Depression is a true medical illness, just like having diabetes or high blood pressure. It’s not a weakness, having the blues or something one can just snap out of. Fortunately, like most illnesses, it is treatable through medication and psychotherapy.

Common symptoms of depression include feeling sad, unhappy, irritable or frustrated; a loss of interest in things that usually bring pleasure; feeling worthless; fatigue, excessive sleeping or insomnia; indecisiveness and decreased concentration; and in some cases, thoughts of death, dying or suicide.

Many of us may briefly experience any of the above symptoms, but the person with true depression lives with these symptoms day in and day out.

Some risk factors of depression are having biological relatives who have depression or who have committed suicide and experiencing stressful events, such as the death or loss of a loved one. Women are also at risk, especially after a pregnancy. Other risk factors are serious, chronic illness and abuse of alcohol, drugs or nicotine.

In general, the most effective treatment for depression is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.

There are many types of antidepressant drugs available, and finding the right one may take some trial and error. Antidepressant drugs may take several weeks to take effect.

A patient who experiences undesired side effects should not stop taking the medication without consulting the prescribing doctor. In many cases, one must taper off the drug to avoid withdrawal.

Psychotherapy is provided by a trained and licensed professional, who can help one to understand one’s thoughts and behaviors and guide one in making effective changes. Ideally, this treatment can also provide a regained feeling of hope, happiness and control.

If someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is needed immediately. Here’s what needs to be done:

- Contact a family member, friend or clergy member for help.

- call a suicide hotline number. our local number is 877-663-5433.

- Seek professional consultation from a doctor or a mental health provider.

If someone you know is on the verge of, or has attempted, suicide, call 911 immediately for professional and rapid help.

Depression is not a weakness; it is a treatable illness. A doctor can help.

- Terry Hollenbeck, M.D., is an urgent-care physician at Palo Alto Medical Foundation Santa Cruz in Scotts Valley. Readers can view his previous columns on his website, valleydoctor.wordpress.com, or email him at . Information in this column is not intended to replace advice from your own health care professional. for any medical concern, consult your own doctor.

Tetanus is a severe illness characterized by intermittent tonic spasms of voluntary muscles. It is caused by Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic organism with drumstick appearance. The organism causes a disorder that has a very high mortality incidence. Tetanus infection is usually seen in persons above 50 years of age.

The organism enters the wound, multiplies there and produces powerful toxins (neurotoxin and haemolysin), which produce the disease. These toxins then enter the central nervous system through the peripheral nerves or through blood. Neurotoxin gets binded to the nerve cells and is responsible for tonic rigidity of the limbs, trunk, abdominal and neck muscles and causes reflex contraction due to minor stimuli.

Variety of Infection

Acute illness – The acute onset is sudden and severe. there is much restlessness and apprehension with pain in the neck, jaw and abdomen. other symptoms include lockjaw, dysphagia and dyspnoea. in the terminal stage, respiratory arrest causes cyanosis, tachycardia, fever and convulsions. Spasms are spontaneous but may also be induced by the slightest stimuli like touch, noise or any movement.

Chronic illness – in this, the onset is delayed with milder symptoms and muscle spasm may also not manifest itself fully.

Types of Infection

Generalized Tetanus – This is the commonest form in which the patient shows the symptoms but is mentally alert.

Localized Tetanus – in this variety, pain with stiffness is found at the site of the infection. Patients usually recover from this type.

Cephalic Tetanus – This is an uncommon type and is usually fatal. The portal of entry in such type is through the middle ear.

Routes of Infection

There are various routes of infection such as through umbilical cords in neonates, when the cord is treated with some septic material. Wound complication may also occur such as in road traffic accidents. Minor injuries with rusted nails, tattooing, injections and piercing of ear lobes may also cause the infection. Sometimes, the infection may also spread through septic abortion or some surgical operations.

Treatment

The circulating toxin cannot be neutralized. Wound dressing delayed for an hour or two is sufficient for absorption of the toxin. The patient should be put on absolute bed rest with sedation and nothing should be given through mouth until well. Anti-tetanus serum has to be administered at the time of wound excision.

Immunization through vaccines and proper wound debridement is necessary to prevent the illness.

Dementia treatment should be approached like any other chronic illness with an assortment of pharmaceuticals and behavioural interventions. The earlier you obtain treatment the better. 1st, you necessitate a good diagnosing to make sure that you are not merely experiencing normal age suitable memory loss, or brain tumor symptoms. Look for a comprehensive assessment of behavioral, cognitive and functional abilities. even though 100 million men and women have been touched by Alzheimer’s, about 35 million worry that they will get the disease. below are some preventative and medicinal steps to be mindful of:

Early studies show that fish oil would reduce the peril of dementia but new research is showing that no difference in cognitive and functional abilities was found after eighteen months of use. one research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids or DHA, doesn’t slow down the mental decline associated with Alzheimer’s.

The herb saffron has been compared to the drug, Aricept which has been widely implemented for dementia treatment. The herb is said to be a brain-boosting agent and can enhance memory. It is really pricy though.

Increased light exposures throughout the day that will help better sleep and hence alleviate a couple of dementia symptoms.

Managing your hypertension could help protect you against early dementia.

Vitamin B12 becomes dangerously low with age and can be an issue in the development of dementia.

Athletes and other people who experience many concussions over the course of a life might be more susceptible to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Anti inflammatory drugs may help cope with mental decline specially following surgery.

Memantine hydrochloride (Namenda XR) is an extended discharge drug approved by the FDA to treat average to severe dementia.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors help some but not all types of dementia. What does this do? Levels of acetylcholine are frequently found to be very low in people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. stopping the activity of this protein can result in an increment in the levels of acetylcholinesterase in the brain. this in turn may increase levels of alertness and might help slow down the rate of progression of the illness and a few memory exercises. many, but not all, forms of dementia might respond to medicines called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

There are numerous different forms of drugs on the marketplace aimed at treating dementia and whilst symptoms of the disease may better with dementia treatment, no medicine has yet been created to prevent the long-term progress of the illness.

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