The 6 Most Common Internal Diseases in Humans
You can’t always see your own internal organs, which makes it easy to take them for granted and forget about how important they are.
The fact is, if you’re suffering from any of the following six common internal diseases, it could seriously impact your health and quality of life.
This list will teach you what each disease looks like and how it can be treated, so you can make sure you’re doing everything possible to stay healthy inside and out.
1- Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are mineral deposits that form in the kidneys and can grow large enough to irritate or damage the kidney.
The stones may cause symptoms such as blood in the urine, pain while urinating, and difficulty passing urine
. Kidney stones form when a person has too much calcium, uric acid, or other substances dissolved in their urine.
The condition is more common in those who have experienced prior urinary tract infections and those with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, multiple births (twins or triplets), infection of an organ other .
than the kidneys (such as ureteritis), and menopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy.
These people should be aware of the symptoms and visit a doctor if they suspect they have developed stones.
Treatments for kidney stones include drugs to dissolve them, lithotripsy which uses sound waves to break up stone masses into smaller pieces so they pass out of the body through the urine, shock wave
lithotripsy which delivers energy pulses to break up stone masses into smaller pieces so they pass out of the body through the urine, percutaneous nephrolithotomy which involves using imaging techniques to
guide surgeons through small incisions in order to remove stone fragments from inside the kidney or collecting system without having open surgery on them, and minimally invasive techniques such as
percutaneous nephrolithotomy and laser lithotripsy.
2- Gallstones
Gallstones, or cholelithiasis, are made up of mostly cholesterol. Gallstones form when the concentration
of bile is too high and there’s a lack of bile acids. The stones can be large and hard enough to cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and weight loss.
However, in some cases they can be small enough to go undetected until they block the gallbladder’s opening or the duct that carries bile from the liver to the intestines. They’re most common among adults
between 30-50 years old with a family history of gallstones.
Long-term risk factors for gallstones include diabetes mellitus and severe obesity.
Eating a diet high in saturated fats, cholesterol and refined sugars can also increase your chances of developing them.
But as with many things in life, you have some control over your destiny: eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains and fatty fish; exercising
regularly; avoiding smoking; and losing weight if you need to will help keep gallstones at bay.
3- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease is a condition that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, but primarily the colon and ileum.
It most often affects adults between 30 and 50 years old, with a male to female ratio of 3:1.
The key symptoms of IBD are diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss, which typically resolve after a
bout but may return days to weeks later.
There are two types of inflammatory bowel disease: ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Ulcerative colitis affects only the lining of the large intestine or colon; Crohn’s disease affects not only this lining but also other areas, such as the small intestine or mouth area as well.
Patients with either type have an increased risk for colorectal cancer and may develop blood clots.
Acute Gastroenteritis: Acute gastroenteritis, also known as viral gastroenteritis, is caused by many different viruses.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever up to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius).
Other common symptoms include diarrhea and muscle aches.
Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis in children less than five years old, who experience severe bouts of vomiting along with watery stools three times a day or more.
4- Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is one of the most common internal diseases in humans.
This condition can cause your bones to become brittle and deteriorate, which causes them to break more easily. Osteoporosis can lead to pain, paralysis, and even death.
While there’s no cure for osteoporosis, eating healthy foods that contain calcium and vitamin D may help prevent or slow the progression of this disease.
To keep up with a doctor’s orders, it’s important that you maintain a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and restful sleep.
If you think you have symptoms of osteoporosis, schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
If left untreated, you may be at risk for developing other illnesses and worsening your current ones.
5- Lymphoma
Lymphoma is the type of cancer that involves cells called lymphocytes and causes them to multiply uncontrollably.
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell which protect against infections, allergies, and cancer.
Some people with lymphoma do not have symptoms or they might experience swollen glands, fever, fatigue, pain or just be generally unwell.
In other cases there can be lots of swelling and fluid accumulation which requires treatment as soon as possible.
A doctor will diagnose the condition by performing a physical examination and taking a complete medical history.
The good news is that lymphoma has a good prognosis when it’s diagnosed early. For example, the five-year survival rate for stage I MALT lymphoma is 91%.
The five-year survival rate for stage IIA Hodgkin lymphoma is 98% and 83% respectively.
It can happen at any age but most often starts between the ages of 20 and 50 years old.
Symptoms include excessive night sweats, unexplained weight loss, abdominal bloating or pain and diarrhea or constipation alternating with constipation followed by diarrhea.
You should see your doctor if you have any one of these symptoms even if you don’t think they’re related to your stomach problems because you could still have an internal disease like stomach cancer.
6- Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is the term used to describe an inflammation of the pancreas. When the pancreas becomes inflamed, it can produce fluid that backs up into other parts of the body.
This can cause pain near the navel, fullness and discomfort after eating, nausea, vomiting and even sometimes fever.
Pancreatitis may occur for a number of reasons such as injury to your abdomen or side where your pancreas is located, obstruction from gallstones or trauma from surgery.
You are more likely to develop pancreatitis if you drink excessively or take too many medications which could lead to dehydration.
The cause of pancreatitis cannot be determined in one-third of cases however chronic alcohol abuse is the most common cause found.
Chronic alcoholism has been linked to acute (rapid onset) pancreatitis while alcoholism accompanied by
underlying risk factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes leads to a condition called chronic alcoholic pancreatitis which usually takes years before symptoms appear.
Gallstones are another frequent culprit leading to biliary tract disease and this complication will often require surgical intervention.
Trauma from abdominal surgery including bariatric procedures has also been found to increase the risk
of developing pancreatitis especially when there is prolonged fasting leading up to surgery, infection during recovery time and delayed gastric emptying following weight loss surgery.
Other causes include drugs including acetaminophen, NSAIDs like ibuprofen, chemotherapy agents such as gemcitabine and prescription antibiotics for acne like tetracycline with erythromycin.