Anosmia is a condition where one’s sense of smell (olfactory) is defunct, that is, anosmia causes complete loss of smell. It can either be temporary or permanent with the probability of taste buds being affected as well. Anosmia can be a difficult impairment to live with; one should be sure that it isn’t something like a cold or flu that can cause one to not being able to smell/taste food. Anosmia causes cold to be a possible factor, but it clears up eventually over a period of time.

Anosmia causes can be aplenty and not easy to detect at first, but as you notice key elements in the way you breathe and how your taste buds function, you’ll be able to gage whether you are likely to have this problem or not. The olfactory epithelium corresponds to an area inside the nose that intercepts smells and odors, passing these signals to the brain. If the expanse of the olfactory epithelium is great, the sense of smell due to the presence of more neurons is higher.

Any obstruction leading to a block in air intake restricts the brain from receiving these signals through the olfactory epithelium, thus causing one to lose the ability to smell. The olfactory epithelium in such cases may be damaged or the passages that transmit smell impulses may be impaired, causing olfactory receptor cells to cut off signals to the brain.

There exist many ways to check for the presence of anosmia, and some of the symptoms of this condition include: a change in the way your voice sounds; sense of smell and taste is not strong and is indistinguishable; polyps may be blocking your draining channel meant for the sinuses, into the nose; headaches and snoring habits; the face and ears tend to enlarge which is uncommon; double vision is highly improbable but can take place nonetheless, due to huge polyps applying pressure on the nerves that need to send signals to the brain from the eyes; zinc deficiency is also a factor in determining whether one is suffering from anosmia.

Also, check for a history of head trauma (as anosmia is caused by a brain defect as well), diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and so on. It is important to know your genetics before you diagnose yourself or others in cases such as these.

Incontinence is an affliction of old age and a sad one. Incontinence is the loss of control over urine and fecal elimination. This means that people lose control over their bladder and bowel movements and cannot control the excretion process. But while I have mentioned that old people are affected by incontinence, this is not the only case. People who are not old can also be incontinent. Remember that incontinence is not any form of a disease; it can in fact be classified as a symptom of any other condition.

Urinary incontinence is the loss of control over urination or loss of bladder control. Urinary incontinence is quite common and quite embarrassing as well. There are different degrees of urinary incontinence, from mild leaking while laughing or severe urges that don’t hold till the person gets to a bathroom. Urinary incontinence isn’t only related to old age, it is also a cause of childbirth or menopause. At any time you notice signs of incontinence it is best to consult with a doctor.

There are different types of urinary incontinence that are recognized by contemporary medicine. The first one is stress incontinence. This is the type of incontinence that is related to pressure. The stress doesn’t mean mental stress but more of physical stress, like in the case of sneezing, coughing, laughing and picking up heavy things. Stress incontinence occurs when the sphincter muscle in the bladder is weak and cant control the urine or bladder movement. This normally occurs after childbirth, pregnancy and the onset of menopause for women and for men it occurs after the removing of the prostate.

The second type is urge incontinence. This type of incontinence is when the person has a sudden urge to urinate and cannot control it even long enough to run to a bathroom. The bladder in this case only gives the person a few seconds notice and then losses control. Urge incontinence can be caused by a urinary tract infection, bladder irritation, bowel problems and even nervous disorders like MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or even stroke or injuries.

The third type is mixed incontinence. If a person has more than one type of incontinence, like stress and urge incontinence together, then the person is said to have mixed incontinence. In this case, one type of incontinence will be more problematic than the other.

Finally, overflow incontinence – this is a condition when the person is constantly dribbling urine, this is because the bladder cannot empty itself completely and this leads to overflowing of the bladder. This type of incontinence is common among those who have damaged bladder or in men with prostate problems.

Hunger is a basic physical drive. It is important to understand that hunger in itself is healthy, but in spite of eating your fill, if you feel constant hunger, then it is not a healthy sign.

There are a number of people who will tell you that cutting fat from your diet is important to lose weight. However, according to the latest research, cutting fat from the diet results in weight gain as opposed to desired weight loss. Low fat refined carbohydrates, which are consumed by most of the people these days do not leave the person satisfied, rather leave the person hungry and asking for more. The glycemic index of carbohydrates without fat is very high, which causes rapid spike in blood sugar levels and quick conversion of sugar into fat. This process leaves no energy for the brain or for the body. The whole process causes constant hunger and exhaustion.

A lot of people use food to tide over the bad emotional phase they are going through. Many a times, have you noticed, you reach for junk food when you are sad? This is when you should prevent yourself from eating, as you do not need the food physically, but emotionally. You may want to know, how to suppress hunger and how to stop emotional eating.

This is one of the main reasons why a person eats more. A person sits in front of the television and leads a sedentary and bored life. To add to it, there are advertisements that bombard the person with images of sugary and nutrition deficient food. It is important to break the habit of sitting in front of the television set and eating, as you will not pay attention to the nutritional value of food you eat.

We are no more as active as the previous generations used to be. Man has automated most things. We have escalators and elevators to take us up and down, vehicles to transport us, etc. This has made us very inactive. The previous generations would walk to reach up or down or to their destinations. The number of steps walked by the previous generations was about 15,000 steps per day, but our generation walks less than three thousand steps each day. This causes storage of sugar, added to stress that we all go through. You may choose to exercise everyday to treat the problem.

Gallbladder releases bile as and when the digestive system needs to break down cholesterol and fats. The ingested food is acted upon by enzymes that are released from the walls of the stomach. When it reaches the small intestine, the endocrine glands secrete a hormone called cholecystokinin. Release of this hormone causes the smooth muscle of the gallbladder to contract. The contraction causes relaxation of a valve called Sphincter of Oddi. This is followed by release of bile into the small intestine. The presence of gallstones in the gallbladder is one of the most common gallbladder disease causes. This condition is medically referred to as cholelithiasis.

The reason behind the formation of gallstone is an imbalance in the composition of bile. Cholesterol, bile salts and bilirubin make up this digestive juice. Whenever the concentration of cholesterol or bile pigment in bile increases, it begins to crystallize into stone-like deposits. When these stones obstruct the cystic duct, one is diagnosed with biliary colic. Presence of gallstone in the common bile duct is referred to as choledocholithiasis.

The aforementioned conditions are usually caused due to consumption of foods that are loaded with cholesterol or fats. Children who have a compromised immune system may also be at a higher risk of developing these conditions. If gallstones obstruct the bile duct and impede the flow of bile, they can even cause chronic cholecystitis or inflammation of the gallbladder. Acute cholecystitis, on the other hand, is mostly caused due to bacterial or viral infections. At times, infections may result due to a surgery gone wrong. Children suffering from liver diseases may also end up with an inflamed gallbladder.

Gallbladder disease symptoms are very similar to what one may experience due to indigestion, but these are usually quite severe. Children suffering from gallbladder disease may develop intolerance to foods that are rich in fats or cholesterol. Due to this, they begin to experience gallbladder attack symptoms on ingestion of fatty foods. Abdominal pain, tenderness in the upper-right section of abdomen, indigestion, bloating, belching, heartburn, fever, nausea, vomiting, and biliary colic are some of the symptoms one may experience.

At times, one may even experience right-sided chest pain. Severe inflammation could also affect one’s appetite. If a child has been experiencing gallbladder disease symptoms, certain diagnostic tests should be conducted in order to identify the underlying cause. Certain imaging procedures can also help in detecting the presence of gallstones and resultant inflammation. As far as the gallbladder disease treatment is concerned, drug therapy coupled with certain dietary guidelines may prove helpful.

Pituitary tumor is classified into different types, as per the nature, size and location. Basically, they are classified as cancerous and non cancerous. Non cancerous tumors are called adenomas, which are further classified on the basis of size. Tumors that are less than 10 millimeters in size are microadenomas and more than that size are macroadenomas. Cancerous tumors are called carcinomas.

Pituitary adenomas are further divided into functioning and non functioning ones. Functional pituitary adenomas produce pituitary hormones and the non functional ones do not produce hormones. Functional ones are categorized as per the type of hormone produced. The most common among functional pituitary adenomas are prolactinoma or prolactin-producing tumors. It is followed by growth hormone producing adenomas, ACTH-producing adenomas and thyroid hormone producing adenomas. Pituitary tumor signs and symptoms may vary with these different types of tumors. Let us take a look at some of the common symptoms of pituitary adenomas.

Now, you know that pituitary tumor symptoms vary from one patient to another. In case, it is a macroadenoma, i.e, a larger one, it can exert pressure on the nearby areas, causing symptoms, like, weakness, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, headache, complete or partial vision loss or vision problems, constipation, weight loss or weight gain, constipation, sexual dysfunction, etc.

In case of prolactinoma, symptoms are caused by the high levels of hormone prolactin. In this case, pituitary tumor symptoms in women include changes in the menstruation, like, irregular or no periods, change in menstrual flow, infertility, vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse, milky discharge from breasts, etc. Pituitary tumor symptoms in men, in case of prolactinoma, are impotence, erectile dysfunction, enlargement of breasts, decrease in body hair, loss of sexual desire, etc. Both genders may show signs of vision problems and headaches.

In affected people, pituitary gland may produce high levels of thyroid stimulating hormone, causing hyperthyroidism. This causes pituitary tumor symptoms, like, rapid heartbeat, nervousness, excess consumption of food, excessive sweating, sudden weight loss, irritability, heat sensitivity, frequent bowel movements, etc. These symptoms are caused by thyroid hormone producing pituitary adenomas.