Health Information Snippets
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What is HIV AIDS?

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

See other medical symptoms

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What is mono

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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Now this is a touchy subject. If only because prostate cancer is just one of those things that you don’t talk about…women are pretty open about cancers relating to their reproductive organs eg breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, but somehow, perhaps it’s because it’s embarrassing or taboo, men just don’t talk to their friends about such intimate things. Vasectomies, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, these are all just never something spoken of – even if they did have it, they opt to stay mum about the whole thing (no pun intended).

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

See other medical symptoms

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Legionellosis is an infection caused by the Legionella bacteria. Depending on it’s severity, the ‘disease’ is referred to ‘Pontiac fever’ (the mild respiratory illness) or ‘Legionnaire’s disease’ when it develops into pnemonia. Whilst people with Pontiac fever recover after 5 days without treatment, people with Legionnaire’s disease need rapid treatment as it can be life threatening.

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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Diabetes has been called an insidious disease if only because it creeps up on you and for many, it remains undiagnosed for a long time.

Medical symptoms of diabetes include :

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

See other medical symptoms of common diseases

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