We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Below we will list the departments and units that form part of Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the main diseases that we treat. We will also make recommendations based on advice backed up by scientific evidence that has been shown to be effective in guaranteeing well-being and quality of life.
Vols saber com serà la teva estada a l’Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron? Aquí trobaràs tota la informació.
It is essential for patients to actively participate in the monitoring and treatment of their disease to increase their personal satisfaction and autonomy. Having reliable, verifiable information is also of great help in managing the disease.
Hereditary angioedema is such a rare disease that it is little-known even among healthcare workers. This means that in this case the patients themselves particularly need to know how to act in the event of an emergency, especially when they are not in their usual environment or are far away from their medical team.
It is advisable, as far as possible, to avoid possible triggers or aggravators of attacks:
The following symptoms indicate a suspected case:
The doctor must make a correct differential diagnosis in order to rule out other causes, such as appendicitis.
In this case it is important to remain calm and follow the doctor’s instructions. Here is some general advice:
1. Ask someone to help you explain what is happening to you.
2. Have the clinical report issued to you by your doctor at the ready.
3. If you have rescue or emergency medication (intravenous Berinert® or Cinryze®, or subcutaneous Firazyr®):
a) If you have been taught how, self-administer it in accordance with the instructions.
b) If you cannot administer it yourself, take it with you to the health centre.
4. Go to your nearest health centre for emergency treatment.
5. Make an appointment with your specialist once the immediate crisis has been dealt with.
In the case of a significant symptom burden in type I and II angioedemas, C1-INH may be administered as a prophylaxis.
TRANSFUSIONS – CAN I GIVE BLOOD?
It is not advisable for patients with hereditary angioedema of any type or acquired C1-inhibitor deficiency to donate blood.
LONG OR FOREIGN TRIPS
We recommend you take an up-to-date copy of the clinical report issued by your doctor with you. It is a good idea to have the report translated into the language of your destination or English.
Find out where the nearest healthcare centre is.
Always carry rescue or emergency medication with you and make sure it has not expired. Have your medical report to hand at security controls at airports or railway stations to avoid problems.
DIET
You do not have a follow a special diet because it is not an allergic oedema and it is not caused or triggered by a food allergy.
Diet does not have any impact on the evolution of the disease. You should, of course, follow the healthy diet recommendations issued to everyone.
After suffering a stroke, the patient may live with physical or cognitive after-effects and complications. Despite rehabilitation, complete recovery is not always achieved and secondary disabilities that affect movement, coordination, or control may remain.
It is important to keep in mind the fact that, beyond the physical aspects, the patient may also suffer psychological problems that will need treatment.
Patients who have suffered a stroke may experience a variety of limitations and complications that can hinder optimal recovery. The most common after-effects are:
These include all injuries or complications that affect the patient’s body. The most common are related to motor deficits, sensory or language disorders and urinary incontinence:
Although less common, other injuries such as problems with sight, central pain, or infections can also occur.
During recovery, rehabilitation, or later on, mood swings may be noticed. These usually occur in the first three months after a stroke, although there are cases where they occur later. Symptoms are similar to other depressions: problems sleeping, difficulty concentrating, and reduced appetite. The most common psychological problems are depression and anxiety. Depression usually occurs in one in three patients, and is more common in women and patients with previous problems with depression, psychiatric disorders or social isolation or poor family structure. Emotional instability, apathy, irritability, and lack of awareness can also occur following a stroke.
In this case, the most common cognitive impairment occurs in the form of dementia, attention deficit, and decreased memory. There are also patients who present with problems relating to orientation, difficulty in planning, and organising tasks.
All of these factors have an impact on the patient’s family. In 60% of cases, the person who assumes the role of caregiver suffers from overload and anxiety at discharge. It is important:
A stroke is considered a medical emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and treatment. If you suspect a stroke, you must act as quickly as possible, as brain cells that die are not recovered and their function will stay damaged.
Therefore, if you think a person might be suffering a stroke, you should carry out three quick tests and, if at least one gives reason for concern, you should contact 112 urgently.
Every minute, 1.9 million neurons and 14 trillion neural connections are lost: one hour means 3.6 years of brain aging and a loss of 120 million neurons. If you suspect a person may be having a stroke, call 112 quickly. Before medical services arrive:
Pain is a phenomenon that involves several different realms: biology , psychology, and social relations. It’s triggered when the body’s alarm system tells the brain that it’s in danger of being injured, whether this danger is real or not.
We feel pain when the brain “reaches the conclusion” that it is in danger and that it needs to do something, which sometimes involves activating the “pain programme”. In this context, it is crucial to discover why the brain reaches the conclusion that there is a threat.
Feeling pain does not always mean that there is any damage or injury. We can feel it without there being an injury. For example, when we see our child fall and hurt themselves. But there can also be an injury without pain; have you ever had a wound or scratch appear and not even remembered or felt it when you hurt yourself?
The intensity of pain is not related to how bad the injury to the tissues is. Does the same punch hurt the same every time and the same for everyone? Do the stitches from a C-section hurt the same for everyone?
Pain is generated in the brain, not in the tissues. We have “danger sensors” throughout our bodies that send signals to the brain, which will use that information and other factors to decide whether to activate the pain or fatigue programme.
It is always the brain that decides whether to generate pain or not. 100% of the time, if it believes itself to be in danger, it will decide to do so based on several variables: context, previous experience, beliefs, emotions, etc.
Patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome might feel more pain than other people or might feel pain in response to stimuli that do not normally trigger pain, such as a caress.
These processes occur because the brain activates the pain or fatigue programme to protect the individual from the danger it believes there to be, even though this danger does not really exist, as the brain interprets reality incorrectly.
Pain is always real, it is not consciously brought on, nor is it made-up, nor is it a figment of people’s imaginations. It is not a psychological problem. Someone who suffers from fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue is not to blame for their condition, but they are responsible for being involved in their treatment using active strategies.
The first step towards getting better is understanding what is happening in your brain and what is causing your pain. Do not let pain dictate your life and limit what you can do.
Anaemia is the manifestation of a disorder in which there is a reduction in the amount of red blood cells in the blood. It can occur due to a loss of these or due to a decrease in their production in the bone marrow for various reasons, with the most common being the lack of iron needed to produce haemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that gives the blood its red colour. This protein allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
Anaemia patients' bodies do not get enough oxygen-rich blood. As a result, symptoms such as feeling tired or weak, as well as dizziness or headache appear. If left untreated, severe or prolonged anaemia can cause damage to the heart, brain and other organs of the body.
Your doctor may ask you if you have any of the signs or symptoms of anaemia, or if you have had a disease or health problem that may cause it.
In order to give the precise indications to the doctor and for them to be able to make a quick diagnosis of the case, it is necessary to give:
Treatment of anaemia depends on the type, cause and severity of the disease. Treatment may consist of:
The goal of treatment is to increase the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry. This increase is achieved by increasing the number of red blood cells or the concentration of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that is rich in iron and carries oxygen to the body's cells.
Another goal is to treat the underlying disease or the cause of the anaemia.
Changes in diet and nutritional supplements:
Blood transfusion may be necessary at times, although this should be assessed by the physician.
It is possible to prevent repeated episodes of certain types of anaemia, especially those due to a lack of iron or vitamins. Making dietary changes or taking supplements recommended by your doctor can prevent these types of anaemia from returning.
Treating the cause can prevent anaemia (or keep it from recurring). For example, if a medicine is causing the patient to become anaemic, the doctor may prescribe another type of medication.
To prevent anaemia from getting worse, patients need to explain all their signs and symptoms in detail to their doctor. It is also recommended to ask what tests should be done and to adhere to the treatment plan.
Some types of hereditary anaemias, such as sickle cell anaemia, cannot be prevented. In the case of hereditary anaemia, patients need to consult their doctor about treatment and ongoing care.
Children and teenagers with ADHD can have serious difficulties in their academic performance. Multi-modal treatment offers the best results. This means coordinating pharmacological, psychological and psychopedagogical treatments.
Parents and teachers are key to helping to minimise the symptoms and effects of these treatment methods on academic performance. Below, we offer some advice both for parents and schools with the aim of improving learning.
Use self-instruction strategies, which are messages that we give to ourselves internally and that allow us to modulate our behaviour. Some examples:
The kidneys benefit from a healthy diet, from a relatively high intake of water and from avoiding tobacco. Regular bowel and bladder movements are also essential. Constipation and delaying urination are both damaging to kidney function. Plain water without anything dissolved in it is necessary for good kidney function, apart from liquids such as milk and broth and drinks such as tea and coffee. The amount of urine a healthy person produces varies depending on how much water they drink, the air temperature, whether they are at rest or doing exercise, etc. A healthy adult would normally required 1 to 2 litres per day. Kidney function does not necessarily improve if excessive water is consumed.
Exercise and a diet rich in fibre encourage healthy bowel and bladder movements and improve kidney function. In terms of related conditions, often diabetes, good metabolic control of the diabetes is essential to preserve good kidney function. Controlling arterial pressure, which often has an unknown cause, is also vital to maintain good kidney function.
Gastroenteritis is an infection that causes diarrhoea, an increase in loose stools. It is normally accompanied by vomiting, fever and stomach ache.
Every time the child passes diarrhoea or vomits they lose fluids and they need to replace them orally (by drinking). To achieve this, electrolyte solutions can be used.
If the child is vomiting, they will need to drink the solution bit by bit (one teaspoon every 5 minutes). If they are not vomiting, increase the amount gradually.
When they are not vomiting, offer them small amounts of food. Never force them to eat and make sure they drink plenty of fluids between meals.
The child should not be fasting. Offer them food without forcing them to eat. Infants with gastroenteritis normally lose some of their appetite. If they are breastfeeding, the number of feeds should be increased. Milk bottles should continue to be given in the normal doses, they should not be diluted.
A dry diet is not necessary, soft foods can be eaten if preferred. The foods that tend to be tolerated better are cereals (rice and wheat), potatoes, bread, lean meat, vegetables, fish, yoghurt and fruit. Avoid foods that are difficult to digest, with lots of fat and sugar.
To recover lost fluids, do not use homemade solutions or commercial drinks. Solutions prepared specifically for rehydration are recommended.
Do not administer medications for vomiting or diarrhoea without consulting a paediatrician.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative illness.
Nowadays, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in older people. The families of people with this illness often have to adapt to the new situation. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, here are some tips:
This illness manifests itself in cognitive deterioration and behavioural disorders, resulting in a high degree of dependency. In the majority of cases, the family looks after the person and within the family, in 76% of cases, a woman is the main carer. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, bear in mind these tips:
Migraines are a type of chronic headache characterised by repeated, very intense episodes that may stop the affected person from carrying out their daily activities. It is a very debilitating illness.
The World Health Organization considers a day with this illness to be as debilitating as tetraparesis, and it is considered the seventh most debilitating illness, in terms of years lost, suffering and lack of productivity.
You need to learn how a brain with a migraine functions: how a migraine manifests itself, what makes you more likely to suffer attacks or why it gives you a headache. This information is essential for managing the predisposition to suffer a migraine.
To manage the illness it is useful to put together a diary featuring the days and the scales to quantify the level of disability and the impact of the migraine on the patient’s life. Using the valuable data in these records, medical personnel are able to advise the best treatment for the person affected.
A migraine diary allows:
On the website www.midolordecabeza.org you will find, alongside online diaries for you to fill in, other patients, families and doctors interested in learning about migraines and other types of headache. As well as different resources to better control and manage migraines, with tips and blogs, there is also a forum to share your experiences.
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