According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Foundation Disorders, in the United States, about 5 million people suffer from gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the normal movement of the muscles in your stomach are affected, making it hard to empty itself of food. This interferes with your body’s normal digestion causing you to experience nausea, vomiting, high blood sugar levels, heartburn and nutrition problems.

The cause of this disease is unknown, without a clear explanation of what leads to gastroparesis, it is believed that one of the causes can be damage to the vagus nerve, which is a nerve that controls the stomach muscles. Without a cure, there are some ways to get relief by changing your diet and medication.

Your risk of developing gastroparesis becomes higher if you have diabetes, stomach surgeries, or nervous system diseases. The treatment for gastroparesis includes medications and in some cases surgeries. If you would like a second opinion on the treatment you are being prescribed, contact us to get an opinion from one of our American board-certified doctors at SecondOpinions.com.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that affects over 7.5 million people in the United States. This skin condition speeds up the life cycle of skin cells. First, it begins with the cells building up fast on the skin’s surface from which extra skin forms into scales or red patches that are itchy and painful. This chronic disease does not have a cure but to stop the rapid skin cell growth there are treatments available.

If you suffer from psoriasis, some of the symptoms you might experience are red patches of skin that have thick, silvery scales, scaling spots, dry skin that could bleed, swollen and stiff joints. There are ways to help you manage the symptoms for psoriasis, such as the lifestyle choices you make by moisturizing, quitting smoking, and managing stress. The following are some different types of psoriasis:

• Inverse psoriasis causes smooth patches of red, inflamed skin in body parts such as armpits, under the breasts, and around the genitals.
• Nail psoriasis causes abnormal nail growth, discoloration, and pitting.
• Plaque is the most common form of psoriasis, which is dry, raised, red skin lesions covered with silvery scales.

The pain, discomfort, the appearance of the skin, and all the other symptoms are not easy to deal with, that’s why we are here to help. If you would like a second opinion on the right treatment option to deal with psoriasis, please contact us at SecondOpinions.com or call us at 855-573-2663.

Hepatitis is a group of infectious diseases that cause both short term and long term liver disease. There are different types of hepatitis, such as A, B, and C. According to the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 325 million people in the world who suffer from hepatitis B or C.

July 28th is World Hepatitis Day, during this time it is important to learn more about this disease. As mentioned above, there are different types of hepatitis:

• Hepatitis A which is a contagious infection on the liver, causes inflammation and affects
  the liver’s ability to function properly. Most people recover without any damage to the
  liver. Type A spreads through food, water, or someone who is infected.
  ○ Prevent by having good hygiene and getting vaccinated.
• Hepatitis B can become chronic, which increases the risk of developing liver failure, liver
  cancer, or cirrhosis. Type B spreads through bodily fluids.
  ○ Prevent by getting vaccinated. Treatments are available but not a cure.
• Hepatitis C can be silent for years, until it causes damage to the liver. It is believed to be
  the most serious of all. It can spread through contaminated blood.

In order to prevent, it is important to not use not share needles, avoid direct contact with blood, and protect from bodily fluids. There are different forms of treatment, such as medications, liver transplant, and vaccinations. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with any type of hepatitis, please contact SecondOpinions.com to get an opinion that will give you and your loved ones peace of mind to help you find the best treatment option.

In the United States, about 300,000 children have been diagnosed with some type of juvenile arthritis. Juvenile Arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which there is swelling in the tissues that line the inside of your joints. The cause of this disease is unknown but some of the factors could be genetics, infections, and the environment.

The symptoms differ based on the type of juvenile arthritis you suffer from. The common symptoms among the different types of juvenile arthritis are pain, joint swelling, redness, and warmth. The most common types of juvenile arthritis are idiopathic arthritis, juvenile-onset scleroderma, and juvenile myositis.

Treatments to help are physical therapies, medications, and in severe cases, surgery. To help you, your child, or anyone you know find the right treatment contact us. We will connect you with an American Board Certified doctor who will give you a second opinion for your peace of mind.

About 1 in 4 pregnant women carry Group B Strep Throat (GBS), which is the leading cause to newborns suffering from sepsis and meningitis. GBS is not seen as a big deal but for those who are infected the effects can be devastating, it can lead to miscarriages, stillborn,
premature births, sickness, or death.

GBS can present before birth, through the first week after birth, or through several months after birth. If its an early onset the symptoms will be fever, difficulty feeding, and lethargy. If it’s late onset the disease includes the same as early on set, along with difficulty breathing and irritability. If you carry the disease you might not present signs or symptoms.To prevent GBS from spreading to your infant during labor the doctors will give you antibiotics during labor.

If you or someone you know carries GBS and would like a second opinion on what the best steps to take are please contact us at, SecondOpinions.com for your baby’s health, your health, and for your peace of mind.

July is National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention Month. During this month it is important to bring awareness and understanding of birth defects that could affect the head and face along with conditions caused by trauma, burns, and disease. In the United States, about 7,000 babies are born with orofacial clefts every year.

Some of the craniofacial birth defects a child could suffer from are cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. These cause many problems, such as difficulty eating, speaking, and misaligned teeth. The cause for most cases is unknown but the environmental exposure during pregnancy could be a reason why. In 2014 it was confirmed by the Surgeon’s General report that smoking during early pregnancy can cause orofacial cleft. If you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant it’s very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

To correct both cleft lip and palate is possible through surgery. If you would like to get a second opinion, contact us to get an opinion from one of our American Board Certified doctors.

June is Scoliosis Awareness Month. Scoliosis causes a sideways curvature of the spine, taking in the shape of a C or S. It is most common among children, mainly girls.

Some of the symptoms or signs that someone is suffering from Scoliosis are:

• Uneven shoulders
• Uneven waist
• One hip higher than the other
• Back pain
• Rotating spine

Although the causes are unknown for most of the types of scoliosis, genetics can play a role because it tends to run in families. Another factor can be age since it starts appearing during the growth spurt. Other causes of scoliosis can be neuromuscular conditions, such as cerebral palsy, infections or injuries in the spine, or birth defects.

The treatment can include a brace, to stop the progression, therapy, and surgery to prevent the spinal curve from getting worse. If you or someone you know suffers from scoliosis and would like to get a second opinion to see what the best treatment option is, contact us and we will connect you with one of our American board-certified doctors.

National Scleroderma Awareness Month is June. During this month it is important to bring awareness of this rare autoimmune disease that affects thousands of people in the United States, being more common in women than men. Scleroderma is a group of rare diseases in which the skin and connective tissues become hard and tight, in which not only the skin is affected, but also the internal organs.

There are two main types of scleroderma, localized scleroderma and systemic. Localized scleroderma affects the skin only, unlike systemic scleroderma which affects the skin, joints, lungs, and other organs. The symptoms vary but some of them are hardening and tightening on the skin, toes or fingers becoming numb or changing color in response to things such as change in temperature. Someone with scleroderma can experience problems with the digestive system due to having problems with absorbing the nutrients. The heart, lungs, and kidneys can also be affected. The cause of scleroderma is due to overproduction and accumulation of collagen in the body tissues.

There is no cure but there are treatments to help you deal with this disease. Some of the treatments are medications, therapy, and sometimes surgery in a severe circumstance. It is important to stay active, not smoke, manage heartburn, and protecting self from the cold. If you would like a second opinion on what is the best treatment for you, contact us at SecondOpinions.com.

June is National Aphasia Awareness Month. It is a disorder that affects the side of your brain which is responsible for language. It can affect the way people speak, read, write, and listen. It affects about 2 million people in the United States. It usually takes place after a stroke, head injury, or other neurological causes.

Someone with aphasia might have difficulty with using language and communicating in their day to day activities. There are different types of aphasia, the most common are Wernicke’s and Broca’s Aphasia. If you suffer from Wernicke’s Aphasia, you might say words that don’t make sense, use the wrong words, or put together sentences that don’t make sense. Broca’s Aphasia on which you might have trouble forming complete sentences, understanding sentences, following directions, and other language problems.

A treatment for Aphasia can be therapy. Usually after a head injury the brain starts changing on its own which helps it recover and start having improvements within a few months, even without therapy. If you or someone you know suffers from Aphasia contact us and get a second opinion to help you recover faster and better.

Myasthenia Gravis, a serious muscle weakness is a rare chronic autoimmune disease that affects your muscle movement. There is weakness and fatigue of the muscles that are under voluntary control. It is caused by a failure in communication between your nerves and muscles. In the United States, this is such a rare disease that only 14 to 20 people for every 100,000 are affected by it.

Two of the causes of myasthenia gravis can be antibodies or the thymus gland. The antibodies of someone with myasthenia gravis blocks or destroys the muscles’ receptor sites for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, which receives nerve signals. With the receptors being blocked or destroyed the muscles receive fewer signals which lead to weakness. Antibodies also can block tyrosine kinase, which is a protein that helps form the nerve-muscular junction. The thymus gland is located in the upper chest under the breastbone, which is believed to be what begins or continues to have the antibodies blocking or destroying acetylcholine. The symptoms vary because it can affect different muscle groups. In your eye muscles, you can suffer from drooping eyelids or double vision. When your face and throat muscles are affected you can suffer from difficulty swallowing, hard time chewing, and altered speaking. You will feel too tired to use arms and hands, too tired to hold up neck if your neck and limb muscles are affected. This disease has no cure but there are treatments to help you live a normal life.

Treatment includes medications, therapies, and in some cases surgery. For someone with this disease it is important to sleep well, rest, stress less, and adjust daily routines to help you have more energy. If you’d like a second opinion on the treatment you are receiving, contact us for your peace of mind and the peace of mind of your loved ones.