The medical term used to refer to calcium deficiency is hypocalcemia, and it refers to low levels of calcium in the blood. Calcium deficiency over a long period of time can lead to other conditions like cataract, osteoporosis, dental issues, and alterations in the brain. It can also lead to the bones becoming brittle easily. Some of the complications of calcium deficiency can be life-threatening as well, and failure to treat the deficiency can even lead to a fatality in extreme cases. Calcium deficiency does not easily manifest early symptoms, which means it is difficult to detect. Some of the best ways to avoid any form of complications are to undergo regular diagnosis and seek out treatment in case any of the major symptoms of calcium deficiency manifest. These symptoms are usually progressive in nature: Muscle problems One of the most commonly occurring and earliest signs of calcium deficiency are muscle aches, spasms, and cramps. The individual usually experiences pain in the thighs and arms. The pain is, in particular, under the arms during any form of movement like even walking. There can also be signs of a tingling sensation in various parts of the arms and legs and even around the mouth sometimes.

Keratosis pilaris is a mild dry skin condition in which the dry skin surrounding the hair follicles on the legs, arms, face, and other parts of the body form what are known as “keratin mounds”. To the eye, these look like small bumps, often red in color, occurring on the face, upper arms, and upper legs as well as on the buttocks. The bumps are caused by the buildup of a scaly plug around the hair follicle, which is actually the buildup of keratin, the protein that protects the skin from infections and is not exfoliated during the normal skin cells’ turnover. The condition is symmetric in nature, which means that if it affects the left upper arm, it will also affect the right one. The rash-like bumps are painless, and they are often described as “sandpaper-like” bumps that have the appearance of goose flesh. The condition is neither harmful nor contagious and does not indicate any underlying issues. Risk factors While it is mild in nature, it can be chronic when it affects people who have excessively dry skin, plaguing them most of their life. Keratosis pilaris affects children, adolescents, and adults, but it rarely affects the elderly. It seems to commonly affect some patients undergoing chemotherapy as well, because of the use of a particular medicine.

Gastroenteritis or infection of the gastrointestinal tract is among the very common health conditions that frequently affect people the world over. There are many bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and other microbes that are known to cause infections in the gastrointestinal tract. Most commonly, gastrointestinal infections are caused by the consumption of food that has been contaminated with toxic microbes such as salmonella, staphylococci or by consumption of water from unsafe or untreated sources. Some gastrointestinal infections are also communicable and may spread from person to person by contact. Not all gastrointestinal infections respond to the same treatment modalities and the physician usually makes a decision on the course of treatment to prescribe based on a consideration of where specifically the infection is noticed in the GI tract and also how the disease was contracted. Since a whole host of microbes are responsible for causing gastrointestinal infections, it is also important to treat the infection after carefully observing the symptoms expressed – nausea, vomiting, loose watery bowel movements that may be accompanied by severe pain and cramping when there is inflammation, fever, chills, body aches, blood and/ or mucus in the motions or urine and so on. Typically, the microbes that cause the infection cause irritation of the stomach and intestinal lining, which in turn tends to tighten.

Most people nearing retirement after many active years of work are not aware that symptoms like a frequent urge to urinate and leakage could be indicators of underlying serious health issues. The age of 60 is the threshold for people to contract several ailments or be diagnosed with diseases lying dormant or when people simply ignore their symptoms. At the first instance of a urinary tract infection that causes a frequent urge to urinate and leakage, people should visit their family physician first before consulting a specialist. Normally, the medical regimen begins with a dosage of antibiotics to clear the symptoms before addressing the root of the problem. Doctors recommend patients to control liquid intake – water and caffeine and they may regulate pills and any other medication that could lead to increased urination. Infection of the urinary tract can result in accumulation of bladder stones apart from an increase in the size of the prostate gland and even tumors in the bladder. Prostate enlargement deteriorates the urinary stream and is the primary cause for urgency and leakage. Diagnosis begins with the specialist tracing the patient’s medical history including symptoms and its effect on their daily life. Patients should be ready with the list of medicines they have been taking over the years – both over-the-counter and prescription ones.

The term post-surgical care is quite broad and includes all the processes and steps post-surgery that will help a patient bounce back to their regular life. The nature of postoperative care depends a lot of whether the surgical procedure was major or minor. After the surgery, the hospital shifts the patients to a postoperative facility where they are kept anywhere between two to five hours based on the nature of the surgery. This facility is usually equipped with several machines that checks on various medical parameters like blood pressure, heart rate, sugar levels, temperature and breathing. The facility also monitors the area of surgery for any sign of infection or allergic reactions. If the surgery was done as a outpatient surgery (known as same-day surgery), the patient will be monitored just for a couple of hours and sent home unless they show signs of postoperative complications. If one is admitted as an inpatient — they will stay for a much longer time and will be monitored at periodic intervals. So what happens once this period is over? That is, the patient is discharged and is in in the comfort of their home but no longer has access to sophisticated machines to let experts know how they are functioning.