Danger level: Low

What is it?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition of the digestive system causing pain and a change in bowel habits.

Who gets it?

It’s estimated that as much as 10-20% of the population in the US suffer from IBS.

Women are 2-3 times more likely to develop IBS than men in Western countries. In the Indian subcontinent, on the other hand, 70-80% of sufferers are men.

The condition starts before age 35 in about 50% of people.

If you have someone in your close family (parents, siblings) with IBS, you may have a higher chance of developing it yourself.

What causes it?

The reason behind IBS isn’t known yet, although there are many theories.

The symptoms of IBS (which we will discuss next) are caused by changes in our bowel habits. Our intestines move the food we eat along the gastrointestinal tract by contraction and relaxation of muscles in the intestines’ walls.

In IBS, these contractions may be stronger and longer, leading to food passing more quickly than normal in the intestines. This can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. In other people, contractions may be weaker, causing the stools to stay longer in the intestines, making them hard and dry. This may lead to constipation.

The intestines. For some people, they just don’t work the way they’re supposed to. Photo by Curious Expeditions. 

People with IBS have a sensitivity to certain triggers which other people don’t respond to. For example -

1. Foods: Some foods worsen the symptoms in some IBS patients. Examples of such foods include chocolate, milk and alcohol. Also carbonated beverages and some fruits and vegetables may cause discomfort.
2. Stress: Stressful events may aggravate the symptoms.

How does it feel?

1. Abdominal pain – The pain is usually crampy and located in the lower left abdomen. Sometimes, as mentioned above, stress and eating may worsen the pain. Going to the toilet may relieve the pain.

   
   Abdominal pain is the most common symptom of IBS. Photo by Peter Gerdes.

2. Changes in bowel habits – This can include diarrhea, constipation, or an alternation between the two. The diarrhea usually happens during the daytime, most often in the mornings or after meals. People often feel they just have to run to the toilet, and after emptying they often feel not completely emptied. The constipation can last from days to months.
3. Other symptoms – These can include bloating, gas, belching, heartburn, difficulty swallowing, an early feeling of fullness with eating, and nausea.

How is it discovered?

There are no specific tests which can be done to determine if you have IBS. Instead, there are some criteria, called the Rome 3 diagnostic criteria for IBS, which may help the doctor (and you) determine if you have IBS.

The criteria say that if you have abdominal pain or discomfort that lasts for at least 3 days per month in the last 3 months which are associated with either:

- Improvement with defecation

- It started with a change in bowel frequency

- It started with  a change in the appearance of stools

Then you may have IBS.

IBS isn’t a life threatening disorder, but other diseases that may be life threatening may show up with the same symptoms. This is why the doctor may perform tests to rule out other conditions before deciding you have IBS.

How is it treated?

There is really no cure for IBS, so treatment is usually a long term process. Treatment includes:

1. Monitoring symptoms – This helps to identify which things cause you to feel worse so that you may avoid them. It can be done with a daily diary.
2. Diet changes – Eliminating foods that may worsen your symptoms is part of the treatment. It shouldn’t be done without a doctor’s consultation, though. This may include lowering your daily intake of dairy products, eating less foods that may cause gas, eating foods which may be easier to digest, and increasing your dietary fiber.
3. Psychosocial therapy – Since stress and anxiety may worsen the disease for some people, learning to deal with them may ease the disease.
4. Medications – None of those cure the disease, but may help with the symptoms. Consult your doctor for info about those.

What happens after treatment?

Although IBS can cause substantial physical discomfort and emotional distress, the condition isn’t life threatening. Most people with the condition learn to control their symptoms with time.

The bottom line – How do I avoid it?

There is no known way to prevent IBS, since no one really knows what causes it. If you do have the condition, dealing with stress and eating a proper diet may help to avoid its symptoms.

This video showcases a personal story of IBS, as seen on the Discovery Channel:

Do you suffer from IBS or know someone who does? Share your story in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. Crohn’s Disease – Inflammation in The Intestines Which Can Influence Your Whole Life
2. Peptic Ulcer Disease – Wounds in your stomach and intestines
3. Asperger Syndrome – A Life of Misunderstandings

About 90% of headaches are caused by one of three conditions: migraines, cluster headaches and tension headaches. Today we’ll cover the last one.

Danger level: Low

What is it?

Tension headaches (or tension-type headaches) are the most common cause of headaches.

Who gets it?

Tension headaches can happen at any age, but it happens mostly in young adults.

About 30-80% of the adult US population suffers from tension headaches from time to time. It happens twice as much in women.

What causes it?

The exact cause isn’t known. One of the theories behind tension headaches is that the pain is the result of muscle tension in the face, neck and scalp. Yet this hasn’t been proven. Other evidence shows that there is a change in chemicals in our brain which causes this type of headache.

Whatever the cause may be, there are certain triggers, or things which are believed to bring about the headache:

1. Stress – Such as problems at home or with family, around exam time, deadlines at work, etc.
2. Depression and anxiety
3. Not enough rest
4. Poor posture
5. Working in awkward positions or holding one position for a long time
6. Jaw clenching

Stress. It can bring about tension headaches. Photo by vidrio.

How does it feel?

The pain in tension headache is usually mild to moderate. It feels like pressure or tightness around both sides of the head or neck (people will say it feels like a vice). The muscles in the head, neck or shoulders may feel tender.

The pain is usually steady, and activity doesn’t make it worse. It lasts for anything from 30 minutes to several days. It typically starts several hours after waking and worsens as the day progresses.

Unlike migraine headaches, tension headaches usually don’t involve nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light and sounds or auras (you can read our article about migraine headaches to see what aura means).

Tension headaches can be divided into three categories, according to how often they occur:

1. Infrequent episodic – When it happens less than once per month
2. Frequent episodic – When it occurs 1-14 times per month
3. Chronic – When it happens 15 days or more in a month

Usually people can go on with their daily routine in spite of the headache.

How is it discovered?

The story and physical check are usually enough to diagnose tension headaches, and no special tests are needed.

If the doctor suspects another cause, they may order other tests (such as a CT scan) to rule out other problems.

How is it treated?

A lot of people will just take over-the-counter painkillers for their tension headaches. This can be a problem, since taking too much of those can cause headaches by itself. (these headaches are then called “medication-overuse headaches”).

There are a couple of drugs which can be used against tension headaches:

1. Anti inflammatory drugs – These drugs can both take down inflammation and relieve pain. They are the first drugs used for tension headaches. Examples of such drugs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, and ketorlac. Acetaminophen may also help. Most of these drugs are over-the-counter drugs (OTC. meaning you don’t need a prescription for them). If OTC drugs don’t work, your doctor may write a prescription for something stronger.
2. Behavioral and psychological interventions – Sometimes relaxation and stress management can help, especially when combined with drugs.

What happens after treatment?

Usually treatment provides relief from the headaches. As long as not too much of the medications is taken (which may cause headaches by itself) they can be controlled.

If you tend to get tension headaches, there are medications which can be taken to prevent these headaches from occurring. These include drugs like antidepressants (those usually used to treat depression), blood pressure medications, and anti-seizure medications. You should consult your doctor about these drugs.

Another option is to deal with the stressors in your life that may bring about these headaches in the first place.

This video sums it up:

Related posts:

1. The Connection Between Exercise and Headache
2. Cluster Headaches – Excruciating Attacks of Headaches
3. Migraine Headaches – How To Tell If Your Headaches Are Life Threatening, and What You Can Do About Them

Danger level: Low

What is it?

Migraine headaches are the second most common  type of headache. It affects many people, causing periods of pain and sometimes debilitation.

Who gets it?

More than 23 million people in the United States alone suffer from migraine headaches. They usually affect women more than men (about 75% of the people who experience migraines are women).

What causes it?

The mechanism behind migraines isn’t completely understood. There are a few theories:

1. It might be related to blood vessels in the brain – One theory says that they constrict (for unknown reasons) and then dilate too much, with the dilatation causing the pain.
2. There might be a depression of the activity of neurons in certain parts of the brain, leading to inflammation of the area.
3. It might be related to a substance called serotonin, which causes the change in blood vessels mentioned above.

There are other theories, but the bottom line is the same – no one really knows.

How does it feel?

It’s important to distinguish migraine headaches from other types of headache, since other types may be life threatening, while migraine headaches are usually a benign condition.

Migraines. They suck. Photo by annia316

Migraine headaches come in the form of attacks – this means that between attacks you don’t feel anything. These attacks usually occur in the morning, but can happen at anytime. These are the symptoms that usually come with it:

1. Pain – It usually begins gradually and intensifies over the course of minutes to hours. It also resolves gradually. The pain usually lasts a few hours, but it can last up to 3 days. It can be dull and deep, or it can be throbbing or pulsatile (meaning you’ll feel it “knocking” in your head). In most cases it affects only one side of the head There are things that classically make migraine headaches worse:
   a. Exposure to light – People prefer being in a dark, quiet place white experiencing an attack.
   b. Moving the head rapidly, such as in sneezing.
   c. Noise
2. Aura – This is a visual phenomenon that usually comes before the headache begins. It lasts for up to 60 minutes. These are things you “see” before the headache, and include things like flashing lights or bright spots, zigzag lines.
   An aura doesn’t have to be visual – people can have a feeling of “pins-and-needles” in their hands and arms, or alongside the mouth and nose. They can also smell or hear things that aren’t there or have other neurological symptoms.
   Example of a visual aura in a migraine attack.
3. Nausea and vomiting – Are common in migraine attacks.
4. Other things – Other things that might accompany a migraine attack include a runny nose and tears.

1. If the headache start suddenly and is very severe
2. If the headache is persisting beyond 72 hours
3. If the headache first  appears in life after the age of 55
4. If the headache appears after an injury to the head
5. If there is also a stiff neck, fever or a rash
6. Headaches that wake you up at night
7. If the headache involves weakness, dizziness, loss of balance or falling, paralysis, problems speaking, confusion, seizures, inappropriate behavior, double vision

In any of these cases, seek medical care immediately.

Usually no special lab tests are needed. Usually it’s enough for the doctor to hear the description of a headache that contains an aura, comes in attacks, lasts for up to 72 hours and involves vomiting, to know that this is a case of a migraine headache.

If the doctor suspects a different problem, they might run some tests.

How is it treated?

Treatment can be given at the time of the attack or beforehand, to prevent it.

1. Treating the attack itself – This is best if done at the first sign of the attack (when the aura appears or when the pain just starts). The treatment includes a few types of drugs:
   a. Pain medications – Such as aspirin, Advil and others.
   b. Drugs that stop the vomiting
   c. Triptans – This is a special type of drug that was specially created to treat migraine headaches. Examples include Imitrex, Zomig, Amerge, Maxalt, Axert, Relpax or Frova.
2. Treatments to prevent an attack from coming – There are many types of drug here, that usually take 3-4 weeks of taking them to see the benefits. Consult your doctor about these (they are not included here because of a lot of medical mumbo-jumbo that’s needed to explain how they work).

What happens after treatment?

Most people can bring their attacks under control by using the above mentioned drugs and by avoiding triggers (see ahead), although some people with severe migraines don’t respond well to drugs.

There are some things thought to bring about a migraine attack in people susceptible to it. These are called triggers. Avoiding them can help avoid the attack. They include:

1. Chocolate
2. Red wine
3. Cheese
4. Monosodium glutamate (a type of food additive, found frequently in Chinese food)
5. Aspartame (Nutrasweet)
6. Caffeine
7. Nuts
8. Strong odors, flickering lights or a strong light, noise
9. Not eating
10. Poor sleep habits
11. Sometimes the monthly period, or replacement hormones

There are also other triggers. The important point is to find out which trigger causes your migraine, and to avoid it if possible.

Do you suffer from migraines or know someone who does? Share in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Cluster Headaches – Excruciating Attacks of Headaches
2. Tension Headache – The Toll We Pay for a Stressful Living
3. Aortic Dissection – A Life Threatening Tear in Your Aorta

Danger level: low

What is it?

Vitiligo is a disease in which there are patches of white skin. 

Who gets it?

It happens to 1-2% of people worldwide. About 30% of those have a family member with the disease.

Vitiligo usually appears in the ages 10-30.

What causes it?

As mentioned in the melanoma article, our skin is composed of layers of cells. Melanocytes is the name of one type of cells in our skin, and they are responsible for creating a pigment, or color material, which gives our skin color and which is also responsible for the color we get when we tan.

For unknown reasons, in vitiligo the melanocytes are destroyed. This might be related to an autoimmune process, meaning that the body’s immune system attacks the body instead of intruders. In this case it attacks the melanocytes. (We have talked about other autoimmune diseases here before, like lupus and Graves disease).

How does it feel?

It looks like white patches on the skin. It can range from one or two patches to areas covering a large part of the body. It’s most remarkable in people with dark skin (in fact, Michael Jackson claims his white skin is a result of vitiligo. Also, Lee Thomas, an anchor for Fox confessed in 2007 to having vitiligo).

A hand of a woman with vitiligo (Photo by Produnis).

These patches can grow, shrink or not change at all. They usually appear in a symmetrical way, on both sides of the body.

Maybe the main problem is the psychological affect it can have on patients, especially in dark skinned people.

How is it discovered?

Usually the looks of the skin are enough for the doctor to know it’s vitiligo. Sometimes, to make sure, the doctor might perform a biopsy (cut a small piece) of the skin or look at the skin under a special lamp called a “Wood’s lamp”.

How is it treated?

There is no cure for vitiligo: there are treatments that might help with the skin appearance, but the underlying process in the body will still happen. In some cases, the color may return by itself.

Treatments that can be tried include steroid creams, drugs that weaken the immune system (which, as said above, attacks the body here), or simply applying makeup to darken the area.

Exposure to UV light (same as the light produced by the sun) in a doctor’s office can cause the melanocytes not destroyed to produce the pigment and can help.

Skin grafting can also be used if areas of skin don’t respond to the above treatments (even melanocytes alone have been implanted successfully). Another option is skin bleaching, in order to give the skin an even color throughout (this is irreversible).

What happens after treatment?

Like mentioned here, there is no cure for vitiligo. While in some patients the color may return by itself, the process in most people is still there.

Unfortunately, there is no known way to prevent vitiligo.

Related posts:

1. In The News – Michael Jackson – What is A Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
2. As Seen on Grey’s Anatomy – Melanoma – You Can Avoid It if It’s Found on Time
3. Psoriasis – Skin Cells Growing Too Fast

Danger Level: Low

What is it?

Osgood-Schlatter is a disease that causes inflammation and pain in the knee.

Who gets it?

Children who are physically active, around the ages of 10-15 (especially in sports). It used to be more common in boys for that reason, but as girls are more active in sports, they also get the disease.

It usually happens at a period when the child has a growth spurt – the time when bones are lengthening fast.

What causes it?

The muscles in the front of our thighs are called the quadriceps. They are attached to the bones in our knees by a tendon called the patellar tendon. When there is a growth spurt, the repeated pulling that happens on the tendon when doing sports causes stress on the knee bones.

This causes tiny fractures in the bone and an inflammation, which causes the bone to swell.

How does it feel?

The knee hurts during activities, and is swollen and sensitive to touch. The pain eases when you rest and gets worse during activities.

How is it discovered?

Usually the story and looks of the knee are enough. Sometimes, when not certain, the doctor will take an x-ray picture of the knee, which will show that the knee bone is enlarged or has broken into fragments. Here’s an example:

The arrow in red shows the consequence of the disease (Photo by Lucien Monfils)

How is it treated?

The treatment consists of rest and things that lessen the pain, such as ice packs or drugs that relieve pain or inflammation.

What happens after treatment?

Usually within a few months the disease goes away.

Obviously, if you don’t participate in sports your chances of getting Osgood-Schlatter are much lower. But, as you can see in the danger level above, and in the fact that this condition usually goes away by itself, it is not recommended to refrain from sports.

Related posts:

1. Paget Disease of Bone – Bone Deformity For An Unknown Reason
2. Kawasaki Disease – A Childhood Disease That Can Endanger The Heart
3. Syphilis – The 4 Stage Disease That Will Make You Want To Wear A Condom