Q When is herpes contagious? I have not had an outbreak of genital herpes in years but i do take valtrex if i feel an outbreak may be coming on. If i take valtrex as needed and i do not have an outbreak, am i still contagious?

Genital herpes is the most contagious when the lesions are active and a few days before that. However, an infected person can potentially be shedding the virus all his life. Since, the virus is spread by direct skin to skin contact, it is very easy to spread it through intercourse or oral sex. Thus, protect your partner by always using a condom.

Q What is Bulimia? What are the causes of the same?

It is a type of eating disorder. A person with bulimia eats a lot of food in a short amount of time and then tries to prevent weight gain by getting rid of the food either by vomiting or with the help of laxatives. The causes for the disease include - family history, any mental illness or stress, cultural factor etc.

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 What tips do you have for someone with Social Anxiety?

At first, being social when youre feeling anxious is challenging. As difficult or painful as it may seem initially, dont avoid situations that trigger your symptoms. By regularly facing these kinds of situations, youll continue to build and reinforce your coping skills. The following techniques can help you begin to face situations that make you nervous: Prepare for conversation. For instance, read the newspaper to identify an interesting story you can talk about. 1. Focus on personal qualities you like about yourself. 2. Practice relaxation exercises. 3. Adopt stress management techniques. 4. Set realistic goals. 5. Pay attention to how often the embarrassing situations youre afraid of actually take place. You may notice that the scenarios you fear usually dont come to pass. 6. When embarrassing situations do happen, remind yourself that your feelings will pass, and you can handle them until they do. 7. Develop coping skills- Hang out with people whom with you feel comfortable, Joining a group that offers opportunities to improve communication and public speaking skills, remind yourself that you can get through anxious moments, that your anxiety is short-lived. 8. Take good sleep and healthy diet. Psychiatric counselling and medicine helps to deal with anxiety. Finally positive thinking and building self-confidence is the key to fight against your anxiety. Be confident. All the best.

Q I am 69 year old, my hands start trembling whenever I am writing any thing which medicine should I take? what is parkinsons disease?

Trembling or shaking of hands is called as tremors. There are variety of tremors found and so variety of causes are there for its occurance. If you are suufering from tremors only when you write something, then these can be: Intentional tremors that occur at the end of any purposeful movements, Cerebellar tremors represented as intetional tremors, postural tremor that occur in particular posture of hand or leg against gravity, benign essential tremors occuring at older age and are inherited from family, tremors due to increased thyroid functioning, tremors due to reduced blood sugar levels, tremors as a result of alohol withdrawal or due to alcohol consumption, it can be a side effect of certain medicines, or it can be a task specific tremors. To prescribe you any medicines, it is necessary to evaluate your symptoms in more detailed way including evaluation by physical examination, which will be best achieved if you see your physician or a neurologist. Perkinsons disease is a degenerative disorder of central nervous system, where brain cells and nervous tissue undergo degeneration, resulting in dopamine deficiency in a patient. If you are trying to link your tremors with parkinsons, then the main differentiating point is parkinsons tremors are observed at rest and not at the time of movements. Further evaluation is needed for proper management.

Q What is Hyper Tension

Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the arteries have persistently elevated blood pressure. Every time the human heart beats, it pumps blood to the whole body through the arteries. Systolic pressure more than 140 and diastolic pressure more than 90 is usually considered as hypertension.

Q How to control thyroid in pregnency

Thyroid control will require intake of thyroid medication. Medication will depend upon the type of thyroid disorder such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Hence you should consult your family physician at the earliest as uncontrolled thyroid disease can affect the fetus.

Q Hello I am 28 years newly married .i am sexually weak ,the time duration is not enough .what can i do??

What you face is called as performance anxiety. It is common among newly married mens. The reason behind it is nervousness in front of your partner or doing the act in hurry. For most couples the duration of sex is betwee 3-7 mins. So if you are in this category you need not worry. How ever you can follow these simple measures to improve your time. Pace slowly. Give more time to foreplay. Do not hurry. Try to do sex more often. Over a period of time it will improve. If not planning for pregnancy then use a thick condom. It will delay the sensation to your penis and will help you to last long. You can also practice stop-start method. Divert your mind to non sexual thought the moment to feel you are about to ejaculate and once you are relaxed restart again.

Q how to do anal sex? does it creat any problem?

Anal sex is practiced by many heterosexuals, as well as homosexual couples. The anal area has many erotic nerve endings in both men and women. Because of this, many couples (heterosexual or homosexual) can derive pleasure from some form of bottom stimulation. Anal sex should be avoided by couples in which one of the partners has been diagnosed with an STI until the treatment has proven to be effective. In order to make anal sex safer, the couple must ensure that the anal area is clean and the bowel empty and the partner on whom anal penetration occurs should be able to relax. Regardless of whether anal penetration occurs by using a finger or the penis, the condom is the best barrier method to prevent transmission of STI. Since the rectum can be easily damaged, the use of lubricants is highly recommended even when penetration occurs by using the finger. Especially for beginners, using a condom on the finger is both a protection measure against STI and a lubricant source. Most condoms are lubricated and they allow less painful and easier penetration. Anal stimulation with a sex toy requires similar safety measures to anal penetration with a penis, in this case using a condom on the sex toy in a similar way. It is important that the man washes and cleans his penis after anal intercourse if he intends to penetrate the vagina. Bacteria from the rectum are easily transferred to the vagina, which may cause vaginal infections. When anal-oral cos ntact occurs, protection is required since this is a risky sexual behavior in which illnesses as Hepatitis A or STIs can be easily transmitted, as well as enteric infections. The dental dam or the plastic wrap[citation needed] are effective protection means whenever anilingus is performed. Anal sex has a number of health risks. Anal intercourse is the riskiest form of sexual activity for several reasons, including the following: The anus lacks the natural lubrication the vagina has. Penetration can tear the tissue inside the anus, allowing bacteria and viruses to enter the bloodstream. This can result in the spread of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV) may also lead to the development of anal warts and anal cancer. Using lubricants can help some, but doesnt completely prevent tearing. The tissue inside the anus is not as well protected as the skin outside theanus. Our external tissue has layers of dead cells that serve as a protective barrier against infection. The tissue inside the anus does not have this natural protection, which leaves it vulnerable to tearing and the spread of infection. The anus was designed to hold in feces. Repetitive anal sex may lead to weakening of the anal sphincter, making it difficult to hold in feces until you can get to the toilet. The anus is full of bacteria. Even if both partners do not have a sexually-transmitted infection or disease, bacteria normally in the anus can potentially infect the giving partner. Practicing vaginal sex after anal sex can also lead to vaginal and urinary tract infections.

Q How does aids kill cells in immune system?

The AIDS is caused by the virus HIV, which attacks the CD4 cell (T-cells) of the immune system. Because, CD4 cells have a specific protein for the HIV. The HIV also affects other cells like B cells and macrophages which are the main part of the immune system. Thus, limiting the action of the immunity of the affected individual. Due to decreased immunity, the individual is prone to any infection leading to further decline in the health status of the individual. In most of the cases, the individual dies due to some other infection to the AIDS patient.