Nail fungus is a common condition that causes nails to become thickened and rather unsightly, sometimes being painful as well. There are a lot of reasons for contracting nail fungus. These include catching it from another fungal condition present on the body, athlete’s foot for example; catching a fingernail fungus from toenail fungus, and vice-versa; fingernail infections can occur if the hands are washed frequently or are immersed in water a lot – this damages the protective skin at the base of the nail, making it easier for infection to enter; a recently damaged nail; having a general poor state of health or other conditions such as diabetes, psoriasis or circulatory issues; more common in hot and humid regions; and, smoking.

Nail Fungus

Commonly, just one nail is infected with the condition, but several can become affected. Initially, infection is painless and the nail may appear discolored and thickened. Usually, this is all that occurs with no other symptoms, but it does, and can, look unsightly. Occasionally though, the infection can become worse. When this happens the whole nail could come away; bits of the nail could fall off; skin adjoining the nail can become inflamed; and, patches could form under the nail. Left untreated, the fungus could destroy the nailbed and the nail itself, while being very painful.

Treatments for nail fungus include antifungal tablets, antifungal nail paint, or nail removal to allow a new nail to form.

Syphilis is most often a sexually transmitted disease, although it can be passed on through injecting drugs into a vein, from an infected pregnant woman to the unborn infant (congenital syphilis), or through blood transfusions.  It cannot be passed through casual person to person contact, i.e. touching, sharing toilet facilities or sharing things such as cutlery, etc.

Syphilis can be quite dangerous as it can lie in the body undetected and then resurface many years later affecting organs such as the eyes, brain, heart or nervous system.

Syphilis

Primary syphilis starts with painless sores on the skin which are very contagious.  These sores are known as chancres and can if another person comes into contact with these typically during sexual contact, then they will more than likely contract the syphilis infection.

Typically, between two to ten weeks later, more symptoms will appear and this is known as secondary syphilis.  These symptoms include tiredness, headaches, sore throat and skin rashes.  These symptoms will then disappear but the infection can lie dormant for many years and can then return causing organ damage and even organ failure.

Primary syphilis can be quite mild and therefore the patient may not know they even have the disease before passing it on.  It can be treated with antibiotics.

Abstaining from sex is the only definite way to avoid catching the syphilis infection.  However condoms do offer protection.  Sex toys should never be shared.

A headache involves having mild to severe pain in a specific, or many, areas of the head or back of the neck. Countless “types” of headache exist, all caused by a variety of reasons, and although they can be painful and rather annoying, they are, for the most part, not a sign of a serious disorder and in most non-chronic situations can be treated and relieved by medicines.

Although there is no single cause of a headache, several causes have so far been identified by the medical community and these can fall into two main categories – tension headaches and migraine headaches. Tension headaches are the result of contraction of the neck and head muscles and are the most common type of headache, accounting for nearly seventy percent of cases. Some causes of muscle contraction linked with tension headaches include stress, fatigue, eye strain, poor posture, hormonal changes, and alcohol or tobacco use.

Migraine headaches occur when blood vessels located in the neck and head constrict, which therefore leads to decreased blood flow in them. Symptoms of migraine include a throbbing pain usually on one particular side of the head, along with a feeling of nausea and sensitivity to sound or light. Migraines are usually chronic and affect more women than men

Headache

Although for the most part headaches are not a sign of anything sinister, as mentioned above, there are certain symptoms that need to be looked at by a doctor or physician immediately. These include a sudden onset of headache accompanied by vomiting or nausea; recurring headaches which are accompanied by memory issues, tiredness and difficulty in concentrating; neck stiffness accompanied by high fever; fits; vision irregularities, i.e. light flashes; trouble controlling, or loss of feeling in, the limbs; and difficulty in communicating while being tired and apathetic.