tim Warren

When it comes to ovarian cancer, it is especially important that you get an early diagnosis. Often an early diagnosis is key in providing you with enough time to allow your treatment to work. As with other life threatening illness it is important that you get ovarian cancer diagnosed as early as possible.

In modern times, everything seems like it is possible and many of us wonder why people are still dying from diseases. However, modern medicine still doesn’t promise that people will be completely free of malignant health problems.

Ovarian cancer is a good example since it affects women from the age of 45-60 and is considered deadly, simply, because it is a member of the cancer family. Women cannot escape the possibility of getting cancer. This is why it is important to consider how you can avoid ovarian cancer through proper awareness of the disease.

Being aware of ovarian cancer means that you are conscious of the symptoms and signs associated with the disease so that you can respond quickly before it can develop into an advanced stage. Ovarian cancer has no definitive signs, but you can try to diagnose ovarian cancer early through a series of radiology tests, a CT scan or an MRI.

However, even with these tests ovarian cancer may not be seen immediately. Exploratory surgery is often recommended in which a surgeon will get a tissue sample from within your body to confirm radiology scans.

Through these exploratory tests, patients can feel a level of pain. This is because with a biopsy a piece of flesh is taking from your body in order to determine if cancer cells are present. This is the most accurate and easiest way to diagnose and perform necessary tests associated with many cancers.

Sometimes a patient can even get results within a few hours. However, it is recommended that a woman take a blood test before resulting to the extreme of an operation. This is because a simple blood test can show if there is a protein tumor marker in the blood. It is always best to have a blood test done before you undergo any major testing.

If cancer cells are found in a patient’s body then a doctor will do what they can to remove as many of the cancer cells as possible. After this, the patient may need to undergo regular treatment to prevent the cancer from growing and spreading to other areas of the body.

The doctors never take this issue for granted since no one can completely guarantee that cancer cells won’t re-grow and continue to spread in a patient’s body. It is important to have cancer diagnosed early so that an experienced doctor can apply correct treatment. Nothing can treat ovarian cancer if it is diagnosed too late.

Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is the best thing you can do before starting treatment. After diagnosis, a doctor can provide further treatments including medicines and other life-long remedies to help. This is why it is important for every woman to be aware of the possibility that their body is susceptible to cancer as a result of aging and overworking.

 

bookmark_borderDiagnosing ADHD in Children

Posted on by Tim Warren

If you suspect your child has ADHD, take a moment to review the DSM IV criteria used by psychiatrists, psychologists and physicians. This criteria is available online through the CDC official website and through many other websites talking about mental health.

As you can see, diagnosing ADHD in your child is a lot more difficult than television commercials would like you to believe! This is why most doctors cringe when a teacher sends them a child after already having labeled them with ADHD. Remember that teachers and school counselors are not qualified to diagnose your child with ADHD, not because they are not familiar with the criterion for ADHD but because they don’t have the resources to check your child for any of the myriad of other conditions that would contribute to these symptoms.

Diagnosing your child with ADHD if first done by comparing the criteria mentioned above with a pre-set idea of what is “normal” for their age group. It is important if you are diagnosing your child with ADHD that you ensure they are evaluated by a physician or psychiatrist familiar with child development. Unlike adults, where the expectations of a twenty five year old when it comes to being able to control themselves, react appropriately to various situations and focus on a task are very similar to the expectations of a thirty year old, the expectations of a five year old for those same behaviors are drastically different than those of a ten year old.

From that basic guideline a physician or psychiatrist diagnosing ADHD in your child will take into consideration other factors that may be causing their symptoms, such as hearing or vision problems, difficulties in their home environment, prematurity, abuse, food allergies or dietary deficiencies. From that point they will be able to make an accurate diagnosis as to whether or not your child’s behavior stems from ADHD.

Diagnosing ADHD in your child is a complicated process, and it should be recognized as such. Far too many parents take their children to the doctor, announce they have ADHD and put them on Ritalin without exploring any of the alternatives. The drugs used to treat ADHD are Class II controlled substances, right along with cocaine, methamphetamine and opium. You would never blindly hand your child any of these drugs. Use the same care when diagnosing ADHD in your child.

bookmark_borderDiagnosing Endometriosis

Posted on by Tim Warren

To diagnose this condition, the doctor will perform series of examination to confirm if you are actually suffering from this health condition. The first of these series is physical examination of the various part of the body. This entails looking for abnormally enlarged ovaries, a retro-displaced uterus or some lesions around the vagina area. These are the likely places where endometriosis are commonly found in the body

Though, this initial examination can help the doctor to confirm or exclude endometriosis, the approach is found not to be accurate sometimes. If the doctor is not satisfied with this approach, he can then order ultrasound to be performed.

Another technique for diagnosing endometriosis is biochemical maker. This requires analysis of blood sample to be carried out in order to detect the presence of endometriosis. According to medical research, it was discovered that women with endometriosis tends to have high level of a particular antigen in their blood sample compared to those not suffering from this condition. By using this technique, the doctor can easily confirm the presence of endometriosis in the body.

Laparoscopy is also another major technique of diagnosing endometriosis. This is performed by making a small incision into the pelvic region of the body. A tiny camera is then inserted into the incision which allows the image of the endometrial tissues to be captured and shown on a computer screen. Similarly, this procedure can also be used to collect blood sample or tissue by attaching a very small piece of equipment to the camera.

Endometriosis is a health condition accompanied by series of symptoms that are undesirable in terms of pain and side effects. As a result, early diagnosis will save you from pain and long terms side effects such as infertility, so it is important to visit your doctor as soon as you notice any of its associated symptoms. By consulting a doctor, you will be more aware of this condition while at the same time you will know about the various diagnosing options which are best for you.