Monday 22 June 2015

What are the common symptoms and causes of Depression?

Depression is one of the common problems that people of all age groups are facing these days. Nearly 5 % of adults suffer from depression every year. Not only adults, but also this disease is rapidly becoming common among the youngsters and teenagers. Anyone can suffer from depression but the actual reason behind this is still not known.

There are number of signs and symptoms associated with this problem. The most common are-

Headaches-headaches are the most common symptom of this problem. Mostly in these cases, individual prefer to take painkillers. However, if taking too many medicines does not prove to be effective, then one should definitely consult a doctor.

Insomnia- a person suffering from depression is likely to have sleep disorders i.e. a person may face difficulty in falling or staying asleep, feeling tired upon waking and waking often at night. High level of depression can result in changes in sleeping habits.

Mood swings- a person may suffer from regular mood swings. He/she may feel weak and low all the time

Lack of concentration- a person is not able to pay attention to the things and has problem making certain decisions.

Loss of interest- he/she may lose interest in daily activities. Moreover, a person may feel tired and exhausted all the time.

Digestive problems- Stress, of course, can cause digestive issues but depression can as well. The symptoms can be things such as IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, cramping, diarrhea and chronic constipation.

Gaining/losing weight- depression can sometimes cause significant decrease or increase in appetite resulting in weight loss or gain.

Some other symptoms include annoyance, irritability, uncontrolled behavior, increase in body pains (back, chest, muscle, stomach) and so on.

What are the causes of depression?

  • Certain causes that make you more vulnerable to depression are-
  • Any recent or stressful life event
  • Relationship problems
  • Financial problems
  • Health problems
  • Lack of support from family and friends
  • Loneliness
Depression is something that cannot be cured properly but proper treatment and medication can help you to overcome this problem. The Farmingville doctors are trying their best and providing help and support to the depression patients. Apart from taking antidepressants, some psychological treatments and regular exercise also prove to be effective.

Friday 12 June 2015

Did you know these Factors about High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?

Gone are the days when health issues like high blood pressure also known as hypertension were just limited to the older people. Yes, it is the reason why even younger generation is showing concern towards this health issue. However, this serious medical condition is of two types- primary and secondary hypertension.

Primary hypertension occurs gradually, while secondary is the result of some other medical condition. In a physical exam, it can be measured in two set of numbers that includes systolic reading and diastolic number. It is named as silent killer, as most of the times it has no early symptoms.  However, some of the symptoms can include dull headaches, nosebleeds, etc.

When it comes to causes, there are no known causes of high blood pressure. However, there are numerous risk factors for it and that can include-
  • High Salt Intake
  • Stress
  • Poor Diet
  • Obesity
  • Genetics
  • Physical Inactive
  • Tobacco Usage
If you believe, you have high blood pressure or want to ensure that you are not suffering from it, search for best Farmingville doctors for consultation. Depending on your symptoms, family history, and medical conditions that you might have, your doctor will evaluate your condition. Using a medical device, physician will measure your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a serious condition and if not treated carefully can lead to complications such as heart failure, heart attack, stroke, etc.
  • However, whether you have high blood pressure or not, your doctor may recommend you the following-
  • Healthy diet is the key to manage and prevent hypertension, which is why it necessary to ensure that you take diet that low in salt and fat.
  • Staying physical active has numerous benefits and managing high blood pressure in one of them. Daily exercise regimen can help you control or avoid this condition.
  • You must maintain a healthy body weight, as being overweight is one of the main risk factors. Thus, get rid of all extra pounds that you may have.
  • Your doctor may also tell you to limit your alcohol consumption and gradually give up on smoking, if you smoke. Both these factors count when it comes to managing or preventing hypertension.

Thursday 4 June 2015

The uses and benefits of Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a practice which is used to give images of an unborn child. This is the most common use of ultrasound. There are number of healthcare centers that grant wide range of Ultrasound Diagnostic Services. Transducer is a tool that is used for ultrasounds . Special technicians are hired to perform these tests. Sounds waves are used to produce images in this technique.

What are the possible uses of an ultrasound?

Ultrasound scans are mostly used in -

Monitoring an unborn baby- The ultrasound scans are most commonly used by pregnant women. This scan helps to give an image of the fetus on the monitor. The ultrasound scan has no harm on the baby and can be done during a pregnancy.  For a pregnant women ultrasounds are preferred more frequently by the doctors

Diagnosing different problems in the body –This technique can be useful in diagnosing the troubles with your liver , gall bladder, thyroid gland and even eyes , skin and blood vessels.

Helping doctors during surgery – Ultrasound can be used in guiding doctors during different procedures in their medical career. For example in the case of biopsy this technique helps the surgeon to check whether he is working on the right area.

Apart from all these, the ultrasound technique is widely used in the process of Echocardiogram (ECG). In this the size, shape and movement of your heart is examined.

Benefits of ultrasound
  • Ultrasounds do not cause pain to the patient as they do not require the use of needles or injections.
  • They do not charge much as compared to other methods such as X-rays, MRI’s etc. As it is low in cost, so it does not demand the use of much of the hospital resources.
  • The radiations that are produced through this technique are not harmful and are safe for the unborn babies.
  • This technique is also used for displaying real time images of the organs and blood vessels.
  • Ultrasound is used to display images of the tissues that the X-rays fail to show.
Despite having several advantages, there are still number of disadvantages of ultrasound scans.
  • One of the major disadvantages is that the outcome of image is limited. There are still many situations where the X-rays give much clear Image than the ultrasound.
  • The problems related to lungs and digestive system of the body cannot be examined through this technique
  • In case of a fracture, the ultrasound is not useful as it cannot examine through bones. In case of examining the brain also MRI scan is mostly preferred.