The deviantART Community contains a variety of life situations, cultures, and maladies. Each month of the calendar year is dedicated to several issues of which we should be aware. Given the speed at which life tends to stay in, we have a tendency to neglect such issues.
The intent of this article to to aid in your awareness of these issues.

Arthritis

About
Arthritis is a term meaning "joint inflammation." Inflammation includes swelling, pain, stiffness, and can lead to tissue damage. Arthritis can occur in any joint, mainly hands and feet, and even the skin and internal organs. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout are three of the more common one hundred and over types of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis, the most common of all, is due to cartilage covering bone ends to gradually wear away causing bones to rub against each other creating friction tat leads to pain.
Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system attacks itself and causes the joint lining to swell. Over time this will damage cartilage and bone.
Gout comes about when the body is unable to remove uric acid. This excess of the acid will cause needle-like crystals to form in the joints resulting in swelling.

Symptoms
Each type of arthritis has different symptoms and each person will experience varying levels of severity. Symptoms include:
-Fatigue
-Fever
-Rash
-Joint Inflammation; swelling, pain, stiffness, tenderness, redness, warmth

Causes
There is no known cause for arthritis. How genetics and lifestyle play a role in the development in arthritis is being researched. Several risk factors have been pinned down and these are:
-Age
-Gender; occurring more often in women
-Obesity; causes extra stress for weight-bearing joints
-Work factors, repetitive movements or heavy lifting

Treatment
-Pain relief medication
-Hot/Cold Compress
-Exercise
-Surgery

Prevention
There is no guaranteed way to fully prevent arthritis. However, through eating healthy, maintain a proper weight, exercise, and practicing proper lifting and posture at work you can help to protect your joints and thus reduce your risk.

If you have any Literary or Visual artwork based on Arthritis please feel free to upload these to Community Projects > Awareness > 2009 > Arthritis Awareness

Stroke

About
Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is blocked or a blood vessel bursts. Men are at higher risk for stroke than women.
There are two types of stroke.
Ischemic strokes are triggered by blood blots in the brain. These clots can either be thrombus, which is stationary, or embolus, which travel through the bloodstream. This is the most common type of stroke with 8 out of 10 strokes being ischemic.
Cerebral Hemorrhage strokes are caused by bleeding in the brain. This bleeding can come from a brain aneurysm that ruptures or when a weak blood vessel in the brain starts to leak. Bleeding strokes have a higher fatality rate than that of ischemic strokes at 80% of the time.

Symtoms
-Sudden physical weakness
-Paralysis of face, arm, or leg
-Trouble seeing or double vision
-Dizziness
-Difficulty speaking
-Confusion
-Severe headache



Causes
Other than bleeding and blood clots in the brain, other factors are:
-High cholesterol
-High blood pressure
-Heart disease
-Obesity
-Drug abuse
-Smoking
-Consuming a great amount of alcohol
-Birth control pills
-Family history

Treatment
Time is of the essence as brain cells die within minutes.
-A clot busting drug that is administered within 3 hours of onset of stroke symptoms.
-Surgery
-Rehabilitation; various forms of therapy to regain skills needed for everyday living.

Prevention
-Stop smoking
-Eat healthy
-Exercise
-Take medication as directed by your doctor

If you have any Literary or Visual artwork based on Strokes please feel free to upload these to Community Projects > Awareness > 2009 > Stroke Awareness

Good day!

Thanks to WebMD for the information in this article.