Watery Diarrhea|Vomiting And Diarrhea|Toddler Diarrhea

Hemorrhoids and anal fissures are two of the most common problems that people will experience that affect their anus. Both of these conditions share symptoms that can make them difficult for an individual to discriminate between. However, there are also some notable differences between the two.

What are fissures and hemorrhoids

An anal fissure is a crack or tear in the skin of the anal canal. In contrast a hemorrhoid is a swelling of the veins surrounding the rectum or anus. These are the major differences between the two.

Both anal fissure and hemorrhoids are first noticed due to the presence of bright red blood on the toilet paper or in the toilet bowl after a bowel motion. Acute fissures and external hemorrhoids can cause the individual to experience pain associated with a bowel movement. However chronic fissures and internal hemorrhoids can be present with little to no pain. Also, hemorrhoids are associated with itching, which is not a common symptom of anal fissures. Since it is difficult for an individual to see the anal region to discriminate between a fissure or hemorrhoid consulting a medical professional is always recommended.

Causes

Since an anal fissure is a tear in the tissue, any activity that causes stretching of the anal tissue more than normal, will lead to a fissure. A shallow fissure will resemble a paper cut, and because they are fairly small, will heal all by themselves after a few weeks. However given their location, personal hygiene is essential otherwise an infection can occur.

Deep anal fissures may not heal without some form of medical treatment. In adults, fissures can be caused by either prolonged diarrhea, constipation or by anal sex. A fissure is also common in women just after childbirth. Hemorrhoids are also common as a result of constipation, lack of water or heavy lifting or over exertion such as child birth.

Prevention

The following will help prevent both fissures and hemorrhoids. Avoiding straining during a bowel motion. People normally strain due to being constipated, so any treatment that reduced constipation will help here as well. So, ensure you eat enough foods rich in fiber and drink plenty of water. The use of a lubricating ointment such as those commonly used for hemorrhoids can also be helpful.

Treatment

Natural non-surgical treatment is always recommended in the beginning for anal fissures and hemorrhoids. Treatments shared between anal fissures and hemorrhoids include using a sitz bath, local topical anesthetics, increasing your fiber intake and stool softeners.

In severe cases, surgery can be an option for both, however as with any surgical procedure there are risks associated with this option.

It's understandable that concerned parents are wondering whether tap water is safe for babies. There is plenty of talk about the hazards in tap water that affect healthy adults. Unfortunately, the matter is even worse for developing babies. Infants are even more vulnerable to the toxins floating in our H2O.

Among the matters of concern in tap water are nitrates. These chemicals are naturally present in drinking water--at least at lower levels. Then, runoff from fertilizers and manure adds to their concentration in ground water, which eventually ends up flowing from your tap. It can even leach into the water system from septic tanks, and the effects on a young baby can be deadly.

When elevated levels of nitrates are present in the tap, babies may be at risk for the development of blue baby disease. Parents mix tap water they believe to be safe with formula and introduce these chemicals into their babies' systems. Once in a baby's system, nitrates actually work to interfere with the oxygen in his blood, causing his skin to take on a bluish tinge. In some cases, vomiting and diarrhea develop as well. Babies may also fail to gain adequate weight when affected by this condition.

The low-blood oxygen levels that occur with blue baby disease are frightening and dangerous, but they're only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to babies and tap water safety. Parasites are another major concern for those with infants. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two intestinal parasites that manage to make their way into drinking water and cause major problems for babies.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts sometimes survive the chlorine disinfection of tap water and end up in a baby's bottle. When a baby consumes even a small number of these cysts, they reproduce and cause illness. The symptoms these parasites cause include nausea, severe diarrhea, cramping in the abdomen, and dehydration. Babies may even have abnormal weight loss when exposed to these parasites. In severe cases, the illness they cause leads to death.

Parents are advised to boil their H2O from the tap before giving it to their infants, but that won't make H2O completely safe. To help protect their babies from unsafe tap water, many parents choose to filter their own water using faucet or whole-house water filters. Quality water filters can make tap water safe for babies to consume.

Exotic pets are really nice to have. They are unique in that not so many keep them, hence they are called exotic. Well, they are actually called exotic because they are not local or native to the place where they are being kept.

Not being local in such place means that they need to have some kind of a special pet care regimen. Which is the same as when we humans go to another country for the first time. Let us say we have lived all our lives in a tropical country and all of the sudden we are taken to the cold north. Of course we have to have to adjust.

The same can be said about exotic animals. In this article, I will discuss about caring for an exotic animal, the green iguana, which is fast becoming a popular pet in the household.

Your iguana should be be given a good diet. The life span of the iguana is heavily dependent on what you feed it. You may be giving the pet the best cage condition or the perfect heating but if the combination of food in its diet is poor, the iguana will not have a long life with you.

The most important nutrients to an iguana are calcium and phosphorus. Many veterinarians agree on one thing that iguanas do not need a lot of animal protein. Do not take heed from pet books that advice you to give dog or cat food to your iguana. This is a serious warning: throw away such book!

What is essential to the iguanas is that they get a high amount of calcium, some phosphorus and Vitamin D3. Ask your veterinarian for the proper ratio as this may vary depending on the age and weight of you pet iguana.

An iguana needs to digest its food well so make sure that the good you is cut into very small pieces. You can use food processors for preparing the iguana's food.

There are many foods that people think are good for iguanas but on the contrary, they can be harmful because of their high content of toxins like oxalic acid/phytic acid/goitrogens/saponins. Be careful not to feed these to your iguana: brussel sprouts, bok choy, tofu, spinach, rhubarb, kale, beets, broccoli, cabbage, swiss chard and turnips.

There are also food that even though they are not lethal to iguanas, they can cause diarrhea or contain very little nutritional value. These food include lettuce, chicory and corn.

A house for your pet iguana:

You should know that iguanas grow fast so there is not point buying a fixed tank. They need a big room as they like to climb so you might just share your room with your pet or just have a "soft bed" for him in your room.

Just make sure you provide adequate heating and lighting to your pet.

For those considering becoming a prepper, or at least becoming more well prepared for a natural disaster, terror attack or any other catastrophe, there are a few things that are obviously first on the agenda. It's critical to keep first things first, because otherwise, a person who is learning how to be a prepper can quickly get overwhelmed.

Most people learning how to be a prepper make a few common mistakes that end up costing them a lot of money and a lot of time. However, a little education goes a long way to shortening the learning curve and helping you get off on the right foot.

The first thing to do is not worry so much about guns and ammunition. If you have the means to protect yourself, then you needn't go hog-wild buying all sorts of assault rifles and tactical gear. Those things are fun and may very well make us feel safer, but they are really just toys unless you have your priorities straight.

The first priority must always be clean drinking water. For a city dweller who has never had a second thought about turning on the tap and drinking to his heart's content, this statement is probably sounding crazy. However, if the power grid goes down, the pumps at the water plants will not be able to supply your tap.

Far more important than even food, going without clean drinking water for 3 days can spell the end of you. And what commonly happens in urban "SHTF" (Sewage Hits the Fan) scenarios is that when the water goes out, sanitation suffers and cholera can break out.

If you give in to the temptation to get your water from a local river or other ground source in times like that, you risk cholera, which can literally kill you inside of one day with horrendous abdominal cramps and "explosive diarrhea."

So, if you haven't looked into securing a 2-3 week supply of clean drinking water, through either storage or a capability to purify it, then you are wasting your time stockpiling guns and ammunition. The reason: someone can just take them when you collapse.

After water comes food - and stockpiling expensive freeze-dried survival food or MRE's is a money wasting newbie mistake. While these foods have their place, they should not be the mainstay of your food storage plan.

So, there is a lot to learn. Begin by taking a good, hard look at securing a clean drinking water supply and then turn your attention to food. Neither of these is as glamorous as guns and camouflage tactical gear, but they will save your life.

If you have just heard about the low residue diet then you may have just come back from a visit to the doctor. A Low fiber diet is usually recommended to patients who suffer from stomach inflammation or those preparing for a surgery. In a nut shell, this low residue diet is made to reduce the number of bowel movements you have so that the body doesn't have to work as hard as it normally does.

Whilst you will probably lose weight from this diet it is not a healthy long term weight loss solution because of it's lack of fiber. This diet is targeted towards patients with stomach problems. In a normal diet plan we actually consume a number of foods that our body can't digest and this produces excess waste. The low residue diet aims to get rid of these foods momentarily so that your body can rest from it's usual efforts.

Make sure you always check with your doctor on what foods you can and can't eat as part of your diet plan. In general here is a list of foods that you can eat when on a diet such as this: Well ground eggs, meats, chicken or fish, White rice, White bread, some cereals, clear pulp free juices, plain gravies, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, vegetable oils and some dressings.

More important than the foods you should eat is the foods you shouldn't! Once again, be sure to double check with your doctor for your personal diet plan. In general you should avoid these foods: Spicy foods, Fatty meats, popcorn, seeds from fruit, seeds and nuts, raw vegetables (lettuce is ok), chocolate and coco powder, muffins, corn bread, most cheeses, peanut butter, millet, buckwheat, dried beans, oatmeal, whole grains (including whole grain pasta and bread) and legumes.

People that have the following conditions are often recommended the low residue diet:

Mothers during pregnancy - Some mothers in the later stages of pregnancy are put on the low residue diet to ease with stomach pains associated with pregnancy.

Radiotherapy patients - Some patients that under go radiotherapy treatments in the pelvic and/or stomach area can suffer from diarrhea as a side effect. The low residue diet can stop malnutrition, help the diarrhea and also re-hydrate the patient.

If you are suffering from Bowel inflammation - Post surgery inflammation isn't uncommon for stomach surgery patients and a low fiber diet gives the body time to take a rest from processing so hard which gives the inflammation time to die down.

Crohn's disease patients, astronauts, abdominal surgery patients and people with ulcerative colitis are all also know to use the low residue diet!

Do you normally get confused about what illness your child has? Lots of parents confuse flu symptoms with those of a common cold. When the child is very young then the symptoms are easy confused with those of a bacterial infection. As a result, they are unable to give the child the correct medical treatment. While this doesn't always have serious consequences (although a few kids have died needlessly because they did not get the right treatment), it most often results in the child having to undergo an unnecessary amount of discomfort. Also, if you know that your child has the flu then you can take steps to isolate him or her so that other people do not get the illness.

One of the first things you ought to know is that flu symptoms in kids are generally more severe than those of common colds. The child generally suffers from a high grade fever, accompanied by chills and shakes, which can even touch 104 degrees F. Another set of symptoms that you have to look out for are tiredness as well as headaches and body aches. If your child suffers from a cough and a sore throat in addition to these symptoms then you can be quite sure that your child has the flu. Some children might even suffer from vomiting and diarrhea as a result of having the flu.

A tell-tale sign of flu in children is that the symptoms start with almost no warning and cause the child to feel very unwell during the first few days. Even if most of the symptoms go away after four days or so, your child is likely to have a bad cough that stays on for a couple of weeks. This might cause you to confuse it with respiratory tract infections.

You'll find it very easy to deal with most flu symptoms on your own. Make sure that you give your child medications to bring down the temperature and also to soothe the cough and sore throat. If however the fever continues after three days or the cold symptoms are still going strong after 10 days then you ought to take your child to a doctor. Also, if your child suffers from asthma or suffers from illnesses of the respiratory system frequently then you ought to seek medical treatment without delay. This will help protect your child's illness from becoming very severe and unmanageable.

In our article "What do I feed my dog now?" Katie and I had discussed what to buy for your dog. There have been lots of reports over poisonous ingredients that were/are being used to formulate certain brands of dog food. We didn't name the brands but we told you our secret brand for a happy strong dog.

If you've read the article you'll also remember Katie left us hanging with this line at the end "And remember, no chocolate, no onions, no raisins, no grapes, and one I just learned about is no avocados." I wanted to know "why?" So...
In this article we will discuss the foods that we humans eat with relatively no consequences but can be harmful even deadly for your dog. Some of these will surprise you.

Alcohol: Ingestion can lead to sickness, urination problems or even coma or death from alcohol poisoning.

Anti-freeze: Although not a human food, it can be readily available for them in a car park puddle. It is sweet so if they find it, they will drink it. Even a small amount of antifreeze can be fatal. 3-4 tablespoons can kill a medium sized dog. The main ingredient in antifreeze is ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic poison that causes kidney failure, which is often fatal in just a few days.

Apple: The seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can result in cyanide poisoning. Any seed or pit from a fruit is dangerous.

Apricot: Same as the apple.

Avocado: Avocadoes are high in fat content and can trigger an upset stomach, vomiting or even pancreatitis. Avocado contains a toxic element called persin, which can damage heart, lung and other tissue in many animals.

Baby Food: If it contains onion powder then it is not good. See onions for more explanations.

Bones: Cooked bones can be very hazardous for your dog. They become brittle and can splinter causing your dog to choke or worst, puncture, rupture their stomach lining and intestinal tract. Bad bones are turkey and chicken legs, ham, pork chop and veal.

Bread Dough: Pets who have eaten bread dough may experience abdominal pain, bloat, vomiting, disorientation and depression. When bread dough is ingested your dog's body heat causes the dough to rise in the stomach. During the rising process alcohol is produced as the dough expands.

Candy: Sugarless candy containing xylitol has been recognized by the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) to be a risk to pets. The compound can cause liver damage.

Cherries: The seed pit contains cyanogenic glycosides which can cause cyanide poisoning.

Chocolate: Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic. Theobromine will either increase the dog's heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially with exercise.

Eggs (Raw): Raw egg whites contain a protein called avidin, which can deplete your dog of biotin, one of the B vitamins. Biotin is essential to your dog's growth and coat health. Additionally, raw eggs are often contaminated with bacteria, such as salmonella, and you could end up giving your dog food poisoning in addition to biotin deficiency.

Grapes or Raisins: Although the minimum lethal dosage is not known, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs when ingested in large quantities. The symptoms are gastrointestinal signs including vomiting and diarrhea, and then signs of kidney failure with an onset of severe kidney signs starting about 24 hours after ingestion.

Liver: In small amounts liver is good for your dog, but if the liver intake is too high it can cause nutritional problems because liver has a high content of vitamin A. Consumption of this vitamin in large amounts can lead to vitamin A toxicity, or hypervitaminosis A. It could lead to bone problems.

Macadamia Nuts: The toxic compound is unknown but eating as few as six nuts without the shell has been known to cause elevated body temperature, accelerated heartbeat, tremors in the skeletal muscles, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters.

Onions: Onions cause hemolytic anemia. Red blood cells break down leaving the dog short of oxygen. Onion poisoning can occur with a single ingestion of large quantities or with repeated meals containing small amounts of onion.

Salmon (Raw): The cause is infection by a rickettsial organism called Neorickettsia helminthoeca. A sudden onset of symptoms occurs 5-7 days after ingestion of fish. Initial symptoms include lethargy and anorexia. Persistent vomiting by the fourth day. There is bloody diarrhea within a few days of vomiting onset. The diarrhea is often bright yellow color. There are enlarged lymph nodes.

Tomatoes and Tomato Plants: These contain atropine which can cause dilated pupils, tremors and irregular heartbeat. The highest concentration of atropine is found in the leaves and stems of tomato plants, next is the unripe (green) tomatoes and then the ripe tomato.

There are more. For a complete list visit http://mooreshaven.com/pets/dogs/safety/badfoodslist.html

May all your four-legged children be healthy.

Hepatitis in dogs is a highly contagious viral disease. It mainly affects the liver. However, it can also affect various other organs.

Transmission

As you just learned, this disease is caused by a virus. This virus is known as canine adenovirus type 1, or CAV-1 for short. Most dogs get infected when they come into direct contact with an infected dog. Infected body fluids can also be a method of transmission. The virus can also be passed by parasites such as fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks.

Symptoms

Dog hepatitis can be either severe or acute. Dogs with the acute form will experience vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. The disease can also cause swollen lymph nodes, pale gums, and yellowish eyes. If your dog's liver also swells up, he may stop eating.

Dogs with the acute form of this disease usually recover after a week or so. On the other hand, the severe form is usually fatal. Common symptoms include bloody vomit and diarrhea, bloody nose, and bloody gums. Since severe damage is done to the liver, it can also result in a coma or seizures.

Treatment

Mild cases of hepatitis in dogs usually requires that your dog be hospitalized. Treatment involves giving intravenous fluids to combat dehydration that can be brought on by the diarrhea or vomiting. Additional supportive care may also be necessary.

Prognosis

There is no specific treatment for hepatitis in dogs. As mentioned, the severe form of this disease is often fatal, usually within a week. Sometimes, an infected dog can die within mere hours of showing symptoms. Dogs may be able to recover from the acute form.

Prevention

The vaccine to guard against dog hepatitis is usually given to puppies. However, it can also be given to adult dogs that have yet to be vaccinated. The vaccine can contain either adenovirus type 1 or 2. Although type 1 is responsible for this disease, a vaccine containing type 2 will also help prevent it.

There are many people out there who suffer from stomach pains and genuinely wanted a way out. I used to suffer from terrible bouts of stomach spasms and pain- deep in a part of my stomach. The pain so so bad that I have to let go of whatever I am doing and just lie down. I remembered when I was a student and used to travel outstation on the overnight bus, I will sometimes get extreme stomach pain attacks- and by the time the bus reaches the destination, I was literally in tears of pain because I could not even stand up straight and even walk. That was when I learned to fear traveling, especially on overnight buses- because I will never know when the next attack is coming.

Yes, I also have similar problems. Any idea what causes this?

When I get terrible pains in exam halls, public transportation, traveling, shopping, outing with friends, working- or whenever I am not at home, I feel so terrible and alone. I seriously started to search for alternatives. I finally found the solution in more holistic and natural remedies.

My discovery:

It's not going to sound nice: but basically, it is due to bacteria eating away the rotted food that is stuck on the walls of your intensities and stomach. These bacteria metabolizes the food, releases toxin gases and chemicals that cause you extreme pain, vomiting and diarrhea. And when they multiply themselves in lightning speed, it will correspond to your rapidly escalating pain.

Can it get any worse?

Unfortunately, yes. If left untreated, or if you keep suppressing the symptoms with over the counter medication, the bacteria could eat into your stomach/intensities wall- causing terrible terrible pain. Also known as ulcer. Long term (like 5 to 10 years or maybe more) of bad eating habits and years of toxin accumulation may cause stomach or intestine cancer (people with frequent history of stomach ulcers and gastric, who take lots of well cooked and flavoured meat but dislike fruits and vegetables are at higher risk).

Can my problems be cured?

I certainly hope so. It's should be quite simple actually- 'clean' your digestive track. Take lots of fibre and water that keep your digestive track free of clots. Well, even though clots form here and now, they do not stay long because if you take lots of fibre with water, it cleans up the track well (like with a good brush and water to clean up a clogged pipe).

I am suffering from pain now. What can I do to cure myself?

1. If you still have the pain, avoid anything with milk or its derivatives such as cheese. You may be also lactose intolerant.

2. Get your digestion working well by taking more fruits that has high fiber content- red apples are excellent. Drink lots of water to help the fibre move easily along your digestive track- bringing anything that had rotted with it.

3. Till you fully recover, stay away from fried foods, chilies and meat that are BBQ-ed or fried. If you want to have meat, then stick to the steamed ones.

4. Anything else that you imagine will move around and get stuck in your digestive track such as creamy soup, starchy stuff or peanut butter must be avoided- at least till you get better. Also, and avoid peanuts and reduce your beans intake because it causes bloating.

5. Take some oats- this wonder food is good at 'trapping' any foodstuff that are stuck in your digestive walls. With water, the oats will really help clean up your stomach. You can take the instant but unsweetened ones.

6. Cut down on table sugar (and that includes packaged fruit juices that has little or no fibre) because these processed sugar easily causes bloating. Sugar from fruits are okay but stick to fruits with high fibre content.

6. No iced/cold water/drinks with meals especially if your stomach is not well- it affects digestion because your stomach needs room temperature to digest your food.

7. Eat regularly and do not skip meals. If you have no appetite, take something light at least like oats or whole grain bread.

What also will help:

Excessive stress also affects the digestion system and make it haywire. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, drop everything, go to a quiet place and close your eyes. Then breathe deeply and just be with your breath. Do not think and drown yourself in the problem that is troubling you. After 10 minutes, you will normally feel much better to face it. Try also a little exercise- aerobic activity like jogging and do some stretching- increased circulation helps everything to move around faster and get your body going.

But it soooo hard to sacrifice my 'unhealthy' eating habits.

Yes, it is hard to cut down your favourite foods. Actually, you do not need to eat 'wholesome' food all the time. But if your stomach is not well, at least try to follow the above steps for 2 weeks as much as you can. Give your stomach a change to recover. As you get better, I also recommend exercising as it will get your circulation moving and you can rid of toxins out of your body faster.

Once you fix your digestive problem, you may find you suffer less from the following conditions:

• headaches


• tiredness/sluggishness/fatigue


• diarrhea/constipation

Living with constant stomach pain or any form of pain is no fun. It robs you of a quality, fun and productive life that you deserved to have. As for me, curing the stomach ailments enable me to travel more often and I no longer fear night buses and long distance travel anymore.

Note: If your symptoms persists despite doing the above, please consult a doctor and go for a checkup. Extreme pain on the right side of your waist can means a burst appendicitis.

Gas or flatulence is the excess air in the stomach and intestines that is passed through the rectum. There are various reasons that lead to formation of gas in the stomach leading to severe bloating, abdominal pain, cramps in the stomach and pressure. Eating high fiber foods, consuming certain antibiotic medicines, irritable bowel syndrome, swallowing air while eating or drinking, malabsorption etc. can lead to formation of gas.

To avoid the gas problem, it is better to take some precautions like avoiding food like cabbage, beams, to avoid carbonated beverages, chewing gum etc. Check out first which food causes the problem for you and then try to avoid taking those food. Besides this, for proper digestion, chew your food thoroughly, eat slowly in a relaxing way and walk for few minutes after eating.

There are many anti gas agents or medicines available that help in relieving the symptoms of gas. Such medicines are available even without a doctor's prescriptions. They are available as capsules, chew able tablets and syrups. The most common drugs are Gas-X, Mylanta Gas Relief, Phazyme etc. Such drugs contain an ingredient known as simethicone which breaks up gas bubbles in the digestive and intestinal tract and relieve the symptoms of excess gas. The anti gas tablets need to be taken after meals and at bedtime and all chewable tablets should be chewed thoroughly. Consult a doctor before giving to children below 12 years of age.

This medicine has no side effects and the best part is that it does not interact with other medicines. After taking the medicine, the bloating and the flatulence decreases. However if you face other problems beside gas like abdominal or rectal pain, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, bloody stools or oily, foul-smell then it is better to consult a doctor immediately. If any person is allergic to any foods, dyes, preservatives, or other substances, he should consult his physician as some anti-gas medicines contain sugar, sodium, or other ingredients.