What is peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and what are its common causes?
It is the condition wherein blood circulation to the leg and arms is compromised. Diabetes, hypertension, smoking and certain autoimmune diseases are the common causes for PAD. Common symptoms are tiredness, pain in the legs, buttocks that always happens when you walk but goes away when you rest. Foot or toe pain that often disturbs your sleep. Skin wounds or ulcers on your feet or toes that are slow to heal.
What are the foot care tips for diabetes patients?
Wash your feet every day
Dry your feet well after bath especially between the toes
Keep the skin soft and smooth, use moisturizing cream if your skin is dry but avoid putting cream between the toes
Wear extra-wide and well-cushioned footwear
Be cautious in cutting your nails. Trim your nails straight, avoid deep cutting of nails as you may injure the skin around the nails
Avoid using a hot water bottle and electric pads for your feet
Refrain from doing bathroom surgeries for corns and calluses and do not use nay corn cap that is available in the market
Never neglect any cuts, injury to skin, swelling, redness, and infection of nails
Take prompt medical advice and avoid self-medication
How often should a diabetic patient visit a Podiatrist?
Consult a Podiatrist even when you have trivial foot issues and such minor symptoms could be a manifestation of a major issue of your foot/leg. It is advised to get your foot checked at least once in 3 months.
What are the condition that a psychologist treats?
Psychological treatment is mostly called ‘psychotherapy’ or ‘talking therapy’. Many reputed psychologists use relaxation therapy as their benchmark to help the patients.
It comprises talking about your thoughts and behavioural pattern with a psychologist to:
Understanding your own thinking and behaviour
Resolving your problems
Recognising symptoms of mental Health
Reduce your symptoms
Improve your quality of life.
Conditions Treated by Psychologist:
School-Related Issues-Learning, Remembering, Bullying, Grades, Peer Pressure,
Anger & Stress: Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
Anxiety Disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder / Agoraphobia / OCD /Panic disorder
Bipolar and Related Disorders
Child and adolescent issues
Corporate Health and Wellness or work life Balance
Eating Disorders: Anorexia nervosa / Binge eating
Individual Counselling 360 degree change in life
Life Issues: Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people
Marriage Counselling Cherish your life with life partner
Neurocognitive Disorders Dementia / Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's disease
Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Autism spectrum disorder / Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
IQ Functioning & Dyslexia
Personality Disorders
Sleep Disorders
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
Why should someone consult a psychologist?
Psychologists know something that the research has shown — and one that I’ll share here with you. The sooner you seek out treatment, the faster you’ll feel better. It may sound obvious, but far too often people let their problems overwhelm them before getting help.
Psychological therapies and Psychotherapy is a wonderful treatment for many of life’s problems, with thousands of studies backing up its use as an evidence-based treatment. But sometimes a person doesn’t know when to go see a therapist. Maybe your concentration is shot, or your enthusiasm and drive for getting things done is simply not there anymore. Maybe you avoid any interaction with your classmates or co-workers. Or maybe you’re just feeling plain overwhelmed. Nothing you’ve done seems to have helped.
Few people feel anxious for weeks on end and do nothing to try and help calm their anxiety. Few people suffer from the symptoms of depression without having tried to reverse the lethargy, sadness, or hopelessness feelings.
People have noticed and said something to you.
This one is obvious — but sometimes we simply ignore the most obvious signs in our lives. Maybe it was a friend who pulled you aside one day and said, “Hey, is everything okay? I notice you seem to be really struggling lately… maybe you should talk to someone?” Or a partner who’s said, “Look, you need help. You haven’t been yourself in weeks. Nothing I do seems to help, and in fact, we just seem to be getting worse.”
It may happen that despite your best intentions to change things, you still can’t make any progress. In psychological language, you have encountered an unconscious block to your progress. With the help of a psychologist, you can get over a block like this.
It might also happen that you simply feel vaguely dissatisfied with your life, but you can’t get a clear sense of what the problem is. In this case, you might consult a psychologist to help define the problem. Once the problem is clearly defined, you might be able to proceed on your own, or you might discover an unconscious block as well.
Most mental health professionals believe that there is a variety of contributing factors to the onset of mental illness. Studies have found that there are physical, social, environmental and psychological causes for mental illness.
Physical Causes
(Biological factors) Each individual’s own genetic make-up can contribute to being at risk of developing a mental illness and traumas to the brain (via a form of head-injury) can also sometimes lead to changes in personality and in some cases ‘trigger’ symptoms of an illness. Misuse of substances (such as alcohol or drugs) and deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals in an individual’s diet can also play a part.
Social And Environmental Causes
(Factors around us) Where someone lives and their living conditions along with family and community support networks can play a part along with employment status and work stresses. Living in poverty or social isolation, being unemployed or highly stressed in your work can all put pressure on an individual’s mental health.
Psychological Factors
(Your Psychological state) Coping with past or current traumatic experiences such as abuse, bereavement or divorce will strongly influence an individual’s mental and emotional state which can, in turn, have an influence on mental health.
Family History
There is evidence to suggest that heredity can play some part in the development of some forms of mental illness. However like with many physical health conditions (such as Heart Disease or Diabetes) that fact that a family member has experienced a mental illness does not mean that all other genetic family members will experience the same condition. As with physical health conditions, the other factors shown above will play a significant part too.
What does a Radiologist do?
A radiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating disease and injury, using medical imaging techniques such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET), fusion imaging, and ultrasound.
What is an MRI scan used to diagnose?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive test used to diagnose medical conditions.
MRI scanner can be used to diagnose:
Brain and spinal cord lesions.
Tumours, cysts, and other anomalies in various parts of the body.
Breast screening.
Injuries or abnormalities of the joints, such as the knee and shoulder.
Certain types of heart problems
Diseases of the liver and other abdominal organs
Pelvic evaluation.
Fetal anomalies.
What are the different types of diagnostic imaging?
X-rays.
CT scan (Computed Tomography scan)
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Ultrasound.
Nuclear medicine imaging, including positron emission tomography (PET).
What is the most common medical imaging technique?
X-RAYS.
What is Ultrasound imaging used for?
Ultrasound is used to study the function of moving structures in real-time.
Transabdominal scans- For imaging liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, uterus and ovaries.
Obstetrics examinations.
Doppler studies.
Transvaginal scans.
Transrectal scans.
Ultrasound-guided aspirations, biopsies and FNAC.