Schilling test (STD tests)

Schilling test

Definition

The Schilling test is used to determine whether the body absorbs vitamin B12 normally.

Alternative Names

Vitamin B12 absorption test

Why the Schilling test is Performed

The Schilling test is performed to check vitamin B12 absorption.

Intrinsic factor is produced in the stomach and is required for vitamin B12 absorption. If your body does not make intrinsic factor, you cannot absorb vitamin B12. The lack of intrinsic factor can lead to low levels of vitamin B12 because of pernicious anemia, partial removal of the stomach (gastrectomy), poor vitamin B12 absorption due to bowel disease, too much bacteria in the intestine, a lack of enough enzymes being produced by the pancreas, or certain medications. The Schilling test is most commonly used to evaluate patients for pernicious anemia.

The test can be falsely positive. Most of the time this is due to poor urine collection. Other reasons include kidney disease or problems with the lining of the small intestine.

More about medical testing.

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Vibra-Tabs

Generic name: Doxycycline hyclate
Brand names: Vibra-Tabs, Vibramycin, Doryx

Why is Vibra-Tabs prescribed?

Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic used against a wide variety of bacterial infections, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other fevers caused by ticks, fleas, and lice; urinary tract infections; trachoma (chronic infections of the eye); and some gonococcal infections in adults. It is an approved treatment for inhalational anthrax. It is also used with other medications to treat severe acne and amoebic dysentery (diarrhea caused by severe parasitic infection of the intestines).

Doxycycline may also be taken for the prevention of malaria on foreign trips of less than 4 months" duration.

Occasionally doctors prescribe doxycycline to treat early Lyme disease and to prevent "traveler"s diarrhea." These are not yet officially approved uses for Vibra-Tabs.

Most important fact about Vibra-Tabs

Generally, children under 8 years old and women in the last half of pregnancy should not take Vibra-Tabs. It may cause developing teeth to become permanently discolored. (However, children under 8 may be given Vibra-Tabs for inhalational anthrax.)

http://www.drugspedia.net/prep/46609.html

How is chlamydia treated?

How is chlamydia treated?

Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics.

Make sure your sexual partner also gets treatment. Otherwise, the treated partner becomes re-infected. Repeated infection can cause far worse fertility problems in women.

Not all antibiotics are effective. There are two major groups of antibiotics that work, so make sure you get one of these.

• Tetracyclines: the usual prescribed drug is doxycycline. One tablet should be taken twice a day for a week.
  
  
• Macrolides: azithromycin is the most convenient treatment because you take four tablets at the same time.
  
  

If you have chlamydia, do what you can to encourage any ex-partners to get tested. This infection can stay unrecognised for months, if not years.

How can I make sure I don't get chlamydia?

• Use condoms with new sexual partners.
  
  
• Before you stop using condoms, make sure you and your partner get checked out for STIs by your local GUM clinic or GP.
  
  

How common is chlamydia?

In the UK chlamydia infections are rising. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of chlamydia infections increased by 14 per cent, with an estimated 1 per cent of women aged 16-19 having the infection.

Overall the rates of chlamydia in other Western European countries are lower than those in the UK.

The higher number of cases in the UK may partly be due to the national screening programme for chlamydia being rolled out in England. This should identify more people with the infection. Similar initiatives are underway in Scotland.

There have been high profile education campaigns targeted at the younger age group as part of the screening programme. STIs are now discussed in school-based sex education programmes.

Are there any symptoms?

• cystitis
  
  
• change in vaginal discharge
  
  
• mild lower abdominal pain.
  
  

These are very 'non-specific’ symptoms and can be caused by other infections and diseases. If you go to a GP or family planning doctor with these symptoms, make sure you have a chlamydia test. You are entitled to ask for the test if you aren't offered it.

In men, chlamydia is the most common cause of discharge from the penis. Sometimes chlamydia can cause mild irritation at the tip of the penis (urethra) that disappears after two or three days.

Many men will wait to see if the discomfort goes away. While the discomfort may disappear, the man can still harbour the infection.

If in doubt, get tested. Otherwise, you could put yourself at risk of inflamed and swollen testicles, and pass chlamydia on to your partner.

What complications can chlamydia cause?

• In some women chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), also know as pelvic infection. It can damage the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the womb. The tubes may stop working properly and can become completely blocked.
  
  
• Chlamydia is the most common preventable cause of infertility in women. When the Fallopian tubes are blocked, no pregnancy is possible naturally. One option is IVF (in-vitro fertilisation), but availability on the NHS is patchy and has variable success rates.
  
  
• Women with damaged tubes do occasionally fall pregnant, but there is an increased risk of the pregnancy developing in the tubes rather than the womb. This is called an ectopic pregnancy. The tube can split apart causing serious pain and bleeding. This is an emergency, because the bleeding can be life threatening.
  
  
• Infection sometimes leads to pain in the lower abdomen that is often mistaken for some other problem rather than pelvic infection.
  
  
• Chlamydia infection can affect sperm function and male fertility. It is the most common cause of inflammation in the testicles and sperm-conducting tubes (epididymo-orchitis) in men under the age of 35. This causes pain, swelling and redness on the affected side of the scrotum, or on both sides.
  
  
• Chlamydia can also trigger joint inflammation in some men. Although this is uncommon, it can be difficult to treat.

What is chlamydia?

What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by a tiny bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis.

If you haven't heard of chlamydia, you're in good company – a substantial proportion of the UK population hasn't either.

Many people who are at risk of this infection don’t really know what it is, or understand it, even if they are aware of the name.

Why should I know about it?

Chlamydia is the most common STI in the UK. It affects both sexes, although young women are more at risk.

Chlamydia can be treated, but it often has no symptoms in either men or women, so remains undetected.

Infection may only be diagnosed once chlamydia has led to complications - when treatment can sometimes be too late to stop permanent damage.