Many parents who discover that their child has ADHD (or attention deficit hyperactive disorder) are not keen on treating them with pharmaceuticals due to potential side effects. While many health experts point to prescription medication as the most common treatment for ADHD, they also acknowledge that medication is effective in only 80-percent of cases.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no single test to diagnose ADHD, because many other health conditions such as certain learning disabilities, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders can have similar symptoms. If you suspect that you or your child might have ADHD, the first thing you should do is talk to your doctor to check if the symptoms fit the diagnosis.

Gout, or hyperuricemia, is a condition that’s caused by the long-term buildup of uric acid crystals in the bodily tissues and joints. What results from this buildup is painful inflammation that’s characterized as a type of arthritis that strikes in what’s known as a gout attack. Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia).

Gout develops as a direct result of excess uric acid in the body. However, certain common factors or causes can contribute to increased uric acid levels—including family and medical history, existing conditions, weight, and diet. For instance, gout flare ups are often caused by the flare-up actors: Enzyme deficiency Individuals born with Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome (or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome) are deficient in the enzyme, xanthine oxidase.

Gout is often confused with other conditions, due to similarities in many of the symptoms (i.e., joint pain and inflammation). However, if you think you may have gout, you can expect your doctor to ask you a series of common questions during your initial appointment. With that in mind, here’s the information that you should be prepared to bring along to your medical appointment:

Gout is a form of arthritis that affects a wide range of people for varying reasons. This harmful condition occurs when there are chronically high levels of uric acid in the blood, which results in the hardening and crystallization of the uric acid in the body. Once these crystals are formed, they tend to attach at or around the joint spaces in the body, causing limitations in the affected joints, pain, swelling, and redness.

Dyskinesia takes its name from dystonia, which describes the involuntary muscle contractions or uncontrolled movements, common in patients with parkinson’s disease. Dyskinesias can occur as mild to severe symptoms in those affected by Parkinson’s disease. How does dyskinesia affect parkinson’s patients? Every Parkinson’s patient will experience them to a different degree—for instance, some patients suffer only mild motor complications in isolated muscles, while others may experience random twitching that resembles dance-like, writhing of the entire body, including the face, arms, legs, and torso, and sometimes even facial muscles.

The following are some testing and diagnostic procedures that are used by doctors and medical providers to identify asthma cases. Spirometry The Spirometry test is used to diagnose asthma and identify its severity.  In a spirometry test, you breathe forcefully into a tube and a device measures the amount of airflow passing through it.

Asthma is a condition that affects an estimated 300 million people across the globe. There are a number of complications that can arise for asthma patients. Some of these include- Increased risk of infections such as pneumonia or influenza. Decreased quality of life due to poor management of the condition.

Asthma takes place in two forms; acute and chronic. Acute asthma, known as an asthma attack is an episodic event that occurs due to an asthma trigger. Chronic asthma develops due to the changes that occur from prolonged inflammation over time. Acute Asthma When a patient comes into contact with an asthma trigger, a chain reaction of events occur that leads to an asthma “attack.” The exposure to the trigger will cause the muscles that surround the airways to “clamp down” or contract, thus narrowing the spaces for air to travel through.

According to The Mayo Clinic most treatments for asthma and allergies follow their independent paths, and these treatments don’t always work together even where patients suffer from both. While patients with allergies, asthma, or both are often prescribed medications to treat their specific symptoms, doctors concur that the best and most proactive defense is knowing your symptom triggers and avoiding them as much as possible.

Allergies and asthma are often thought to be unrelated conditions. However, in many cases there is a causal relation between the two. For instance, common allergens (like pet dander, dust, and pollen) trigger allergic inflammation in the lungs followed by more serious asthmatic symptoms. Doctors call this variety of asthma ‘allergy-induced asthma.’ How does an allergic response cause an asthmatic reaction?