| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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A hernia happens when part of an internal organ or tissue bulges through a weak area of muscle. Most hernias are in the abdomen.
There are several types of hernias, including:
Hernias are common. They can affect men, women, and children. A combination of muscle weakness and straining, such as with heavy lifting, might contribute. Some people are born with weak abdominal muscles and may be more likely to get a hernia.
Treatment is usually surgery to repair the opening in the muscle wall. Untreated hernias can cause pain and health problems.
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and other tissues that form a sling or hammock across the pelvis. In women, it holds the uterus, bladder, bowel, and other pelvic organs in place so that they can work properly. The pelvic floor can become weak or be injured. The main causes are pregnancy and childbirth. Other causes include being overweight, radiation treatment, surgery, and getting older.
Common symptoms include:
Your health care provider diagnoses the problem with a physical exam, a pelvic exam, or special tests. Treatments include special pelvic muscle exercises called Kegel exercises. A mechanical support device called a pessary helps some women. Surgery and medicines are other treatments.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
A hiatal hernia is a condition in which the upper part of your stomach bulges through an opening in your diaphragm. Your diaphragm is the thin muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen. Your diaphragm helps keep acid from coming up into your esophagus. When you have a hiatal hernia, it's easier for the acid to come up. This leaking of acid from your stomach into your esophagus is called GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). GERD may cause symptoms such as :
Often, the cause of a hiatal hernia is unknown. It may have to do with weakness in the surrounding muscles. Sometimes the cause is an injury or a birth defect. Your risk of getting a hiatal hernia goes up as you age; they are common in people over age 50. You are also at higher risk if you have obesity or smoke.
People usually find out that they have a hiatal hernia when they are getting tests for GERD, heartburn, chest pain, or abdominal pain. The tests may be a chest x-ray, an x-ray with a barium swallow, or an upper endoscopy.
You don't need treatment if your hiatal hernia does not cause any symptoms or problems. If you do have symptoms, some lifestyle changes may help. They include eating small meals, avoiding certain foods, not smoking or drinking alcohol, and losing weight. Your health care provider may recommend antacids or other medicines. If these don't help, you may need surgery.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother's body. Most birth defects happen during the first 3 months of pregnancy. One out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect.
A birth defect may affect how the body looks, works, or both. Some birth defects like cleft lip or neural tube defects are structural problems that can be easy to see. Others, like heart disease, are found using special tests. Birth defects can range from mild to severe. How a birth defect affects a child's life depends mostly on which organ or body part is involved and how severe the defect is.
What causes birth defects?For some birth defects, researchers know the cause. But for many birth defects, the exact cause is unknown. Researchers think that most birth defects are caused by a complex mix of factors, which can include:
Certain factors may increase the chances of having a baby with a birth defect, such as:
Health care providers can diagnose some birth defects during pregnancy, using prenatal testing. That's why it important to get regular prenatal care.
Other birth defects may not be found until after the baby is born. Providers may find them through newborn screening. Some defects, such as club foot, are obvious right away. Other times, the health care provider may not discover a defect until later in life, when the child has symptoms.
What are the treatments for birth defects?Children with birth defects often need special care and treatments. Because the symptoms and problems caused by birth defects vary, the treatments also vary. Possible treatments may include surgery, medicines, assistive devices, physical therapy, and speech therapy.
Often, children with birth defects need a variety of services and may need to see several specialists. The primary health care provider can coordinate the special care that the child needs.
Can birth defects be prevented?Not all birth defects can be prevented. But there are things you can do before and during pregnancy to increase your chance of having a healthy baby:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Bowel incontinence is the inability to control your bowels. When you feel the urge to have a bowel movement, you may not be able to hold it until you get to a toilet. Millions of Americans have this problem. It affects people of all ages - children and adults. It is more common in women and older adults. It is not a normal part of aging.
Causes include:
Treatments include changes in diet, medicines, bowel training, or surgery.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Endoscopy is a procedure that lets your doctor look inside your body. It uses an instrument called an endoscope, or scope for short. Scopes have a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube. The doctor moves it through a body passageway or opening to see inside an organ. Sometimes scopes are used for surgery, such as for removing polyps from the colon.
There are many different kinds of endoscopy. Here are the names of some of them and where they look.:
Does your child seem much shorter - or much taller - than other kids his or her age? It could be normal. Some children may be small for their age but still be developing normally. Some children are short or tall because their parents are.
But some children have growth disorders. Growth disorders are problems that prevent children from developing normal height, weight, sexual maturity or other features.
Very slow or very fast growth can sometimes signal a gland problem or disease.
The pituitary gland makes growth hormone, which stimulates the growth of bone and other tissues. Children who have too little of it may be very short. Treatment with growth hormone can stimulate growth.
People can also have too much growth hormone. Usually the cause is a pituitary gland tumor, which is not cancer. Too much growth hormone can cause gigantism in children, where their bones and their body grow too much. In adults, it can cause acromegaly, which makes the hands, feet and face larger than normal. Possible treatments include surgery to remove the tumor, medicines, and radiation therapy.
Metabolism is the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues, such as your liver, muscles, and body fat.
A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in your body disrupt this process. When this happens, you might have too much of some substances or too little of other ones that you need to stay healthy. There are different groups of disorders. Some affect the breakdown of amino acids, carbohydrates, or lipids. Another group, mitochondrial diseases, affects the parts of the cells that produce the energy.
You can develop a metabolic disorder when some organs, such as your liver or pancreas, become diseased or do not function normally. Diabetes is an example.
The esophagus is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. If your child has reflux, his or her stomach contents come back up into the esophagus. Another name for reflux is gastroesophageal reflux (GER).
GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is a more serious and long-lasting type of reflux. If your child has reflux more than twice a week for a few weeks, it could be GERD.
What causes reflux and GERD in children?There is a muscle (the lower esophageal sphincter) that acts as a valve between the esophagus and stomach. When your child swallows, this muscle relaxes to let food pass from the esophagus to the stomach. This muscle normally stays closed, so the stomach contents don't flow back into the esophagus.
In children who have reflux and GERD, this muscle becomes weak or relaxes when it shouldn't, and the stomach contents flow back into the esophagus. This can happen because of:
Many children have occasional reflux. GERD is not as common; up to 25% of children have symptoms of GERD.
What are the symptoms of reflux and GERD in children?Your child might not even notice reflux. But some children taste food or stomach acid at the back of the mouth.
In children, GERD can cause:
In most cases, a doctor diagnoses reflux by reviewing your child's symptoms and medical history. If the symptoms do not get better with lifestyle changes and anti-reflux medicines, your child may need testing to check for GERD or other problems.
Several tests can help a doctor diagnose GERD. Sometimes doctors order more than one test to get a diagnosis. Commonly-used tests include:
Sometimes reflux and GERD in children can be treated with lifestyle changes:
If changes at home do not help enough, the doctor may recommend medicines to treat GERD. The medicines work by lowering the amount of acid in your child's stomach.
Some medicines for GERD in children are over-the-counter, and some are prescription medicines. They include:
If these don't help and your child still has severe symptoms, then surgery might be an option. A pediatric gastroenterologist, a doctor who treats children who have digestive diseases, would do the surgery.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Exercising is good for you, but sometimes you can injure yourself when you play sports or exercise. Accidents, poor training practices, or improper gear can cause them. Some people get hurt because they are not in shape. Not warming up or stretching enough can also lead to injuries.
The most common sports injuries are:
If you get hurt, stop playing. Continuing to play or exercise can cause more harm. Treatment often begins with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) method to relieve pain, reduce swelling, and speed healing. Other possible treatments include pain relievers, keeping the injured area from moving, rehabilitation, and sometimes surgery.
NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases