Q For Depression, Phone Therapy May be an Answer?

Depression is a mental disorder in which the person may feel to be alone and dont want to see anyone around him. In this case, phone therapy can play a important role to consult with the patient without going to disturb him. No third person come to know about the disease and the treatment. The patient can feel comfortable at home and feel free to discuss the problem in private. The patient may feel comfortable by avoiding the dressing to go to the clinic, travelling and waiting for consultation etc. But, it should not be considered as a complete treatment. And one has to limit the time period during the call.

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 What can you tell me about Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a Mental Health disorder that generates significant emotional instability. This can lead to a variety of other stressful mental and behavioral problems. When you have borderline personality disorder, you often have an insecure sense of who you are. Your self-image, self-identity or sense of self often rapidly changes. You may view yourself as evil or bad, and sometimes you may feel as if you dont exist at all. An unstable self-image often leads to frequent changes in jobs, friendships, goals and values. This is because people with borderline personality disorder often have difficulty accepting gray areas; things seem to be either black or white. The common symptom of borderline personality disorder are overwhelming feelings of distress, anxiety, worthlessness or anger, difficulty managing such feelings without self-harming, for example by abusing drugs and alcohol or taking overdoses, difficulty maintaining stable and close relationships, sometimes, periods of loss of contact with reality, in some cases, threats of harm to others. Treatment may involve a range of individual and group psychological therapies (psychotherapy) carried out by trained professionals.

Q How to deal with acute stress?

Relaxing or chilling out as they say is the easy and excellent way to deal with acute stress. The aim is to do something which would help you reorient yourself away from stress and get back to the normal state, similar to what you were before the stress hormones kicked in. You can do this by taking in some deep breaths and breathing the stress out. A quick warm bath can do the trick. Brisk walk or a small jog drains the stress. Speak the stress out to a friend. Count backwards from 10 to 1.This not only works in case of anger but also dissolves stress well. Figure out the acute stressors and incorporate meditation or yoga into routine to keep your calm through any stressful situation.

Q Will doing swimming during winter days harm kids? and what about clorinated water exposure?

During winter, due to cold environment, children may get flu, cold and cough etc. Children are more sensitive and their immunity is also weak as compared to adults. So, it is advised not to go for swimming during winter. And remember, some children are allergic to chlorinated water. You must keep an eye on your childs health, to identify any symptoms if they do appear.

Q Why is one pupil bigger than the other in a 2 month old baby boy?

1 in 5 babies can born with different sized pupils without any underlying disorder. If other family members also have similar pupils, then the pupil size difference is possibly genetic and nothing to worry about. However, certain underlying conditions such as Homers disease, aneurysm, tumor, increased intracranial pressure, meningitis can cause a difference in pupillary size. If your baby does not have any other sign and symptom and he is healthy otherwise, then there is nothing to worry about. But our advise will be to get him examined once to rule out any underlying disease.

Q Hi, I sometimes get a "twinge" in my left chest, sort of in the crease of my breast. It doesnt happen after exertion but at any time, even at night in bed - Im scared theres something wrong with my heart.

Twinge or sudden sharp pain is very common presentation of chest pain and most of the times it is not related to heart. Very rarely this pain indicate coronary artery disease. Moreover since the pain is not related to exertion and comes anytime, it is less likely related to heart conditions. One probable cause for your pain could be indigestion. However it is advisable that you get yourself examined by your family physician once to rule out anything serious.

Q Are people who drink wine less likely to develop dementia

There are studies which says that moderate consumption of wine is linked to reduced risk of developing dementia. However this does not mean that you start drinking wine if you do not drink alcohol.rnrn 

Q How common is pancreatitis in children?

Pancreatitis is less common in children. Even if it does occur most commonly it is acute pancreatitis. Trauma to the abdomen is the most common cause of pancreatitis. Other causes include viral infection, side effect of medication, etc. In around 25% of cases the cause is not known.rnrn 

Q My lips are very dry and occasionally bleeds what to do?

Lips have a thin coating of oil which prevents them from drying. However in some people this moisture is lost resulting in excessive drying. The main reasons behind this is defective hydration, excessive licking habit, in winters due to dry winds, side effect of medications. In most cases self care measures helps to resolve the issue. Self care measures include: Improving daily water intake because it is important to remain well hydrated to prevent drying of lips. Use a lip balm whenever you are outdoors. Rubbing a slice of cucumber or a milk cream on lips at night. Keep it for few minutes and then wash it of with plain water. This will help in healing of cracked lips. However a condition called as chelitis which is cracked skin at corner of lips needs medical care, as the cause is infection. In that case consultation with dermatologist is required.