Health And Medicine Report

Knowing your cholesterol level is actually very easy but a lot of people hesitate to find out what their cholesterol level is. Going to your doctor and getting a blood test that will determine your cholesterol levels can mean a lot for your health later on. This is because you will be able to prevent the complications brought about by high cholesterol or any other related diseases while these conditions are still at its early stages.

For your doctor to know what your risks of getting cholesterol-related disease are though, you need to give them the accurate information about your age, background, family history, blood pressure, and smoking habits. Through the information that you give them, the doctor would be able to determine your risk of getting heart disease because of your cholesterol. In addition, the doctor will also be able to recommend the right treatment for you if they have all the necessary information about the state of your health.

Basically, your blood would be checked for the amount of cholesterol on it, the HDL cholesterol level, the triglyceride level, and the LDL cholesterol level. Each one of these factors will reveal something about the overall state of your health. If your blood cholesterol is under 200 mg, then it means that your cholesterol level is still at the safe level. On the other hand, if your cholesterol is above 200 mg, then you are at a borderline risk of getting heart disease.

At this stage, your doctor will most likely recommend that you change some of your lifestyle habits for your cholesterol level to lower to a normal level. However, if your blood cholesterol is above 240 mg, then you are already at a high risk of getting heart disease; at this stage, you need to have a treatment plan to lower your cholesterol level.

In children, the most common type of arthritis is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA). Children under the age of 16 can be affected. JRA could be a mild problem or it could progress to a chronic stage that can cause inflammation to the joints.

Juvenile arthritis has three types based on the symptoms. All the types of Juvenile rheumatoid Arthritis involve inflammation of the joint, joint damage and joint contracture.

Joint stiffness is a common problem of children with JRA. This usually happens after resting of the joints. There are some who also report muscle weakness.

The type of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is based on the symptoms exhibited during the first six months of the condition. Classifying the type of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis includes determining the number of joints affected, the symptoms and the antibodies involved.

Systemic onset type: Twenty percent of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis falls under this type. Fever and light skin rash are the common symptoms of this Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. This type can affect the liver, spleen, heart and other internal organs. There could be swelling, fever, inflammation, rash and pain at or near the joints.

Pauciarticular onset disease: This comprises 50 percent of the cases of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The word “pauciarticular” implies that four or less joints are involved. This affects the elbows, knees and the other larger joints. This usually occurs in girls below eight years old.

It is interesting to note that Pauciarticular onset disease may lead to eye disease as recorded in 30 percent of the cases of this JRA. It is necessary to see an ophthalmologist in order to prevent this situation.

Polyarticular disease: 30 percent of children with Juvenile rheumatoid Arthritis have this type. This affects the bones in the hands, feet and other small joints. In most cases, it affects the joints on each side of the body. This is characterized by pain or swelling in at least five joints in the body.