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| Family Doctor |
Family Media is committed to promoting a healthy society and we have more good news for you. There are many troubling medical questions that our viewers and listeners have been asking during these shows.
This will give you an opportunity to refer to them at your convenience and enable you to be better informed on health matters. You can be assured that a visit to this new site will be a real learning experience. Visit our website: www.familykenya.com for more.
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FAMILY DOCTOR FAQS.
STRESS
What is Stress?
It’s a physical or psychological response to anything demanding depending on one’s perception and it can affect anyone including babies.
Types of Stress
Stress can be good or bad. Good stress is the one that keeps us on toes while bad stress harms us both physically and psychologically.
Stress is classified into three
Type “A” Stress – Affects the self-driven people and perfectionist
Type “B” Stress – This the “best” and is manifested in calm people who take everything in their stride
Type “C” Stress – It’s manifested in the “Garbage collectors”-Those who absorb everything that comes their way, the type that keeps grudges.
Mild stress is the pressure we all go through daily in life. Severe stress takes longer and comes about in difficult situations like exams, troubled marriages, problems at work place etc. Pathological stress interferes with one’s social, mental, physical and occupational functioning.
Symptoms
-Cognitive problems
-Emotional problems – Anger, irritation, aggressiveness etc
-Physical manifestations – Fatigue, anxiety, sweating, eating and sleeping disorders
-Spiritual – Some people turn to God while others turn away.
Diagnosis
Interview to listen and observe the symptoms
Complications
-High Blood Pressure
-Depression
-Heart attack
-Diabetes
-Anxiety disorder etc
Management
-Cognitive behaviour therapy is the most effective it teaches you to challenge your thoughts.
-Problem focused coping – Approaching the problem head on
-Appraisal focused coping – Changing the way you see a situation/denying a situation
-Emotional focused coping – Relaxation
-Doing things that uplifts you – music, reading, sports etc
Prevention
- Avoid all that stresses you
-Be aware of what stresses you
-Stay healthy (Good diet and exercise)
-Have sufficient sleep
HAEMOPHILIA
Definition: This is a disorder where blood clotting fails to take place after an injury.
Causes: Haemophilia is a genetically inherited disease that basically affects males only though females can be carriers of the defective gene.
Symptoms:The symptoms normally appear in male children. Prolonged bleeding at the joints, usually the knee, though it can also occur in the elbow, ankle and shoulder, can be an indicator of the condition.
Types:The condition is classified into two: haemophilia A and haemophilia B. In haemophilia A, clotting factor VIII is absent while in Haemophilia B, factor IX is deficient. Type A is about 6 times as common as type B.
Diagnosis:Chances are that the patient is a male child. Heavy or prolonged bleeding can be a pointer to the condition. A blood sample is taken and a clotting test done to determine the level of factor VIII.
Treatment:The most effective treatment is the infusion of the deficient factor (VIII or IX) directly to the patient; but this is extremely expensive and factor replenishment using blood plasma is usually administered.
Complications: Administration of plasma can cause complications similar to those of blood transfusion. There is risk of transmission of disease though rare since nowadays blood is well screened.
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