Posted on Mar 26, 2011 under Gastrointestinal |
Two men are going for a run. One is in track one, the other is in track two. Imagine they are both wearing red vests. Extra energy needed to run, so in response to their thought, ‘I am going to run the brain sends a message for the muscles to contract and this squeezes the glands which produce adrenalin. Thoughts, heart-r and breathing rate increase, blood is divided them the internal organs to the legs to allow them to move faster.
up. The adrenalin levels are high. The two men complete the circuit and prepare to go home.
The Man in Track One. This man’s muscles relax and in response to this, chemicals which oppose adrenalin are released into the bloodstream. His heart-rate and breathing slow down, everything goes back to normal. His adrenalin levels are falling – imagine he has showered and is now wearing a blue vest. When he arrives home he is hungry and needs the bathroom. After dinner he repairs his son’s bicycle, watches television and then goes to bed and sleeps like a baby. When he awakes he feels rested.
The Man in Track Two. Because he has been overworking lately his relaxation response is worn out. After the run his muscles, do not automatically relax, so he is deprived of the chemicals which would slow him down; his adrenalin levels have not gone down. When he arrives home, although he has showered and gone through the same motions as the other man, it is as if he is still wearing the red vest. He is preoccupied with worrying thoughts, he is irritable with his kids, his digestion feels upset (the extra blood is still in his legs), he does not want dinner, he tries to read the newspaper but can’t concentrate. His evening is spent looking for antacid tablets, making frequent visits to the lavatory to pass urine, and chasing next door’s cat from the flower borders. He has difficulty getting off the sleep; when he does he sleeps fitfully. At 3 a.m. he wakes feeling anxious and hungry; he sleeps again and in the morning he wakes feeling anxious and stiff and sore. His muscles are still not relaxed – his adrenalin levels are still high. And it could go on like this until he has a nervous breakdown, a heart attack or some illness which will force him to slow down, unless he gets wise and realizes that all he has to do to don a blue vest is to slow down – to practise mechanically what his body has given up doing automatically. He must re-educate his muscles through relaxation exercises and consciously gearing down.
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Posted on Mar 16, 2011 under Epilepsy |
Since episodic electrical events can occur in different areas of the brain, the types of seizures that they produce will differ depending on what area is affected.
You heard a loud noise and ran to Johnny’s room. Your son was stiff, his back was arched, he didn’t seem to be breathing and he was turning blue. Then he started shaking violently, and he was foaming at the mouth. Your first thought was that he was about to die!
Mary was sitting with you at the dinner table when suddenly she stopped eating and stared into space. You called her, but she didn’t respond, and you had to call her several times. “Why does she daydream so often?” you wondered.
William comes running to you with a frightened look on his face. He is pale and then has a glassy look to his eyes. You call him, but he doesn’t respond. You notice that he is smacking his lips and fumbling with his clothes. Then as you hold him, he stiffens and begins to shake violently.
Trina began to have jerking at the corner of her mouth. “It’s just a habit,” your doctor said, but it’s gotten worse. Now the jerking is there all the time and sometimes it spreads to involve the whole side of her face.
All of these are seizures, and yet each differs. Each may require a different evaluation by your physician. Each may require different medication. Each may have a different outcome. The type of seizure depends largely on where in the brain it starts and on the direction and speed of the spread of the electrical activity.
Seizures are divided into two major groups, “partial seizures” and “generalized seizures.” “Partial seizures” (simple or complex), those that begin focally—that is, in one place—-are also called “focal” or “local” seizures. It is important to identify partial seizures because, since they begin focally, there may well be a specific problem in that area of the brain, one that may need special attention. The physician looks for a scar, a tangle of blood vessels, or a tumor as the cause of such seizures. If focal seizures cannot be controlled with medication, then surgery can be considered. “Generalized seizures,” on the other hand, seem to start all over the brain at once. We are unable to detect either by clinical signs or symptoms, and sometimes not even from the EEG, where this widespread electrical activity begins.
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Posted on Mar 06, 2011 under Diabetes |
Insulin shock
Insulin shock is the effect of too much insulin. It occurs because the patient has failed to eat some of his food; he has increased his activity; or he has a gastrointestinal upset so that the nutrients are not being normally absorbed.
The symptoms of insulin shock result from the marked lowering of the blood glucose. The patient becomes weak, nervous, pale, and hungry. He trembles, perspires, complains of headache, and may become irrational in behavior as if intoxicated. If he is not given carbohydrate promptly he becomes drowsy disoriented, and eventually unconscious. Prolonged hypoglycemia is damaging to the brain cells because glucose is the only form of energy used by nervous tissue.
Patients who take insulin should always carry some lump sugar or hard candy in case they feel the signs of a reaction. Orange juice or other fruit juice or tea with sugar may be given to the patient who has signs of insulin shock. When the patient is unconscious glucose is given intravenously.
Diabetic coma (acidosis)
Diabetic coma is caused by inadequate insulin to meet body needs. The patient may have failed to follow his diet, or to take the prescribed insulin, or may have an infection.
When the insulin supply to the body is inadequate, the blood sugar rises and glycosuria occurs. A rapid increase of incompletely metabolized fatty acids in the blood leads to a low blood pH. The patient may complain of thirst, headache, frequent urination, fatigue, and drowsiness. His face becomes red, his skin is hot and dry, and his breath has a sweetish (acetone) odor. Nausea and vomiting sometimes occur. The respirations become rapid and the pulse is fast. Finally, the patient lapses into unconsciousness.
Immediate medical attention is required for the patient who goes into diabetic coma. Treatment includes insulin and fluid therapy.
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