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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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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In short, multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammation of the central nervous system ie your brain and spinal cord. Nervous tissue is divided into grey matter or white matter. Multiple sclerosis affects the white matter. People with multiple sclerosis develop plaques (patches) on the white matter (this is where myelin – the conductive sheath surrounding the nerves is damaged or lost) and this affects the conductivity of signals passing through the spine and brain. So symptoms of multiple sclerosis will vary between people if only because if different parts of your nervous system is affected, then different parts of your body will be affected. This is why multiple sclerosis is often very hard to diagnose and pick up.

Multiple sclerosis symptoms – general

Sufferers can experience one or more of the following :

• numbness
• tingling
• pins and needles
• muscle spasms
• vision problems
• speech problems
• urinary control problems
• sexual disfunction
• breathing problems
• coordination and balance problems
• intense fatigue
• depression

MS symptoms vary in severity between individuals, note that it’s a progressive disease and not something that you can ‘stop’. Some people will end up in wheelchairs, others only get such mild symptoms that they never even get diagnosed till at post mortem.

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We’ve heard it bantered around but what is an allergy? Is it any different from an intolerance? ie When someone says ‘I have a dairy allergy’, is it any different from someone with ‘lactose intolerance’?

Allergies develop as the body’s immune system reacts to different proteins we are exposed to (whether it’s via inhaling them, ingesting them, touching them or being exposed to them inadvertently eg via a bee sting). The triggers (these proteins) are called allergens. What happens in an allergic reaction is that the body reacts to these allergens as potential ‘threats’ and therefore unleashes antibodies (principally IgE – immunoglobulin E) in an attempt to counter them. It’s believed that allergic reactions in the past were reserved primarily for parasitic infections eg like worms, protozoa. However, in our increasingly ‘clean’ society where we’ve pretty much eradicated worms and the like from our system, scientists believe that we’ve therefore rendered that part of the immune system ‘unemployed’ and in so doing it’s started to pick out other protein elements to ‘attack’. Children living in rural communities have a much lower incidence of food and dust allergies – living in less ‘hygienic’ environments seem to be ‘good’. Whilst it’s not as simple as that, it is a likely explanation as to why children and adults living in urban city environments seem more likely to be allergic to something in some form or another. The hypothesis is that if you give the immune system something else to worry about (ie worms, bacteria, protozoa), then it’s less likely to pick on something like a food item or dust mites instead.

Allergy symptoms

Allergy symptoms can be seasonal – if you’re allergic to grass pollens then the symptoms will appear to subside in the cooler months only to be full blown unbearable in the warmer months.

• Sneezing and runny nose
• Runny and itching eyes
• Wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing (asthma type reaction)
• Headaches
• Skin rash, hives, welts (urticaria)
• Swelling
• Difficulty swallowing
• Feeling faint
• Sneezing
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Allergy symptoms vary depending on the type of allergic reaction it is – food allergies would result in the vomiting, diarrhea (not always but it is common) which can extend to full blown anaphylactic reactions where the body pretty much shuts down (severe drop in blood pressure), difficulty breathing as the throat swells so much that you can’t breathe, wheezing. Adrenaline is usually administered in these instances and the patient is rushed to hospital.

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Yeast infections commonly afflict men, women and children alike. You would hear it spoken of as ‘thrush’. Yeast infections are the result of Candida albicans and the medical symptoms of the disease varies with the site of infection and the individual.

Yeast infection symptoms in women

Vaginal thrush is the most common yeast infection in women, typically women with yeast infections will have :

• a white cheesy discharge from the vagina
• itching around the vagina
• irritation in the vaginal area
• pain during sexual intercourse
• a burning sensation when urinating

Yeast infection symptoms in adults and children (primarily infants)

1. Oral thrush is the one of the ways yeast infection can manifest itself. Often what women will find is that if their breast feeding child has oral thrush, they may find that their nipples may get a dose of it too and they may require treatment as well. Symptoms of oral thrush include :
   • white patches on the tongue and mouth area – a lot of people think that it looks like milk curds but unlike milk curds these cannot be wiped off. If you try to wipe these patches off, the underlying area will start to bleed and painful oral lesions will take their place.
   • irritability and food refusal (more likely in infants and children as their mouth becomes too sore for them to want to eat or drink) – care should be taken to ensure that they receive adequate fluids and soft foods in the meantime to prevent dehydration.
2. Yeast infection in the nappy area or skin folds – typically occuring when the area remains moist for long periods of time eg in nappy rash – these appear as flat red rash spots which cause pain and discomfort. If your baby has these spots or a bright red nappy rash then it’s time to visit your doctor.

Yeast infection symptoms in people with depressed immunity

People with HIV or on immune suppressive drugs often will get yeast infections in their internal organs including the gut resulting in painful ulcers. Dehydration and poor food absorption is common in these circumstances. Candida in some cases can spread via the blood stream into your brain resulting in behavioral changes and other nervous system signs (this isn’t common in people with a healthy immune system but can happen with people who have a depressed immune system).

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The very word sends a chill into every person’s heart. But what exactly is HIV? HIV is short for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the disease it causes is called Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The virus itself is sneaky. Upon exposure to the virus, it will rapidly enter your white blood cells and stay there hidden from view.

HIV symptoms – the early signs

Most people report having flu- like symptoms ie

• swollen glands – which is why it is sometimes confused with mono
• fatigue
• fever
• cold chills

As the body tries to combat the virus, it produces antibodies against HIV and these are the people who will test positive in the AIDS blood tests. It can take up to 3 months for these antibodies to develop which is why sometimes doctors will require that you perform multiple blood tests if you’ve had previous exposure in order to confirm that you are ‘free’ from the HIV infection.

As the body produces antibodies, the person will usually start to ‘recover’ from the initial illness and most report saying that they feel perfectly ‘fine’ after about a week. In the meantime, HIV remains ‘latent’ (sleeping) in the person’s body living in large numbers in the person’s white blood cells which primarily congregate in the person’s spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils.

HIV symptoms – full blown AIDS

HIV affects the individual by knocking out the person’s immune system so that the person is suddenly defenceless against diseases and bugs that a healthy person’s immune system would be likely to take down easily. So the symptoms associated with late stage HIV (AIDS) is different for different people. The fact is, it is impossible to predict when the virus will choose to start to emerge from the latent stage to start attacking the white cells and therefore result in full blown AIDS. The estimates are that half of the people infected with HIV will start to show signs of AIDS within 10 years of infection. Commonly reported symptoms of people starting to develop AIDS include :

• thrush – in the mouth and genital areas
• warts or boils that appear all over the body
• re-emergence of Shingles
• re-emergence of Herpesvirus – cold sores and/or genital herpes
• chronic diarrhea
• respiratory and chest infections
• nervous system signs eg coordination problems, behavior problems, difficulty in problem solving

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If you haven’t already guessed. Mono is the abbreviation for the medical term ‘mononucleosis’. It is caused by the infamous Epstein-Barr virus.

Symptoms of mono

The medical symptoms of mono are vague but the most significant one is enlarged lymph nodes – particularly visible on your neck area (which is also why it is commonly called ‘glandular fever’). Other symptoms include :

• fever
• headaches
• sore throat
• fatigue
• inappetance
• aching muscles
• white patches in the back of your throat

How is mono transmitted?

It’s not an easy disease to catch – it is usually transmitted via close contact particularly with the infected individual’s saliva and mucous secretions. It’s not as easily spread as say the common cold which you can catch from someone sneezing on you. Which is also why mono is affectionately known as the ‘kissing disease’ because it’s commonly spread from one person to another through the act of kissing. You will usually start to show symptoms of mono anywhere from 1-2 months after exposure to the bug. The age group which it commonly shows up in ranges from 15-35 years of age. Generally, once you’ve had mono, you can’t ‘catch’ it again.

Is mono dangerous?

It can be. Most people with mono will start to feel better after a month but there are others who seem to have a sustained chronic fatigue syndrome type illness that waxes and wanes and can last for months and some even years. However the main concern with mono is that the spleen of some people will become enlarged and is in danger of rupturing which will result in a massive internal bleed and is potentially life threatening. Most people with mono would report having intense and debilitating fatigue – not wanting to get out of bed all day, and complain that performing the simplest of tasks would just wipe them out for the rest of the day.

How is mono treated?

Because it’s a virus, antibiotics are of no use and most doctors will suggest rest, to limit your exercise, drink lots of fluids, tylenol or aspirin for pain and fever (NOTE : not for young children because of the dangers of developing Reye’s syndrome) .

How is mono diagnosed?

There is a simple test called the Monospot test which can be done but most doctors will also do a simple blood test to determine if you have mono or not.

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prostate cancer symptoms

Early on, prostate cancer symptoms aren’t all that obvious which is why a lot of men put up with the early signs only to find that when the cancer is diagnosed, the cancer has already spread to the surrounding organs. If you experience any of the symptoms below or are over 50 and haven’t had your regular screening for prostate cancer, then it’s time to visit your doctor – always better safe than sorry.

• increased urge to urinate – especially at night. If you are waking up regularly at night to go to the toilet, it’s time to visit your doctor for a check up
• difficulty urinating – it could be that you find it hard to start urinating or holding it back when you need to
• painful or burning sensation when urinating
• blood in your urine or semen
• frequent pain in your lower back, hips or thighs
• difficulty having an erection or painful ejaculations

prostate cancer facts

If you are still embarrassed about prostate cancer and are hesitant about visiting your doctor for a check up, consider these facts :

• A new case of prostate cancer occurs every 2.5 minutes and every 17 minutes a man dies from prostate cancer
• Prostate cancer is only second to lung cancer as the biggest disease killer of men in the US
• It is estimated that over 2million men in USA are living with prostate cancer
• Prostate cancer is insidious and the early symptoms are often ignored by men and diagnosis usually only comes from a routine PSA blood test or digital rectal examination

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Where are Legionella bacteria found?

These are usually found in stagnant water, evaporative condensers of large air conditioning units (eg in the shopping malls), commonly also in potting mix – which is why there is a warning for those using potting mix to be careful to dish it out in open well ventilated spaces and to wear a dust mask to prevent inhaling the dust. It cannot be spread from one person to another. It can only be caught from inhaling the bacteria in the fine mist of water that contains the bacteria.

Medical symptoms

Early symptoms include :

• headache
• tiredness
• fever
• loss of appetite
• coughing
• cold chills

These can progress to pneumonia which would result in difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, persistent fever.

Predisposing factors

People with pre-existing respiratory conditions eg asthma, smokers, chronic lung disease or diseases that lower their immune system defences eg diabetes, kidney problems are predisposed to developing the more severe form. Which is why a lot of reported cases occur in people over 50.

Treatment for Legionnaire’s disease

Treatment involves courses of antibiotics (erythromycin).

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Medical symptoms of diabetes include :

• weight loss
• frequent urination
• irritability
• being hungry all the time
• being thirsty all the time
• fatigue
• blurred vision

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