General medicine

General Medicine is a speciality of medicine which is involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide range of both acute and chronic diseases affecting different parts of the body. General medicine deals with different diseases from head to toe. Doctors specializing in general or internal medicine are called Physicians. Normally, General Physicians indulge in the following works.

• Diagnosing and treating a wide range of health disorders and referring to specialists’ opinions if necessary.
• Providing care and advice to the in-patients who are under the other specialists.
• Provide general and preventive medicines to adults of all ages.
• Manages physical conditions like asthma, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
• General medicine also concentrates on providing preventive care such as immunizations, health counselling and sports physicals.

Family Physician

Family Physicians possess unique skills to provide comprehensive medical care to all members of the family irrespective of ages, gender, and diseases. A family physician or family practice acquires speciality training beyond normal medical training and possess in-depth knowledge of adults and pediatric medicine. A family physician plays an important role in providing universal health care to the family and community.

What diseases are treated under General Medicine?

General Medicine deals with almost all range of both acute and chronic diseases including fever, asthma, heart disease, liver problems, hypertension, neurological problems, and other ailments. Here are some of the lists of diseases diagnosed and treated by a general physician:

Fever- Fever is the most common disease affecting people. To evaluate fever, your doctor may ask medical history and symptoms. The doctor conducts a physical examination and recommends undergoing a blood test if necessary. For low-grade fever, the doctor may not prescribe many medications. For high fever, medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen are given.

Asthma- It’s a chronic disease which affects the airways of the lungs. This condition makes the airway narrow, swell and produces extra mucus. This creates difficulty in breathing, causes wheezing and cough. For some people, asthma is a major problem which troubles their daily normal activities and can also lead to an asthma attack.

Hypertension- Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common cardiovascular disease. For most adults, there is no specific reason to cause hypertension. The blood pressure tends to develop with increasing age. Secondary hypertension appears suddenly and causes high blood pressure. Thyroid problems, sleep apnea, kidney problems, certain drugs, and medications, etc can be a cause of secondary hypertension.

Thyroid malfunctions- Thyroid gland is responsible for the metabolic process in the body. Thus the disorders in thyroid gland slow down the body's metabolism rate. The most common thyroid problem is abnormal production of thyroid hormones which leads to conditions like hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. These problems may result in various physical problems such as weight loss or weight gain, excess fatigue and if it is left untreated it may lead to cancer.

Liver Diseases- Liver is an important organ which is essential for digesting food and eliminating toxic substances from our body. There are a variety of factors responsible for liver problems. Genetic factors, excess alcohol, viruses, drugs may severely affect the liver functioning. Untreated liver disease may lead to liver failure, which is a life-threatening condition.

Heart Diseases- There are many types of heart diseases which are caused due to the damages to parts of the heart, damages to coronary arteries or due to insufficient supply of nutrients and oxygen. Overweight, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, junk foods, etc., are some of the risk factors of heart disease. Heart disease can be treated with medications or surgery.

Apart from these diseases, high cholesterol, influenza, headache, chest pain, abdomen pain, cough, respiratory infections, pneumonia, anxiety, and other diseases are covered and treated under general medicine.