Cirrhosis : Symptoms

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Bleeding hemorrhoids; Confusion; Impotence and loss of interest in sex; Jaundice; Nausea and vomiting; Small, red spider-like blood vessels on the skin; Swelling of the legs; Vomiting blood; Weakness; Weight loss. Other symptoms that may occur wit...
Source:ADAM
Date:May 27, 2008
Cirrhosis is a chronic, degenerative disease in which normal liver cells are damaged and are then replaced by scar tissue.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Cirrhosis is a chronic degenerative disease of the liver in which normal liver cells are damaged and then replaced by scar tissue. There are different types of cirrhosis that could afflict a person.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Abdominal pain is pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and groin. This is often referred to as the stomach region or belly.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 25, 2008
New and severe abdominal pain always needs to be closely evaluated by a doctor. It is frequently a sign of serious illness.
Source:StayWell
Repeated episodes of abdominal pain can arise from a variety of medical causes, including some serious conditions. Everyone who has unexplained abdominal pain requires a medical evaluation by a doctor.
Source:StayWell
Most of the time, children with mild abdominal pain are not seriously ill; the symptoms go away in a day or two and can be managed at home. However, if your child has severe abdominal pain or has a bellyache along with frequent vomiting, you should contact your child's pediatrician.
Source:StayWell
Abdominal pain is very common in children, and in many cases there’s no serious cause. But stomach pain can sometimes point to a serious problem, such as appendicitis, so it is important to know when to seek help.
Source:StayWell
A swollen abdomen is when your belly area is bigger than usual. See: Abdominal girth
Source:ADAM
Date:April 4, 2008
Ascites is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. Rapidly developing (acute) ascites can occur as a complication of trauma, perforated ulcer, appendicitis , or inflammation of the colon or other tube-shaped organ (diverticulitis).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Ascites is defined as an excessive amount of fluid built up within the peritoneal cavity. Both the abdominal organs and the abdomen itself are lined with membranes called the peritoneum.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Detailed information on liver diseases, including the most common characteristics of liver disease such as jaundice, cholestasis, liver enlargement, portal hypertension, esophageal varices, ascites, liver encephalopathy, and liver failure
Source:StayWell
Discharge Instructions: Ascites ShuntYou had surgery to place an ascites shunt, a tube that drains excess fluid from your abdominal space into another place in your body. The fluid buildup is called ascites. 
Source:StayWell
Aversion to food and drink can be a temporary response to a benign illness, as with the common cold, or a response to a complex interaction of physical, mental and behavioral issues. While it is normal to experience a loss of appetite with certain conditions, when aversion to food and drink results in significant weight loss and nutritional deficits, it is important to seek medical advice.
Source:HealthLine
Date:October 31, 2007
Bleeding gums can be a sign that you are at risk for, or already have, gum disease. However, persistent gum bleeding may be due to serious medical conditions such as leukemia and bleeding and platelet disorders.
Source:ADAM
Date:May 28, 2008
Bloody stools often indicate an injury or disorder in the digestive tract. Your doctor may use the term "melena" to describe black, tarry, and foul-smelling stools or "hematochezia" to describe red- or maroon-colored stools.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 25, 2007
Vomiting blood is a backward flowing (regurgitation) of blood through the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The GI tract includes the small intestine, stomach, mouth, throat, and esophagus (the tube that moves food and secretions from mouth to stomach.
Source:ADAM
Date:November 13, 2007
Gynecomastia is the development of abnormally large breasts in males.
Source:ADAM
Date:December 6, 2007
Gyne refers to female, and mastia refers to the breast. Gynecomastia is strictly a male disease and is any growth of the adipose (fatty) and glandular tissue in a male breast.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Male breast enlargement (gynecomastia) is a normal condition that occurs during puberty in more than 60% of boys. Prevalence Aproximately 20% of 10bdTAG-year-old boys and more than 60% of 14-year-old boys experience gynecomastia (breast enlargement).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
While somewhat common in adolescence, gynecomastia in adult men is rare. It may be caused by liver disease, medications, or treatment for prostate cancer.
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on gynecomastia, including causes, facts, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
Source:StayWell
The color of vomited blood varies depending on the amount of time the blood has been in the gastrointestinal system. If there is a delay in vomiting, blood will appear dark red, brown or black and precipitated blood clots produce the appearance of coffee ground like material.
Source:HealthLine
Date:November 30, 2007
Confusion is the inability to think with your usual speed or clarity, including feeling disoriented and having difficulty paying attention, remembering, and making decisions.
Source:ADAM
Date:February 13, 2008
Urine is produced in the kidneys, which are important organs for the health of our body. When we take fluid in, it passes from our digestive system into our circulatory system and is filtered through the kidneys.
Source:HealthLine
Date:September 30, 2007
Urine of an abnormal color appears different from the usual straw-yellow color. Abnormally-colored urine may be cloudy, dark, or blood-tinged. See also: Urine, bloody or dark
Source:ADAM
Date:July 23, 2007
Inhibited sexual desire (ISD) refers to a low level of sexual interest. A person with ISD will not start or respond to their partner's desire for sexual activity. ISD can be primary (in which the person has never felt much sexual desire or interest), or secondary (in which the person used to feel sexual desire, but no longer does. ISD can also relate to the partner (the person with ISD is interested in other people, but not his or her partner), or it can be general ( the person with ISD isn't sexually interested in anyone. In the extreme form of sexual aversion, the person not only lacks sexual desire, but may find sex repulsive. Sometimes, the sexual desire is not inhibited. The two partners have different sexual interest levels, even though both of their interest levels are within the normal range. Someone can claim that his or her partner has ISD, when in fact they have overactive sexual desire and are very demanding sexually.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 27, 2007
Female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) occurs when a woman is continually unable to attain or maintain arousal and lubrication during intercourse, is unable to reach orgasm, or has no desire for sexual intercourse. The disorder typically affects up to 25 percent of all American women, or an estimated 47 million women.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Decreased urine output is defined as producing less than 500 milliliters of urine in 24 hours.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 23, 2007
Edema is a condition of abnormally large fluid volume in the circulatory system or in tissues between the body ' s cells (interstitial spaces). Normally the body maintains a balance of fluid in tissues by ensuring that the same amount of water entering the body also leaves it.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Edema is the medical term for swelling. It is an abnormal retention of fluid in body tissue.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 17, 2007
Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Boosting Your Energy provides information on the causes and treatments of persistent fatigue. Includes information on aging and energy, eating for energy, and boosting your energy.
Source:StayWell
Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
If you regularly feel weary after waking from a good night’s sleep or for no apparent reason, it’s time to find out why.
Source:StayWell
Fatigue: TreatmentIf the fatigue is related to a decrease in hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, then replacing the red blood cells by transfusion or taking erythropoietin can help reduce fatigue. If the fatigue is not related to...
Source:StayWell
Introduction Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to persist beyond a patient ' s treatment regimen.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Fatigue: ManagementIf the person on chemotherapy has decreased hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, and it seems like the low hemoglobin level will last for a while, then a medicine called PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) may be prescribed...
Source:StayWell
Fatigue: CausesWe currently understand some of the causes of fatigue but not all of them. Fatigue may be related to physical changes caused by cancer or its treatment (chemotherapy, biotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery).
Source:StayWell
Fatigue: DefinitionFatigue is a vague feeling of being tired, weak, or exhausted. It is often a symptom of cancer, when cancer is first diagnosed, or when cancer progresses (Ferrell et al, 1996).
Source:StayWell
Oncology: Managing FatigueFatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can be caused by worry, lack of sleep, and poor appetite.
Source:StayWell
Many people experience late-in-the-day energy lags, but you can take steps to prevent them.
Source:StayWell
Gastrointestinal bleeding refers to any bleeding that starts in the gastrointestinal tract, which extends from the mouth to the large bowel. The amount of bleeding can range from nearly undetectable to acute, massive, and life threatening. Bleeding may come from any site along the gastrointestinal tract, but is often divided into: Upper GI bleeding: The upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract is located between the mouth and outflow tract of the stomach; Lower GI bleeding: The lower GI tract is located from the outflow tract of the stomach to the anus (small and large bowel included.
Source:ADAM
Date:August 7, 2007
GI bleeding studies uses radioactive materials in the investigation of bleeding from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These studies go under various names such as " GI bleeding scans " or " Tagged red blood cell scans.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be at increased risk for gastrointestinal bleeding, particularly if they are also taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Source:StayWell
Erection difficulties - age relatedQuestion:Do most men have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection (impotence) as they grow older?Answer:Getting older does not mean you will experience impotence, although in some men, sexual responses ma...
Source:ADAM
Date:November 13, 2007
Impotence, often called erectile dysfunction, refers to the male ' s inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse. Under normal circumstances, when a man is sexually stimulated, his brain sends a message down the spinal cord and into the nerves of the penis.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Nearly all American men experience occasional impotence, and an estimated 30 million suffer from chronic impotence. But despite its prevalence, the condition is treatable in most cases.
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on prostate health, including prostate conditions, prostate cancer, anatomy of the prostate, prostatism, prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, impotence, and urinary incontinence
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on sexual dysfunction, including risk factors, types, diagnosis, treatment, and coping
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on sexual dysfunction, including risk factors, types, diagnosis, treatment, and coping
Source:StayWell
Recent studies are changing our notion about why men develop impotence. While it was once believed that psychological problems were the main cause, we now understand that medical factors -- such as poor blood flow, nerve damage, and medication side effects -- play an important role in most cases of impotence.
Source:StayWell
Recent studies show that impotence is a much more common problem than once believed. Many younger men may experience difficulty with erections, and as many as two-thirds of men will develop impotence at some point in their life.
Source:StayWell
Discusses the biological mechanisms involved in a normal erection, the causes of impotence, diagnosis of erectile dysfunction, and the efficacy and safety of different drugs used to treat it.
Source:StayWell
Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction, is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse. Under normal circumstances, when a man is sexually stimulated, his brain sends a message down the spinal cord and into the nerves of the penis.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
For those who cannot take or do not respond to Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis, a number of other, often effective treatment options are available.
Source:StayWell
Indigestion is a vague feeling of abdominal discomfort - possibly including belching, a feeling of fullness, bloating, and nausea.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 12, 2007
Dyspepsia can be defined as painful, difficult, or disturbed digestion, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting , heartburn , bloating, and stomach discomfort. Causes and symptoms The digestive problems may have an identifiable cause, such as bacterial or viral infection, peptic ulcer, gallbladder, or liver disease.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Detailed information on indigestion, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
Source:StayWell
Stomachache is pain or discomfort in the stomach that is a symptom of many different gastrointestinal diseases or conditions. Stomachache, also called dyspepsia, is a symptom of an underlying disease or condition of the gastrointestinal system.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Most stomachaches are nothing more than indigestion or gas. But stomach pain also could be appendicitis, gallstones, or a tubal pregnancy.
Source:StayWell
Indigestion, which is sometimes called dyspepsia, is a general term covering a group of nonspecific symptoms in the digestive tract. It is often described as a feeling of fullness, bloating, nausea, heartburn , or gassy discomfort in the chest or abdomen.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
A "tummyache" is a common complaint in children. Usually, it's nothing serious.
Source:StayWell
Indigestion, which is sometimes called dyspepsia ,is a general term covering a group of nonspecific symptoms in the digestive tract. It is often described as a feeling of fullness, bloating, nausea, heartburn , or gassy discomfort in the chest or abdomen.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Itching is a tingling or uneasy irritation of the skin that makes you want to scratch the affected area.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 21, 2006
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin ' s surface or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is pruritus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Expert-reviewed information summary about pruritus (itching of the skin) as a complication of cancer or its treatment. Approaches to the management and treatment of pruritus are discussed.
Source:StayWell
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin ' s surface or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is pruritus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Itching, also called pruritus, is an unpleasant sensation of the skin that causes a person to scratch or rub the area to find relief. Itching can be confined to one spot (localized) or over the whole body (generalized).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin ' s surface, or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is " pruritus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Detailed information on pain management and itching and burn care
Source:StayWell
Jaundice is a condition in which the patient has a yellow hue because of high blood levels of bilirubin, a breakdown product of hemoglobin that is potentially toxic. The yellow discoloration is most noticeable in the skin, the sclera (whites of the eyes), and the inner surface of the eyelids.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Jaundice is a condition in which a person ' s skin and the whites of the eyes are discolored yellow due to an increased level of bile pigments in the blood resulting from liver disease. Jaundice is sometimes called icterus , from a Greek word for " the condition.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Click here to begin. Jaundice usually is noticed first on the face, in the whites of a baby's eyes, and then on the rest of the body. The best way to notice the yellow color is in good light, such as daylight or fluorescent light, but it always is more difficult to see jaundice in infants with darker skin color.
Source:StayWell
Refers to the yellowing of skin, sclera (white of eyes), mucous membranes, and of body fluids such as urine and blood plasma. Jaundice is caused by excess bilirubin in the blood stream.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Detailed information on common characteristics of liver disease
Source:StayWell
Anorexia is characterized by a loss of appetite or lack of desire to eat. Anorexia is common in cancer patients with reported incidence between 15% and 40%.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Detailed information on anorexia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
Source:StayWell
Appetite StimulationSymptom and Description Loss of appetite is a loss of the desire to eat. Not eating can lead to weight loss.
Source:StayWell
Your loss of appetite may be because of anxiety or depression, aging, medications or a health concern.
Source:StayWell
A harvard Medical school physician answers your question about the prevalence of anorexia in men, and discusses the biological and environmental factors that influence the disorder in both sexes.
Source:StayWell
Women suffering from anorexia nervosa may benefit more from general support than in-depth therapy, according to a recent study.
Source:StayWell
Nausea is the sensation of having an urge to vomit. Vomiting is forcing the contents of the stomach up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 25, 2007
 A Recipe to Ease Nausea: Gingerbread With Brown Sugar Meringue"Gingerbread. Ginger cookies.
Source:StayWell
Nausea is the sensation of having a queasy stomach or being about to vomit. Vomiting , or emesis, is the expelling of undigested food through the mouth.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Will excess fluid in the ear cause dizziness and nausea? David Vernick, M.D. is assistant clinical professor of otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School and interim chief of the Division of Otology and Laryngology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Source:StayWell
A nosebleed is loss of blood from the tissue lining the nose. Bleeding most commonly occurs in one nostril only.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 22, 2008
Detailed information on nosebleeds in children
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on nosebleeds, including cause, first-aid, and prevention
Source:StayWell
A nosebleed, also called epistaxis, is a loss of blood from any blood vessel in the nose. It usually appears in only one nostril.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
A nosebleed is bleeding from the nose called epistaxis. Unexpected bleeding from anywhere is cause for alarm.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
A nosebleed is characterized by bleeding from the interior of the nasal cavity. It can be caused by heat, dry air, trauma to the nose, certain medications, or a medical condition.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Definition and classification Pain is a universal human experience. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as " an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Expert-reviewed information summary about pain as a complication of cancer or its treatment. Approaches to the management and treatment of cancer-associated pain are discussed.
Source:StayWell