Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 7-27-18

Health
Juvenile Arthritis (JA) is a disease in which there is inflam- mation (swelling) of the synovium in children aged 16 or younger. The synovium is the tissue that lines the inside of joints.
JA (or pediatric rheumatic disease) is not a stand-alone dis- ease; it refers to several problems related to autoimmune disor- ders of inflammation. In the U. S. alone, around 300,000 children are affected. In recognition of Juvenile Arthritis Month (July), let’s look at the 5 different types.
1| SYSTEMIC ARTHRITIS, also called Still's disease, can affect the entire body or involve many systems of the body. Systemic ju- venile arthritis usually causes high fever and a rash. Systemic juvenile arthritis can also affect internal organs, such as the heart, liver, spleen
and lymph nodes.
2| OLIGOARTHRITIS, also called pauciarticular juvenile rheuma- toid arthritis, affects fewer than five joints in the first six months that the child has the disease. The joints most commonly affected are
the knee, ankle, and wrist.
3| POLYARTHRITIS, also called polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA), involves five or more joints in the first six months of the disease -- often the same joints on each side of the
body.
4| PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS affects children who have both arthritis and the skin disorder psoriasis. The child might get either the psoriasis or the arthritis years before developing the other part of the
disease.
5| ENTHESITIS-RELATED ARTHRITIS is a type of arthritis that often afflicts the spine, hips, eyes, and entheses (the places where tendons attach to bones). This type of arthritis occurs mainly
in boys older than 8 years of age.
World Hepatitis Day takes place every year on July 28th, with the aim of bringing the world together under one sin- gle theme in order to raise awareness of viral hepatitis and the impact it has world- wide.
Let’s begin with what viral hepatitis is: It is an inflamma- tion of the liver that is most often caused by a virus. In the United States, 3 types of hep- atitis are most common, hep- atitis A, B, and C. Each one can produce similar symp- toms, but each one is also dif- ferent in how long it can last and how serious to your health and well-being it can
be. The most common symp- toms of hepatitis include: flu- like symptoms such as tiredness, stomach discom- fort, fever, decreased ap- petite, and diarrhea; light-colored stools; more specific symptoms include dark yellow urine, and jaun- dice (white of eyes and skin become yellowish).
Read on to learn the more about the differences between the 3 main types of hepatitis. We do not have to become an expert about hepatitis, but we all need to know the basic facts so that we can protect our health and that of our family, friends, partners, and community.
Hepatitis A is a short-
term illness, and most people re- cover within days or weeks with no lasting health effects.
The virus is transmitted mainly through the fecal oral route. Patients may become in- fected through eating food han- dled by an infected person; eating shellfish from waters that contain raw sewage; having sex with an infected person and just being in close contact with a per- son suffering from hepatitis A.
There are no lasting effects and once infected, the antibod- ies protect people from another hepatitis A infection down the road.
Treatment is supportive and includes rest, proper nutrition and protection of the liver from alcohol and other substances that are known to cause liver damage. There is a vaccine to prevent hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B can range
from a mild illness of only a few weeks to a serious life-long chronic illness that can lead to liver cancer.
When a patient acquires the virus in adulthood, 90% – 95% get over the virus fully in the acute stage, and do not go on to the chronic stage. If you believe you were exposed, con- tact a physician immediately as there are preventative treat- ments that cut down the risk of getting the virus.
The virus can be spread from an infected mother to her baby during birth, through sexual contact, or through contact with blood, such as sharing injection drug equip- ment.
Chronic hepatitis B may lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and/or liver failure. It may also lead to kidney disease as well as anemia. There are treatments for hepatitis B but there is no cure. There is a preventative vaccine for hepa- titis B.
Hepatitis C is a liver dis-
ease that results from infection with the hepatitis C virus. It is considered to be the most seri- ous of the hepatitis viruses. Most people who become in- fected will go on to have a chronic infection that causes se- rious liver problems, including liver cancer, cirrhosis and pos- sibly liver failure.
This virus is usually spread when blood from an infected person enters the body of an uninfected person. Around 3 million people are living with hepatitis C in the United States, but over half do not know they have it.
There is no immunity con- ferred on patients who are cured. They may get the virus again if they come in contact with infected blood. There is no preventative vaccine for hepati- tis C.
PAGE 6-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2018
|||||