Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that starts during pregnancy. If you have diabetes, your body isn't able to use the sugar (glucose) in your blood as well as it should, so the level of sugar in your blood becomes higher than normal.

Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It usually begins in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy (between the 24th and 28th weeks). Most often, gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born.

The effect of mother and baby
High sugar levels in your blood can be unhealthy for both you and your baby. If the diabetes isn't treated, your baby may be more likely to have problems at birth. For example, your baby may have a low blood sugar level or jaundice, or your baby may weigh much more than is normal. Gestational diabetes can also affect your health. For instance, if your baby is very large, you may have a more difficult delivery or need a cesarean section.


If mother has gestational diabetes
You will need to follow a diet suggested by your doctor, exercise regularly and have blood tests to check your blood sugar level. You may also need to take medicine to control your blood sugar level.

What changes should I make in my diet?

Your doctor may ask you to change some of the foods you eat. You may be asked to see a registered dietitian to help you plan your meals. You should avoid eating foods that contain a lot of simple sugar, such as cake, cookies, candy or ice cream. Instead, eat foods that contain natural sugars, like fruits.

If you get hungry between meals, eat foods that are healthy for you, such as raisins, carrot sticks, or a piece of fruit. Whole grain pasta, breads, rice and fruit are good for both you and your baby.

It's also important to eat well-balanced meals. You may need to eat less at each meal, depending on how much weight you gain during your pregnancy. Your doctor or dietitian will talk to you about this.

Exercise is important
Your doctor will suggest that you exercise regularly at a level that is safe for you and the baby. Exercise will help keep your blood sugar level normal, and it can also make you feel better. Walking is usually the easiest type of exercise when you are pregnant, but swimming or other exercises you enjoy work just as well. Ask your doctor to recommend some activities that would be safe for you.

If you're not used to exercising, begin by exercising for 5 or 10 minutes every day. As you get stronger, you can increase your exercise time to 30 minutes or more per session. The longer you exercise and the more often you exercise, the better the control of your blood sugar will be.

You do need to be careful about how you exercise. Don't exercise too hard or get too hot while you are exercising. Ask your doctor what would be safe for you. Depending on your age, your pulse shouldn't go higher than 140 to 160 beats per minute during exercise. If you become dizzy, or have back pain or other pain while exercising, stop exercising immediately, and call your doctor. If you have uterine contractions (labor pains, like stomach cramps) or vaginal bleeding, or your water breaks, call your doctor right away.

Diabetes

Diabetes is,,,,,
Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot use the sugars and starches (carbohydrates) it takes in as food to make energy. The body either makes too little insulin in the pancreas or cannot use the insulin it makes to change those sugars and starches into energy. As a result, the body collects extra sugar in the blood and gets rid of some sugar in the urine. The extra sugar in the blood can damage organs of the body, such as the heart, eyes, and kidneys, if it is allowed to collect in the body too long. The 3 most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational.

• Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas makes so little insulin that the body can’t use blood sugar for energy. Type 1 diabetes must be controlled with daily insulin shots.
• Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body either makes too little insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes to use blood sugar for energy. Often Type 2 diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly. Some people with Type 2 diabetes have to take diabetes pills or insulin or both.
• Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs in a pregnant woman who did not have diabetes before she was pregnant. Often gestational diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly, but sometimes a woman with gestational diabetes must also take insulin shots. Usually gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy, but sometimes it doesn’t. Also, many women who have had gestational diabetes develop Type 2 diabetes later in life

Gestational diabetes differ from type 1 and 2,,,
Gestational diabetes happens in a woman who develops diabetes during pregnancy. Some women have more than one pregnancy affected by diabetes that disappears after the pregnancy ends. About half of women with gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes later.

If not controlled, gestational diabetes can cause the baby to grow extra large and lead to problems with delivery for the mother and the baby. Gestational diabetes might be controlled with diet and exercise, or it might take insulin as well as diet and exercise to get control.

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes often are present before a woman gets pregnant. If not controlled before and during pregnancy, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can cause the baby to have birth defects and cause the mother to have problems (or her problems to worsen if they are already present), such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease, or blindness. Type 1 diabetes must be controlled with a balance of diet, exercise, and insulin. Type 2 diabetes might be controlled with diet and exercise, or it might take diabetes pills or insulin or both as well as diet and exercise to get control


If a mother or father with diabetes, baby will,,,,
Babies born to mothers with diabetes do not come into the world with diabetes. However, if the mother’s diabetes was not controlled during pregnancy, the baby can very quickly develop low blood sugar after birth and must be watched very closely until his or her body adjusts the amount of insulin it makes.

Extra large babies are more likely to become obese and to develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. They especially need to develop healthy eating and regular exercise habits as they grow up to lessen the chance of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.


Diabetes in the father does not affect the developing baby during pregnancy. However, depending on the type of diabetes the father has, the baby might have a greater chance of developing diabetes later in life.


What can happen to a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who becomes pregnant?
Pregnancy is a time when a woman’s body goes through lots of changes as it nurtures a developing baby. All women need more nutrients, rest, and energy to grow the baby when they are pregnant. They also need to be physically active. When a woman with diabetes is pregnant, changes happen in her blood sugar, often quickly. If a woman with diabetes does not keep good control of her blood sugar, she might get some of the common problems of diabetes, or those problems might get worse if she already has them. Out of control blood sugar could lead to a woman having a miscarriage. Out of control blood sugar might also cause high blood pressure in a woman during pregnancy, and she will need extra visits to the doctor. High blood pressure during pregnancy might lead to a baby being born early and also could cause seizures or a stroke (a blood clot in the brain that can lead to brain damage) in the woman during labor and delivery. Sometimes, out of control blood sugar causes a woman to make extra large amounts of amniotic fluid around the baby which might lead to preterm (early) labor. Another problem common to a pregnant woman with uncontrolled diabetes is that her baby grows too large. Besides causing discomfort to the woman during the last few months of pregnancy, an extra large baby can lead to problems during delivery for both the mother and the baby.

What can happen to the baby of a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy?
Diabetes in a pregnant woman can cause the baby to have birth defects, miscarry, be born early and have a low birth weight, be stillborn, or grow extra large and have a hard delivery.

A woman who has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes that is not tightly controlled has a higher chance of having a baby with a birth defect than does a woman without diabetes. The organs of the baby form during the first two months of pregnancy, often before a woman knows that she is pregnant. Out of control blood sugar can affect those organs while they are being formed and cause serious birth defects, such as those of the brain, spine, and heart, or can lead to miscarriage of the developing baby.

If the woman’s blood sugar remains out of control throughout the pregnancy, the baby likely will grow extra large. Out of control diabetes causes the baby’s blood sugar to be high. The baby makes more insulin and uses the extra calories or stores them as fat. The baby is “overfed” and grows extra large. Extra large babies can occur in women with any out of control diabetes, including Type 1, Type 2, and gestational. The extra large baby can cause problems during and after delivery. Nerve damage to the baby can happen from pressure on the baby’s shoulder during delivery. A newborn might have quickly changing blood sugars after delivery. A large baby born to a woman with diabetes might have a greater chance of being obese and/or developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

If the woman with diabetes has problems that lead to a preterm birth, the baby might have breathing problems, heart problems, bleeding into the brain, intestinal problems, and vision problems. A woman with diabetes might have a baby born on time with low birth weight. A baby with low birth weight might have problems with eating, gaining weight, fighting off infections, and staying warm.

What can happen to a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes?
A pregnant woman who does not have diabetes can develop “gestational diabetes” later in pregnancy. A woman with gestational diabetes will need to watch her blood sugar closely and balance food intake, exercise, and, if needed, insulin shots to keep her blood sugar in control. If a woman with gestational diabetes does not keep her blood sugar in good control, she could have several problems. She might have an extra large baby, have high blood pressure, deliver too early, or need to have a cesarean section (an operation to get the baby out of the mother through her abdomen). The extra large baby might cause the woman to feel uncomfortable during the last months of pregnancy. Also, it could lead to problems for both the woman and the baby during delivery. When the baby is delivered surgically by a cesarean section (C-section), it takes longer for the woman to recover from childbirth. High blood pressure when a woman is pregnant might lead to an early delivery and could cause seizures or a stroke in the woman.

Sometimes gestational diabetes in women does not go away after delivery. These women have converted to Type 2 diabetes. A woman whose diabetes does not go away after delivery will need to manage her diabetes for the rest of her life.

What can happen to the baby of a woman with gestational diabetes?
A woman who has gestational diabetes has less chance of having a baby with a birth defect than does a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Since gestational diabetes develops later in pregnancy, the baby’s organs are already formed. If her blood sugar is not controlled, a woman with gestational diabetes still has a greater chance of having a stillborn baby than a woman who doesn’t have diabetes.

If the woman’s blood sugar remains out of control throughout the pregnancy, the baby likely will grow extra large. Out of control diabetes causes the baby’s blood sugar to be high. The baby makes more insulin and uses the extra calories or stores them as fat. The baby is “overfed” and grows extra large. Extra large babies can occur in women with any out of control diabetes, including Type 1, Type 2, and gestational.

The extra large baby can cause problems during and after delivery. Nerve damage to the baby can happen from pressure on the baby’s shoulder during delivery. A newborn might have quickly changing blood sugars after delivery. A large baby born to a woman with diabetes might have a greater chance of being obese and/or developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

If the woman with diabetes has problems that lead to a preterm birth, the baby might have breathing problems, heart problems, bleeding into the brain, intestinal problems, and vision problems. A woman with diabetes might have a baby born on time with low birth weight. A baby with low birth weight might have problems with eating, gaining weight, fighting off infections, and staying warm.

urinary tract infection

Introduction,,,
Infections of the ureter technically would be called "ureteritis", although most physicians prefer to use the term UTI, which is the short form of "urinary tract infection". The ureter rarely is infected alone, but there is either a pyelonephritis or a cystitis associated with it. In fact, often the whole urinary tract gets infected. Still, it makes sense to conceptually separate the ureter from the rest of the urinary tract, because there are some peculiar anatomical abnormalities that can give rise to recurrent infections starting there.

The "urinary tract" consists of the various organs of the body that produce, store, and get rid of urine. These include the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, and the urethra.
Our kidneys are chemical filters for our blood. About one-quarter of the blood pumped by the heart goes through the kidneys. The kidneys filter this blood, and the "filtrate" is processed to separate out waste products and excess amounts of minerals, sugar, and other chemicals. Since it sees so much of the body's blood flow, the kidneys also contain pressure-sensitive tissue which helps the body control blood pressure, and some of the minerals and water are saved or discarded partly to keep your blood pressure in the proper range.
The waste products and "extras" make up the urine, which flows through "ureters" (one per kidney) into the bladder, where it is held until you are ready to get rid of it. When you urinate, muscles in the bladder wall help push urine out of the bladder, through the urethra, and out. (In men, the urethra passes through the penis; in women, the urethra opens just in front of the vagina.) When you aren't urinating (which is most of the time) a muscle called the "sphincter" squeezes the urethra shut to keep urine in; the sphincter relaxes when you urinate so that urine can flow out easily.
Urine is normally sterile -- that is, it does not normally contain bacteria. This is a good thing, since the mineral content of urine make it a great medium for bacteria to grow in. (If you have sugar in your urine, it's an even better culture medium, but that shouldn't happen unless you are diabetic, or are one of the rare people -- like me -- who are not diabetic but still have sugar in their urine.) Usually several things keep bacteria out of the urine. These include:
The urethral sphincter: when the urethra is squeezed shut, bacteria cannot climb up the urethra from the "meatus" (the outside opening) into the bladder.
The length of the urethra: it's a long way up to the bladder for a bacterium. (A woman's urethra is shorter than a man's, which is one reason why women are much more likely than men to get UTI's.)
Frequent washing: any bacteria that make it into the urethra are flushed out the next time you urinate, and since most people empty their bladders almost completely when they urinate any bacteria that get to the bladder will be flushed out too. There are also valves where the ureters enter the bladder to prevent urine from "refluxing" from the bladder to the kidneys, so even if the bladder and its urine is infected the bacteria shouldn't travel up to the kidneys.

an infection start,,,
The urinary tract can be infected from above (by bacteria entering the kidneys from the bloodstream and travelling downward) or from below (by bacteria entering the urethra and travelling upward).
Infection from above is most often seen in newborns with generalized infection or sepsis. If there are many bacteria in the bloodstream, some are likely to get through the filters of the kidney to the urine. This is especially likely if the filters are immature, or if there are a lot of bacteria.
In older children and adults infection most often starts from below. In small children still using diapers, stool (which is largely bacteria) can sit for some time right at the meatus; the longer it sits there, the more likely it is that bacteria may enter the urethra. Baby boys are less likely to have this happen than baby girls, because girls' urethrae are much shorter and the head of the penis isn't as likely to sit in stool. (Note, though, that bacteria can hang out in any moist, warm area, and that UTI's in boys under 1 year old seem to happens more often in uncircumcised boys than in circumcised boys since bacteria can accumulate beneath the foreskin.) Older girls may become prone to UTI's through wiping back-to-front when they are first toilet-trained, which pulls stool into the vaginal/meatal area. Sexually active teenage and adult women are more prone to UTI's because of friction at the meatus, which tends to push bacteria into the urethra (urinating after intercourse helps avoid UTI's); the same mechanism may cause UTI's in teenage boys and adult men, although they are again less prone to UTI's than women of the same age.

Where do UTI's occur in the urinary tract?
-In general, the farther the organ in the urinary tract from the place where the bacteria enter, the less likely the organ is to be infected.
Urethritis is infection/inflammation of the urethra. This can be due to other things besides the organisms usually involved in UTI's; in particular, many sexually-transmitted diseases (STD's) appear initially as urethritis. However, stool-related bacteria (the most common bacteria on the skin near the meatus) will also often cause urethritis.
-Cystitis is an infection of the bladder. (Strictly speaking, "-itis" means inflammation, and there are non-bacterial reasons for bladder inflammation, but they are much less common than bacterial infection.) This is the most common form of UTI; it can be aggravated if the bladder does not empty completely when you urinate. (Some people have valves at the bladder end of the urethra as well as at the bladder ends of the ureters. You aren't supposed to have urethral valves except for the sphincter; these "extra" valves usually prevent complete bladder emptying and make cystitis more likely.)
-Ureteritis is infection of a ureter. This can occur if the bacteria entered the urinary tract from above, or if the ureter-to-bladder valves don't work properly and allow urine to "reflux" from the bladder into the ureters.
-Pyelonephritis is an infection of the kidney itself. This can happen with infection from above, or if reflux into the ureters is so bad that infected urine refluxes all the way to the kidney.


Symptoms of UTI's
The symptoms a person has with a UTI depend on how old the person is and on where in the urinary tract the infection is located.
Urethritis usually appears as burning on urination. Often this burning occurs mainly when you start urinating, since the bacteria and infected urine in the urethra cause the inflammation but are flushed out when "fresh" urine flows through the urethra on its way out of the bladder.
Cystitis may show up as burning on urination, often in the "middle" of urination. However, it may have no symptoms other than fever, lower abdominal (way down -- just above the pubic bone) pain, or even just a funny smell or colour or appearance (cloudy, dark, even blood-tinged) to your urine.
Blood in the urine can be a sign -- sometimes the only sign at first -- of a urinary tract infection. It can result from microscopic bleeding within the kidneys, or from an abscess if the infection is far advanced. Blood can also appear in urine from a bleed anywhere between the kidneys and the urinary meatus (the end of the urethra, from where the urine emerges); in particular, cystitis can result in bleeding inside the bladder, which will certainly leave blood in the urine -- whether as blood-tinging, blood clots in the urine, or something in between. When we ask patients what part of the urine stream the blood appears in, we are trying to figure out where the blood is entering the urine: for example, blood that appears just as you start to urinate and clears up as the flow continues indicates that the bleeding is in the urethra, where it accumulates until you urinate and is then flushed out by the flowing urine. On the other hand, blood that is uniformly mixed with the urine is likely coming from the kidneys, the ureters, or the bladder.
Since your kidneys are located in your back, just below your bottom ribs, pyelonephritis may appear as pain in your back or flank(s), or in the abdomen. Fever usually (but not always) comes along with the pain. If the kidneys are severely affected, you may also start seeing some of the complications due to kidney malfunction.

Complications of UTI's
Urinary tract infections can make you pretty miserable. They can do other things, too.
The biggest problem with a UTI is if it progresses to pyelonephritis. This can result in scarring and damage to the kidney tissue. Although the kidney's filter system is pretty big, it is not infinite. If there is enough damage to the filter system, waste products can't be removed properly. This constitutes kidney failure, and if it is bad enough and long-lasting enough the only solutions are dialysis (filtering your blood through an "artificial kidney" which isn't nearly as good as the real one and requires you to sit hooked up to a lot of plumbing three times a week) or a kidney transplant (which also poses many risks and problems).
A different complication occurs if the pressure-regulation tissues in the kidney are scarred. If this is bad enough, your blood pressure may be kept too low (and you'll faint frequently at the very least) or too high (leading to strokes, heart disease, and other nasty things).
Both of these problems may occur rapidly, but only if the infection is very severe. More often, the damage done by the initial infection, even if it is not compounded by future infections, progresses over many months or years. In particular, renal failure may not be complete until long after the first UTI.

Treat (and evaluate) a UTI?
The first step in treating a UTI is to make sure there really is one. The only certain way to know if there is a UTI is to take a sample of urine and "culture" it: try to grow bacteria from the sample. If there are bacteria, we can then test several antibiotics to see which ones kill the bacteria most efficiently.
The problem here is in getting a good sample of urine for culture. Simply urinating into a sterile cup may not stop contamination by bacteria on the skin, especially with girls. If you can control your urine, it is possible to use a "clean-catch" sample. You get this by cleaning the meatus and the surrounding area thoroughly with antiseptics (such as iodine solution), then urinating a little into the toilet before filling the sample cup, and finishing your urination in the toilet. This flushes out bacteria that may be in the urethra or meatus.
Unfortunately, small children can't cooperate well enough to do this sort of collection, even if they are toilet-trained. We can collect urine with a bag ("puck") that is taped over the meatus and genitals. However, this almost guarantees contamination by skin bacteria. We sometimes use pucks to collect samples for follow-up culture, but such samples just don't work well for the initial diagnosis where we have to know whether or not there really is an infection. For the initial diagnosis in small children we usually use a sterile catheter inserted into the bladder through the urethra (after cleaning the meatal area with iodine or another soap that kills bacteria). This may sound barbaric, but it is the only way to be sure if a small child has a UTI or not. In newborn babies who may be septic, we may go even farther and draw urine out of the bladder with a needle inserted over the pubic bone (a suprapubic bladder tap) -- which may sound even more barbaric than the catheter, but the stakes are a lot higher in a newborn baby who doesn't have the defenses against infections that older children and adults have, and a suprapubic urine culture is postive if there are any bacteria growing in it -- no ifs, ands, or buts.
Once we have diagnosed a UTI we treat the patient with antibiotics. Typical antibiotics used for UTIs include trimethoprim-sulfamethoxamole, nitrofurantoin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, or their chemical relatives, and certain penicillins such as amoxicillin. In some cases, when we are pretty sure from the symptoms that you actually have a UTI, we will start antibiotics right after we get the urine culture; if the culture result shows that we need a different antibiotic, we can always change. We often repeat the culture 3-5 days after starting antibiotics to make sure that we are actually killing all the bacteria, and again soon after the antibiotics are finished to make sure we killed everything that needed killing.
We also need to make sure that the infection did not get beyond the bladder, or, if it did, that the kidneys haven't been damaged. This is usually done with "nuclear scans" in which a tiny amount of a radioactive medicine is injected into the patient's bloodstream, where it heads for the kidneys to be excreted. The medicine can be detected with radiation detecting cameras, giving a picture of the kidneys: damaged kidney tissue will appear on the picture. (Older methods involving X-rays don't produce pictures nearly as good as the nuclear scan pictures, and expose you to much more radiation. The amount of radiation involved in nuclear kidney scans is much less than even standard X-rays would give.)
Ultrasound images of the kidneys, ureter, and bladder can show abscesses that may be present, as well as abnormalities in the "plumbing" (such as duplicate ureters or blocked ureters). It won't necessarily show the source of microscopic bleeding, but if the bleeding is microscopic it may stop after the infection is treated and we may never know precisely where the blood was entering the urine.
A voiding cystourethrogram, or "VCUG", is an X-ray of the kidneys and bladder taken after a "contrast medium" (a medicine which blocks X-rays) is injected into the bladder through a catheter in the urethra. We use the VCUG to look for reflux: if there is reflux, the contrast medium will go up into the ureters, and perhaps the kidneys it the reflux is severe, and this will be visible on the X-rays. As you can imagine, this isn't very comfortable for the patient, but the VCUG is the only practical way to find out if there is reflux. If reflux is bad enough, surgery can improve valve function and reduce reflux in some patients. Milder cases of reflux will often improve as a child grows; for intermediate grades of reflux we may decide to give a child low doses of antibiotics until the reflux improves (which may take several months). The antibiotics we use to treat UTIs are excreted from the body through the kidney and urine -- in fact, that's why we use those antibiotics -- so even low doses give levels of the antibiotic in the urine that are high enough to kill the few bacteria that might stray into the bladder, and resistance isn't as much of a problem as it might otherwise be.

breast infection/mastitis

Breast infection most commonly affects women between the ages of 18 and 50 and is much less common than it used to be. Breast infection can be split into two groups: those which occur in women who are breastfeeding and that which occurs spontaneously

Mastitis is an infection of the tissue of the breast that occurs most frequently during the time of breastfeeding. This infection causes pain, swelling, redness, and increased temperature of the breast. It can occur when bacteria, often from the baby's mouth, enter a milk duct through a crack in the nipple. This causes an infection and painful inflammation of the breast.
Breast infections most commonly occur one to three months after the delivery of a baby, but they can occur in women who have not recently delivered as well as in women after menopause. Other causes of infection include chronic mastitis and a rare form of cancer called inflammatory carcinoma.
The breast is composed of several glands and ducts that lead to the nipple and the surrounding colored area called the areola. The milk–carrying ducts extend from the nipple into the underlying breast tissue like the spokes of a wheel. Under the areola are lactiferous ducts. These fill with milk during lactation after a woman has a baby. When a girl reaches puberty, changing hormones cause the ducts to grow and cause fat deposits in the breast tissue to increase. The glands that produce milk (mammary glands) that are connected to the surface of the breast by the lactiferous ducts may extend to the armpit area (axilla).
A breast infection that leads to an abscess (a localized pocket or collection of pus) is a more serious type of infection. If mastitis is left untreated, an abscess can develop in the breast tissue. This type of infection may require surgical drainage.


Non-breastfeeding infection:
Women who are not breastfeeding can still develop infection. The most common site affected is the area close to the nipple. Most women who get this type of infection are in their late 20s and early 30s and about 90 per cent of them smoke cigarettes.It seems that something in cigarette smoke damages the duct underneath the nipple and causes it to become infected. This condition is called periductal mastitis and causes pain and redness around the nipple and there is sometimes an associated lump.Antibiotics will get rid of the infection, but if the duct underneath the nipple is damaged, then it is likely that the infection will recur. If you do get recurrent episodes of infection, then you may have to have an operation to remove the diseased duct or ducts.



Causes :
Mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue) is a common benign cause of a breast mass. It is commonly seen in women after childbirth while breastfeeding. These masses are often quite painful. Women who are not breastfeeding can also develop mastitis. In healthy women, mastitis is rare. However, women with diabetes, chronic illness, AIDS, or an impaired immune system may be more susceptible to the development of mastitis.
Bacteria normally found in a baby's mouth or on the nipple can enter the milk ducts through small cracks in the skin of the nipple and can multiply rapidly in the breast milk. This can lead to a superficial small area of inflammation (frequently from streptococcal bacteria) or a deeper walled–off infection or abscess (frequently from staphylococcal bacteria).
Mild temperature elevations (previously termed milk fever) accompanied by some breast or nipple soreness is usually secondary to engorgement and dehydration immediately (24–72 hours) after delivery and is treated by improved breastfeeding technique. The body temperature should not be above 39°C (102.2°F), nor should the fever persist for longer than about 4–16 hours. This condition may also occur in women who are not breastfeeding and have not completely suppressed lactation yet.
About one to three percent of breastfeeding mothers develop mastitis, usually within the first few weeks after delivery. Most breast infections occur within the first or second month after delivery or at the time of weaning. Typically, the infection is only in one breast. Engorgement and incomplete breast emptying can contribute to the problem and make the symptoms worse.
Chronic mastitis occurs in women who are not breastfeeding. In postmenopausal women, breast infections may be associated with chronic inflammation of the ducts below the nipple. Hormonal changes in the body can cause the milk ducts to become clogged with dead skin cells and debris. These clogged ducts make the breast more prone to bacterial infection. This type of infection tends to come back after treatment with antibiotics.


Symptoms :
Infection: Breast infections may cause pain, redness, and warmth of the breast along with the following symptoms:
-Tenderness and swelling
-Body aches
-Fatigue
-Breast engorgement
-Fever and chills
-Rigor or shaking
Abscess: Sometimes a breast abscess can complicate mastitis. Harmless, noncancerous masses such as abscesses are more often tender and frequently feel mobile beneath the skin. The edge of the mass is usually regular and well defined. Indications that this more serious infection has occurred include the following:
-Tender lump in the breast that does not get smaller after breastfeeding a newborn (If the abscess is deep in the breast, you may not be able to feel it). The mass may be moveable and/or compressible.
-Pus draining from the nipple
-Persistent fever and no improvement of symptoms within 48–72 hours of treatment

UTERINE CANCER

The uterus or womb is the major female reproductive organ of most mammals, including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina; the other is connected on both sides to the fallopian tubes. The term uterus is commonly used within the medical and related professions, whilst womb is in more common usage. The plural of uterus is uteri.

The uterus is located in the lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The uterus is also called the womb. It is pear-shaped, and the lower, narrow end of the uterus is the cervix. When a woman is pregnant, the baby grows in the uterus until he or she is born.
On each side of the uterus at the top are the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Together, the uterus, vagina, ovaries, and fallopian tubes make up the reproductive system.

Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. Cells make up tissues, and tissues make up the organs of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old and die, new cells take their place.
Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.
Tumors can be benign or malignant:
Benign tumors are not cancer. Usually, doctors can remove them. Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. In most cases, benign tumors do not come back after they are removed. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life


Benign conditions of the uterus
Fibroids are common benign tumors that grow in the muscle of the uterus. They occur mainly in women in their forties. Women may have many fibroids at the same time. Fibroids do not develop into cancer. As a woman reaches menopause, fibroids are likely to become smaller, and sometimes they disappear. Usually, fibroids cause no symptoms and need no treatment. But depending on their size and location, fibroids can cause bleeding, vaginal discharge, and frequent urination. Women with these symptoms should see a doctor. If fibroids cause heavy bleeding, or if they press against nearby organs and cause pain, the doctor may suggest surgery or other treatment.
Endometriosis is another benign condition that affects the uterus. It is most common in women in their thirties and forties, especially in women who have never been pregnant. It occurs when endometrial tissue begins to grow on the outside of the uterus and on nearby organs. This condition may cause painful menstrual periods, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and sometimes loss of fertility (ability to get pregnant), but it does not cause cancer. Women with endometriosis may be treated with hormones or surgery.
Endometrial hyperplasia is an increase in the number of cells in the lining of the uterus. It is not cancer. Sometimes it develops into cancer. Heavy menstrual periods, bleeding between periods, and bleeding after menopause are common symptoms of hyperplasia. It is most common after age 40.To prevent endometrial hyperplasia from developing into cancer, the doctor may recommend surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) or treatment with hormones (progesterone) and regular followup exams

Malignant tumors are cancer. They are generally more serious and may be life threatening. Cancer cells can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Also, cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. That is how cancer cells spread from the original (primary) tumor to form new tumors in other organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.


Studies have found the following risk factors:
Age. Cancer of the uterus occurs mostly in women over age 50.
Endometrial hyperplasia. The risk of uterine cancer is higher if a woman has endometrial hyperplasia. This condition and its treatment are described above.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT is used to control the symptoms of menopause, to prevent osteoporosis (thinning of the bones), and to reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke.Women who use estrogen without progesterone have an increased risk of uterine cancer. Long-term use and large doses of estrogen seem to increase this risk. Women who use a combination of estrogen and progesterone have a lower risk of uterine cancer than women who use estrogen alone. The progesterone protects the uterus.Women should discuss the benefits and risks of HRT with their doctor. Also, having regular checkups while taking HRT may improve the chance that the doctor will find uterine cancer at an early stage, if it does develop.
Obesity and related conditions. The body makes some of its estrogen in fatty tissue. That's why obese women are more likely than thin women to have higher levels of estrogen in their bodies. High levels of estrogen may be the reason that obese women have an increased risk of developing uterine cancer. The risk of this disease is also higher in women with diabetes or high blood pressure (conditions that occur in many obese women).
Tamoxifen. Women taking the drug tamoxifen to prevent or treat breast cancer have an increased risk of uterine cancer. This risk appears to be related to the estrogen-like effect of this drug on the uterus. Doctors monitor women taking tamoxifen for possible signs or symptoms of uterine cancer.The benefits of tamoxifen to treat breast cancer outweigh the risk of developing other cancers. Still, each woman is different. Any woman considering taking tamoxifen should discuss with the doctor her personal and family medical history and her concerns.
Race. White women are more likely than African-American women to get uterine cancer.
Colorectal cancer. Women who have had an inherited form of colorectal cancer have a higher risk of developing uterine cancer


A woman should see her doctor if she has any of the following symptoms:
-Unusual vaginal bleeding or discharge
-Difficult or painful urination
-Pain during intercourse
-Pain in the pelvic area
These symptoms can be caused by cancer or other less serious conditions. Most often they are not cancer, but only a doctor can tell for sure.

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