Migraine is a type of headache. It comes with severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head and is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can cause significant pain lasting for hours, sometimes even days. The pain can be so severe that it can adversely affect a person’s day-to-day functioning and quality of life.

Autism is a syndrome that leads to disturbance in a child’s behaviour and normal development. Typically, a parent will observe that their child is different from other children of his/her age group in the way he/she behaves, speaks (or the lack of it) and performs daily activities as compared to an average child.

Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disabilities that cause difficulty in social interaction, communication and limited or repetitive activities.

An acute disease appears suddenly and lasts for a short amount of time. This is different from chronic diseases, which develop gradually and remain for months on end. Some examples include the influenza virus and the common cold.

Acute diseases can include these common symptoms/conditions:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Cough/bronchitis
• Sneezing & runny nose
• Earache
• Sinus infection
• Rash
• Pink eye
• Urinary tract infections
• Yeast infections
• Headache
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Earache

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that causes disorientation and behavioral changes, and obstructs memory, thinking, and judgment. Symptoms usually develop slowly and worsen over time. Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging.

In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, memory loss is mild, but in its late-stage, individuals lose the ability to complete daily tasks, carry on a conversation, and respond to their environment. Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those with Alzheimer's disease live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable. However, depending on age and other health conditions, survival can range from four to 20 years.

Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs. Asthma occurs at any age but is more common in children than adults. Nationally, nearly one in 13 school-age children have asthma, and that rate is rising more rapidly in preschool-aged children and those living in urban inner cities than in any other group. Although there is no cure for asthma, asthma attacks can be prevented and controlled with proper care. India is actively working with health care providers, community coalitions, schools, families and many others to fight asthma so people with asthma can live a full and active life.

Obesity is a chronic health condition of being above normal body weight. It is a risk factor for other chronic diseases such as arthritis, stroke, heart attack, asthma, Type 2 diabetes, and other social and emotional issues. Obesity is often related to a person’s lifestyle such as:

• Lack of physical activity.
• High fat/calorie diet.

Heart attack is a blockage of blood flow to the heart. Its warning signs may include:

• Shortness of breath.
• Irregular heartbeats.
• Dizziness.
• Nausea.
• Uncomfortable pressure or pain in the chest.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are above normal. Much of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin that helps glucose get into the cells of our bodies, where it can be used for energy.

When someone has diabetes, the body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in the blood. There are two major types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Before people develop diabetes, they almost always have prediabetes – blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Diabetes can cause serious health problems called complications, including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

Stroke is a blockage of blood flow to the brain. Its signs include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Arthritis is the “wear and tear” on the joints such as the knees, hips and wrists. Its early signs include:

• Joint pain after sitting for a short time or when waking up.
• Stiffness at joints.
• Tenderness and redness at joints.
• Swelling at joints.

Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the body. Its risk factors include:

• Excessive exposure to sunlight.
• Lack of physical activity.
• Family history.
• Exposure to certain chemicals.
• Poor diet.

Diabetes is a hormonal disorder where the body isn’t able to properly use/produce a hormone called insulin which helps break glucose in our food to convert it to energy. High levels of unregulated glucose in the bloodstream can damage the kidneys, eyes, nerves, even cause cardiac arrests. Depending on the inability to use or produce insulin, diabetes has been divided into two types: Type I and Type II. There is also another condition called prediabetes, where an individual’s blood sugar levels are higher than the normal level, however, these raised levels are not enough to diagnose a patient with diabetes.