Having HIV and having AIDS does not mean one and the same thing. Learn how to tell one from the other. What is the exact difference between HIV and AIDS? Are they the same disease? These are a few of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to HIV. It is understandable that these terms confuse a lot of people, especially since they are often used in an interchangeable manner. However, the truth is that there is a difference between HIV and AIDS. Simply speaking, HIV is the virus that could lead to a medical condition called AIDS. What is HIV? The Huma Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is a virus that is infectious in nature. As the name suggests, this virus only affects human beings, and its primary focus is on attacking the immune system so as to cause it to malfunction, and eventually shut it down. When it comes to most other viruses, our immune systems are well-versed with recognizing the foreign presence, and then working hard to annihilate it. However, the story is not the same in the case of HIV. For some reason, our immune systems seem completely unable to put up a fight against this virus.

There may be various warning signs of diabetes, which you may have been ignoring till now. Knowing the common diabetes symptoms can help in early detection and treatment of the condition. Diabetes is a serious condition, and is not to be taken lightly. If a person has diabetes, it means that his or her body is not effectively producing or using the hormone called insulin. This hormone is necessary to help the body use glucose (sugar in your blood) and clear it from the bloodstream. When this malfunctions, the glucose starts building up in your blood and can cause various health complications and diabetes symptoms. In a few cases, people may have diabetes and yet not experienced any of the usual diabetes symptoms. Diabetes symptoms can vary depending on the type of diabetes (type 1 or type 2) you have. However there are some common diabetes symptoms that may be a warning sign for you to visit a doctor. Here’s a list of some diabetes symptoms that may often be subtle, but you still need to look out for. Noticing any of these diabetes symptoms as soon as they appear can help in early diagnosis of the disease and in deriving maximum benefits from the treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in your joints. Here is everything you need to know about the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in your joints, usually, the small joints of your hands and feet. Affecting around 1.5 million people in America, this form of arthritis can lead to cartilage damage, if it is left unchecked. It is much more common in women and generally occurs in individuals over the age of 40. Apart from affecting the joints, rheumatoid arthritis can also cause problems in other organs of the body like the eyes, blood vessels, skin, and the lungs. Fatigue, fever, morning joint stiffness, swollen and tender joints, and weight loss are some of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. In most cases of this type of arthritis, the symptoms are symmetrical. In other words, most often than not, the same joints are affected on both sides of the body. The rheumatoid arthritis symptoms vary in severity from one person to another. They also tend to come and go; the periods of the symptoms flaring up will alternate with periods when the symptoms go into remission. Over a period of time, as this disease progresses, it can cause the joints to shift out of place and deform.

Allergies among children of various age groups is a very common phenomenon, but it hampers the immune system of the child and allows other infections to enter the body. Parents must keep a close eye on various child allergy symptoms for the better health of the little one. An allergy is a condition where the immune system abnormally treats certain substances as irritants which may not necessarily be harmful to the body. The patient is said to have developed an allergy to a particular substance when the immune system overreacts by producing antibodies in the bloodstream as if fighting a foreign element or an invader that has entered the system forcefully. Airborne allergies are the most common type found among children which causes a condition known as allergic rhinitis. Child allergy symptoms of allergic rhinitis reportedly affect nearly 10 percent of children in the United States. The child allergy symptoms can be anywhere from mild effects on the patient to being a potential threat to their quality of life. Hence it is imperative for parents and guardians to know about these allergies, so as to provide intensive care and proper medication to the child on time. The following are certain child allergy symptoms that can be diagnosed in the early onset of the illness to prevent the allergy from worsening.

Some skin cancer symptoms are not as obvious as others. These are a few you should actively watch out for. The common assumption is that skin cancer symptoms and signs can only manifest on areas of skin that are exposed to the sun. While it is true that sun-exposed skin presents the primary area where skin cancer develops, this does not mean that skin cancer symptoms cannot show up in areas that almost never see the sun such as under your nails, on your palms or soles, on your genital area, etc. The problem with most skin cancer symptoms is that they can easily be mistaken for other skin issues. This often leads to a loss of time that prevents early diagnosis and a positive prognosis. By knowing the obvious as well as obscure skin cancer symptoms, you will know exactly what you need to watch out for, and which skin cancer symptoms should definitely not be ignored. Skin Cancer Symptoms to Watch Out For The first thing to understand is that there are a number of types of skin cancers that are classified under the broad marquee. These include basal cell skin cancers, squamous cell skin cancers, and melanoma.

If you have diabetes, you may experience pain, numbness, and other issues in your feet. Here are some simple tips that can help in reducing diabetes foot problems. People who have diabetes often experience certain foot problems. This happens because too much blood sugar in your body causes poor blood circulation and even nerve damage, resulting in diabetes foot problems like blisters, corns and calluses, bunions, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, and fungal infections. Though these diabetes foot problems may seem petty and you may wish to ignore them, leaving such issues untreated can lead to severe pain or infections. If you notice any such diabetes foot problems, do not delay seeking medical treatment. In addition, you can take a few steps to keep your feet healthy and thus prevent or reduce any diabetes foot problems. Here are some handy and simple tips that can help in taking care of your feet. Check your feet daily Spend a few minutes every day to check both your feet carefully, as you may have certain diabetes foot problems even if you don’t feel any pain. Examine your feet for any blisters, redness, infected toenails, or other similar problems. Remember to check between all your toes, and make a note of any new changes.

It is easy to mistake allergy signs for something else entirely – learn how to differentiate allergy signs from other conditions. Knowing the difference between allergy signs and something else may be a tricky prospect. Distinguishing one from the other is not always an easy task. However, it is important to figure out whether you are looking at allergy signs or something that is perhaps worse. This is the only way you can get the right treatment and pain alleviation in a timely manner. For someone who is prone to allergies, it is easy to see allergy signs in pretty much every ailment. A nagging cold is characterized as allergic signs triggered by pollen or mold. You probably end up reaching for the ingredients leaflet on every skin product to ensure that it does not contain anything that will cause your skin to break out into hives. These precautions are extremely important, when you consider that more than 50 percent of Americans test positive for at least one environmental or food-related allergen, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. Here’s how you can recognize an allergy at the first go: Inventory Your Symptoms In order to know whether your symptoms are nasal allergy signs or a viral condition, you will need to inventory your symptoms.

Statistics show that 1 out of 24 persons are at risk of getting colon cancer. Early diagnosis is paramount for a good prognosis – these are the colon cancer symptoms you should watch out for. Colon cancer is formed due to the growth of cancerous cells inside the large intestine. The longest part of the large intestine is called the colon, and its primary function is to extract water and salt from the solid wastes that exit the body through the rectum to be excreted from the anus. Colon cancer is also termed as rectal cancer, but that depends on where the tumor begins to spread. The inner lining of the colon or rectum is termed as a polyp, it is from here that most colon cancers begin to grow. There are two types of polyps – ‘adenomatous polyps’ (also known as ‘adenomas’, they are sometimes cancerous in nature) and ‘hyperplastic polyps’ (also known as ‘inflammatory polyps’, commonly found but are not pre-cancerous in nature). There are various factors that cause colon cancer such as polyps, mutations in the DNA, family genetics, and diet. These malignant tumors once fully formed then travel through the blood and spread in other body organs.

Sinus infections and allergies are a very common phenomenon among people all over the world. Sinus drainage symptoms can significantly affect your quality of life. Watch out for these symptoms and seek help at the earliest. Sinus drainage disease is a very common health problem. Often a bad cold is mistaken as sinusitis. The sinus is a cavity within another tissue or a bone. They are located behind the forehead, on the bridge of the nose, in front of the brain, and within the cheek bones. Sinus drainage is generally caused due to bacterial infections, viruses, and fungal infections. In most cases, people with poor immune systems are at a higher risk of fungal or bacterial sinusitis. Allergic fungal sinusitis develops in people suffering from various kinds of allergies. Sinus disease which lasts more that 6-8 weeks is considered to be a chronic condition. Hence it is ideal to ensure that sinus drainage symptoms are taken care of with the help of various kinds of medications at the earliest. The following are some common sinus drainage symptoms to watch out for: Nasal Congestion Sinus drainage can cause serious levels of inflammation and swelling in the nasal passages. Inflammation in the sinuses and the drainage through the nose can cause congestion, which results in difficulty while breathing.

Most men are unaware of enlarged prostate symptoms. Learn what to watch out for to get early and effective treatment. The prostate gland is a gland that is the size of a walnut which surrounds the neck of the urinary bladder (urethra), and is located in front of the rectum and behind the bladder among males. The prostate helps in the production of semen, and is also responsible for carrying the sperm from the testicles during ejaculation. When the prostate gland grows in size, it creates an obstruction for the urethra, thereby posing difficulties while urinating. The size of the prostate gland increases with age, especially after the age of 40-50 years or so. In certain men, this problem may start at an earlier stage and may also result in an abnormally large growth of the prostate. This condition is medically termed as ‘benign prostate hyperplasia’ (BPH). Blockage caused due to the enlarged prostate can also cause urinary tract infections that could eventually lead to damage of the kidney or bladder. There are various enlarged prostate symptoms that you need to watch out for. If you notice one or more of these enlarged prostate symptoms, seek medical help immediately to avoid any further complications.

There may be many more probable leukemia symptoms apart from the ones that you know. Being aware of these changes in your body can be helpful in faster treatment of the disease. What is leukemia? Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells that starts in the bone marrow, the soft tissues inside most of our bones. When a person develops leukemia, this bone marrow starts producing plenty of abnormal white blood cells, which skew the functioning of the healthy cells. These abnormal cells, called leukemia cells, grow at a fast pace and soon outnumber the healthy blood cells in your body’s bone marrow. The white blood cells in your body help fight infection, and the malfunctioning of these cells leads to several serious health problems like bleeding, anemia, and infections. Moreover, the leukemia cells can spread to the lymph nodes and other organs in your body, causing pain and inflammation. What are the types of leukemia? In general, leukemia is grouped as acute or chronic depending on how fast the leukemia symptoms get worse. People with the acute form of the disease experience leukemia symptoms that worsen rapidly and make them feel sick immediately. On the other hand, those with chronic leukemia may not even experience any symptoms for years, as the disease progresses in a slow manner for such people.