ips-aiims

4May/10Off

How To Handle Anxiety And Panic Attacks



Shortness of breath, your heart is beating fast, tightness in your throat, sweating, trembling, unwanted thoughts or fear that something terrible is about to happen are just some of the disabling symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks. Attacks may happen without a warning and you should know how to handle anxiety and panic attacks to survive. 

Here are some tips on how to handle anxiety and panic attacks.

One way to handle anxiety and panic attacks is to think positively. Re-assure yourself that you are safe and nothing bad is about to happen. Negative thoughts will only make your condition worse and will induce more fears. Focus on positive thoughts. Tell yourself that you are safe and no one will harm you. That you are in control and you can cope with the situation.

Modify your lifestyle. Change in your habits and lifestyle is another way to handle anxiety and panic attacks. Engaging in an exercise program, meditation, yoga, etc. to release stress is a good thing to de-stress and make you feel good. Get rid of stimulants like nicotine and caffeine to avoid attacks.    

30Dec/09Off

Athletes and Dizziness – Common Complaints and What Doctors Have To Say



In cases of athletic dizziness, when the symptoms are moderate to severe, the athlete will seek the advice of a physician. Most of these conditions are not going to be too serious. Benign or no, athlete's dizziness can interfere with a person's exercise program. Some of the time, altering the way that you exercise is just fine. A person can still do something less "dizzying" so to speak, and maintain an adequate health and fitness regimen.

Nonetheless, athletes who are not just athletic people but athletic competitors have a harder time if dizziness interferes with his or her game. There are two classifications into which athlete's dizziness fit: the first category is vertigo and the second is called presyncope. When you feel it is essential for you to be able to work up to your full ability and you are experiencing some kind of dizziness - you may be able to fix the problem. The physiology of an athlete is marked by a slow resting heart rate or low blood pressure, these may present like certain causes of dizziness.

Vertigo is actually accountable for almost fifty percent of dizziness. This is a spinning sensation that happens, often impairing someone's mobility, often causing nausea, and in worst cases, it can be sudden and uncontrollable. Presyncope is a different kind of dizziness commonly diagnosed when athletes complain of this symptom. The characteristics of presyncope are lightheadedness, the sensation that one may faint, or actually fainting.

Common vertigo causes may or may not have to do with your athleticism. Vertigo is virtually always related to the vestibular system. This is a part of the inner ear. When the balance of the structures in the ear is thrown off, the resulting vertigo will also throw off the balance of the body itself. Anything out of whack in the inner ear can potentially cause vertigo.

From head trauma and inflammation and / or infection in the inner ear, migraines, multiple sclerosis, strokes and even tumors, vertigo can be a pronounced symptopm. So you can see (athlete or no) experiences of vertigo are very important to attend to - whether you mind the spinning spells or not, see a doctor. The possibilities of the latter and more serious illnesses being the cause of vertigo are all much less likely, but the sooner you know, the better it will be for you!

Presyncope is (virtually just as often as vertigo) diagnosed with a definitive benign cause, so the hope is that the problem can be avoided or is treatable. However, sometimes the underlying cause can be serious, such as when presyncope presents as a symptom of heart disease. Presyncope is a vasovagal condition. A vasovagal condition is basically a condition that involves unusual activity in the vascus nerves. Something that can stimulate the symptom can be anything from standing up too quickly or standing up for long periods of time can be all it takes to trigger someone who has presyncope.

If you are an athlete suffering from certain spells of dizziness characteristic of presyncope, don't worry just yet! Hyperventilation can be a cause of presyncope. Sometimes all you need to do is concentrate better on your breathing. There are also non-specific types of dizziness that can be caused by psychiatric upsets. In other words, psychological stress can develop and present in intensive, non-specific forms of dizziness.

There are many causes for athletic dizziness - so don't self-diagnose, figure it out. It is much more debilitating when this type of dizziness affects you during sports games etc. Of course, some of these conditions are much less serious than others. Many athletes are scared of what us at times when you feel it is essential for you to be able to work up to his or her full ability. There are many associations between athleticism and vertigo, as well as presyncope conditions.

Most importantly, please remember that there is also no reason to assume the worst case scenario if you are experiencing the symptoms I have described. The worst case scenarios (in other words, the worst illnesses) that would present with symptoms of vertigo and presyncope are much less common than the causes that are simpler to deal with. On that point I can not express myself more clearly. Individuals have individual needs, and his or her symptoms are caused by individual problems. Don't stew over the symptoms or speculate too much about what it possibly could be until you have some professional idea of what the true nature of your condition or illness actually is.

28Apr/09Off

Preparing For Your First Knee Replacement



Having a knee replacement takes not only certain physical preparation but mental preparation as well. Before having the surgery it is important to have your home laid out for simplicity and easy navigation.

Find a chair that you will be spending a majority of your time in when you arrive home. preferably, its a recliner as you do not want to have your leg in a dependent position where gravity affects the pooling of the blood. Once your chair is designated be sure its of proper height and does not rock. Building a platform prior to surgery to place under the chair is an idea that many have used in the past with great success to raise its height for easier transfers.

Hopefully you have been given an exercise handout prior to surgery to begin preparing your body for the surgery. Completing basic exercises to the affected limb or limbs will greatly assist you in the post-surgical recovery as its known that muscle has memory, and will return to normal function and strength much sooner if exercised in the same manner prior to surgery. The time varies, but 3-5 weeks out should have you prepared and ready following a written exercise program.

Please be sure to have a quality cold pack or other cooling system ready when you get home. Your knee will recover and respond much faster and pain relief will be kept to a minimum with an effective cold pack. Check your local drugstore or better yet a local medical supply will have a larger selection. I see many patients trying to ice down a knee with a small bag of peas and carrots this is something I do not recommend, your knee will need better coverage than that.

Have your meals prepared or have someone that will be staying with you for the first 10 days to 2 weeks home, as the last thing you want to do is stand on your surgical leg in the kitchen preparing meals, believe me it will only take one episode of meal preparation to understand the importance of having food prepared or someone assisting you with it.

Make sure you bring home your compression stockings that are issued at the hospital, many leave them and find they would have come in handy at home. The stockings are to curb edema and to prevent DVT. Take your pain medication as prescribed as well. Many try to get off the pain medication too soon only to be very uncomfortable you will need the pain medication anywhere from 4-6 weeks out from surgery.

And most of all, complete the exercises that have been prescribed by your therapist. your final outcome will be only as good as the time you put into the exercise program. You will see a big change in your overall condition within 6 weeks after surgery if not sooner remember, everyone is different and what your neighbor did and experienced down the street will be different from your experience.