Snoring

Snoring

Snoring is a sound generated during sleep by vibration of loose tissue in the upper airway.

Snoring is one symptom of a group of disorders known as sleep-disordered breathing. It occurs when the soft palate, uvula, tongue, tonsils, and/or muscles in the back of the throat rub against each other and generate a vibrating sound during sleep.

Twenty percent of all adults are chronic snorers, and 45% of normal adults snore occasionally. As people grow older, their chance of snoring increases. Approximately half of all individuals over 60 snore regularly.

Sjögren’s syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which the mouth and eyes become extremely dry. Sjögren’s syndrome is often associated with other autoimmune disorders.

Like other autoimmune disorders, Sjögren’s syndrome occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly considers parts of the body as foreign invaders. People with this disease have abnormal proteins in their blood, suggesting that their immune system is reacting against their own tissue.

While the immune cells should attack and kill invaders like bacteria, viruses, and fungi, these cells should not attack the body itself. In autoimmune disorders, however, cells called antibodies see tissues of the body as foreign, and help to start a chain of events that results in damage and destruction of those tissues.

Skin cancer

Skin cancer

Skin cancer is a malignant growth of the external surface or epithelial layer of the skin.

Skin cancer is the growth of abnormal cells capable of invading and destroying other associated skin cells. Skin cancer is often subdivided into either melanoma or non-melanoma. Melanoma is a dark-pigmented, usually malignant, tumor arising from a skin cell capable of making the pigment melanin (a melanocyte).

Melanoma can spread throughout the body via the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Non-melanoma skin cancer most often originates from the external skin surface as a squamous cell carcinoma or a basal cell carcinoma.

Skullcap

Skullcap

Skullcap is a name that refers to any of the dozens of species (Scutellaria) of the mint family Lamiaceae. The plant’s name refers to the helmet-shaped calyx on the outer whorl of the plant’s tiny flowers.

The flowers range in color from blue to pink. In herbal medicine, the name skullcap refers to Scutellaria lateriflora, a perennial herb native to North America and cultivated in Europe. The leaves, flowers, and stems are used as herbal remedies.

Skullcap is also known as scullcap, American skullcap,Western skullcap, European skullcap, blue skullcap, greater skullcap, hoodwort or hoodwart, blue pimpernel, Quaker bonnet, helmet flower, hooded willow herb, side-flowering skullcap, mad-dog weed, and mad weed.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops for more than ten seconds during sleep. Sleep apnea is a major, though often unrecognized, cause of daytime sleepiness. It can have serious negative effects on a person’s quality of life, and is thought to be considerably under diagnosed in the United States.

A sleeping person normally breathes continuously and without interruption throughout the night. A person with sleep apnea, however, has frequent episodes (up to 400-500 per night) in which he or she stops breathing.

This interruption of breathing is called “apnea.” Breathing usually stops for about 30 seconds; then the person usually startles awake with a loud snort and begins to breathe again, gradually falling back to sleep.

Sodium

Sodium

Known to most people in the form of table salt, sodium is one of the minerals that the body needs in relatively large quantities. Humankind’s taste for sodium reaches far back into the distant past. Much like today, sodium was popular in antiquity as a food preservative and an ingredient in snacks. In some ancient societies, sodium was even used as a form of currency.

In modern times, most Americans and other Westerners consume far too much of the mineral, and it is easy to see why. One obvious culprit is table salt, which has a high sodium content. The mineral is also found in many of America’s favorite foods (or the chemicals used to preserve those foods).

Sodium can be found in potato chips and a variety of other snacks, processed foods, meat, fish, butter and margarine, soft drinks, dairy products, canned vegetables, and bread, just to name a few sources. A single slice of pizza can supply the body with all the sodium it needs for one day (about 500 mg), while a teaspoon of table salt contains four times that amount.

Sore throat

Sore throat

Sore throat, also called pharyngitis, is a painful inflammation of the back of the throat. It is a symptom of many conditions, but most often is associated with colds or influenza.

Sore throat may be caused by either viral or bacterial infections or by environmental conditions. Most sore throats heal without complications, but they should not be ignored because some develop into serious illnesses.

Almost everyone gets a sore throat at one time or another, although children in child care or grade school have them more often than adolescents and adults. Sore throats are most common during the winter months when upper respiratory infections (colds) and influenza are more frequent.