Medical
Terminology With Description And Brief Comments
A bit of common sense for summer
health
ASEPSIS means
"without (a = without) any infection". All surgery
should be done under "aseptic" conditions. Sepsis means
some infectious microorganism is causing harm to the
person. Antibiotics and cleansing are the normal
treatments.
DEHYDRATION (de =
removing), (hydro = water) means water is being drawn
out of...usually the body due to heat. In summer this
can lead to very critical health situations. Children,
esp. babes, become dehydrated very quickly. Elderly
people may also have difficulty breathing and
functioning, but are less likely to "speak" out. Fluids
must be offered very frequently. Cool, not ice, water is
best. The skin is a route by which most dehydration
occurs. Cool, natural fiber clothing and headgear are
very desirable. Refrain from going out of doors if at
all possible in the heat of the day.
DERMATITIS means an
inflammation of the skin, without any infection. This
can be caused by lotions, sun, heat, drugs, insect
bites, etc. and it should be treated by a doctor if it
persists. The area should be kept clean and dry,
otherwise the skin may break down and become infected.
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM is
a physical record, usually a strip of paper, that has
recorded a rhythm of the heart beat. (ELECTRO =
electrical impulse CARDI = heart OGRAM = record.)
Usually done for perceived problems in the heart muscle.
An impulse is followed from beginning to end of a cycle.
Problems are detected by the absence of movement or the
erratic movement of the pen.
ENTERITIS means an
inflammation of the intestines. That could come from
food, water-borne organisms, or something which is
irritating the fine mucosal lining. The result is that a
person would usually have diarrhea and cramps. Hand
washing is crucial in preventing the spread of the
offending "bug". Food poisoning is frequently a result
of poorly stored or unrefrigerated food. In the elderly
and in young children this can cause a lot of fluid
loss, resulting in dehydration. Fluids must be offered
frequently and in ways and of a type that the person
will take it. The body normally heals itself after a few
days. A physician or health care professional should see
someone with prolonged symptoms. Adjusting meals into
small servings and checking the tolerance is wise.
GASTRITIS is an
inflammation of the lining of the stomach, as opposed to
the intestines (enteritis). The causes could be the same
as enteritis, but the symptoms will be related to nausea
and vomiting. Again dehydration could be a real factor,
so fluids are really important and must be replaced. The
natural ageing process also causes gastric distress.
Until full healing is restored, it would be best to
offer small frequent meals that are easily digested.
Spicy foods generate a lot of extra gastric juices,
which in turn slow down the healing.
PARALYSIS para =
beyond, lysis = loosening. So someone with paralysis has
a condition where muscles are very loose and usually
have no "tone", or ability to move on their own, but
they are loose as opposed to being stiff. That allows
you to move them gently.
Paralysis usually occurs because of damage to the brain
or spinal cord. It means the person cannot move one or
more of their extremities. Brain damage from a stroke or
cerebrovascular accident (CVA) frequently causes
hemiplegia, which means paralysis on one side of the
body. This is often caused by a blood clot.
Many health care professionals constantly talk about
reducing stress in your life. This is the reason. A
change in the circulation can push a blood clot loose
and through to the brain, resulting in damage: either
permanent or temporary. Tiny strokes are called TIA's
(transitory ischemic attacks) and can leave momentary
paralysis.
Spinal cord injuries can result in QUADRAPLEGIA =
paralysis from the neck on down or PARAPLEGIA …from the
waist to the down.
HEMIPLEGIA means
that one SIDE of the body has some sort of paralysis
(muscles with no tone or ability to move on their own).
The cause could be a stroke or accident. It could be
half of the face or half the body. This can be temporary
or permanent. This is swimming season and many, many
people will not check for dangers before diving into
waters. Many of those divers will end up with paralysis
as their spinal cord could be damaged or severed. There
is a lot of research going on to restore functionality
to the limbs, but right now, it is all experimental.
BLOOD PRESSURE is
the pressure of the blood flowing through your veins.
It's like a garden hose. If there is only a trickle, it
can't perform much. If it's too fast, it can blow a hole
in the wall of the vein (tube). And can blow through
debris in the form of clots. It's usually lowest in the
morning as you have been resting all night. As the day
progresses, it gets higher. If you have to monitor it,
choose roughly the same time each day and the same
machine and the same clothing. Rest a few minutes when
you get to the machine. Do not compare readings from
mornings to afternoons, or machine to machine.
There are two readings: the first "systolic" is the
pressure of the blood when the heart muscle contracts.
The second, lower, "diastolic" is the reading when the
heart rests: between heartbeats.
HYPERTENSION means
elevated blood pressure (high tension). Over 140 "over"
90, 140/90, but some doctors allow higher reading. Salt
may increase the reading, so cut back if possible. If
you are already on medication for hypertension and it's
still "high", let the doctor know and they would
probably adjust or changes something. Hypertension may
wear out your arteries like you wearing out the garden
hose under pressure. High blood pressure increases your
chance for heart attacks, strokes, kidney, and eye
problems.
HYPOTENSION means a
low blood pressure and it would be consistent readings
less than 90/60 consistently. If you are very athletic,
your body may have adjusted to these lower readings. If
you are ever hospitalized, do yourself a big favour.
Tell someone your BP will naturally be lower.
HEMATURIA means
blood in the urine. Irritants in the bladder could cause
this. Unless you have eaten beets in generous quantities
in the last day, a physician MUST check this out. It
could be one of the early warning signs of prostate
problems and must not be overlooked. Blood anywhere
outside of the vessels, is a reason for concern.
MYALGIA (mya(o) =
muscle, algia = pain) This is muscle pain throughout the
body which is often accompanied by generalized
tiredness. It's good not to overdo exercising or sports
without knowing how to handle the results. Exercise is
good till it gets overdone and then free radicals are
developed.
PYOGENIC (py/o/=
pus, genus = producing) is a pus producing situation.
This could be a wound or an insect bite that has gotten
infected. Regardless, it needs to be treated and healed.
It also cannot be allowed to stay open as the pus can
dry, become airborne on air currents. It is then
transported to someone else. If that person has an open
area, the attached disease-causing micro-organisms will
infect that person under certain conditions.
PSYCHOLOGY is the
science that studies the functions and behaviors of the
mind especially in relation to social and practical
applications. This would include the mental,
motivational, and behavioral characteristics and
attitudes of an individual or of groups. If you were
having a problem with moderate depression, or anxiety,
or some past trauma, you would dealing with a
psychologist. They would be helping you cope and
readjust your life activities to meet your particular
needs.
PSYCHIATRY is that
branch of medical science that deals with the causes,
treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and
behavioral disorders: more along the lines of treating
diseases. If you were thought to have a mental disorder,
such as Alzheimer's Dementia or Huntingdon's Chorea, you
would be dealing with a psychiatrist. This would be a
medical condition. This health care professional would
have many years of additional medical training after
becoming a medical doctor.
To give one more example…if you were someone with severe
depression, you would be looked after in the hospital
psychiatric ward by a psychiatrist, and prescribed
medication and activities, all supervised by that
psychiatrist. That would eventually get you to the point
where you felt well enough to go home and take back some
of your routines. It would then probably be suggested
that you work with a psychologist to learn some helpful
coping skills and behaviors that would help you stay
well and happy.
THROMBOSIS is the
abnormal condition by which a blood clot is formed
inside a vessel. This is not normal and shows some
circulatory problem. The blood clot is called a
THROMBUS. An EMBOLISM is the blood clot (thrombus) that
has strayed from it original "mooring" (by the force of
the blood pressure or trauma) and is now circulating in
the body through the circulatory system. When it gets
lodged in a vessel smaller than its own size, it will
plug that vessel and cause the area beyond it to die for
lack of oxygen and nutrition. It's like a branch line of
the New York underground "subway system" being plugged
up with a massive dump truck. The truck blocks off all
traffic to the area beyond the blockage. Prevention is
key! Exercise, good nutrition, and nutritional
supplementation, (maybe including folic acid), is very
helpful and proactive for high-risk people. This
condition is preventable and correctable with care and
attention.
Here is a quick (and VERY simplistic) lesson on
cholesterol: HDL & LDL This may help you to remember
which is which. Picture a big, hollow, empty cement
culvert (your blood vessel). Along comes cars (blood
cells) carrying some HDL: high density cholesterol. The
BMW drives very fast…so fast that nothing can catch it
and it's gone before you know it's been there. Now along
comes a clunker, with a load of low density cholesterol.
It chugs along, and everything sticks to it. It's fat
and not nice, whereas the BMW with its HDL is clean and
quick. Which do you want?
If you would like more
information on this topic, or if you would like to know
if we could help you get some relief, please
use
this link to ask your health question or
request more information on getting some help.
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Karin Henderson British Columbia, Canada (604) 463 8666
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