Hepatitis is a generic term, signifying the inflammation and destruction of liver cells. The destruction can be cause by medicine, toxins, alcohol, genetic illnesses, various metabolic illnesses and viruses. However, in most cases, when we say hepatitis, we mean the viral type. There is a wide variety of viruses that can cause hepatitis, but commonly the term is used for hepatitis with virus A, B, C, D, E and G.



What quantity of alcohol can be considered a risk for the liver?

First it needs to be understood that alcohol is poison. Any quantity of alcohol can damage the liver. In healthy people, those who are not suffering from liver diseases, alcohol is assimilated differently for men and for women. Men assimilate and eliminate alcohol more efficiently than women, due to the size of their bodies, their weight and due to some specific enzymes. In women, the “safe” quantity of alcohol is 1-2 drinks per day while in men the “safe” quantity is 3-4 drinks/day.



It is also important to know that the liver and the body can’t tell the difference between various types of drinks. Beer and wine are not “safer” than whiskey. One drink is defined as 45 grams of whiskey, 140 grams of wine or one beer. If someone has a liver affliction spawned by other causes, such as viral hepatitis B or C, or has a liver affliction due to alcohol, then the liver is sensitive to any quantity of alcohol. In these situations, the only “safe” dose is zero alcohol.

The most important risk factor for liver disorders is the quantity and interval of alcohol consumption. Each individual is unique, so this risk factor varies from one person to the next. Complications can occur after 5-10 years of consumption, but they most often occur after 20-30 years of consumption. Many people never get to reach the final stages of liver illnesses cause by alcohol. It is impossible to predict if and when a liver disease will occur due to alcohol.

What other toxic substances can damage the liver aside from alcohol?

The most common is Acetaminophen (Paracetamol), which is present in many drugs issued over the counter. Acetaminophen is the most efficient drug against fever and pain, but only taken in the recommended dosages. High doses, those higher than recommended, can damage the liver. Liver transplants are commonplace in cases of Acetaminophen overdose. A much more serious problem occurs in patients who consume alcohol on a daily basis and especially those who take more than two drinks per day, where a normal dose of Acetaminophen 3 or 4 times per day could cause some massive liver damage. The same problem occurs in patients who are suffering from a liver disease, for example viral hepatitis.

Aside from these, other frequently encountered toxic substances are those we inhale, such as cleaning agents, paint, thinners, etc. In these cases too, these substances are much more dangerous if there is a preexisting liver illness.



Liver disease signs and symptoms

One important thing there is to remember about liver illnesses is that some 50% of patients do not show any liver disease signs and symptoms. The most frequent symptoms are non-specific, such as fatigue or excessive tiredness, changes in attention and occasionally itchiness. More specific symptoms include jaundice or the yellow coloring of the skin and eyes, dark-colored urine, light colored stool, digestive tube bleeding, mental confusion and liquid retention in the abdomen.

When a dog refuses to hear, it means that there is either a physical or a psychological problem. In this case, some owners try to tempt their dogs with some good food or by offering them food from the palm of their hand. Some dogs are bored or neglected and, by refusing to eat, they try to draw attention.



A careful owner will always take the dog out for walks, will play with the dog and pay attention to their pet. So it is not always constructive to make the correlation “dog stops eating – symptoms of disease” because, as we will see, this is not always the case.



How can we solve the nutrition problem of a dog who is not neglected, but on the contrary, who is too spoiled? Easy. Remove the bowl after 30 minutes and put it back when it is time for the dog’s next meal. Spoiled dogs are often obese, so they could use skipping a meal or two. You should also try not feeding your dog the same food every time. Some owners do not realize that their dog stops eating because it receives the same kind of food over and over again, or because the bowl is very dirty.

Food that is not healthy for humans is not good for dogs either. By now you probably have managed to notice what type of food your dog prefers: dried, diced, minced, etc. You could add various flavors to diversify the menu, flavors of onion or garlic, egg, and many dogs prefer liver or ham flavors. A lot of dogs prefer to skip the afternoon meal on very hot days. Let your dog follow his natural instincts. It is not out of the ordinary for a dog to refuse a meal, but if it refuses to ear for more than 24 hours, then this is one of the cases where you should, indeed, make the “dog stops eating – symptoms of disease” correlation and take your pet to a vet.

If your dog is much weakened or if it suddenly loses weight there could be a physical problem involved and these signs are red flags. If your dog has an unusually high appetite but it keeps losing weight, then it might have some intestinal parasites. All these symptoms require attention from a vet, because a specialist is the only one who will know what goes wrong and who will diagnose and prescribe treatment for your dog.



A young puppy that refuses to eat needs to be consulted by a specialist at once. Adequate feeding is essential for the little puppy because its stomach is very tiny and it cannot retain too much food, which is why puppies need to be fed more often. Before rushing to the nearest vet, make sure the lack of appetite is not due to one of the following causes: the puppy misses his mother and brothers. In this case you should try to spend more time with him, but not allow him to get too used to your constant presence; the time when you feed him does not correspond with the time when he is hungry; he is too nervous to eat; avoid playing or bringing in guests before or while the puppy is eating; the food is too hard or the bits are too big; he does not like the bowl you use to feed him.

For puppies, we recommend the use of plates, as flat as possible, and later, when the puppies grow a bit, you can use a somewhat deeper plate, and then a bowl.

Here are some of the common diseases specific to cats – causes, cat disease symptoms, treatment, advice and care. This is an introduction to allergies, vomiting, diarrhea and diabetes. Here we offer you several pieces of advice and indications on the prevention and treatment of cat disease symptoms, as well as what you should do if your cat comes down with one of these afflictions, but you should always remember that a visit to the vet does more good than any information you might receive here.



Cat allergies

Cats, like humans, can suffer from a wide range of allergies. The most often encountered form of allergy in cats is flea allergy. As cats grow in age, their sensitivity to flea bites grows. Food allergies cover some 5-10% of cat allergies. Food allergies can be recognized through rashes on the skin, itching, vomiting and diarrhea, but these symptoms could occur after ten years as well.



Vomiting

Some cats vomit all the time, while others do so very rarely. One of the most common reasons for vomiting is the removal of fur balls. You should try to brush your cat as often as possible to reduce shedding and the ingestion of hair. If you want to know why your cat vomited, carefully examine the vomit and check if there are any fur balls in there. Fur balls can occur even in cats with short hair.

Another reason for your cat to vomit would be food allergies. You should try to change the brand of food you use and choose one with different ingredients and no food dyes. This could help. Sometimes cats vomit when they have intestinal worms. You should seek your vet for treatment in such cases. Also, vomiting could be a sign of hyperactive thyroid or kidney infection. This is often seen in old cats. The vet could perform some blood tests to see the exact cause.

Diarrhea

If your cat has persistent diarrhea, you could try changing their diet. You could try some boiled rice, some cheese, yogurt, bread or some boiled chicken. Choose something your cat likes. If the symptoms continue for more than two days, you should take your cat to the vet, along with a stool sample. You should call your vet at once if your cat is weakened and refuses to take fluids. Feline urinary syndrome is an inflammation, an irritation and/r an obstruction of the lower urinary tract. Inability to urinate could become a serious problem, potentially fatal, if it is not treated in time. This illness occurs more often among male cats than among females. Your cat could have this illness if it cannot urinate, is urinating blood, often uses the litter box or stops using it altogether.



Diabetes

Diabetes occurs in cats that cannot regulate their blood sugar. Symptoms can include thirst and excessive urination, losing weight or obesity. Usually, this illness occurs in older cats. Diabetic cats need to be kept indoors to avoid accidental feeding that could increase their blood sugar.

The Barrett’s Esophagus represents an anomaly where the cells of the lower esophagus suffer metaplasia due to damage from chronic acid exposure or reflux esophagitis. It is considered that the Barrett Esophagus is a consequence of the gastroesophageal reflux disease.



Barrett Esophagus patients present an annual 0,5% risk of developing an adenocarcinoma in the esophagus, which is a significantly higher risk compared to the rest of the population. A Barrett Esophagus diagnosis often occurs in elderly people, with an average age of 65, and it is more common in men than in women, especially in Caucasians and Hispanics. This illness is a gained anomaly, even though studies have shown that there are certain genetic conditions favoring the cell transformations that take place.



Gastroesophageal reflux disease represents the easiest to identify risk for the occurrence of the Barrett Esophagus, but due to the low percentage of patients with Barrett Esophagus in the GERD context there is the possibility for the condition to be favored by other risk factors who are equally important. Some of these factors include age, reflux symptom history, the intensification of reflux symptoms during the night, low tonus in the lower esophageal sphincter, complications associated with GERD – ulcer, hemorrhaging.

The Barrett Esophagus occurs due to trauma of the esophageal mucous, which, by adaptation or metaplasia, becomes a columnar epithelium. This adaptation is explained though increased resilience to acid manifested by the column cells compared to pavement cells.

The advancement of the Barrett Esophagus to neoplasm occurs early, when there are conditions for the selective advantaging of abnormal cell development. Chromosome aberrations or genetic mutations could lead to the inactivity of suppressing genes. Once these genes have been rendered inactive, the abnormal cells divide chaotically, proliferate, and the situation evolves towards neoplasm.

Symptoms of Barrett’s disease presented by patients are similar to those seen in patients suffering from GERD, which is why increased attention is required when faced with Symptoms of Barrett’s disease, with a differentiated diagnosis between the two types of afflictions. In addition, there are a great number of patients with Barrett’s disease or with adenocarcinoma that do not show any GERD specific symptoms. Indications issued by the American College of Gastroenterology recommend endoscopy for any patient with GERD symptoms, as screening criteria referring to age and race still spark debates on their relevance.



The definition of Barrett’s disease has changed in time, and today this condition is seen as a change in the esophageal epithelium, regardless of its length, which could be recognized during an endoscopy and can be confirmed through a biopsy as intestinal metaplasia, excluding the intestinal metaplasia of the cardium. What needs to be remembered here is that the positive biopsy needs to outline the calciform cells, patognomonic for the metaplastic changes.

The Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through tick sting. The Lyme disease symptoms are fever, fatigue, migraines and eczema. Because these symptoms also appear in other diseases, there must be taken a differential test before diagnosing the disease.



Isodex scapularis, the deer tick or the black tick carries the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. This bacterium is responsible for the appearance of the Lyme disease. It normally lives in mice, rats, squirrels and small animals. The tick has three development stages: larva, chrysalis and adult. When an uninfected tick consumes the blood of a sick animal, it eats the bacterium as well. The bacterium will live in the intestines of the tick and at the next meal will infect other animals or even human beings.



Most cases of tick stings appear at the end of spring or during summer when the chrysalis is more active and the human activities outside are more frequent. Besides that, ticks live in the fur of dears, who do not contact the Lyme disease. Other ways of contacting the Lyme disease are by inter personal contact, transmission during pregnancy, blood transfusions or from animals.

Inter personal contact: it has not been proven yet that the Lyme disease is transmitted by kiss or sexual contact with an infected individual. During pregnancy, the disease can lead to the infection of the placenta or even miscarriage. Even if there are no cases of Lyme disease transmitted through blood transfusions, it is proven that the bacterium can survive in the blood of the donators and it can easily be transmitted to the receiver.
Among the Lyme disease symptoms you can count a red area near the biting place, which usually appears in a period from 3 up to 30 days from the bite. The red spot will most likely increase in surface; it is warm and not painful. Other symptoms are fatigue, migraines, fever, muscular cramps or diseases of the lymphatic ganglions. In some cases, the red area may not appear at all and this will make you unaware of the fact that you have been infected. Left untreated, the Lyme disease can lead to Bell face paralysis, pain, meningitis, arrhythmia and pain in the articulations.

Most of these symptoms can be cured with the right treatment. After month since the infection, 60% of the patient will develop arthritis, lack of concentration and short term memory loss, muscular pain, insomnia, fatigue and cognitive disabilities.



The Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics, and the treatment should be held for a period of 14 up to 28 days. There are also ways of preventing the Lyme disease, such as avoiding areas where tick might leave, such as forests and bushes, especially in May, June and July; the use of bug sprays, pesticides, as well as wearing long clothes in the forest. Fortunately, less than 5% of tick stings produce the Lyme disease and the doctors made this disease known, so there is treatment. If you think you have been infected, you should quickly see a doctor, because the faster you diagnose it, the better for you. The Lyme disease leaves minimal complications if it is treated in time.

The Lou Gehrig disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, is characterized by a progressive loss of certain nervous cells of the brain and the spine. These cells are called motor neurons. Motor neurons command the volunteer muscles which make movement possible. ALS is a progressive disease which hardens movement and in most cases, it is fatal. Walking, Talking, eating, swallowing and other fundamental functions become more difficult in time.



These affections can cause lesions, diseases and other complications. One of 100.000 people develops ALS each year. Men are less affect than women. Even if it can appear at about any age, ALS is more common among elders. The causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are unknown. About 5 to 10% of the people suffering from ALS have an inherited form of this disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is not contagious.



If you are wondering what are symptoms of Lou Gehrig ’s disease, check this list: weakness and lack of precision in hands and feet, gradual loss of strength in hands and feet, the incapacity of voluntarily controlling your extremities, muscular spasms, unsure, rigid walking, difficulties in swallowing, talking and breathing, fatigue, muscular cramps, especially during the night, as well as pain in the final stages of the disease.

It is important to state that feeling weak, tired or having muscular spasms does not necessarily means that you have ALS. The first sign of ALS is, in most cases, weakness in your hands, feet or tongue. The answer to the question "what are symptoms of Lou Gehrig ’s disease" also need to be added with an increase of imprecision and difficulty in executing certain movements with your fingers or hands.

There can also be muscular spasms. The weakness will intensify during a period of months or years. This depends on each case. While the number of neurons decreases, the muscular cells start disappearing and the muscles start atrophying. Since ALS is a progressive disease, in time the muscles of the throat and chest become more and more atrophic, swallowing and coughing become difficult, and this can lead to aspiring the food and saliva in the trachea. This determines the appearance of pneumonia and the breathing affections get worse as the disease progresses, increasing the risk of infections and respiratory insufficiency.

Pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, respiratory insufficiency and cardiac insufficiency are the most common causes of death among patients with ALS. In most cases, death comes after 3 to 6 years from the first symptoms. Some individuals can actually live longer than that, up to some decades. But the symptoms and the effects of this disease make live almost impossible.



For individuals with ALS or for those who have a family member suffering from ALS it is recommended to learn as many things as possible about this disease and about the opportunities of care and treatment of patients with ALS. You should also take into account that what can be the proper treatment for an ALS patient can hurt another one. Some patients want to follow treatments which can assure a long life, while others are just searching for ways to ameliorate the effects of this disease.