Your Food Can Make You Sick - Reactive Arthritis Caused by Contaminated Food

Reactive arthritis, also called post-infections arthritis, is a painful inflammation that can affect joints, the eyes or the urinary tract, with symptoms including pain and tenderness, swelling, and heat in the affected areas. Symptoms may last a few weeks or for as long as a year, and for a few unfortunate people, it may become a chronic condition.

Joint symptoms include pain in one or both heels, or in the hips, knees, or ankles. Urinary tract symptoms include painful (burning or stinging) urination, incontinence, urgency, and redness and inflammation of the genitals. Men may experience pain in their penis. Symptoms of the eyes and skin can include skin redness, pain, and inflammation; eye redness and pain, and small pimples inside the mouth and on the penis.

Reactive arthritis is caused by the body's response to infections which originate elsewhere in the body. One important cause of this painful disorder is infections in the digestive tract caused by contaminated food. Infectious agents include the bacteria Shigella, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, all of which are introduced into the body in contaminated food.

In the US, Salmonella is the commonest of these food contaminants. Every year about 40,000 Salmonella infections are reported to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control. The CDC estimates that the actual number of Salmonella infections may be over one million annually, as only the most serious cases get reported.

The term Salmonella refers to a group of bacteria which live in the digestive tracts of many animals and some humans. The infection is transmitted to humans when tiny particles of feces from infected animals come into contact with foods. Onset occurs one to three days after eating contaminated food. The victim will be acutely ill with symptoms of severe abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Bed rest and consumption of fluids to replace those lost through diarrhea are usually sufficient.

Most people who suffer a bout of Salmonella will recover within a week. They may continue to experience bowel irritability for several months, with symptoms of gas, abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, diarrhea and/or constipation. A minority of people then develop the continuing complication of reactive arthritis.

Milk, meat, and poultry, and are the most frequent carriers of Salmonella, but vegetables also present a risk if animal manure is used for fertilizer, and vegetables are not properly washed during harvesting, and again in preparation. Unpasteurized milk is another source of contamination. Eggs are another high risk food, because bacteria can enter the chickens' digestive tract and lodge in the egg before the shell is formed. The best protection is never to eat uncooked eggs. They should always be cooked until the yolk is firm.

Safe food handling practices, including basic hygiene, pasteurization of milk, and thorough cooking of meat and poultry greatly reduce the risk of Salmonella infection and reactive arthritis. The basic rule of safe food handling, in homes and restaurants alike, is that everyone must wash their hands before they touch food. Raw poultry and meat should be stored and processed in a separate area from other foods to avoid contamination

If you believe that you have suffered a Salmonella infection, and that you have reactive arthritis, you should consult your health care provider for evaluation of your condition and for treatment to lessen pain and other symptoms.

If your Salmonella infection and reactive arthritis are the result of careless or negligent food handling practices, you may have a claim against the food handler or supplier. If you believe you have a claim, you should consult an experienced food safety attorney as soon as possible. Most states have laws called statutes of limitation, which prescribe how long you have to file a claim or a lawsuit. If you delay past the time limit, your right to seek restitution for your injury may be denied.

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Valuable Information About Knee Pain Treatments

We all get knee arthritis sooner or later, and when that inevitable day comes, it helps to know a knee pain treatment that works. As far as options go, there are plenty to choose from. You can find - in the market today - different salves, ointments, pain relievers, vitamins and an assortment of prescription drugs that can relieve the pain from your knees.

Unfortunately, treating knee pain is a long term endeavor and in most cases, something that will remain with a person for the rest of his or her life. Ultimately, what this means is that drugs and chemicals will not be enough to treat your knees. So in a sense, no single medical product will be enough. You will also need to make some changes in your daily habits if you intend to do something about your knee problems.

For starters, you will need to face up to the truth that your knee muscles may be getting old and stressed out, and that increased stress will result in more arthritis or pain. Moreover, you might also want to consider taking up special diets and exercises designed to help make your muscles stronger. For example, protein-rich diets are good at healing muscle tissues whereas a daily dose of calcium can help improve the bones of your body. So try to consult your doctor about how your diet and lifestyle may influence your knees.

Of course, that is not to say that you can't use drugs or medication. However, it's best to use them as a last resort only. Painkillers for example can be very addictive and using it extensively may lead to other problems. Moreover, drug treatments can easily lead to more drug treatments, so if you are considering that as an option, you better be ready for the long term consequences.

However in situations where the pain of your knees is so unbearable, you will need to start using a knee brace and then undergo physical therapy. However, their use should wake you up to the possibility that your knees may have deeper problems than you first thought. In the end, long term problems require long term solutions.

To wrap up, knee pains are almost always a fact of life, and you're not supposed to be angry or resentful about them, because they happen to everybody. This is inevitable and something which you will need to prepare for.

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Watching Television And Coping With Arthritis Pain

By Danny Hamil Danny Hamil
Level: Platinum

I am a research and freelance writer from Griffin, Georgia. I have experienced varying degrees of joint pain over the years and am very passionate ...

Hello, I am Danny Hamil and I want to share with you a few ideas on how to better cope with arthritis pain. In order to know how to cope with your pain and to know if it actually is arthritis pain, a trip to your doctor is recommended. Be sure to share with your physician everything you can including the 'what, where,when, and how' of your pain and if you are presently taking medications of any kind for the pain and any other medical conditions that you are having. It is very possible the problems may be related even though in your mind they are in no way connected. The more information your doctor has, the better evaluation he, or she, will be able to properly diagnose and give treatment recommendations to you. If we don't use our joints, they will 'freeze' up. Keep them moving.

Do not sit idle for extended periods of time. Even if you are sitting watching television, you can be doing a big number of exercises and full range motions that will have you moving around much easier. Raise your arms and stretch toward the ceiling and lowering the hands as if you were lifting a barbell over your head. You can do a wide range of motions with your upper body and arms, swinging from left to right and, in and out, and swinging your arms across each in front of you. In other words, move your arms and neck in all directions. Don't forget to twist the upper body from left to right and vice versa. It is not necessary that you use any weights even though having a couple of light weight dumbbells next to your favorite chair would encourage you to pick them up and use them in your stretch and full motion exercises. The dumbbells can be purchased separately at your favorite department store. You can exercise the hands and fingers as well as lifting, bending your legs and feet. As simple as this sounds, you will be amazed at how much better you feel and how flexible you will become in only a short time. All of this being done while you are sitting watching your favorite television program.

Heh, it's me again, Danny Hamil and I'd like to help you achieve lasting relief from joint pain. I am very passionate in helping others to be 100% Joint Pain Free without spending hours and hours in the doctor's offices or a lot of money on prescription drugs. By doing these simple exercises above, you will begin to feel, act, and look younger today. Click here to order your FREE REPORT at FREE REPORT and take control of your joint pain today. Do you really want to hurt with joint pain any longer when you can experience long lasting relief by visiting my website today?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danny_Hamil

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Article Submitted On: September 24, 2010

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Uric Acid Crystal - Where Does It Form In a Gout Victim's Body?

There are many different names used to describe the crystallized uric acid compound in your body - Uric Acid Crystal, Urate Crystal, Uric Crystal, Monosodium Urate (MSU), etc. All these are actually referring to the same chemical compound that triggers the painful inflammation (usually on big toe) known as gout.

Every day, there are billions of body cells die in your body, and the DNAs are broken down to xanthine and hypoxanthine (which contain the purine ring) and sent to the liver to be further broken down to uric acid and then sent to the kidneys for disposal.

Uric Acid is a chemical compound that has very low solubility, this means it has very low saturation point which is 0.416 milli mol/L. Just in case you have forgotten your high school chemistry, Saturation Point is level of concentration beyond which a substance cannot be absorbed by the liquid solution. The solubility of this Gouty Acid is about 50 times lesser than salt in the same solution. When the concentration of the uric acid at certain parts of your body goes beyond the 0.416 milli mol/L point, urate crystal will start to form.

In most other mammals there is another enzyme known as Uricase which can further degrade the uric acid to a more soluble substance known as allantoin. Allantoin is extracted from the urine of mammals and use as raw materials for many cosmetics products. The existence of the uricase enzyme in carnivorous mammals such as dog, cats, and tiger is the reason why you never heard these animals have gout problem not matter how much high protein meat they eat. It is just impossible for uric acid crystal to form in these animals.

Where Does These Crystals Form In Human Body?

There are 3 places where the uric acid crystal tends to form in your body - joints (especially big toe), the kidneys, and underneath the skin (tophus). Please note that it is impossible for the crystal to form in the bloodstream because if it does, it will block the fine blood capillaries which will cause stroke or heart attack. This is why your kidneys cannot cope with the work load of excreting the waste products, your body will try its best to throw the Gouty Acid out from the bloodstream into the interstitial fluid and synovial fluid (joints).

Urate crystal tend to first form in the joints, then follow by the kidneys and if the hyperuricemia condition remains unchanged for years, this will forces the Gouty Acid to move towards the surface of the skin and form some white color cuticles which will grow bigger to become tophi. Some tophi will burst out from the skin and the milky fluid which contains the crystals will flow out from the leakage. Your body is desperate to throw away those unwanted urate crystals.

Normal surgical operation can only remove the bigger and visible kidney stones (which is and combination of urate crystal and calcium oxalate) and the grown up hard tophii. But there is millions of fine tiny urate crystals scatter all over your body. There is no surgical operation available to remove these micro crystals and none of those gout drugs can do that too.

"How It Comes, How It Goes"

Since these notorious urate crystals appears from the fluid that contain them, then the only effective way you can get rid of them is by "melting" them. Turn your body fluids to alkaline, and that will increase the solubility and the ability to dissolve those urate crystals. Simple science always works better than complicated drugs.

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Understand Arthritis To Prevent It

Arthritis must be understood thoroughly so that the problem can be managed well. The problem with arthritis is that it is not a single disease. There are about 100 types and hence, you should consult your doctor to have an accurate diagnosis. Only if the right diagnosis is made, the right treatment can be taken.

Experts are also of the opinion that arthritis does not have a known cure. You have several options for treating it but the treatments will help you to reduce your pain, to control the symptoms and to reduce damage or deformity of the joints.

It is not that arthritis will affect only elderly people. But, if you are affected by arthritis or if you have doubts that you have been affected by it because you experience pain in your joints, you must immediately consult a rheumatologist. The doctor will check thoroughly to make sure that the problem is arthritis. Only by knowing the type of arthritis, the doctor will be able to suggest a treatment plan.

But, you should not delay consulting a rheumatologist because if the problem is diagnosed early and if the treatment is also begun early, you can prevent deformity of joints.

Since there is no known cure for this problem, you are advised to try all the treatment options available and choose the one that gives you the best results. It is not necessary that all these treatment options will suit every one. A treatment that works for some one else need not suit you. You should choose the treatment that suits your budget and that gives you the best results.

Experts say that if you lead a healthy lifestyle and have good habits, you can prevent arthritis. You should do regular exercises and have a nutritious diet regimen so that you maintain the right weight. You should also learn to manage your stress levels. Yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises will help you to manage your stress levels. You should also keep away from bad habits like smoking, excessive drinking, etc.

Having a good night's sleep is also necessary for preventing this problem. If you do not control arthritis by adopting these steps, the pain caused by it will lead to emotional problems. This will again increase your stress levels which is bad for arthritis.

Another problem with arthritis is that you will have to spend heavily on the treatment on a continuous basis which will strain your financial status. But, because of the disease, your working will get affected which will again impact your earnings.

Therefore, it is important that you change your lifestyle to one of healthy living so that you can prevent this problem. But, if the problem has occurred, you should choose the right treatment that gives you the best results.

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Your Own Arthritis Diet - Find Relief and Alleviate the Pain From Arthritis With This Natural Method

Following your own arthritis diet when you are suffering from problems with your joints is critical to manage the pain and the symptoms. With healthy lifestyle and the right choice of foods, you can surely alleviate the pain and find relief using diet as the natural method to fight arthritis. This arthritis diet can also serve as a weight loss diet too. Find out more in this article.

First, you need to avoid all sorts of food that can cause allergies and worsen the inflammation, swelling, and pain. These foods include salty foods, red peppers, chocolates, and processed foods rich in sugar, preservatives, and chemical additives.

If there are many foods that will worsen your arthritis, there are also foods that will help your situation. You diet should be made up of fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts, which are proven to be helpful for preventing the occurrence of arthritic symptoms.

For vegetables, you can try carrots, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli, and other greens. These are rich in vitamins A and C and beta-carotene. You also need to include vitamin C-rich fruits like mangoes, apples, and dark berries. These fruits have anti-inflammatory properties too. For natural sources of omega 3, you can try wild fish or nuts like almonds and walnuts. You can also try omega-3 supplements like fish oil and Krill oil.

If you are overweight, this can cause additional problems to your arthritis. The excess weight can add burden to your weak joints and this can cause inflammation and swelling. But following this arthritis diet based on fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts, you can easily lose weight too. So this solves the problem. It is like hitting two birds with one stone. Without a doubt, the arthritis diet is really proven effective for your pain as well as your overall health as well.

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Pantostin Review (Ell-Cranell alpha)

Pantostin is a topical hair loss application popular mainly in Germany. Its sole active ingredient is alfatradiol. Ell-Cranell alpha is almost identical to Pantostin. Both Pantostin and Ell-Cranell alpha are said to protect hair follicles from the harmful attacks of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), without any negative hormonal impact. Hence, they can be used by both men and women. These products usually have very good tolerance but they are considered to be relatively weak DHT inhibitors. Therefore, they seem to be more suitable as a treatment for women, who have fewer options when it comes to treating hereditary baldness. It is assumed that alfatradiol-based products can slow the balding process but they should not be expected to regrow lost hair. Consumer reviews are few and only available in German. The consumer feedback from hair loss forums confirms the experience of the author of this review - that Pantostin is a weak weapon in the fight against male pattern baldness.

Tags: Pantostin, Ell-Cranell, alfatradiol, hair loss

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