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What is meningitis?

Meningitis is specifically an inflammation of the meninges - which are the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by viruses or bacteria and less commonly something like a fungal infection. The problem that you have is that a lot of the bugs that do cause meningitis in some are pretty common and are often associated with everyday illnesses. Although there are some culprits that do crop up on most occasions, others are just your everyday enteroviruses (stomach ‘flu bugs’). So in general most doctors when they suspect a patient of having meningitis will want to know (and will conduct tests to find out) whether the patient has bacterial meningitis or viral meningitis.

Viral meningitis symptoms

Viral meningitis more common and tends to be far less serious than bacterial meningitis. The symptoms of viral meningitis often mimics the flu and therefore a lot of the times it remains undiagnosed. Due to the link to particular viral agents eg enteroviruses (your stomach bugs), doctors will tend to see more cases in the warmer months of summer and fall. It used to be the mumps virus which was the main virus causing meningitis but now with the advent of MMR vaccinations, the number of cases has dropped dramatically.

Symptoms may include :

• usually starts off with a cold and runny nose
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• fever
• lethargy
• irritability
• headache
• stiff neck
• avoiding the light - photophobia
• seizures
• rash - petechiae - little spots or larger bruising spots

Bacterial meningitis symptoms

Bacterial meningitis is often a lot more severe than viral meningitis and can be potentially life threatening. These are the cases you often see highlighted in current affair shows where the patient ends up with neurological deficits if prompt treatment wasn’t given. The se neurological problems include hearing loss, visual problems, seizures, and learning disabilities. Other organs like the heart, kidneys, and adrenal glands may also be affected. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is the key to have the disease resolve with no long term complications.

Bacterial meningitis symptoms are similar to that mentioned above in the list under viral meningitis although most bacterial meningitis cases, the fever does tend to be higher and the patient more ‘ill’.

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Phentermine diet pills - what are they?

Phentermine has almost become a household name - capturing almost 50% of the weight loss diet pill prescription market. Yes it’s a prescription drug so don’t think that you can just waltz up to your local chemist to get a packet to try. Phentermine is an appetite suppressant and tends to be easier on the hip pocket than it’s more costly counterparts Xenical and Meridia.

Phentermine has been around since 1959 when it was first introduced as a resin. It’s available under the proprietary names Ionamin and Adipex. It’s also available in its generic form phentermine. Recently in the last 10 years, there has been off label use of phentermine in combination with other drugs like Fenfluramine (affectionately called the Fen-Phen combo) and Prozac (also known as the Phen-Pro combo). In the advent of studies showing the Fen-Phen combo increased the patient’s risk of getting heart disease, the combination was quickly withdrawn. The FDA decided that it was the Fenfluramine that was the cause of the heart problems and therefore withdrew it from use but kept Phentermine in the market in the meantime. The Phen-Pro combo is not strictly just restricted to Phentermine and Prozac. Other antidepressants such as Zoloft have also been used in place of Phentermine. It is thought that this combo has the ability to prolong the appetite suppressive effects of Phentermine as it’s effects do tend to wane with chronic use.

Phentermine diet pills - how do they work?

Phentermine works by suppressing your appetite and it does so by altering your brain chemistry to decrease your appetite stimulators. It works primarily on the hypothalamus of the brain.

Phentermine diet pills - is it the magic pill?

No. As with most diets, it needs to be used in combination with exercise, cultivating good eating habits and if necessary behavior modification therapy for some individuals.

Phentermine diet pills - what are the precautions and side effects?

Phentermine needs to be taken on an EMPTY stomach once daily. So most patients tend to take it after they wake BEFORE breakfast. Side effects relate to how the drug acts. Because it acts on the hypothalamus (which also controls sleep patterns, regulates your temperature and other bodily functions), side effects include :

• constipation and/or tummy upsets
• sleeplessness
• dry mouth
• irritability

Most of these side effects seem to fade with time. If they are bothering you, you will need to consult your doctor about the dosage regime.

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Pneumonia - what is it

Put simply, it’s an infection involving the lungs. Sometimes it’s referred to as bronchopneumonia (involving the bronchi or bronchioles - which are the larger airways in the lungs) or pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs).

Pneumonia symptoms

Okay it’s going to be hard to miss. Most people with pneumonia have the following symptoms :

• severe coughing - often productive and pus like secretions with the cough
• chest pains
• breathing difficulties - often increased rate of breathing
• wheezing
• fatigue from usual everyday activity and feeling breathless with minor activity (short of breath)
• fever with cold chills

These symptoms are often difficult to pick in young infants or children but any child that has a persistent cough and a fever that lasts for more than 48 hours should be checked by a doctor. Young children have smaller airways which tend to clog up with mucus and also constrict more readily which can result in wheeziness and an increased risk in developing complications from cold/flu/pneumococcus virus. It’s often best to try to catch the illness early BEFORE it develops into pneumonia and treat it before it gets any worse.

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