Dr. Curtis McElroy

Category: Internal Medicine

  • Overweight And Healthy

    Is It Possible To Be Overweight And Healthy?

    One of the main things that people look at when considering whether a person is healthy or not is their weight and the way they look. If a person is overweight, they will generally look overweight, by having excess fat on parts of their bodies.

    It’s more common for people to look like they are a healthy weight when in actual fact they fall into the overweight category on the BMI scale.

    Is being overweight unhealthy?

    The fact of the matter is that if you’re overweight, you are at risk of more health problems. Even if you’re only a few pounds overweight, your risks are going to be higher than a person who isn’t a few pounds overweight. This is something that none of us can really get away from, although there are many things besides weight which come into play when determine a person’s health levels.

    Gender and other factors

    While the BMI scale works to a certain degree, it doesn’t take in many different factors which help to determine whether a person is actually overweight and unhealthy.

    For example, the difference between men and women when it comes to weight can be quite huge. Women tend to have more fat on them, so they might not necessarily weigh more but will have excess fat which could be toned by exercising a little. Some people are naturally larger and appear to be overweight, when it actual fact it is the shape of their body or the way they are built.

    Ways to become healthier

    You shouldn’t stress too much about the number on the scale or the person you see when you look at yourself in the mirror. If you’ve been to the doctor and you’ve been told your BMI number and what this means, don’t worry about it too much.

    You can become a healthy person by eating a healthy balanced diet, getting regular exercise and avoiding too much stress in your life. Drink around two liters of water per day in order to stay hydrated and help your overall digestive system and internal organs.

    Some people look overweight even when they go to the gym every day and eat the best diet they can possibly find. If you’re obese and you don’t seem to be losing weight when you’re doing all the right things, speak to your doctor or see a dietician. However, if you have a few extra pounds but you’re living a healthy lifestyle, it’s possible to be healthy even though you might look overweight.

  • Sjogren’s Syndrome

    Sjogren’s Syndrome

    Sjogren’ syndrome occurs when the immune system erroneously targets specific body cells, causing reduced secretion of many body glands. Autoimmune disease triggers the abnormal production of extra antibodies in the blood, which target various tissues of the body, causing inflammation of the glands.

    Symptoms Of Sjogren’s Syndrome

    Inflammation of the salivary, tear and other glands in the body causes severe dryness. The eyes, mouth and vagina are the regions most commonly affected by the resulting dryness.

    Other symptoms include an absence or reduction of tears and a dry, gritty or burning sensation in the eyes. Redness, sensitivity to light and eye fatigue can all be a result of this disease.

    Sometimes restriction of upper eyelids causes a staring appearance and the eyes may protrude. This is the result of a swelling of the tissue behind the eye.

    A very dry mouth, which makes talking, chewing and swallowing difficult is a common symptom. Some people experience a dry or burning feeling in their throat, a sore cracked tongue, dry or peeling lips and an altered taste sensation.

    Although glands relating to eyes and mouth are usually the main target of Sjogren’s syndrome, damage to joints, thyroid, kidneys, liver, lungs and nerves are also at risk.

    Treatment For Sjogren’s Syndrome

    There is no cure for Sjogren’s syndrome. The medical focus is on relieving the symptoms of the condition and halting the progression of the disease.

    The treatment for dry eyes is medication to reduce inflammation and/or he insertion of plugs into the tear ducts of the eyes, which prevents drainage of liquid from the eyes. Artificial tears are prescribed, which are usually still required even with duct plugs. Attempts to shut the tear duct by means of surgery is sometimes tried.

    Sugar free chewing gum, sipping water, or a saliva substitute is recommended for a dry mouth. For joint and muscle pain , ibuprofen may be used, and medications such as antihistamines that can cause dryness are avoided.

    Who Is Most At Risk

    Women over 40 years of age have been found to be 10 times more likely than men of contracting this disease. Between 0.2% and 1.2% of the population is said to be affected.

    It is common for people who suffer from another autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus to also have Sjogren’s syndrome.

    With proper attention to eye and oral care, and routine monitoring by the doctor, the outlook for people with this complaint is generally excellent.

    Complication Of Sjogren’s Syndrome

    Progression to tooth decay, oral yeast infection, ulceration of tongue and cheek membranes, and periodontal disease is a possible complication, if proper oral care is not observed.

    Consultation with appropriate specialists to ensure dry eyes do not lead to serious eye injury, particularly to the cornea, is important.

    Inflammation can cause serious illness in some of the more severe cases of Sjogren’ syndrome. Recurrent vaginal infections and painful intercourse may develop if lubrication is not used.

    Bronchitis, pneumonia and other complications are a possibility when inflammation affects the lungs. Hepatitis and cirrhosis can result from the liver being damaged by inflammation, and kidney function may also be a target for this disease.

  • Multiple Sclerosis

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

    MS occurs when the immune system attacks the central nervous system, affecting the brain and spinal cord. The medical profession find MS an astounding disease because of the severity, and variety of ways that it affects people.

    People with MS commonly experience an unpredictable fluctuation of relapses and remissions. Attacks can last a few weeks and then disappear. However relapses can get progressively worse, more unpredictable and come with different symptoms.

    MS is in itself not fatal, but some people with the disease are more susceptible to contracting other illnesses. Severe cases may involve paralysis or vision loss.

    Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects more than 2 million worldwide. Three times as many women as men suffer from the disease. The onset of the disease usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 40.

    Causes Of Multiple Sclerosis

    Autoimmune disease means that for unknown reasons our immune system mistakenly attacks our own healthy cells. The nerve fibers that comprise the central nervous system are encased in a protective case known as myelin sheath.

    When immune cells attack the myelin sheath in the central nervous system, parts of the sheath surrounding the brain and spinal cord become inflamed, and eventually degenerate. The damage results in the disruption of nerve signals. This causes the onset of MS disease.

    Although researchers are aware that the myelin sheath has been directly affected, they do not know what triggers the immune system to attack.

    It is believed that genetics play a role, if one parent has MS there is a 2 to 5% of risk of their children getting the disease. Scientists believe that MS victims are born with a susceptibility to adversely react to certain unknown environmental triggers.

    There has been a noticeable pattern of increased cases of MS sufferers in countries farthest from the equator, who as a consequence are exposed to less sunlight. Epidemiologists theorize that there may be a correlation between a lack of Vitamin D and proper function of the immune system.

    Viruses are known to cause inflammation, and to break down myelin. Researchers therefore consider it is possible that a virus could trigger MS. Investigations have begun into several bacteria and viruses to discover if they have any involvement in the development of MS. The focus is on the measles virus, human herpes virus-6 and Epstein-Barr virus(EBV).

    Symptoms Of MS

    Nerve fibers carry messages to and from the brain. The damaged parts of the myelin sheath leave scar tissue, or sclerosis. It depends on where sclerosis occur within the nervous system as to how and where the symptoms will manifest in the body.

    Chronic fatigue is one of the most debilitating symptoms of this disease. MS related fatigue occurs daily, worsens as day goes on and is more severe than normal fatigue. It may be the most conspicuous symptom in a person who otherwise has minimal symptoms.

    Lack of co-ordination of muscle movement (ataxia), balance and functioning of the arms and legs are affected. Chronic back and muscle pain can result from simply walking. Sudden involuntary movements in all parts of the body is also common.

    Cognitive dysfunction is more common among long term sufferers of MS. However, around half of the people with this disease display a decreased ability to concentrate, process information and remember things.

    Major depression is also an understandable condition of the disease. The stress of MS can also cause irritability, mood swings and sometimes bouts of uncontrollable crying and laughing.

    Altered sensory sensations to the skin like numbness, pins and needles, tingling and tightness, and sharp stabbing pain are also present in some cases of MS.

    Eyes are sometimes affected by the disease. When the optic nerve has become inflamed there is a potential for blurred vision, double vision and uncontrolled eye movement. Blindness has also been known to occur in progressive cases of MS.

    Continence problems, involving bladder incontinence, diarrhea and constipation, are an embarrassing issue associated with this condition.

     

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