A Simple guide to Stress

A Simple guide to Stress
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What is Stress?
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Stress is a very common condition characterised by exaggerated worry and tension.
People with stress worry excessively about money, health, family, or work, even though there are no signs of trouble.
They are unable to relax and may suffer from insomnia.

What are the common warning signs of stress?
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The signs vary from person to person.
Some of them are:

1. Headaches
2. fast heartbeats
3. Muscle tension; muscle aches
4. muscle tremors
5. Inability to concentrate
6. Stomach ache
7. Diarrhoea
8. Chest pain
9. Breathlessness; hyperventilation
10.Dry mouth
11.Excessive sweating
12.Cold clammy hands
13.Under eating or overeating
14.Anxiety or panic
15.Irritability
16.Hyperactivity
17.Loss of sex drive
18.Fatigue
19.Sense of impending doom
20.Difficulty in falling asleep or frequent nightmares

Other signs may include chills, thirst, dizziness, nausea, fainting, twitches, vomiting, weakness, stuttering,shaky and strained voice,high-pitch laughter and higher blood pressure.

Even for children of school-going age, there are stress.
Symptoms include:

1.Fear of being away from the family
2.Refusal to go to school
3.Fear of strangers
4.Fear of falling asleep or having recurrent nightmares
5.Unnecessary worry

What can we do to lower our stress level?
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There are some ways to manage Stress:

1.Be more organised.
Plan your time well.
Do a list of all the things you need to do.
Arrange them in order of importance.
Decide how much time you need for each job.
Keep to your plan.

2.Give yourself time to adjust from one change to another.
Spread out the changes in your life.
Don't do too many things at one time.

3.Always do your work according to your own ability and interest.
Be realistic about what you can do.
Do not ask for the impossible.
Set goals which are achievable so that you don't feel frustrated or discouraged.

4.Think before making decisions.
Get all the relevant information first.
Don't decide blindly.
Consider all the pros and cons of each choice.
Get the people who will be affected by the decision involved in the process.

5.Learn to like yourself.
Don't worry about your external appearance and other faults.
Make the best of what you have.
Accept what you cannot change.

6.AlwaysThink positively.
Prevent negative feelings from building up.
Try to find the source of these feelings.
Always deal constructively with them.
Do not blow things out of proportion.

7.Do not keep all your problems and worries to yourself.
Remember you are not alone.
Share your problems with your spouse, friend or supervisor .
They may have had experience with similar situations.
They may be able to solve your problem.

8.Always build a happy family.
Be kind and loving to your family.
They will provide you with love and support in your times of need.
Always set aside some time each day to talk, play or relax together.
Your home should be a happy place to return to after a hard day's work.

9.Have good friends.
You also need good friends to talk to and laugh with.
They will visit you, go out with you and help you in times of need.
Treat others the way you would like them to treat you.
Respect their views and be patient with their faults.
Always try to give and take.

10.A healthy body is important to overcome stress.
Keep healthy by exercising regularly, eating wisely and getting enough sleep.
Do not smoke or drink to relieve your stress.
Smoking and drinking do not solve anything.
They will cause more problems for your health.

11.Spend some time on yourself.
Do something that you really enjoy like a hobby or an exercise.
Take a short break when you feel tensed or tired.
You deserve to have a little fun sometimes.

12.Try to learn some Relaxation Techniques:
Deep breathing exercise,
meditation,
massage and
muscle relaxation techniques
can be helpful in relieving stress.

What is the Treatment of Stress?
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Stress can be treated with conventional medicine, psychotherapy and alternative approaches.
A combination of conventional and alternative methods has been shown to be effective.

Conventional Medicine
Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis helps to identify the buried conflicts and worries that may be causing the stress.

Behaviour modification, on the other hand, focuses on changing patterns of behaviour to help the patient avert stress or to cope better with it.

Cognitive therapy similarly concentrates on changing ways of thinking.

One of the best forms of treatment for stress is daily exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

Medication relieves symptoms of stress and is often prescribed in conjunction with other therapies.

Alternative Medicine:
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music therapy,
yoga,
herbs and
aromatherapy
are some ways that have helped stress sufferers to relax.

"Remember that you are not alone.
There are always people who are willing to help you.
In this life you must always give and take.
Be happy! Don't worry unnnecessarily!"

A Simple Guide to Parkinson's Disease

A Simple Guide to Parkinson's Disease
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What is Parkinson's Disease?
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Parkinson's Disease is a disorder of old age characterised by slow movement , rest tremors , rigidity and poor coordination.

Who gets Parkinson's Disease?
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Parkinson's Disease usually after the age of 50 years.
Incidence is about 0.2% of population.
It is one of the most common neurologic disorders of the elderly.
It affects both men and women equally.

What causes Parkinson's Disease?
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Parkinson's Disease results when the nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle movement (substantia nigra) are gradually destroyed.
Nerve cells use a brain chemical called dopamine to help send signals back and forth.
Damage in the area of the brain that controls muscle movement causes a decrease in dopamine production.
Low dopamine affects the balance between nerve-signalling substances (transmitters).
As a result, the nerve cells cannot properly send messages.
This results in the loss of muscle function.

What are the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease?
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Early symptoms may be nonspecific and may include numbness, painful and tender muscles, stiffness and weakness of limbs, fatigue and unexplained weight loss.

As the disease progresses, the classical features of Parkinson's Disease appear:
1. Bradykinesia(slowness of movement)
2. leadpipe rigidity
3. rest tremors
4. Postural instability

How is Parkinson's Disease diagnosed?
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Parkinson's Disease is diagnosed when there are at least 2 of the four classical features are present. To improve diagnostic accuracy, bradykinesia must be present.

1. Bradykinesia usually presents with lack of voluntary and automatic movement such as monotonous speech,
lack of facial expression,
Slow movements
Difficulty initiating any voluntary movement
Difficulty beginning to walk
Difficulty getting up from a chair
shuffling of feet movement

One way to demonstrate this is to have the patient tap his index finger on his thumb.
The movement is slow and lack momentum.

2. Rigidity of Parkinson's Disease is leadpipe in nature.
This rigidity contribute to the
mask like facial appearance,
Muscle rigidity
stiffness of posterior neck muscles,
diminished arm swing,
cogwheel rigidity of the wrists,
Difficulty bending arms or legs

3.Rest tremor is classical of Parkinson's Disease.
There is this resting or pill rolling tremors of the hand which is worsened by anxiety and fatigue and disappears when the hand is in use. Tremor is usually unilateral.

4. Postural instability usually occurs late in the illness.
It is seen in the
Unstable, stooped, or slumped-over posture
freezing gait,
retropulsion,
loss of balance and
frequent falls

Turning in bed, rising from the chair and turning when walking is difficult because of poor body and limbs coordination.

What are the other symptoms associated with Parkinson's Disease?
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Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:
Depression
Confusion
Dementia
Seborrhea (oily skin)
Loss of muscle function or feeling
Muscle atrophy
Memory loss
Drooling
Anxiety, stress, and tension

What are the Complications of Parkinson's Disease?
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Untreated Parkinson's Disease progresses to total disability, often accompanied by general deterioration of all brain functions, and may lead to an early death.

Treated, the disorder impairs people in varying ways.
Most people respond to some extent to medications.
The side effects of medications may be severe:
Varying degrees of disability
Difficulty swallowing or eating
Difficulty performing daily activities
Injuries from falls
A variety of gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly constipation
Daily activities such as bathing,dressing, walking and even writing may be difficult.

How is Parkinson's Disease treated?
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Parkinson's Disease is not curable and the purpose of treatment is to:
1. improve functions and
2. treat symptoms

Treatment of Parkinson's Disease can be broadly classified into:
1. Non-drug therapy:

Good general nutrition and health are important.
Exercises that improve strength, agility and flexibility are useful to minimise the disability of Parkinson's Disease.
A range of motion exercises is useful to keep the joints supple and mobile.
Patients are encouraged to exercise according to their ability.
Good exercises include walking,swimming, stretching and riding stationary bicycles.

Patients are taught sitting balance,walking techniques and the use of handrails. Activities of daily living is made more manageable with aids like:
Buttoning -replace buttons with Velcros
Eating -use utensils with large handles
Getting out of bed -install an overhead grab bar
Prevents falling -install hand bars in bedroom and bathroom. use nonslip mats.
Getting out of chair - use high seat chair
Railings or banisters placed in commonly used areas of the house may be of great benefit to the person experiencing difficulties with daily living activities.
Special eating utensils may also be helpful.

2. Drug therapy

There are 2 main types of drugs:
1. symptom modifying helps to alleviate the symptoms but do not change the natural history of the conditions.
depression
insomnia
constipation,
dysphagia,
urinary frequency

2. disease modifying drugs such as:
Levodopa may be used to increase the body's supply of dopamine, which may improve movement and balance.
Artane -is particularly good for reducing tremors
Jumex- is used in early Parkinson's Disease and helps reduce bradykinesia
Bromocriptine - enhance the effect of levadopa Deprenyl may provide some improvement to mildly affected patients.
Amantadine or anticholinergic medications may be used to reduce early or mild tremors. Carbidopa reduces the side effects of levodopa and makes levodopa work better.
Entacapone is used to prevent the breakdown of levodopa.
Pramipexole and ropinirole are used before or together with levodopa.
Rasagiline is approved for patients with early Parkinson's disease. Rasagiline helps block the breakdown of dopamine.
Neupro is a new skin patch that contains the drug rotigotine. This medicine helps dopamine receptors in the brain work better. The patch is replaced every 24 hours.

Additional medications to help reduce symptoms or control side effects of primary treatment medications include antihistamines, antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and others.
It is important that the disease should be controlled before irreversible brain damage occurs.

3. Surgery:
In some cases surgery can help to alleviate symptoms especially when all other medications and measures failed.
Surgery to implant stimulators or destroy tremor-causing tissues may reduce symptoms in some people.
Transplantation of adrenal gland tissue and stem cells to the brain has been attempted, with variable results.


Added 4th October 2008:
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Parkinson Disease:
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Less than 5% of Parkinson's Disease patients gets the disease through genetic reasons.

A mutation of a gene (LRRK2) called G20135 has been found to increase the risk of Parkinson's disease in some families.

People with the mutated gene gets the illness at a younger age than the normal which is 60 and above.

The cause of Parkinson's disease is still unknown.

The prevailing theory is that environmental factors such as exposure to high levels of pesticides is the cause of the disease.