The liver is in charge of filtering toxins out of your body. Environmental pollutants, medications and excess dietary fats are all filtered through your body so they can be eliminated. Liver problems can be deadly if not treated early and...
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill estimates that 10 to 30 percent of people experience abdominal bloating at some point during their lives. Symptoms associated with abdominal bloating can include burping, abdominal...
Gastric cancer is another name for stomach cancer. It usually begins in the lining of the stomach, in cells that produce mucus to aid in the digestion of food. According to the American Cancer Society, the early stages of stomach cancer rarely...
Hepatitis C is an infection that invades the liver. It usually remains as a chronic condition for the rest of a person's life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 3 million people in the United States have...
The gallbladder is the organ that collects and stores bile made by the liver to digest fat. Cancer forms in the inside tissues of the gallbladder and grows outward through the wall of the organ. According to the National Cancer Institute, early...
Deer ticks transmit the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi that is responsible for causing Lyme disease. According to the "Journal of Invasive Cardiology," “an estimated 4 to 10 percent of all patients in the United States with untreated Lyme...
Water retention, or water weight, can not only be annoying, but also dangerous. Swelling of the extremities and abdomen are common symptoms of excess water weight. Retention is caused by factors such as diabetes, PMS and liver dysfunction....
The heart pumps blood to the various organs of the body; if the heart ceases to function, massive tissue and organ death results. Heart function depends on the optimal concentration of various important ions such as calcium, potassium and sodium,...
Signs of digoxin toxicity can be subtle. Left unchecked, they can become severe and even life threatening. Digitalis, another name for digoxin, is derived from the foxglove plant. It is used today to treat congestive heart failure and atrial...
The term lymphoma refers to cancer of the lymphoid system, which is a major component of the immune system. The body's lymphoid system is composed of several organs, including the spleen, thymus and lymph nodes, tiny organs found in the groin,...
Uterine fibroids can cause a variety of symptoms. They originate in the tissue of the uterus and can be small and undetectable, causing no problems, or they can grow to the size of a large bulky mass. Larger uterine fibroids increase the size of...
Women often have specialized health concerns. Childbirth and pregnancy may cause many health issues to arise. The hormonal changes encountered monthly by women also add to the medical conditions they commonly face.
Exercising while pregnant offers health and beauty benefits for the expectant mother. Most low-impact workouts are appropriate exercises to do while pregnant, and you already might perform these workouts on a regular basis. Women who do not...
Mononucleosis, also known as infectious mononucleosis, mono or the kissing disease, is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. This virus is easily transmissible in the saliva and by close contact to infected people. The virus can cause...
Fibroids on ovaries, also known as uterine fibroids, fibromyomas, leiomyomas, or myomas, are non-cancerous growths in the reproductive system according to the Mayo Clinic. The fibroids appear in the childbearing years and may have no symptoms,...
When swelling occurs in both legs, it is usually caused by edema, which is an accumulation of fluid in the body tissues. Swelling of the legs is often accompanied by tenderness and pain in the affected area. Generalized edema commonly occurs as a...
Although a variety of cancers have the ability to spread to the bone, primary bone cancer or bone tumors starts in the cells of the bone. Some types of bone cancers start in the cells of the bone marrow that produce blood, and not in the bone...
Abdominal cramping from caffeine intake is considered rare and may be a sign of an overdose. Caffeine is a drug that is used in medications, beverages and certain foods for its stimulating effects. Caffeine is naturally occurring in some foods,...
The appendix is a small, saclike organ attached to the large intestine on the right side of the abdomen. While the appendix has no known function in the human body, it can swell from infection or trauma or can be ruptured. This condition, called...
Gas is a symptom caused by air in the digestive tract, while bloating refers to a feeling of enlargement or swelling of the abdomen. These common digestive symptoms often occur together, resulting in intestinal cramping and discomfort. There are a...
If you experience a rapid change in weight or appetite or suffer from bloating, you should consult with your doctor to test for serious health problems. Keep track of any other symptoms you experience, any changes in your diet and any medications...
Portal hypertension is an increase in the pressure in your vein that carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This pressure increase causes the development of large veins, which can bleed easily....
Sports and abdominal exercises can help strengthen and improve the appearance of your stomach muscles. However, too much exercise can be a bad thing. In fact, serious injury can occur if you overwork the abdominal muscles. This makes it important...
Patients with liver disease often suffer from a wide variety of underlying conditions or diseases and associated symptoms. Although there is no one specific diet to address liver-related health issues, your doctor will likely ask you to follow...
According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), around 7 million Americans were infected with digestive diseases in 1996. In 2002, digestive diseases, including cancer, accounted for 234,000 deaths in the United...
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) reports that the colon, also called the large intestine, is approximately five feet long. The main function of the colon is to absorb salt and water to be recycled...
Symptoms of uncontrolled hypertension are not present in the majority of cases, making the disease especially dangerous. High blood pressure that is longstanding and has remained uncontrolled often manifests after the disease has progressed....
Testicular cancer, cancer originating in the male testes, is a rare form of cancer accounting for only 1 percent of all male cancers, according to TC-Cancer.com. Although rare, it is the most common type of cancer affecting men between the ages of...
Exercise can cause you to experience pain in muscles you never knew you had. Typically, this pain is benign and simply indicates that your workout was effective. However, exercise can occasionally trigger a type of pain that indicates a serious...
