Q What are low-glycemic index foods?

Foods that are very slowly absorbed are said to have low glycemic index. These don~t affect blood sugar levels much.

Q What kind of diet is not advisable for when you have pain in neck and shoulder?

Unhealthy diet and lifestyle are on second rank when it come to pain in body like neck and shoulder pains. Modern food habits are actually producing harmful effect on body by promoting accumulation of toxins in body. These type of food include: chocolates, ice-creams, food containing caffeine, highly processed food, canned or preserved food specifically with MSG, junk food or fast food, food high in sodium and sugar, high fat dairy products, meat, cigarette, wine, beer or any other alcoholic drink etc. These type of food in diet put your body under constant metabolic stress and promote production and accumulation of unhealthy chemicals or toxins in your body. This combined stresses, irritate and spasms nerves and skeletal muscles resulting in pain. So, healthy way to avoid or reduce neck and shoulder pain is to eat healthy, well cooked, preferably home made and fresh food including lots of veges and fruits.

Q My 10 year old daughter continues to wet the bed. Not every night, but i thought it would stop as she grows but still hasnt. I wonder if there is something medically wrong.

If you daughter has nocturnal enuresis sometimes, it may need further evaluation, as this is not so common in teenagers. There are some factors that may affect urine control in teens. These include excessive intake of caffeine drinks like tea or coffee, deep sleep pattern which can be a normal for growing teen, excessive emotional stress or fear of something, inconsistent sleep timings etc. These things can be corrected in order to fix the problem. Other things to give consideration are certain medications, diabetes of other medical diseases, family history of parents having the same problem, urinary tract infection, etc. If she is having this problem since her childhood, then this can be considered as primary nocturnal enuresis and she can be out of 2% of girls who continues with this till they reach their teen. This thing can be improved with proper counselling to her. Making her to use bathroom before going to bed. Limiting her fluid intake before going to bed. She can be effectively treated with moisture alarms while asleep. It will be less likely that she will need medications for this. Proper counselling and educating her may motivate her to take initiation to cure herself. You may take her to physician to rule out underlying disease if any.

Q I have a 14 year old girl who has fatty lumps either side of her cheeks near mouth that really stick out. I think they are called inverted dimples. Is this rare as she is very self conscious of them and we have never seen these on a child before. Or is there some other underlying problem

Difficult to predict what they can be without an examination. However if your daughter is not happy with it, then you should take an opinion of cosmetic surgeon regarding how to get rid of it.

Q whar is the meaning of ESR

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), also called a sedimentation rate or Westergren ESR, is the rate at which red blood cells sediment in a period of one hour. The ESR is increased by any cause or focus of inflammation. The ESR is increased in pregnancy, inflammation, anemia or rheumatoid arthritis, and decreased in polycythemia, sickle cell anemia, hereditary spherocytosis, and congestive heart failure.

Q Are cigars less detrimental to health than cigarettes?

"No. Cigars arent less harmful than cigarettes in any way. Rather they contain more carcinogenic tars, which make them worse than cigarettes. Moreover, when one smokes stogy, excess nicotine and carcinogens are inhaled through the mouth, which could cause dental problems,lung diseases, and cancers.
The reason behind the false repute of cigar being less harmul might be that generally cigar smokers are "occasional" users, and while puffing, most of them don~t inhale the smoke into their lungs. Stay away from cigarettes, cigars, pipes etc if you want to live healthy."

Q Brown discharge after sex?

If you have the discharge immediately after sex, then it might be possible that you are having the sex for the first time. If the discharge is after a few days, then it is suggestive of the pregnancy and the it is the implantation bleeding. When you rule out the two condition, then the probability goes to the any infection of the vaginal tissue. For this you must consult the gynecologist.

Q Can kissing catch thrush from a female partner?

Yes. You can catch oral thrush by kissing from a female partner. The fungus causing the disease is present in the oral cavity of the patient and can easily spread to other during kissing.

Q My underarms have become dark. I wax regularly and don~t use any hair removal creams. Can you please suggest something?

Excessive sweating is the main cause of dark underarms. Make sure not to keep the underarm hair too long. Wax your underarms every 15 days. Tight clothes may cause excess sweating and affect the area. Friction can darken the underarm skin too. So, avoid wearing tight clothes as far as possible.n Gently exfoliate the underarm skin every week to remove the top layer of dead skin cells, which can cause darkening. To reduce darkening, scrub underarms daily with pumice stone while taking shower. Waxing removes hair from the roots and dead cells from armpits. Thus usually it does not darken underarms.

Q What is "Selective Mutism"?

Selective mutism is a condition in which a person who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations or to specific people. Selective mutism usually begins in childhood. It usually co-exists with shyness or social anxiety. Its important to understand that when the mutism happens, the child is not voluntarily refusing to speak but is literally unable to speak, feeling frozen. In time, they learn to anticipate the situations that provoke mutism and do all they can to avoid them. Example: selective mutism while interacting with the opposite sex. Other attributes of children or adults with selective mutism are nervousness, socially awkward, clingy, excessively shy or withdrawn, stubborn or aggressive. Behavioral therapy forms the mainstay of treatment with medications used in a few older patients. Most children will work their way through SM with sympathetic support, although they may remain reserved and anxious in social situations.