A deadly disease in women, but nowadays one that can be easily identified and prevented through vaccination at an early age.
Diabetes Mellitus
(or Diabetes) is a chronic disease. It is caused by insufficiency of
pancreas-secreted insulin or malfunction of insulin in the control of blood
glucose level. When the blood glucose cannot be converted into energy we need
or stored in the liver, excess glucose accumulated in the blood will be
excreted in urine. This is called Diabetes Mellitus.
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that
occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep.
Otitis media is inflammation of the middle
ear, or
middle ear infection. Otitis media with effusion is one of the diseases of
chronic otitis media. The middle ear
cannot be effectively ventilated through the eustachian tube to nasal cavity.
As a result, the
secretion would stay in the middle ear that can cause conductive deafness.
The macula is the
yellow spot at the centre of retina in the eye is called Macular. The macula
has the highest resolution power and is richest in color differentiating cells.
When pathological disorder occurs in this region, it is called Maculopathy. One
example of this kind of disorders is Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD).
It is common after 50 years old.
Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease.
We have a total of over 200 pieces of bones in our body. With aging, there is a slow loss of bone minerals. This
loss is accelerated in certain health conditions, such as around menopause. The body’s skeleton becomes fragile and there is an increased risk of fracture, particularly in the spine, hips and wrists.
Cystoscopy is the use of a flexible fiberoptic endoscope to examine the lower urinary system which includes urethra, bladder and prostate (male). At the front end of the endoscope, there is a tiny video camera attached. During the examination, the endoscope will be introduced gently into bladder through the urethra. Direct visual inspection helps the doctors to detect abnormalities such as stones, ulcers, inflammation, filling detect, bleeding or cancer.
“Primary hypertension” is the commonest type of hypertension in the
population; it
comprises over 90% of patients and no specific causes can be identified. Nevertheless, it may be associated with factors such as obesity, high salt intake, stress or family inheritance.
Coronary heart disease is due to deposition
of cholesterol and fat on the inside wall of arteries. This disease process is
called atherosclerosis. Progressive atherosclerosis will cause progressive
narrowing of coronary arteries or even complete blockage. This will limit the
blood supply to heart muscle. When the patient exercises or is during stress, increase demand of heart muscle together
with limitation of blood supply will cause chest discomfort, which is formally referred as angina.
Hepatitis B virus can be transmitted through blood or body fluids, such as semen and vaginal secretions; 90% of hepatitis B patients in Hong Kong are mother-to-child transmission. Other ways of transmission include sexual contact, intravenous drug users sharing syringes, etc.
OGD is a procedure involving the use of an
endoscope to examine the upper gastrointestinal tract which includes esophagus, stomach and duodenum. A gastroscope is a thin
flexible tube (about 1
cm in diameter) that
has a tiny video camera at the front end. The endoscope is introduced carefully
and gently through the mouth into the esophagus stomach and then duodenum.
Direct visual inspection of the inner lining of the digestive tract enables
doctors to detect abnormalities such as ulcers and cancers.
Patients
with colon cancer may not have symptom until the disease has reached advanced
stages, when
the treatment is difficult. The cancer usually develops from polyps, which are outgrowth from the bowel wall.
Early detection and removal of polyps prevent development of colon cancer.
Screening for colon polyps and cancer saves life and colonoscopy is the most
sensitive method of screening.