Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, can be caused by several conditions such as lung disease, heart disease and lack of conditioning. It can also be caused by psychogenic factor. Your physician can help you establish the reason for dyspnea, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, treat it effectively.

What is shortness of breath?

For most people “shortness of breath” or “having breathing difficulties” means a sensation of difficult or uncomfortable breathing, or a feeling of not getting enough air. Medically, this is referred to as dyspnea.

Does shortness of breath mean illness?

Shortness of breath can occur in both health and disease, and its significance varies accordingly. For example, when it occurs in a healthy person walking 100 feet at the top of a very high mountain, it may signify no disease. But if the same person had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years, the same symptoms at lower altitude may be the first sign of progressive emphysema. In healthy individuals, shortness of breath may also occur at rest for no apparent physical reason.

Shortness of breath may be appropriate or inappropriate, real or perceived; and therefore, there is no standard lay person definition of shortness of breath. Physicians use the term dyspnea to describe “an abnormally uncomfortable awareness of breathing.”

What causes dyspnea?

The issue of dyspnea comes up frequently when patients are seen in their physician’s office for specific complaints, or for a periodic physical examination. It’s the physician’s task, not always an easy one, to determine whether the dyspnea is medically important, and to recommend a diagnostic plan and a course of therapy when needed.

Dyspnea can be acute, intermittent, or chronic, and can be caused by a heart or lung problem or physical deconditioning; or it can be of psychogenic origin.

Common heart diseases causing dyspnea include coronary artery disease (the major cause of heart attacks), congestive heart failure, and conditions where heart valves malfunction. Lung problems include bronchial asthma, acute and chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and interstitial lung disease (diffuse scarring and stiffening of lung tissue). Exposure to allergens may precipitate an asthma attack, or dyspnea-producing post nasal drip; but the biggest undiagnosed culprit remains smoking.

Psychogenic dyspnea, precipitated by anxiety, panic or an irregular breathing pattern of frequent sighs (“sigh dyspnea”), is now diagnosed in increasing frequency. This is usually not dangerous, but it may be uncomfortable, and particularly hard to diagnose and treat.

Lack of conditioning is also a cause of dyspnea, especially seen in the “weekend warrior athlete.” If you are short of breath playing basketball on Sunday afternoon, do you have a disease causing dyspnea, or is this lack of conditioning?

How is the diagnosis made?

Your account of the intensity, severity and frequency of dyspnea is very important.

This, combined with a physical examination and some basic testing, may rapidly establish the correct diagnosis.

Sometimes the diagnosis is elusive. Both asthma and heart disease can be “silent.” Even lack of conditioning may be difficult to diagnose without meticulous testing. The diagnosis of psychogenic dyspnea, can be made on the basis of your symptoms, after medical causes of dyspnea have been ruled out.

For exercise-related dyspnea, we use cardio-pulmonary stress testing (CPST). This important, noninvasive test combines the familiar cardiac test with lung function testing during exercise (on a treadmill or exercise bicycle). With it, we can determine your level of cardiopulmonary fitness, and whether your shortness of breath is due to a heart problem, lung problem, deconditioning, or “none of the above.”

Treatment

Treatment of dyspnea, and its effectiveness, depends on the underlying cause. Frequently, medications are used, such as those needed to optimally control asthma, congestive heart disease and anxiety. Special lifestyle instructions may be given, such as smoking cessation and allergen avoidance. Reconditioning exercises and stress management may be advised, or you may be instructed in the proper performance of diaphragmatic breathing.

Working together with your physician, in the overwhelming majority of cases shortness of breath can be controlled or completely resolved.

Most, if not all the tools necessary to establish the cause of dyspnea is available under one roof at our practice.

Some don’t even know it. There are skin lightening products to help get rid of your hyperpigmentation, melasma, freckles, uneven skin tone, dark skin discolorations, acne scars, dark underarms, elbows, knees or inner thighs. But a safety issue is raised over the availability of harmful skin lighteners or whiteners in the market.

Knowing what to choose and how to use will help you achieve the fair skin tone from products that actually deliver.

Success in skin lightening of dark skin pigmentations does not rely on products alone. In addition to the skin whiteners, a good regimen should also include sunscreen, Vitamin C and moisturizers.

A good sunscreen should have a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 50 or better to prevent further darkening or sun damage. You should know that the powerful sun radiates both UVA and UVB rays that a good sunscreen should block. UVA rays are capable of aging and wrinkling of the skin, while UVB is the culprit for sunburn and probable skin cancer. If you should look for the ingredients in a sunscreen, choose the ones with Avobenzone, Zinc Oxide, PArsol 1789 or Mexoryl-SX. Wear sunscreen at all times whenever outdoors, whether you’re in a skin lightening regimen or not.

500mg of Vitamin C supplement can decrease the production of melanin (brown pigments responsible for skin tanning). Ever wonder why glutathione (whitening) pills are taken with Vitamin C? It’s the ascorbic acid that does most of the job actually, so you’d be better off taking these supplements while using skin lightening products for best results.

Your favorite moisturizers will keep your skin hydrated during the skin whitening process. Remember skin lighteners have a mild drying effect (that’s why in some cases, acne is controlled while lightening the acne scars) necessary to prepare the skin for exfoliation and peeling off the dull and unwanted dark skin patches. You should apply your face cream or body lotions 15-20 minutes after using the skin lightening products.

Suggested time to apply skin lighteners is at bedtime, then use sunscreen at daytime.

Follow these simple secrets and you’ll be on your way to better self esteem, even skin tone and a rosy whiter skin!

When most people think of mouth cancer, they picture chewing tobacco as the likely culprit. However, smokers are 6 times more likely to develop mouth cancer than nonsmokers are. If you add alcohol use on top of smoking, the risk jumps up to 15 times greater likelihood. While smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco and snuff) are 50 times more likely to develop mouth cancer, quitting smoking today can reduce the chance of developing mouth cancer, throat cancer, cancer of the voice box and cancer of the esophagus (as well as a host of other frightening diseases).

Smoking is a terrible habit; it threatens not only your own life, but also the lives of those you love and even strangers around you. Chances are you take at least a small interest in your health. Perhaps you eat more than the required number of vegetables each day. Perhaps you have a great exercise routine that helps you shed those pounds and increase your health (in theory). Maybe you routinely ensure you are getting the best vitamin intake possible. However, if you continue smoking, all that effort is for naught. Quitting smoking is the only way you can ensure you enjoy the benefits from everything else you do. Smoking is such a terrible habit that it negates all the health benefits you thought you were getting.

Mouth cancer from smoking is horrible. Not only does it disfigure your smile, ruin your teeth and gums, but it shortens your life by an incredible amount. Smokers live 15 years less than nonsmokers, even without cancer in the picture. However, mouth cancer can shorten that lifespan even more. Tongue cancer, gum cancer, cancer of the floor of the mouth and esophageal cancer are frightening and lead to many things. Imagine never being able to smile because your gums are blackened, bleeding and oozing. Imagine no longer being able to speak because of tongue cancer. Consider the ramifications of breathing through a tracheal tube, because your habit leads to esophageal cancer. It’s not a pretty picture, is it?

Quitting smoking right now can help you beat these horrors. Scientific studies show that those who quit smoking can develop the cancer resistance of a nonsmoker within years, helping you extend your lifespan and feel better throughout your life. Quitting smoking is the only way to help ensure you do not suffer the horror, the social ostracizing and disfigurement of mouth cancer.

The Crohn’s disease could be best explained by the inflammation sensation in the digestive track. The digestive track starts from the mouth then the esophagus, then the stomach followed by the small and large intestine and ends into anus. The Crohn’s disease could affect any part of the digestive track mentioned. Though, in majority of cases, it affects the small intestine part called the ileum which is the lowest position that connects the small intestine to the large one. There is a good amount of people suffering from Crohn’s disease. This is quite typical for people with Northern European ancestry. This disease is not fatal, though exceptions could be ignored.

The exact cause of the Crohn’s disease is still not known for sure. Initially it was the poor diet and the stress which was considered the cause of the Crohn’s disease. But the researches have shown that these are not the culprit, though these make the situation bad. Now, researcher are focusing on inheritance and malfunctioning of the immunity system to be the cause of the Crohn’s disease. NOD2 is a gene which is common in patients with Crohn’s disease. This is believed to have been inherited from their biological parents. This is not a complex genetic but a simple one.

The Crohn’s disease could be caused by some bacteria or like which when is fought by the immune system, the inflammation sensation is caused. Researches have reasons to believe that the inappropriate response of the immune system causes the Crohn’s disease to surface.

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease may vary form mild to sever. The common ones would be Diarrhea, cramping and abdomen pain, blood in the stool, ulcers, loss of appetite and reduced weight. The other signs and symptoms would be fatigue, fever, eye inflammation, liver /bile ducts inflammation, delayed growth in children, delayed sexual development and arthritis. As these could be the result of some other concern other than Crohn’s disease as well. Hence, it is for the best that the doctor e should be consulted to know the exact cause for the same.

Depending upon the symptoms and diagnoses of the Crohn’s disease, your doctor is the best person to decide or suggest the treatment for the same. The Crohn’s disease treatment would include –

1-Taking Anti-inflammatory drugs like Sulfasalazine or Azulfidine; Mesalamine or Asacol, Rowasa; Corticosteroids and like could be taken as directed by the doctor.

2-Immune system suppressors could be another way of treating the disease. The drugs used for the immune system suppression would be Azathioprine or Imuran; mercaptopurine or Purinethol; Infliximab or Remicade; Adalimumab or Humira; Certolizumab pegol or Cimzia; Methotrexate or Rheumatrex; Cyclosporine or Gengraf, Sandimmune, Neoral ; Natalizumab or Tysabri.

3-Antibiotics are used in certain cases. Metronidazole or Flagyl; Ciprofloxacin or Cipro.

4-Other medication would include Anti-diarrheals; Pain relievers; Nutrition; Calcium & vitamin D supplements; Laxatives; Iron supplements and Vitamin B12 shots.

5-Surgery is another treatment option for Crohn’s disease. Though, the reoccurrence is possible after the surgery as well. ThusArticle Search, the doctors recommend surgery with medications.

There are dozens of non-prescription medications for treating recurring heartburn and acid reflux. If you have tried them all and went the route of trying advice from friends  and relatives to no avail, you need to get to the bottom of your problem. Treating the symptoms and not the cause is the reason nothing seems to be working for very long. Acid  Reflux commonly also called Heartburn and is caused when the stomach acids back up into the esophagus, inducing a very burning sensation. It will occur when the  valve separating the esophagus and stomach will not close, allowing the acid to go to the esophagus.

If the foods you are eating are high in acid content, this could be the reason. Typical food that contain high amounts of acid are fruits containing citric acid. Dairy foods are  another culprit. Normally these include cheese and yogurt. Red meat can be another cause of your acid reflux. The acids that are present in the stomach react with the acids in  food. This causes chaos in your stomach and the acid has to go somewhere. Up to the esophagus it goes causing frequent acid reflux. Some people have more of a sensitivity to  certain foods than others and therefore they get frequent heartburn. Limiting the food that is known to cause acid reflux will normally cut down on the frequency of acid reflux.

Overeating is another cause of acid reflux. Even if the foods you are eating are good for you, too much will cause episodes of acid reflux. When you overfill your stomach, it  sends the acids into the esophagus which in turn causes you to experience heartburn. It does not matter if you eat salad or pizza. If you eat too much, it can cause a problem.  This has been experienced by many people after eating a large meal.

Other factors that have to be considered when you have frequent heartburn or acid reflux are if you are under a lot of stress
or if you smoke. Stress can cause blood to be  rerouted to muscles in your body which takes it away from the digestive system. This confuses chemicals in your stomach and they go into overtime creating acid. Smoking can  cause heartburn or acid reflux by carrying certain tobacco ingredients go into your bloodstream which in turn takes them to the stomach and digestive track.

Controlling acid reflux can be accomplished a lot of the time on your own. If you watch the foods you eat and the amounts, try to keep your stress levels to a minimum, and cut  down or quit smoking this can reduce or eliminate heartburn. If however after you try these solutions and you still have problems with frequent acid reflux or heartburn, you  should see your doctor.