I am diagnosed with acute abdomen?

Dorothy H Acute abdomen represents a rapid onset of severe symptoms that may indicate intra-abdominal pathology (Disease condition). Management of the acute abdomen in primary care should focus on careful assessment to reach a differential diagnosis list, with close attention paid to symptoms and signs that may indicate a need to investigate the situation further […]

Dorothy H

Acute abdomen represents a rapid onset of severe symptoms that may indicate intra-abdominal pathology (Disease condition). Management of the acute abdomen in primary care should focus on careful assessment to reach a differential diagnosis list, with close attention paid to symptoms and signs that may indicate a need to investigate the situation further in hospital.

Major causes
This list is far from exhaustive, but commonly seen in:
1.      Acute Cholescystitis (Inflammation of the gall bladder).
2.      Acute Appendicitis
3.      Acute Pancreatitis
4.      Ectopic Pregnancy (Pregnancy that is  not situated within the wall of the womb but located in the abdomen, follopian tubes , e/t/c )
5.      Peptic Ulcer Diseases
6.      Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases
7.      Intestinal Obstruction
8.      Acute Intestinal Ischaemia (compromised blood circulation to the intestine)
9.      Gastrointestinal haemorrhage (bleeeding)
10.  Renal colic ( pain originated from kidney )
11.  Acute Urinary Retention
12.  Testicular Torsion  ( twisting of the testes)
13.  Non-surgical disease, e.g sickle  cell disease  

What to consider about the pain:
1.      Onset (including whether new pain or previously experienced)
2.      Site (ask patient to point), localised or diffuse
3.      Nature (constant/intermittent/colicky)
4.      Radiation  (moving)
5.      Severity
6.      Relieving/aggravating factors (e.g. if worsened by movement/coughing or is  relieved by sitting forward)
7.      Associated symptoms:
8.      Vomiting and nature of vomitus (undigested food or bile suggests upper GI pathology or obstruction; feculent vomiting suggests lower GI obstruction)
Some of the problems that will warrant admission are;
1.     Hypotension  (low blood pressure)
2.      Confusion/impaired consciousness
3.   Signs of shock  ( cold extremities)
4.  Systemically unwell/septic-looking
5.  Signs of dehydration
6.  Rigid abdomen
7.   Patient lying very still or writhing
8.   Associated testicular pathology
9.   Tenderness around the abdomen
10.  History of haematemesis (vomiting blood)
11.  Suspicion of medical cause for abdominal pain

My cousin has epilepsy

My cousin living with me experiences repeated fittings and becomes unconscious on several occasions. Please I need information about epilepsy.
Kenneth G

Epilepsy is a condition that causes repeated seizures (convulsing or fittings). The seizures are caused by bursts of electrical activity in the brain that are not normal. Seizures may cause problems with muscle control, movement, speech, vision, or awareness. They usually don’t last very long, but they can be scary. The good news is that treatment usually works to control and reduce seizures.
Often the causes of epilepsy are not known. Less than half of the people with epilepsy know why they have it.
Sometimes another problem can cause Epilepsy, such as
1.Head injury
2.Brain tumors
3.Brain infections
4.Stroke
The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures that happen without warning. Without treatment, seizures may continue and even become worse and more frequent over time. Not everyone who has seizures has epilepsy. Sometimes seizures happen because of an injury, illness, or another problem. In these cases, the seizures stop when that problem improves or goes away.
Doctors will like to know what happened before, during, and right after a seizure. Also examine you and do some tests. This information can help your doctor decide what kind of seizures you have and if you have epilepsy.
Medicine controls seizures in many people with epilepsy. The goal is to find an effective medicine that causes the fewest side effects. It may take time and careful, controlled changes by you and your doctor to find the right combination, schedule, and doses of medicine to best manage your epilepsy. The goal is to prevent seizures and cause as few unwanted side effects as possible. The best way to prevent more seizures is to keep the right amount of the medicine in your body. To do that, you need to take the medicine in the right dose and at the right time every day.