Important Health and Medical Topics 10



Menopause Insomnia
When a menopausal woman consults a physician, the most frequently heard complaint is insomnia. The ageing process reduces the quality and duration of sleep. In a menopausal woman, the reduction of hormones and its imbalance makes it worse. The biological and psychological changes that occur with menopause create stress, anxiety and depression that are all prime causes of insomnia.

Insomnia Symptoms
Insomnia is classified into three categories - transient, intermittent and chronic. Though the duration and intensity vary, the symptoms are the same for all of them.

Insomnia
If a person has a problem getting a decent night's sleep or feels that he has a sleeping problem, it could be said that this person is suffering from insomnia. There are three types of insomnia. Transient is defined as sleeplessness that lasts one day to a few weeks. Intermittent is when one suffers occasional or on and off insomnia, and chronic is a constant, ongoing problem.

Insomnia Treatment
Insomnia or lack of quality sleep is divided into three categories based mainly on the duration of the problem - transient, intermittent and chronic. Transient and intermittent are temporary conditions and most of the times, correct themselves with minimal informed effort. Alteration of life style habits that cause the problem should suffice. There are quite a few OTC drugs, mostly sedative antihistamines that are useful.

Internal Medicine Doctors
The discipline of Internal Medicine originated in Germany and became popular in the United States in the early 20th century. The term is derived from 'Innere Medizin', denoting physicians who treated patients using their knowledge of laboratory science. Today, The American College of Physicians is the prime society for internal medicine globally.

Effects Of Insomnia
To understand the effects of insomnia or lack of adequate quality sleep, it is imperative to understand sleep. It is a very complicated process involving body and brain. During sleep the body tissues are repaired and the organism, in a sense, rejuvenated. The brain receives a lot of input during the day and it processes, sorts out, rejects and records data during sleep. For this to be effective, an average person needs about 8 hours of sleep, quite variable in individuals. The depth of sleep is divided into four stages plus rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The REM sleep is very important, because during this sleep, the brain processes are completed. The bodily processes are successful during the sleep depth stages of 3 and 4 (delta sleep).

Age Related Macular Degeneration
Age-related Macular Degeneration or AMD is a common eye disease that causes progressive damage to the central part of the retina, also known as the Macula. AMD is the leading cause of visual impairment in the United States, and blindness in senior citizens of America, aged 65 and older.

Dry Macular Degeneration
There are two types of Macular Degeneration or AMD. The first and more common type is the Dry Macular Degeneration. 85% to 90% of the cases of AMD or Age-related macular degeneration are of the dry or atrophic type. It is also a fact that most cases of age-related macular degeneration always starts out as the dry form.

Macular Degeneration
The progressive deterioration of the Macula or the central portion of the retina causes macular degeneration. The macula is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye (ability to see objects directly in front) and for processing sharp, clear images. Macular degeneration or damage to the macula results in the development of blind spots and distorted vision. Macular degeneration is a common eye disease affecting more than 10 million Americans.

Macular Degeneration Medications
Though there is no permanent cure for Macular Degeneration, some medications may actually assist in halting or slowing down the progress of the disease and loss of vision. While some of these medications are totally experimental, others have been found to be effective and have already been approved by the FDA.

Macular Degeneration Research
Since Macular Degeneration or AMD is an incurable disease, there have been numerous experiments and tests conducted by researchers to halt or slow down the rate of its progression and vision loss caused by the disease. While most of the results have been disappointing, some of them may be actually helpful in the treatment of AMD.

Macular Degeneration Symptoms
Macular degeneration usually generates a gradual and painless loss of vision. The signs and symptoms of AMD may depend upon what type of the disease a person may have - Dry AMD or Wet AMD. Retinal examinations such as Ophthalmoscopy, Vision testing, Fundus photography, Amsler grid test and Fluorescein angiography may also detect early signs of macular Degeneration before symptoms occur.

Macular Degeneration Treatments
There is no treatment that can cure or reverse the course of Dry Macular Degeneration. Even the available treatments for the Wet type at present are only meant to slow down the progress of the disease and avoid further loss of vision. The success of the treatment also depends upon the location and the extent of growth of the abnormal blood vessels and damage inflicted to the Macula.

Wet Macular Degeneration
Wet Macular Degeneration, also known as the exudative type, is the more severe of the two types of AMD or Age-related Macular Degeneration, which cause 90% of blindness from the disease but only accounts for 15% of AMD cases.

The Importance of Medical Bracelets
With personal health becoming more important to more people, many are looking to use medical alert bracelets in order to properly identify their medical concerns in the event of an accident or medical emergency.

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