Flatulence is the most common digestive disturbance.  Most people have some gas; however, if the gas begins to cause discomfort, it may be an indication of a more complex problem. Two causes of flatulence are swallowed air and gases liberated by putrefactive bacteria that are living on undigested food.  Both often occur simultaneously.  Excessive swallowing [...]

Constipation is a disorder causing decreased frequency of bowel movements resulting in waste matter remaining in the colon and becoming dry and difficult to expel.  Constipation may stem from a variety of causes.  Insufficient muscle tone in the intestinal or abdominal wall due to a lack of exercise; repeated failure to heed the signal to [...]

Backache may be a symptom of a variety of disturbances in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones or underlying organs.  “Lumbago” is a general term frequently used to describe pain in the lower back. A few of the many underlying causes of backache are arthritis, osteoporosis, infection and fever, tumor, peptic ulcer, emotional tension or stress, [...]

Epilepsy is a disease characterized by seizures.  There are two forms of seizures.  A sensory seizure involves only a change in sensation or a loss of consciousness, while a convulsive seizure (convulsion) involves abnormal muscular behavior.  Epileptic seizures are caused by an electrical disturbance in the nerve cells in one section of the brain and [...]

Sound travels through three different sections of the ear.  The outer ear passes incoming sound waves to the eardrum located in the middle ear.  The middle ear transfers these sounds through three tiny bones that vibrate a fluid in the cochlea, which is located in the inner ear.  The cochlea has tiny hairs protruding from [...]