Tag: Apprehension

Warts: Weighing Up Your Options

In every area of medicine there always new developments being made in diagnostics, preventions, and treatments. Some are genuine improvements based on sound scientific research; others are more a matter of hit-and-miss, and not nearly as helpful as they proclaim to be. All it really takes is becoming adequately informed and exercising a bit of common sense to decide which ones fall into which categories. In doing this, you can then determine what will be the most beneficial for you.

On the subject of treatments for warts, the seemingly-wide range of options available can be broken down into three categories. Each has its own particular benefits, and each has its own particular drawbacks. You should weigh these factors carefully, in order to find the option of treatment which is best for your situation.

Although having your warts removed by a medical professional may initially seem like the most viable course of action, it would be wise to assess the facts about this procedure before dismissing other possibilities. First, while the methods which are currently available are minor procedures, they are indeed surgical procedures. Surgical procedures, regardless of how minor, are never without some degree of risk involved. The main risk involved in having warts removed surgically is that of infection. A skilled professional, as well as a sterile environment, greatly lessen this risk, but it is impossible to eliminate the risk entirely.

Another important factor to consider if you are thinking about having your warts surgically removed is that many people have some degree of apprehension about medical procedures of any type. People who are in this category can be traumatized by any of the aspects of these procedures. The procedures which require either general or local anesthesia may be particularly traumatizing.

Last but not least, one of the main factors to carefully consider is that the surgical removal of warts will be considerably more expensive than any other methods. While you might assume that having them removed professionally will be worthy any extra cost, the fact is that even having them removed by surgical means does not guarantee that they will not return.

The do-it-yourself methods also pose both benefits and drawbacks. There is a very large range of products you can purchase over-the-counter at pharmacies, department stores, and even supermarkets, which are all designed for the purpose of removing warts. Although their effectiveness varies from product to product and from person to person, the drawbacks of these products should be considered before deciding that you wish to purchase one of them for attempting to remove the warts yourself.

First, it is unwise to spend money on a product if you are not certain how to use it correctly, or do not have the ability to do so. Second, incorrect use of these products can cause more harm than their potential benefits. At the very least, incorrect use of over-the-counter wart removal products will result in the product not working, and therefore being a waste of money. You must read and be follow the instructions on the packages, and be willing to use the products for the specific time basis that it requires. This is a special concern for people who have very busy or active lifestyles, for they must ensure that they are willing to take the time necessary to use the product on a regular basis.

Another important concern about over-the-counter wart removal products is that if they are not properly used they can damage healthy skin tissues around the wart. This means you must take special care to keep the product localized on the wart itself, and not allow it to spill onto your skin or clothing.

Home remedies present another option. In general, the only risk involved with most of these home remedies is that they may not work, and the lack of results can be frustrating.

Assessing the pros and cons of these available methods will help you decide on the option which best suits your needs.

Anxiety Disorders In Children And Young Adults

Anxiety disorders in children are very treatable. Unknown to most Americans, anxiety disorders are extremely high on the list of health problems in children. Unfortunately, most people do not know what to look for, so the symptoms go untreated. It has even been suggested that many adults problems had their root in childhood, though left undiagnosed. These roots then grew, took hold, and often later showed up in their adult counterparts.

Anxiety is usually described as being a sense of worry mixed with fear, apprehension, and even distress. These feelings are perfectly normal in our lives, however, one must be able to judge when these feelings head toward being too frequent and overwhelming. Physical symptoms tend to include sweating, jitteriness, nausea, and headache; whereas the emotional counterparts are nervousness and fear. In anxiety disorders, these feelings and physical symptoms are much more severe. This can cause a childs rational thinking and decision making to become skewed, for them to view their own environments differently, as well as making sitting in school and trying to learn very difficult. Children with severe symptoms often complain of stomach aches, dizziness, diarrhea, not being able to breathe, feeling weak.

There are many types of anxiety disorders that can surface in children. General anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive feelings of apprehension, worry, and fear happening almost every day for longer than 6 months. The child cannot control these feelings and is often restless, hyper, irritable, and cannot fall asleep or stay asleep so is also easily tired out. Children with this type of general anxiety disorder have problems functioning in their daily lives and this causes them more feelings of distress and anxiousness.

Panic disorders are not the same as panic attacks. Panic disorders are actually repeated panic attacks with the addition of worrying about having other attacks and how it is affecting their behavior. Many people with this disorder find it difficult to function normally as they are constantly on edge worrying about when another panic attack will happen.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders are characterized by recurring unwanted thoughts and/or repeated behaviors. It is an obsession that has to be done no matter how hard the child wants to stop doing it. Obsessive-compulsives often wind up living alone as they cannot stand to have someone else soil their home, arrange their possessions, or not lock a door or window.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder can be similar as these disorders are usually the result of witnessing, experiencing, or confronting a traumatic event. The only difference is that posttraumatic stress disorders persist longer than one month whereas acute stress disorder occurs and dissipates in less than a month. Both disorders cause extreme amounts of distress, sleeplessness, worry, and fear.

Phobias can also cause extreme amounts of stress in children. The main concern is for parents to be able to distinguish between a normal fear, such as monsters under the bed, and an irrational fear, such as being out in public. Once these are distinguished, then the parents can help the child seek out the appropriate treatment.

Anxiety Attack Treatments

Anxiety attacks are frightening but the good thing is, episodes are generally harmless. In most cases, attacks rarely last for more than 30 minutes, with peak of intensity within the first 10 minutes. What make such attacks dangerous is if it becomes chronic and if it already affects the well-being of a person and already disrupts his normal way of life.

Several treatments are proven very effective in stopping anxiety attacks. Let us look at some of the more popular ones:

Breathing technique is one of the most effective ways in controlling anxiety attacks. Proper breathing helps slow down heartbeat and helps calm the tensed muscles as a result of the attack. Breathing also diverts the mind’s attention from the “trigger” and calms the self, thus, stopping the attack even faster. Proper breathing techniques are easy to learn and master.

Self-hypnosis is a great tool to alter your thought process as well as your body’s reaction to those fearful thoughts. During an anxiety attack, lay down on your back or in any comfortable position and try to process your thoughts. Identify the origin of such fearful thoughts. Know if it is real. If you concentrate enough in finding the origins of your thoughts, you will soon realize that they are really not a valid reason for excessive fear. It may sound simple, and it is. Psychiatrists now recommend self-hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety attacks and other anxiety disorders. (Hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used together by your therapist to stop symptoms of anxiety attacks.)

Meditation has long been credited to relieve stress and anxiety as it promotes the release of negative energy from the body, relaxes tensed muscles, and calms the mind, which in turn, effectively reduces irrational fear and apprehension. Meditation may not be for all because of the time required to master the technique, however, with proper guidance of an expert or a little bit of patience and dedication, you can reap its benefits.

Herbs (such as chamomile, passion flower, lavender, and ginkgo biloba) are very effective long-term treatment for anxiety attacks. Since they are all-natural, they posses no side effects. They may not be as aggressive as prescription drugs but they work just as effective.

Prescription medicines are a major help in stopping the symptoms of anxiety and episodes of anxiety attacks. Antidepressants are the most common anxiety treatment. They must be taken continuously, which may take as long as six weeks before noticing the effects. Beta-blockers are a type of drugs that prevent symptoms from recurring. SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors boost the level of serotonin in the brain which regulates and normalizes emotions.

Therapies are a very important anxiety treatment. These target the psychological aspect of anxiety. CBT or the cognitive-behavioral therapy is used to alter the way of thinking converting negative thoughts into positive ones. Techniques used in CBT include role-playing and relaxation technique. Exposure therapy exposes the person to the physical sensations of panic in a safe and controlled environment. Through repeated exposure, patients gain greater self control and more confidence in facing fearful situation.

Prescription medicines and therapies, when combined and used at treatment, are very effective. Medical studies show that the response rate of patients is much higher if both methods are used compared to those that are treated using either method.

Physical Signs of Anxiety Attack

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, apprehension and discomfort over a situation. This is actually a good and healthy feeling since the body is able to recognize something that it needs to address. This “flight or fight” response enables the body to get that much needed boost of energy to react to the specific situation. In this case, anxiety is helpful. However, if it gets intense, recurring and exaggerated, it may already be considered as an anxiety attack.

The exact cause of an anxiety attack is not fully understood, but research suggests that genetics, life experiences and brain chemistry contribute to the onset of the attack. What is known is that during the attack, a person shows signs and changes in the body.

The immediate sign of anxiety attack is increased heartbeat or palpitation. This is the most distressing among anxiety symptoms. But this is generally a good thing since the heart works harder to pump more blood to your body, especially to your legs and your arms, enabling you to have a surge of energy to respond quicker than normal to any emergency. The chest feels tight as if it refuses to expand to accommodate air the body needs. Sometimes, the feeling is like someone is pushing a pillow into your face.

The additional oxygen requirement of the body must be compensated by breathing. Thus, during an anxiety attack, you breathe faster. As your arms and legs receive more oxygen and energy, your muscles tend to get tensed, which is important when abrupt movement is needed.

As your arms and legs receive more supply of oxygen through the blood, other parts of the body receive less than normal supply of oxygen (the stomach and the brain can survive with less oxygen during emergency situations). In other words, the oxygen that is supposed to go to the stomach is redirected to the arms and legs. This explains why a person who is undergoing an anxiety attack experiences churning feeling in the stomach. Because the brain receives less amount of oxygen for a short period of time, the person experiences light-headedness and dizziness. (Take note, however, that the reduced supply of oxygen in the brain is just enough to produce these symptoms and doesn’t cause any permanent brain damage.)

Because your heart pumps more blood to your muscles, your body temperature increases. So to keep a relatively normal temperature, you begin to sweat.

Aside from these signs, you can also experience weakness or fatigue, tingling sensation, and dry mouth. Also, side-effects of these signs may include diarrhea and constant urination.

These body responses are automatic. Meaning, there is no “switch” to turn it on. Thus, there is also no way you can turn it off by simply thinking that you should not feel any of these symptoms. What you should do, especially if the attack is chronic, recurring and it already affects your life, is to seek medical help. This way, your doctor will be able to identify and rule out any other possible causes of these signs which are unrelated to anxiety.

Allow your doctor to conduct a physical exam. He may prescribe you a drug or may refer you to a psychologist or a therapist. Following your doctor is important so do not ignore any advice and believe that you are totally okay.