Showing posts with label Should. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Should. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Stages Of Alcoholism One Should Know
As we know alcoholism is the stage where the consumption of alcohol is so great that it starts interfering with the physical as well as the mental health of the individual drinking it. It affects the personal and the social life of the person in an adverse way. Typically all alcoholics are not equals in that they all can be different according to the stages of alcoholism they are in. There are three stages of alcoholism. First is early stage, second is middle stage, and last one is late stage of alcoholism. However, it can take years for a person to progress through the different stages.
If a healthy man or woman is having one or two drinks per day it is not considered to be alcoholism. But when the frequency increases from one or two drinks to more, early stages start growing.
ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS
The Early Or Adaptive Stage Of Alcoholism
In the early stage of alcoholism a person starts drinking alcohol just to change his or her mood, to get relief from some type of problem. The person affected along with friends and family members are not aware that they are in the early stage of alcoholism. Their eagerness for alcohol continues to increase, which means they have to increase the amount of alcohol consumption to achieve the desired type of mood. In early stages of alcoholism the body begins to adapt itself to the increased amount of alcohol. At this stage of alcoholism, the body does not loose its' controls, which means the person can still walk in a straight line without loosing their controls from the body but if they continue to drink alcohol the level in their body starts increasing.
The Middle Stage Of Alcoholism
In the second stage of alcoholism they start drinking in larger volume and with more frequency. The alcoholic simply loses his or her ability to limit his or her drinking to socially acceptable times, patterns, and places. They start drinking for any problem and continue to think about drinking more and more. In this stage the body starts losing its controls as it maintained in early stages of alcoholism which starts creating problems with their family and friends which also means they begin to create unwanted trouble with their change in attitude. This is the level of alcoholism where the person knows within their self that they are in some sort of noticeable stage of alcoholism but still they continue to deny that they have an alcohol problem.
The Late Stage Of Alcoholism
The final stage alcoholism is the most terrifying stage for the alcoholic's family and friends. This is also known as the deteriorative stage of alcoholism. It is at this stage the over consumption of alcohol is damaging the body. It will be evident to family and friends as the alcoholic is drinking almost all the time. They start becoming ill, mentally confused, and have a host of other mental and physical problems. This is due to the damage to the vital organs. This damage often results in one or more serious medical conditions. For example cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure, hepatitis, etc. are possible health problems associated with this damage to the body. These physical and psychological changes are almost unavoidable and some are irreversible. The alcoholic is also facing the denial that he or she has a problem. Denial makes it very hard for the alcoholic handle everyday problems or to seek help for the problems, which in most cases are a direct result of the drinking alcohol.
Stages Of Alcoholism One Should Know ALCOHOLIC HEPATITISThursday, October 6, 2011
What You Should Know About Hepatitis
I have yellow fever doctor, said a patient. How do you know you have yellow fever? The doctor asked. The patient reply "Doc, I have fever and my eyes are yellow."
Here in lies the sea of confusion between Yellow fever, Jaundice and Hepatitis. There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the trio of Yellow fever, Jaundice and Hepatitis. To many people, it would seem that fever along with yellow discoloration of the eyes and mucous membranes and skin (technically called Jaundice) must be yellow fever.
HEPATITIS
However in the science of medicine, there is a great gulf between these diseases. The yellow fever virus causes yellow fever. A wide range of viruses or toxins on the other hand may cause hepatitis. Both diseases cause inflammation of the liver. An inflamed liver is unable efficiently the breakdown of red blood cells. This results in the accumulation of bilirubin in the blood and connective tissues leading to what is called jaundice. The subject of yellow fever is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that it is a very deadly ailment with high mortality but totally preventable by an affordable yet very effective yellow fever vaccine which is taken once every ten years.
The specific viruses that cause viral hepatitis include Hepatitis A virus (HAV); Hepatitis B virus(HBV); Hepatitis D virus (HDV) delta agent; Hepatitis E virus (HEV) transmitted in epidemic form in Asia, North Africa and Mexico. There are other viruses that have been implicated in causing hepatitis such as Hepatitis G virus (HGV), SEN-V virus and TT virus (TTV).
HEPATITIS A
The HAV causes the sporadic or epidemic causes of hepatitis. The virus is transmitted or spread through contaminated food and water sources which may therefore lead to outbreaks in large population groups. Its spread is therefore favored by overcrowding, poor sanitation and personal hygiene. The incubation period is usually a few days, 30 days on the average. The illness is usually self-limiting with complete recovery within two weeks. Long lasting infection does not occur. Infections may be severe in adults but may occur in children without any symptoms or indeed ill health. Death from hepatitis A is very rare.
HEPATITIS B
Hepatitis B is usually spread through the inoculation of infected blood or blood products or by sexual intercourse. The virus (HBV) may be found in blood, saliva, semen and vagina fluids in infected persons. A mother who is infected is able to transmit the HBV to the child at the time of delivery. The risk of chronic infection in such cases is very high. HBV tends to occur very commonly in homosexual or gay men and intravenous drug users (IVDUs). Certain groups of people are at higher risk of contracting the infection; doctors, nurses, dentists, blood bank staff, patients and staff of haemodialysis centers etc. Sadly, it takes less blood to transmit HBV than HIV which causes AIDS.
From the time of infection, it takes 6 weeks to 6 months (average 12-14 weeks) for the infected person to become clinically ill. Hepatitis B may also present as very severe form of hepatitis called fulminant hepatitis in about 1% of infected persons. In this group, death may occur in as many as 60% of them. In yet another group, the illness may persist as chronic hepatitis B. In this group, the infection persist for years and then the patient go on to develop liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
HEPATITIS D (DELTA AGENT)
Hepatitis D is a defective virus that is unable to cause hepatitis on its own except in association with HBV. HDV may therefore co-infect a person with HBV or super infected a person with chronic hepatitis. When it occurs concurrently with acute hepatitis or severe chronic hepatitis leading rapidly to cirrhosis.
HEPATITIS C
May be transmitted by blood transfusion, intravenous drug use, sexual contact and from mother to child. Having multiple sexual partners would therefore increase the risk of infection by hepatitis C virus. Incubation period is around 6-7 weeks.
HEPATITIS E
This is a waterborne hepatitis virus. Outbreaks occur in India, Burma, Afghanistan, Algeria and Mexico. The illness is self-limiting with no carrier state. But mortality is usually high in infected in infected pregnant women (up to 10-20%).
HEPATITIS G
This virus has been detected in blood donors, intravenous drug users, haemodialysis patients, haemophiliacs and patients with chronic hepatitis B or C. Hepatitis G does not appear to cause any important liver disease.
CLINICAL PICTURE OF HEPATITIS
The onset of illness may be abrupt or insidious. There is usually a flu-like illness with generalized malaise, fever, muscle aches, joint pains, easy fatigability, sore throat, nasal discharge and loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Frequently there is diarrhea, constipation and aversion to smoking for those that smoke. Then as the fever begins to ebb, jaundice sets in 5-10 days. Chill or chillness may occur. The liver is enlarged and painful to touch. The spleen and lymph node may become enlarged also. The diagnosis as to which type of hepatitis is aided through various laboratory tests.
TREATMENT
The treatment of hepatitis includes bed rest where applicable. Diet should consist of palatable meals as identified by the patient. Fluid replacement and multivitamin supplements are adjuncts to the treatment. The drug Alpha Interferon has been used in patients with acute hepatitis C and found to reduce the risk of progression to chronic hepatitis C.
PREVENTION
In general, the careful handling of needles and the screening of blood before transfusion are useful ways to prevent hepatitis. Hepatitis A may be prevented by vaccination and the use of immunoglobin in people who are in close contact with patient of HAV infection. Hepatitis B has a very potent and effective vaccine, which gives a lifelong protection and requires only intermittent booster doses. Hepatitis B immunoglobulin may also protect or attenuate the severity of illness, if given within seven days of exposure to the HBV.
Hepatitis C - What You Should Know
What is hepatitis C? First, hepatitis as defined in most dictionaries and medical literature is simply "inflammation of the liver." Inflammation is, again from the dictionary, "localized heat, redness, swelling and pain as the result of irritation, injury or infection." In other words inflammation is an abnormal or diseased state of the body. In the case of hepatitis the abnormal or diseased state refers to the liver. As to the "C" part of hepatitis C, the "C" refers to a specific virus that is believed by conventional medicine to cause the inflammation and the disease.
As a footnote here just a short note on viruses. Mankind and medicine are still in their infancy when it comes to understanding,defining and categorizing the viruses. There is still some debate as to whether or not a virus demonstrates the characteristics to be truly called a life form, like a bacteria or protozoa, or whether it is more of a chemical substance simply capable of synthesis and change - kind of like adding an Alka Seltzer to water. There is reaction and change, movement, but of course this does not fit the definition of life.
HEPATITIS
What is life? What is not? It is like green merging into blue or orange into red. There is simply a point where you can not tell one from the other or the point of where the perception of one observer differs from that of another.
Enough on viruses. Their existence as life forms or as chemical substances is simply not pertinent to the scope of this article. The purpose of this article is to help people who have been diagnosed with the medical condition conventional medicine refers to as "hepatitis C."
Note also that conventional medicine will treat hepatitis C with drugs like interferon and ribavirin. This article is not about medicine and drugs that kill viruses, it is about returning the body (in this case particularly the liver) to a healthy state. The purpose of the article is to inform you of some procedures which have shown in the past to allow the body to either fight viruses via the immune system or alter the chemical pathogenic viral like substances. Let's provide the body with what it needs so our own immune system can protect us and so the correct chemical constituents are present to produce health and there by disrupt disease.
Step one is a "don't" instead of a "do." We have been taught from grade school that liver is a food with a high iron content. It would therefore seem logical that persons infected with hepatitis C, a disease that attacks the liver, should supplement their diet with iron rich foods and/or an iron supplement.
However, this is not the case because the hepatitis C virus does most of its damage by attaching onto iron molecules which then sets the stage for cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Many doctors are unaware of this fact and this is one reason why we are told once we have the virus we will always have it and why conventional medicine finds its eradication very difficult. You must reduce iron levels when fighting hepatitis C. Notice I say reduce - not eliminate - your body must keep iron levels within a certain range to effectively fight the disease. Decide with your doctor where you want your iron levels to be while you are recovering from hepatitis C.
The second most important thing to consider in recovery from hepatitis C is a "do." Do increase the levels in your body of a substance known as "glutathione." Officially glutathione is a tripeptide. Yeah, wonderful so what does that mean? I mean unless you are a chemist so what. Let's just say that glutathione is one of the most important substances in your body. It is multi-functional. Sometimes working like an oil to take out the squeaks, sometimes like a paint to prevent oxidation, sometimes like a tool to knock something apart or to put something together. All in all fantastic stuff.
Now don't run out to your health food store and by a bottle of glutathione and think it will help, The problem with this approach is that the digestive tract will alter much if not all of the glutathione chemical structure and you won't receive much benefit.
All cells produce glutathione so what we need to take are foods or supplements that are known as accelerators, i.e. substances that contain the building blocks which help formulate the glutathione molecule structure.
The following is a list of items that can help to inhibit iron uptake, accelerate glutathione development, or simply help in maintenance and repair of your liver. I have purposefully left out the amounts and means (oral, shot, sublingual) in which these substances should be taken - discuss these with your doctor or health care professional. Please consider the following.
1. Milk Thistle with silibinin
2. Selenium a mineral
3.Lecithin which contains PPC (polyenylposphatidylcholine)
4.Ursodeoxycholic acid a bile acid
5.Glycyrrhizin a licorice root extract
6. NAC a building block of glutathione
7. SAMe another building block of glutathione
8. ALA (alpa-lipoic acid) acts as metal chelator (remover) thus reduces stress on the liver
9. Whey protein helps boost glutathione levels
10. Lactoferin reduces iron stores
11.Elemental calcium reduces iron absorption
12. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E. And always, always, always vitamin D-3 for whatever problem you are ever experiencing.
If you have or know someone who has hepatitis C hopefully some of the above information will help you in your recovery from this condition.
Hepatitis C - What You Should Know HEPATITISSaturday, August 13, 2011
Should Your Alcoholic Spouse Take Antidepressants?
As a psychiatrist that specializes in addiction, most people I treat for an alcohol problem have underlying depression and anxiety. The key question is which came first the chicken or the egg? In other words, is your alcoholic husband or alcoholic wife self-medicating their depression and anxiety with alcohol or is alcohol causing these symptoms? In most cases your alcoholic spouse started out "self-medicating", but now is actually causing more depressive symptoms using alcohol.
Here are 2 typical cases that illustrate the combination of alcoholism and depression:
ALCOHOLIC
M.J. is 42 years old and has been drinking on and off for the last 25 years. Recently, he has had trouble sleeping, has lost his motivation for work, and does not feel a sense of joy for much of anything. For the last year, he has been drinking about 4-5 beers every day to "wind down". He says the only sense of "fun" he has is when he drinks with the guys after work. He dreads hanging around his wife and kids in the evening. He wants me to prescribe an antidepressant.
T.R. is a housewife with 3 young kids. She used to be a paralegal, but decided to stay home to raise her children. She feels a void now that she spends the day doing laundry, picking up the house, and juggling her children's activities. She misses interacting with adults. She started drinking to temporarily lift her spirits. Now she feels depressed and has been drinking more over time.
Both cases show that alcohol is being used to "cope" with life stresses. In other words, both M.J. and T.R are "self-medicating, but now feel even more depressed. Why? Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and causesdepression.
Take home point: If your alcoholic spouse quits drinking, they may no longer feel depressed and may not require antidepressants.
What is the scoop on alcohol and antidepressants?
Alcohol diminishes the effect of the antidepressants. The only way for your alcoholic spouse to fully benefit from an antidepressant is not to mix it with alcohol. Even mild drinking (a few drinks a week) may interfere with the antidepressant response.
For example, your alcoholic husband has probably become more depressed because his alcohol problem has interfered with his job performance and his marriage. Now he has 3 things to be depressed about- alcohol dependence, job insecurity, marital stress. He probably needs antidepressants to feel less depressed and have the strength to participate in his alcoholic recovery.
Here is the take home message: Whatever the reason your alcoholic spouse is depressed, depression cannot be effectively treated on antidepressants if he/she continues to drink alcohol. Alcoholism and depression is a bad combination. Both are serious illnesses and should be addressed. From a psychiatrists' standpoint, alcohol is the number one problem and depression second.
If someone with depression and an alcohol problem responds to an antidepressant, it is a "home run" because they can be more active participants in all areas of their life and will have a better chance of maintaining their sobriety.
Should Your Alcoholic Spouse Take Antidepressants? ALCOHOLICHow Should I Divorce My Alcoholic Husband?
Alcoholism has always caused more trouble than good to mankind. Though many people drink alcohol, only a few get themselves drunk and go beyond the limits. Limited consumption is good for the health, especially in countries affected by extreme cold. Every person should know their limits. Alcoholism is one of the major factors to have broken many homes and marital relationships. The drunken male loses control over his emotions and reactions and therefore indulges in domestic violence and abuses his family members, especially the wife, fueling turbulence in the relationships. If you are the wife of a man who drinks too often and loses control, you need to know how to handle the situation and only in extreme cases, learn how to divorce your husband.
Understand that you are not the lone sufferer in the world and there are many ladies around the world who suffer similar problems either due to alcoholic, drug or substance abuse. Many ladies just bear the brunt all along their lives thinking of their children and family situations. Divorce is not the only feasible solution to this problem. Understand the various genuine reasons that have forced your husband to drink. If he is just a social drinker drinking once in month or so only during business meetings and social gatherings and stays within limits, then there should not be a problem. Extreme drinking habits may be the outcome of some psychological weaknesses or emotional problems as a result of stressed childhood or an environment in with enough bad company. Discuss openly with him about the pain that he causes to you due to his drinking offers and offer him a solution. If he is ready to take up professional medical or psychological support to cure this, then your marriage is saved. If he is still not able to resolve this, then for the good of both of you and your children, it is advisable to part ways and live your own lives.
ALCOHOLIC
How Should I Divorce My Alcoholic Husband? ALCOHOLIC
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