Tips from gaining health

There is a vast difference between depression in children and adults. Most of the time, parents do not notice emotional health in children. Diagnosing depression in children is also more complicated than diagnosing depression in adults. The physician needs to interview the parents to understand whether the condition can be classified as clinical depression or not. As parents are likely to be biased, diagnosis may require interviewing friends, school mates and teachers as well.

Stressed parents, poor upbringing and genetic predisposition are the most commonly known causes of depression in children. Once it is diagnosed, there are various treatment options that can be looked into.
Cognitive Therapy is by far the most commonly used therapy for teen depression help. Cognition is described as the psychological result of learning and reasoning. Depression in children is considered a result of negative self perceptions that manifests as cognitive distortions about self and the environment. The therapist uses his expertise to address the three domains of treatment.

Cognition - Patients are taught to think positively in order to correct negative thinking
Behavior - Social skills and assertiveness
Physiology - Relaxation techniques, meditation and pleasant imagery

Excessive parental criticism, parental depression and family stress can lead to high stress levels among children which can lead to depression at times.

Family therapy is another option for treating depression naturally. Unless there is a genetic disposition towards depression, children often take negative cues from a stressful environment around them. If you have a depressed child at home, it will do you and your offspring a lot of good if you join a family psycho-educational group. You will get to meet parents and children who are facing similar problems. Such programs target different spheres of child depression:

1. How to identify symptoms of depression
2. How to approach and help your depressed child
3. Interpersonal skills
4. Knowledge about mood disorders
5. Medication and its side effects
6. Effects of different stress factors on your child.

Parents are taught to demonstrate positive control over the child and to reduce stress in the family. The focus of family therapy is mainly on improving the quality of parent-child relationships. It also tries to improve competencies within the child and does not lay too much stress on symptoms.

Medication is the last resort for treatment where nothing else works. There is no effective antidepressant that will treat depression in children without the side effects. These drugs can also be addictive. Natural remedies for depression like herbs and homeopathy are safer. It is advisable that all medication, natural or conventional be used under professional guidance.

If the family environment is the cause of child depression, it becomes necessary for the family to help in the treatment. Studies have shown that family intervention and participation in the treatment process are extremely effective tools in treating depression in children.

Article by : Tess Thompson

Article Source : Treating Depression in Children & Teens - Family Therapy

Treating a Snake Bite with Adrenalin - Patients who are bitten by a venomous snake, usually given antivenom, snake venom antidote, unfortunately these drugs often cause severe allergic reactions. To overcome this, the researchers suggested the adrenaline in snakebite victims before they were given antivenom.

In a study of 1,000 people who were taken to hospital from being bitten by venomous snakes in Sri Lanka, known to those given a low dose of adrenaline immediately, before it was given antivenom, allergic reaction was reduced by 43 percent within an hour and fell 38 percent in 48 hours.

Meanwhile, patients in the control group given promethazine, hydrocortisone or placebo, did not show the same benefits.

The researchers stressed the importance of these results, especially in countries where cases of snake bite is still a common health problems and allergic reactions resulting antivenom because most lethal.

"Currently there is no action of antivenom manufacturer or regulations of the WHO to improve the quality of antivenom. Until that time comes, we can show early treatment with low doses of the hormone adrenalinecan be be effective and safe for preventing acute reactions to the antivenom ,"said researchers from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. KOMPAS.COM

Women need to periodically visit an Obstetrician or a Gynecologist for pelvic scans or for taking a Pap test, especially if they are 21 years of age or older. Any study on womens health would surely delve into the rise of cancer as a dangerous illness that may lead to death and is second only to heart diseases in terms of most occurring illnesses.

Knowing the Facts

Womens health is directly impacted by cancer which is thought to have been diagnosed in more than a million people in the United States, though it is certain that cancer affliction can be drastically reduced by adopting healthier lifestyles, improving nutrition and avoiding being exposed to the sun. In addition, cancer screening, information regarding cancer as well as referral services would all help to significantly improve womens health.

Women who have attained the age of 65 years or who are older are believed to make up half of the new breast cancer cases every year and the number for older women having breast cancer is expected to double by the year 2030 as the baby boomers age. The anomaly is that younger women who have breast cancer receive better care than their older counterparts, even though women want their physicians to look at the disease not their dates of birth.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer afflicting womens health and is thought to have affected one out of every 11-12 women at some stage of their lives in the Western hemisphere, and in spite of significant efforts being made to achieve early detection and provide effectual treatment, supposedly about 20% of all women having breast cancer would die as a result of this disease.

To detect cases of breast cancer it is necessary to have screening performed which includes breast self-examination and mammography though only the latter has been found to lessen mortality from breast cancer. Womens health needs aids such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cancers that are not visible through mammography methods.

Besides cancer, another cause of worry regarding womens health is diabetes, and to fight this disease the National Public Health Initiative on Diabetes and Womens health have made a television video on diabetes and womens health and this video highlights the tales regarding women which gives hope and encouragement to women as well as their families in coping with diabetes. Bottom line: for good health, it is important to educate oneself.

Authors Resource Box

Roland Parris Jefferson III is an online researcher based out of Los Angeles, California. For free tips, resources and expert advice on Womens Health, please visit our Womens Health Resource.

Article Source: Womens Health - Detecting And Treating Breast Cancer

Author : Roland Parris Jefferson III