Addison's Disease: Causes, Symptoms And Treatment by James S Pendergraft

Addison's disease can be a common ailment. It happens when the adrenal glands are not producing a sufficient amount of steroid hormones. This kind of production can be found through medical imaging and blood tests. This disease has got this name from Thomas Addison, the famous doctor who found the malaria disease. The disease can be cured through provision of hormones like oral hydrocortisone to the patient.

There can be many causes of this disease which include dysgenesis which means an inadequate formation of the gland and the production can't happen normally. Sometimes, steroidogenesis can also cause this disease which means inability of the adrenal glands to produce cortisol.

This disease is caused due to the lack of this hormone only. Since the symptoms don't reveal themselves easily, this ailment can't be detected so easily however the patient may experience some symptoms like fatigue, fever and weight loss. Patients also suffer from low energy while standing up and hence don't find it easy to do so. Individuals also develop a desire for consuming salt foods because sodium gets washed out of the urine. So, salt which is rich sources of sodium can fulfill their desires. The patients also experience some tanning of the skin because the inability of the glands causes hyperpigmentation which manifests as tanning.

Low blood pressure is caused when someone tries to stand up. There can be many causes of this disease which include impaired steroidogenesis. It's because the adrenal gland needs cholesterol for producing steroid hormones. But, lack of cholesterol causes an impairment of steroid production. The lack of cholesterol to the adrenal gland can be caused by abetalipoproteinemia and Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

The disease can be treated by introducing cortisone in the body. So, the hormones can be introduced in the form of tablets. The patient must follow a strict diet and sometimes for the rest of his life. Sometimes, the injections of such cortisones can also be increased when the patient is pregnant or is suffering from a kind of trauma. In fact, such doses also need to be more when a person has become infected. It's important that the patients of this disease have the cortisone injections so that they can be cured if they become injured. They should also have some identification tag so that someone else can know that they have the disease if they become unconscious. So, the tag lets someone know that the patient needs a cortisone injection. This tag can also have the telephone number and name of the relative. The best forms of cure are needle, cortisol and syringe. Sometimes, during stress, patients need more medication and they should be aware of the process.

Sometimes, patients who suffer from this ailment also experience vomiting. They can't be administered tablets of oral hydrocortisone, so they have to take injections. Sometimes, attention by doctors is required when vomiting or diarrhea starts happening due to this ailment.