PREGNANCY, NEWBORN DEVELOPMENT
The Health on the Net Foundation (HON) hosts a Mother and Child Glossary on its website. It is our desire to provide you with a high quality health and medical online information resource. The Mother and Child Glossary is an easy to use avenue for getting credible answers to your health and medical questions concerning women and children.
Each section provides referenced information extracted from reliable, reviewed sources with links to further literature on many of the topics. The reproduction section explains the female reproductive organs as well as changes in the female body throughout her lifetime. Common gynaecological problems and many aspects of pregnancy from conception to the development of the foetus are covered in the pregnancy section.
The section devoted to birth includes newborn development and the immediate postpartum period. The recovery of the mother, and neonatal development and conditions are the focus of the postnatal section. The childhood illnesses section provides information on many of the common diseases affecting children.
ALLERGY
Viennese paediatrician Baron Clemens von Pirquet coined the term ``allergy`` (from the Greek ``allos`` meaning changed or altered state and ``ergon`` meaning reaction or reactivity) in 1906 Von Pirquet used the term to describe an altered reaction he had observed in patients, which he put down to the influence of external factors, an allergen, on the immune system. Allergies are hypersensitivity reactions of the immune system to specific substances called allergens (such as pollen, stings, drugs, or food ) that, in most people, result in no symptoms . The most severe form of allergy is anaphylactic shock , which is a medical emergency.
VISION AND EYECARE, POSTERIOR EYE DISEASE, ANTERIOR EYE DISEASE
Visit our website for more information on the following
- Optics of the eye and general information
- Spectacles
- Contact lenses
- Diseases of the eye (anterior eye disease)
- Diseases of the eye (posterior eye disease)
- Binocular vision problems
- Colour vision problems
- Refractive surgery & refractive corrections
- Internet vision/health resources
HEPATITIS
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It is usually caused by viral infections, toxic agents or drugs but may be an autoimmune response. It is characterized by jaundice, abdominal pain, liver enlargement and sometimes fever. It may be mild, or can be acute leading to fulminant hepatitis. Others form usually viral or alcoholic are chronic and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
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Hepatitis A: Hepatitis A (HAV) is caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is excreted in the faeces of infected people and can be passed on when contaminated food or water is consumed by susceptible individuals. Hepatitis A is most commonly transmitted by person to person contact via faecal contamination but epidemics can occur from sources of contaminated food, water or ice cubes.
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Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus. The virus is very common in Asia, China, Philippines, China, Africa and the Middle East. In Europe and North America the incidence of known carriers is about 1 in a 1000 people. Hepatitis B (HBV) is transmitted by the exchange of body fluids e.g. blood, semen, breast milk and in some circumstances saliva.
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Hepatitis C: Formerly known as non A-non B hepatitis, hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C is believed to cause between 150,000 and 250,000 new cases in the US each year. Haemophiliacs and drug abusers are at the greatest risk.
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Hepatitis D: The Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) is a unique, defective RNA virus that can only infect an individual in the presence of hepatitis B. It occurs either as a co-infection with acute hepatitis B or as a superinfection in people with chronic hepatitis B. Hepatitis D is mostly found among IV drug users, but transmission by other routes is possible.
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Hepatitis E: The hepatitis E virus is transmitted in the same manner as hepatitis A and produces similar symptoms. Hepatitis E does not cause chronic infection and has a similar prognosis to hepatitis A infection. There is currently no vaccine available against hepatitis E.
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Hepatitis F: Hepatitis F appears to be transmitted by the oral faecal route in a similar manner to hepatitis A and E although the epidemiology of the virus has not yet been fully established. In several cases of non-A-E hepatitis reported in Western Europe, the United States and India, virus-like particles were observed in stool samples using an electron microscope.
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Hepatitis G: Available studies demonstrate that HGV-infection is a blood transfusion and parenterally transmitted disease. HGV-infection is relatively mild in most cases; among transfusion recipients and is about as frequent in those formally diagnosed with hepatitis as in those with only mild ALT elevations. HGV and hepatitis C virus can be transmitted simultaneously and result in persistent co-infection.
AGEING
Our ageing section deals with question such as what is ageing? Why people age? There are sections on mechanisms of ageing such as organ ageing, brain ageing, sense ageing, endocrine system ageing, immune system ageing, cardiovascular system ageing, conjunctive tissue and skin ageing, cellular ageing and macromolecular ageing. Other topics covered include ageing related diseases such as Alzheimer`s disease, Parkinson`s disease, osteoporosis, cancers and depression. Another section deals with anti-ageing therapies covering diet, hormone replacement therapy, memory loss prevention, physical exercise and social impact of an ageing society.
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