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Gestational diabetes is a disorder in which women that previously did not have diabetes, test positive for high blood glucose levels during their pregnancy.

Though not uncommon, it is thought that anywhere between three and ten percent of pregnant women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes sometime during their pregnancy.

But just what does this diagnosis mean to the health and welfare of the mother and her unborn child?

Since no specific cause has been identified for gestational diabetes, scientists don’t know how to prevent it. The closest they have come to understanding, is that it is believed that hormones produced during pregnancy reduce a woman’s sensitivity to insulin and the result is high blood sugar levels.

Every pregnant woman is tested for gestational diabetes during her prenatal care visits, because generally there are very few symptoms.

If the mother has gestational diabetes, babies are at a higher risk of complications. These are typically growth abnormalities and low blood sugar.

The good thing is that gestational diabetes is completely reversible and women who otherwise have good control over their glucose levels, can decrease the risk of these birth problems.

In fact, women who can keep their gestational diabetes under complete control, are known to give birth to perfectly healthy babies.

The down side is, women who develop gestational diabetes during their pregnancy now run a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, post-pregnancy. Some children are prone to develop childhood obesity and develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

Pregnant women who develop gestational diabetes are generally treated with diet modification and exercise, but in some extreme cases they are administered an anti-diabetic drug, such as insulin. The goal of treatment is to reduce the risks for both mother and child without endangering either.

Many people are aware that allergies affect digestive or respiratory systems, however, they are also a major irritant of the largest organ – the skin. If you suffer from this condition, it is important to know the effective approach to manage skin allergies. There are three important things you should know when skin allergies are triggered, so that you can avoid them from happening and prevent your skin from becoming ruined.

Firstly, understand how these allergic reactions are triggered.

Just like the digestive or respiratory systems react from the allergens inhaled or ingested, your skin overreacts when certain substances or chemicals make contact with it. In some cases, the allergic reaction sets in very quickly, while in other instances it takes quite some time. Either way, it can be very itchy and this can be very serious for your skin. Knowing which type of chemicals cause the condition, is one way of better managing skin allergies.

Secondly, identify and eliminate skin irritants and allergens that cause the itching or scratching cycle.

This can be difficult considering that there are thousands of different irritants and allergens which trigger skin allergies. However, knowing or identifying which irritants your skin usually comes into contact with, will give you a decent start. There are two general types of skin irritants or allergens to look at: natural and man-made.

• Latex

Latex is derived from the Brazilian rubber tree. These are natural proteins, however, when undergone manufacturing processes, they become full of allergens, which trigger the reactions when an individual suffering the condition comes in contact with it. Gloves are one of the products which are made of latex and are normally used by people.

However, there are other products which are made of latex, as well, such as the balloons, elastic bands (including those found in undergarments), pencil erasers and even baby pacifiers. If you are known to have allergic reactions, it is best to avoid products that contain latex. Instead, opt for plastic or vinyl.

• Nickel

You can find nickel in many everyday things, such as coins, jewellery, scissors, zippers, and some kitchen and bathroom handles. You can also find it in certain eye shadows, mascara, eye pencils, and others. Nickel allergy patients have risen by 40% over the past few years, because of the growing popularity of using jewellery, body piercings, and cosmetics.

Aside from this, there are certain foods that contain natural nickel and if you are suffering severe symptoms, you need to undergo a supervised medical diet. Avoiding nickel seems to be the best way to stop the allergies, as there are currently no means of desensitising nickel allergy reactions.

Thirdly, take care of your skin.

One thing that you can do is always keep your fingernails short. This reduces serious damage from scratching.

Dry skin tends to irritate easily, so it will help if it is kept moisturized and softened. For patients with reactions to certain chemicals, doctors may suggest using preparations with topical corticosteroid, to control or prevent the inflammation.

When taking a shower, make sure it‘s not too hot. The heat increases the dryness and itchiness of your skin, triggering more irritant reactions. Use lukewarm water when taking a bath and don’t overdo it, 20-30 minutes of soaking is plemty. Adding baking soda or oatmeal can help sooth your skin.

Bubble baths are not a good idea since they stop the bathwater from moisturizing and softening your skin. As much as possible, use mild or non-soap cleanser. You will also have to remember to rinse the chlorine from your skin as soon as possible after swimming in a pool.

It is also important to avoid excessive sweating. Heavy clothing and heavy physical contact can trigger skin irritants or allergies relatively easily.

Sleep apnea can exist for years without being diagnosed. This is because the sleep disorder manifests itself only during sleep, just when the person suffering from it is totally out of the bounds of consciousness and doesn’t actually notice the irregularities. On the other hand, their bed partner may take the snoring and snorting to be a normal occurrence.

An undiagnosed case of sleep apnea, however, can be irritating and fatal all at the same time. Those who have it can experience as simple a condition as fatigue and as life-threatening a condition as heart disease. But the question is, how can one be so sure if they or their loved one is already having bouts of sleep apnea? There are warning signs to look out for, and they come as sleep apnea symptoms.

Red Flag: The signs and symptoms

Sleep apnea requires prompt attention. If the following symptoms surface, a consultation with a doctor or a sleep specialist must immediately take place.

1. Snoring. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but snoring is typical to those who suffer from the sleep disorder. Loud and chronic snoring is ordinarily accompanied by grunts, snorts, gasps for breath, and restless movements.

2. Breathing irregularities. Sleep apnea renders a person to have breath pauses that lead to frequent and brief silences during sleep, but which then break into loud snoring. It is the bed partner who notices these breath intervals.

3. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). It is described as the unordinary and persistent sleepiness. People experiencing EDS normally feel the urge to, and sometimes involuntarily fall asleep for brief moments many times during the day and when performing daily itinerary such as eating, talking over the phone, and driving. Over time, EDS becomes a threat to someone’s performance at work and in school because it usually weakens a person’s competency to complete tasks.

4. Daytime fatigue. Due to disrupted sleep, people with sleep apnea normally feel tired as though they haven’t slept the night before. It then results in forgetfulness, lack of concentration, and learning difficulties. Mood changes are also apparent, causing the person to become irritable and anxious.

5. Depression. Although it is not clear how exactly sleep apnea contributes to depression, it is said that people with the sleep disorder are five times more prone to developing depression. Sleep apnea is also reported to aggravate an existing case of depression.

6. Morning headaches. People suffering from sleep apnea wake up with morning headaches. In fact, statistics says that headaches occur in approximately half of the people with sleep apnea. Headaches at night are also reported.

7. Other symptoms. People with sleep apnea have a frequent need to urinate at night and experience excessive sweating when asleep. Upon waking up, they tend to have a dry throat. Sexual dysfunction is also observed from people with sleep apnea.

Experts suggest that the more sleep apnea symptoms present in a person and the more intense they are, the more severe their case of sleep apnea is. Undergoing sleep tests and treatment,is then necessary. But because it is hard for a potential patient to observe any of these symptoms from themselves, the bed partner is put in a place of greater accountability.

Any suspected case of sleep apnea should not be taken for granted. Rather, it should be monitored extensively.

Celiac disease is a known disease of the small intestine. With celiac disease, the intestine experiences an immunological or allergic reaction. The small intestine does not absorb the nutrients of the food digested. This leads to nutritional, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Diagnosing celiac disease early is very important to prevent any critical illness.

Celiac disease is common in European countries, particularly in Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Austria. In Finland, the prevalence may be as high as one in every 100 people, while in North America, its prevalence is one in every 3000 people. Worldwide, its occurrence would be one in every 250 people.

Its exact cause is unknown, but it is often inherited. If someone in your immediate family has it,the chances are 5 percent to 15 percent that you may have it as well. It can occur at any age, although problems don’t appear until gluten is introduced into the diet.

There are also times, for unclear reasons, when the disease appears after some form of trauma. It can happen or emerge after an infection, a physical injury, the stress of pregnancy, severe stress or surgery.

There are no typical signs or symptoms of celiac disease and there are even patients that have no symptoms. They only show the symptoms after inducing or introducing gluten into their diet. There are cases when celiac disease is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. The symptoms are often confused with other conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, or nervous conditions.

Blood tests are often conducted,in order to identify antibodies such as anti-tissue translutaminase and anti-endomysial antibodies. Blood tests are used to find the elevated antibody levels. These elevated levels are a sign of celiac disease, since the person’s immune system recognizes gluten as a foreign substance and increases the number of antibodies to fight it.

After confirming or getting elevated antibody levels in the blood tests, the doctor or attending physician performs intestinal tissue checks. This is to microscopically examine a small portion of intestinal tissue to check for damage to the villi.

A thin, flexible tube is inserted through the mouth, esophagus and stomach and into the small intestine, to take a small tissue sample. The tiny, hairlike projections from the small intestine that absorb vitamins, minerals and other nutrients will provide the necessary information, if the villi is damaged.

Also, patients with celiac disease show other clues. Patients may have the presence of a blistering, itchy skin rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis. An estimated 10 percent of patients with celiac disease also have this skin disorder. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a skin disease that can be found on the extremities, buttocks, neck, trunk, and scalp.

After undergoing medical examinations, a trial of a gluten-free diet can confirm the diagnosis. But before undergoing the gluten-free diet, medical evaluation is required. Undergoing the diet may have an impact on the results of the blood test and biopsies. They may appear normal and without any complications even if the patient is positive with celiac disease.

Dennis Lee, M.D, the author of the article “Celiac Disease(Gluten Enteropathy)” states that it is necessary to firmly establish the diagnosis of celiac disease before commencing to gluten free diet for three main reasons: (1) to identify the gluten-free diet should be followed, which is a life-long and tedious commitment; (2) to avoid patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to unnecessarily commit to life-long gluten restriction; and (3) a gluten free diet can lower the blood antibody levels and allow the small intestine to lose the typical appearance of celiac disease, complicating subsequent efforts at making a firm diagnosis of celiac disease.