Universal Health Solutions

Preventing Ovarian Cancer

Posted on September 8, 2011

There are ways to reduce your risk factors for ovarian cancer. You may want to consider looking into the research and finding a good strategy that works for you. The following are a few ideas on prevention tactics you might want to add to your life so you can reduce your risk of developing ovarian cancer.

The easiest way to reduce your chance of ovarian cancer is to take oral contraceptives or birth control pills. Studies have found that these medicines have reduced the risks of ovarian cancer by over fifty percent for women who have taken them for three or more years. Those who have undergone genetic screening and have found that they have mutations of the genes that cause ovarian cancer may also get additional benefits but more study by doctors is needed to confirm this.

Another option is the tying of the fallopian tubes. This option can help significantly reduce your risks of ovarian cancer by two-thirds, that’s sixty-six percent. This is also a good option for those women who are sure they don’t want kids anymore. Read more...

AIDS/HIV Information

Posted on July 3, 2011

AIDS is an acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome it causes a destruction of the immune system. It is the most advanced stage of the HIV virus (HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus). AIDS is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the presence of a positive HIV antibody test and one or more of the illnesses known as opportunistic infections.

The HIV virus, type 1 or 2 is widely known to be the cause of AIDS. HIV breaks down and attacks your T cells so your body is unable to defend itself against different infections. The HIV virus also attacks your peripheral nervous system, this causes nerve and muscle pain, especially in the feet, legs, and hands.

HIV is spread through direct contact with semen or blood of an individual that is infected. This can be transferred in many ways the most common is unprotected sexual intercourse. Other means of infection are infected blood transfusions, mother to infant (at time of birth, or through breast milk), sharing needles with an infected person, and rarely a healthcare worker that gets pricked with an infected needle.

Often people who are infected with HIV have few symptoms and in some cases there are none. Other times, symptoms of HIV are confused with other illnesses such as the flu. This may be severe, with swollen glands in the neck and armpits, tiredness, fever and night sweats. This is where as much as 9 out of 10 of the infected individuals will develop AIDS. At this point the person may feel completely healthy and not even know that he/she has the virus. The next stage begins when the immune system starts to break down and the virus becomes more aggressive in damaging white cells. Several glands in the neck and armpits may swell and stay swollen for an extended period of time without any explanation. As this disease progresses boils or warts may spread over the body. They may also feel tremendously tired, night sweats, high fevers, chronic diarrhea, and they may lose a considerable amount of their body weight. Most cases have shown thrush as a symptom as well. At this point the person is in the final stages of HIV--AIDS. Severe chest infections with high fever are common and survival rate is above 70% but decrease with each recurrence. Read more...

Page 2 of 212