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General Illness Information Common Name: ANOREXIA NERVOSA Medical Term: None Specified Description: An eating disorder in young previously healthy women, who develop a paralyzing fear of becoming fat, and have a distorted body image. The patient refuses to eat adequately, and continues to want to lose weight even after a reasonable weight loss. Primarily affects teenage and young adult females. Occasionally young males are affected. There is also an absence of…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANXIETY (generalized anxiety disorder) Medical Term: None Specified Description: Generalized anxiety disorder (G.A.D.) is commonly known as anxiety disorder and is classified as an anxiety state. It comprises of excessive, almost daily anxiety and worry- lasting 6 months or longer. Anxiety can be about variety of activities or events. Other components of anxiety states are panic disorder, obsessive disorder, and post-trauma stress disorder. Anxiety is…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANIMAL BITES Medical Term: None Specified Description: Bite injuries and wounds to humans from dogs, cats, or other animals including humans. Causes: Animal bites are primarily caused by the following: Most bite wounds are from a domestic pet known to the victim. Large dogs are the most common source. Human bites are often the result of one person striking another in the mouth with a clenched…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANEURYSM Medical Term: None Specified Description: Weakness in the wall of an artery is causing an abnormal enlargement or bulge. Aneurysms may be round (saccular) or tube-like (fusiform) swellings. Majorities are fusiform in shape. Aneurysms usually affect the aorta (major artery in the chest and abdomen) but may affect other arteries e.g. those that supply the brain, legs, or heart wall. Aneurysms can develop anywhere…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANAL FISSURE Medical Term: Fissure-in-Ano Description: A tear or ulcer in the lining of the anus, causing pain on defecation. Causes: Causes include stretching of the anal wall by large hard stool or tightening of the anal canal due to tension or the laceration by foreign body. Prevention: Avoid constipation by: Drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily; Eating a diet high in fiber;…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANAL FISTULA Medical Term: None Specified. Description: An abnormal channel from the anus or rectum to the skin near the anal opening but may occasionally be to another organ such as the vagina. Most fistulas begin from a deep gland in the wall of the anus or rectum. However, fistulas may sometimes result from drainage of an ano-rectal abscess. The fistula may be painful and…

General Illness Information Common Name: ANAPHYLAXIS Medical Term: None Specified Description: An acute, generalized life-threatening allergic or hypersensitive reaction in a previously sensitized person (i.e. a person who has previously been exposed to that particular allergen) who comes into contact with the same allergen again. Reactions that occur almost immediately tend to be the most severe. Anaphylaxis can be caused by any allergen. The most common allergens are medications, insect…

General Illness Information Common Name: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Medical Term: Pre-senile dementia Description: A brain disorder characterized by a gradual and progressive mental deterioration. A rapidly progressive form begins in adults around the ages of 36 to 45. A more gradual form, with slower development of symptoms, begins around ages 65 to 70. An estimated 5 to 10 percent of persons over 65 show some form of dementia. Dementia is a…

General Illness Information Common Name: AMENHORRHEA, PRIMARY Medical Term: None specified Description: Complete absence of menstruation in a young woman who is at least 16 years old. It is a rare disorder as over 95% of girls have their first menstrual period by age 15. Causes: Usually unknown. Possible causes include: Delayed puberty (i.e. hormonal causes); Congenital abnormalities, such as the absence or abnormal formation of female organs (vagina, uterus,…

General Illness Information Common Name: ALLERGY (Food) Medical Term: Applies according to allergy Description: Food allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to certain foods or substances that are otherwise harmless. These adverse reactions may be inborn or an acquired biochemical defect. Symptoms may occur within minutes or up to two hours after ingestion. In some instances, the symptoms may not appear until a day or two later. Causes:…