Precautions for Medical Advice Online

Several websites now offer physicians as experts who are willing to give you personal and specific medical advice. Some offer advice for free. Others charge varying amount of fee depending on specialty and complexity of medical question.

There are some good services but be careful most of them do not provide ethical and uptodate clinical support.

Benefits:

• Some websites have devoted doctors who provide medical advice on common conditions through publishing articles or blogs . These websites may or may not be good resources. You have to be skeptical.
  
  
• Some are offered by your insurer or employer. Many of these are usually services that allow you access to your doctors who can provide specific advice.
  
  
• Other websites may allow you to email or chat with your family physician or specialist. If it is your own physician is providing online services it is usually great and you do not have to think twice about it.
  

However many of these sites are useless and potentially dangerous. These websites promise an online "doctor". But if the person is really a doctor or a fresh graduate, it is anyones guess. It is probably not a great idea to provide your confidential information when you are not sure who is the person at the other end.

Here's why:

• Your body is unique. Every patient is different from the other, it is very difficult for any MD to learn about the problem entirely and give you best advice. If hoever you have been waiting to see your doctor and meanwhile what some questions answered then it may be useful or if you have details of diagnosis made and you have some additional questions.
  
  
• No Internet doctor can treat you anyway. But he/she may answer some of the urgent questions that you want answere urgently.
  
  
• You have no idea whether the person providing you with advice is really a doctor. Always pay attention to credentials of the physicians online.
  
  
• Many these internet sites are based outside North America and their "rules" may be different. Medical qualifications are different and their experience in a certain medical or surgical field may be completly different that what we expect here.
  
  
• Talking of sham websites, some of these sites are ready to sell you anything and everything. These websites boast to have specialists in mechanic to brain surgery. These websites I think are not oriented towards medical care and may not be trustworthy.
  

Abdominal Distension

Abdominal swelling, or distention, is quite common, that generally is a result of over-eating, and does not necessarily mean any serious illness. Excessive weight gain, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), pregnancy are common causes. In some anxious individuals sub-consciously swallowing air and it can also result in abdominal distension.

Abdominal distention is often due to gas in the intestines. This may result from eating fibrous foods such as fruits and vegetables. Beans are common sources of intestinal gas. Dairy foods can lead to abdominal swelling if you are lactose intolerant.

Abdominal swelling may also sometimes result from the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, which can be a sign of serious medical problems. There are usually other symptoms in this case.

Common Causes:

• Air swallowing (a nervous habit)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  
• Lactose intolerance-Often leads to feeling of bloating and indigestion.
  
• Ovarian cyst
• Excessive Eating
  
• Partial Intestinal Obstruction
  
• Uterine fibroids
  

Home Care

A distended abdomen that occurs from consuming a large serving of food will disappear when the food is digested. Eating in moderation will help decrease the incidence of swelling.

through a straw, or sipping For a distended abdomen initiated by ingested air, perception often directs to self-control. Eat gradually, skip carbonated beverages, avoid chewing gum or sucking on candies, try not drink a warm beverage.

For distended abdomen initiated by malabsorption, try altering eating less and decreasing milk consumption. Consult your doctor.

For irritable bowel syndrome, boost dietary fiber, decline emotional tension, and confer your doctor.

For distended abdomen producing from other determinants, pursue prescribed treatment to heal the underlying cause.

When to Contact a Doctor:


Call your Doctor if:

• The abdominal swelling is getting worse and does not go away
• The swelling occurs with other unexplained symptoms
• Your abdomen is painful to the touch

Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain is pain that is felt in the abdomen. The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs and diaphragm above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side. Although abdominal pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity (such as the skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity. Organs of the abdomen include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

Occasionally, pain may be felt in the abdomen even though it is arising from organs that are close to, but not within, the abdominal cavity. For example, conditions of the lower lungs, the kidneys, and the uterus or ovaries can cause abdominal pain. On the other hand, it also is possible for pain from organs within the abdomen to be felt outside of the abdomen. For example, the pain of pancreatic inflammation may be felt in the back. These latter types of pain are called "referred" pain because the pain does not originate in the location that it is felt. Rather, the cause of the pain is located away from where it is felt.

What causes abdominal pain?

Abdominal pain is caused by inflammation (for example,, diverticulitis, colitis ), by stretching or distention of an organ (for example, obstruction of the intestine, blockage of a bile duct by swelling of the liver with , or by loss of the supply of blood to an organ (for example, ischemic colitis).

To complicate matters, however, abdominal pain also can occur without inflammation, distention or loss of blood supply. An important example of this latter type of pain is the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is not clear what causes the abdominal pain in IBS, but it is believed to be due either to abnormal contractions of the intestinal muscles (for example, spasm) or abnormally sensitive nerves within the intestines that give rise to painful sensations inappropriately (visceral hyper-sensitivity). These latter types of pain are often referred to as functional pain because no recognizable (visible) causes for the pain have been found - at least not yet.