Tag: disorder

Depression in Adolescents

Depression in adolescents is a disorder which occurs due to persistent sadness, loss of interest, loss of self worth and discouragement. Depression is normally a temporary reaction towards situations of stress. Depression is a normal part of the maturation process of adolescents. It is even induced due to production of sex hormones. Adolescent females are depressed twice more than adolescent boys according to a study.

Adolescent behavior is normally marked with good and bad moods. The transition from a good mood to bad mood and vice-versa, can take minutes, hours and even days. That is the reason why true depression is very difficult to find out. Depression in adolescents can be caused due to bad school performance, break up with boyfriend or girlfriend, and failing relations with friends and family. These causes can lead to persistent depression. Other serious causes are chronic illness, obesity, child abuse, stressful lifestyle, poor social skills, unstable care giving and depression in family history.

Symptoms of depression in adolescents are eating disorders, weight change, irritable mood, excessive sleeping in daytime, excessive temper, criminal behavior, memory loss, fatigue, self preoccupation, sadness, difficulty in concentrating, worthlessness feelings, loss of interest, self hatred, obsession with death and thought & attempts of suicides. When these symptoms are being noticed for more than two weeks, it is important to get treatment for the adolescent. Depression not only affects interpersonal relationships, but school performance as well. Depressed adolescents are more prone to take onto drugs and alcohol as an attempt to overcome their depression. Such problems require intensive treatment.

The doctor will take blood test and perform physical examination to determine the cause of depression. The adolescent can also be tested for substance abuse such as smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, marijuana smoking, and usage of other drugs. After the physical examination, psychiatric evaluation is also done to understand the cause of sadness, loss of interest and irritability. Depression can also lead to the development of other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mania and anxiety. It is also important to determine whether the adolescent poses a risk for himself/herself and others. Family and school personnel can provide valuable information about the adolescent to the doctor.

Treatment for depression for adolescent is similar to the treatment of depression for adults. Along with the treatment, the adolescent are given antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. Antidepressant medications include tricyclics, Prozac, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI. Some of the medicines increase the risk, so it is a good idea that parents discuss the possible risks with the doctor. Only some of the antidepressant medications are meant for children and adolescents. Adolescents with severe depression need to be hospitalized as they are more prone to kill themselves.

Family and school support is necessary to tackle the depression of the adolescent. Parents can get their children admitted in emotional growth schools, boot camps or wilderness programs, to solve the behavioral problems. These programs consist of non medical staff and confrontational therapies. But care must be taken as some of the programs can in turn harm children who are depressed and sensitive. Adolescents, who get caught due to criminal offense, should be taken special care of by their parents. It is best that the child face the consequences and learn a lesson from it. Depressed adolescents respond well to treatment if they are treated comprehensively and early. More than half of the adults are known to have depression when they were in their teens.

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Alzheimer’s, not just an old man’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease, we’ve all hear of it but do we really understand the disease? According to statistics, there are about 350,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed each year in the United States.

Doing the math, you could have more than 4.5 million Americans by the year 2050 that would be affected by the disease. A grimmer outlook indicates that by 2025, there will be 34 million people worldwide Alzheimers disease.

Let’s tackle the issue step by step. Alzheimer’s disease is a known brain disorder that is progressive and irreversible. It is still not known where and how the disorder develops in the human brain neither is there any sure fire cure for the disease. What is known by medical scientists is that the disease attacks slowly.

It takes its time, gnawing slowly at the victims’ minds stealing memories and causing deterioration of brain functions. Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes irreversible dementia and is always fatal.

It was German psychiatrist Dr. Alois Alzheimer who first identified the disease. At first he noted the disease’s symptoms as “amnestic writing disordear,” however when later studies were conducted Dr. Alzheimer found out that the symptoms were more than ordinary memory loss. It was far worse.

Dr. Alzheimer found the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in the brain. The good doctor presented his findings which were accepted by the medical community. And soon enough, by 1910 the name of the disease was accepted and became known as Alzheimer’s disease.

The most common early symptoms of the disease are confusion, being inattentive and have problems with orientation, personality changes, experiencing short-term memory loss, language difficulties and mood swings. Probably the most obvious and striking early symptom of Alzheimer’s is loss of short term memory.

At fist the victim will exhibits minor forgetfulness, but as the disease slowly progress he/she will start to forget a lot of things. However, older memories are oftentimes left untouched. Because of this, patients with Alzheimer’s will start to be less energetic and spontaneous. As the disease progress, they will have trouble learning new things and reacting on outside stimuli which gets them all confused and causes them to exercise poor judgment. This is considered Stage 1 of the disease.

At Stage 2 the patient will now need assistance in performing complicated tasks. Speech and understanding is evidently slower. At this stage, Alzheimer’s victims are already aware that they have the disease which causes a whole lot of problems like depression and restlessness.

At this point, only the distant past can be recalled and recent events are immediately forgotten. Patients will have difficulty telling time, date and where they are.

The final stage is of course the hardest, both for the patient and their family. At Stage 3 the patient will start to lose control of a lot of bodily functions like simple chewing and swallowing. He/she will start getting the needed nutrients through a tube. At Stage 3, the patient will no longer remember basically anyone.
They will lose bowel and bladder control and they will become vulnerable to third party infections and diseases like pneumonia.
Once the patient become bedridden, things will only get worse. Respiratory problems will become more terrible.

It is apparent that the patient will need constant care. At this point, the most one can do is to make sure that the patient stays as comfortable as possible. At the terminal stage, death is inevitable.

Alzheimer’s Disease

People tend to forget certain things because of work and other priorities. This is not uncommon because this does happen to everybody. However, when an individual tends to forget even the simplest things, there is already something definitely wrong. There is a chance that one has Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder in the brain. In time, the patient will gradually lose both the intellectual and social abilities making it difficult to do anything and even interact with others.

This disease commonly afflicts people above 65 years of age. There are currently 4.5 million Americans that are suffering from this disease. It is projected that this number will increase, as the more population will reach the retirement age.

There is no known cure yet for Alzheimer’s disease. The only thing medical science can do for now is simply delay the inevitable for those who have just been diagnosed with the disease.

Is Alzheimer’s disease the same as dementia? The answer is no. This is because dementia is a symptom, which is caused by a disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease.

There are many symptoms for this disease. It may begin with the person simply forgetting certain things. It is hard to tell at this point but when it gets worse such as not knowing how to get to the office or get home, then there is definitely a problem.

Some patients are known to forget how to do some simple mathematical computations or even find the right words when writing a letter. There are those who are also disoriented and find it difficult to do certain tasks and make simple decisions.

The worse of these symptoms is perhaps experiencing personality changes even in the presence of family members and close friends. There are times the person is happy and then this will just change for no reason at all.

A neurological scan is the best way to check if the patient has Alzheimer’s disease. If it is confirmed, the individual has this problem, the best way to treat it is through the use of medical prescribed drugs.

There are two namely memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors. Studies have shown these can slow down the process as scientists are still conducting research to finally find a cure for this disease.

Patients who are diagnosed with the disorder will probably live more for 8 more years. This will really depend on how strong the person is because some have lived for 3 while others have fought with it for more than 10 years.

How can family members help a loved one with this disease? The siblings can take turns watching over the patient. If this is not possible, this is the time that a caregiver must be hired to check on the patient. This specialist will usually stay in the home and make sure the person is safe.

Physical and mental exercises must be administered to keep the patient’s strength up and even help depression, which is another symptom commonly, associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Whenever the people visit, it is best for each person to stay in the line of sight of the patient. It is best to speak slowly and even hold on to the individual, which is known to make the sufferer remember who he or she is talking to.

Alzheimer’s Care Facility

More than 4 million Americans are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Statistics show that the number of sufferers will continue to increase as more people will reach the retirement age.

People who are diagnosed with the disorder do not have to be confined in the hospital. The best Alzheimer’s care facility does not cost much because the patient can be treated in the comforts of one’s home.

What are the changes that need to be done to the home? The good news is, none. Those who are taking care of the patient should just be sure it is clean, clutter and noise free at all times.

If the family members are busy with other things, an ad can be placed in the paper or someone can call the agency to have a caregiver look after the sufferer. These specialists are trained to give aid to the patient.

What activities are done in the care facility? For starters, memory exercises will be done so the patient can still remember the names of the family members. A basic one will be through the use of flash cards that have the name and photo of the person.

Most of the time, the caretaker will be beside the patient. Instead of doing nothing, it wouldnt hurt to strike up a conversation. It does not have to be anything serious but just enough to keep the person active because an inactive mind may lead to depression.

The individual should always make eye-to-eye contact when talking to the patient at the same time speaking slowly and clearly for the other person to understand.

Alzheimer sufferers tend to wander off. The patient could walk to the end of the street or even walk farther without the caretaker even knowing and that is worse. A failsafe system must be put in place such as making sure the doors and windows are locked at all times.

Should the patient manage to get out, the second fail-safe will be to attach a bracelet or a card. This will make it easy for someone to return the person home or be informed where the sufferer can be picked up.

The Alzheimer’s care facility is open 24/7 with most of the concentration spent at night. This is because the symptoms are more active during this time so the best way to calm the patient down is through a little exercise.

The patient can help do the dishes or work on the laundry. A cup of warm milk or tea can be given. If this doesn’t work, perhaps going for a little stroll together outside for a little exercise may make the sufferer sleepy and go off to bed.

Some states have nursing homes and reputable home care facilities to treat the patient. There are numbers in the directory as well as in the Internet that people can inquire.

The individual should not be surprised should the place not accept just anyone who can no longer take on the burden of taking care of the loved one because of the limited space and the stage of the disease.

The person can choose to pay a huge sum or spend the remaining days with the loved one close to home to at least have a few good memories until the patient will finally go off to a better place.