Q Is it possible to raise your IQ?

Intelligence is mostly hereditary. Intellectual ability grows until about age 16, and after that changes very little. Practicing various skills which are tested on IQ tests will increase your IQ score some, but it is not likely to increase your intelligence. Intelligence is basically the abilities to learn, to reason, to remember, to think abstractly, to problem-solve, etc. These abilities are very difficult to improve once you are an adult, though you may improve specific skills. E.g. you can improve basic mathematical skills by practicing them often and learning certain mathematical shortcuts, or you can learn to read faster by pushing your reading speed and learning to scan for meaning. Generally, the best way to improve your performance in specific work tasks is to do those tasks a lot. When you do that, you gradually learn the best possible techniques to efficiently and accurately complete that work, in the minimum necessary amount of time.

Q What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(adhd)?

ADHD is a common neurobehavioral disorders diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. The primary cause behind ADHD is heredity. Symptoms include lack of attention, easy distraction, boredom, careless mistakes, daydreaming, non completion of tasks, forgetfullness, constant fidgeting, talking excessively, difficulty waiting for anything and physical restlesslessness- always moving about from 1 activity to another. There is no single test to diagnose ADHD. It is usually treated with a combination of medication and behavioral therapy.

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.

Q My baby has a white curd-like coating in the mouth. It bleeds when I try to clean it. What could it be? Is it normal?

Hello. The white coating you have described in your babys mouth could be a fungal infection! It is not normal. It could be acquired from the mothers birth canal at the time of birth and called as thrush in medical terms. It looks like elevated white patches of cheese or curd on tongue or cheeks and leaves behid a red bleeding surface when cleaned. Dont worry! It is not dangerous; but, it is surely painful for your baby and interferes with the feeding. In some babies the condition is self limiting and needs no treatment. In others an antifungal gel or medications might be needed.

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 wife is not able to absorb the sperm after relationship and thats way she is not able to get pregnant.

After sexual intercourse it is normal for some amount of seminal fluid to ooze out from the vagina. This will not affect your wifes chance of getting pregnant. However if you are trying since more than a year and have not succeed than it is necessary that both of you get yourself examined. For female examination like ultrasonography and for males semen analysis is recommended.

Q Can you have a normal ECG but an abnormal chest X-ray ?

Yes. This can happen. As both the investigations serve different purposes. ECG is restricted to evaluate and diagnose heart conditions. It does not give an idea about other structures in your chest cavity. But a chest X-ray is more elaborated and preliminary examination to detect any problems inside thoracic cage. Most commonly chest X-ray is advised to see lung condition, but its scope does not limit there. A normally functioning heart with problems to other organs and spaces inside chest cavity can give normal ECG with an abnormal chest X-ray.

Q Can local honey cure seasonal allergies?

Honey contains powerful antioxidants, antiseptic and antibacterial propertise. It is said to cure some allergies particularly localised honey to that area can cure seasonal allergy as the bees feed on pollens of that area which finally form honey. At the same time there are studies showing that its effect is nothing more than a placebo.

Q Can a girl get pregnant without inserting? Just touch outside her vagina.

A girl can get pregnant only when the sperms enter the vagina. But this can happen even if you ejaculate near her vaginal opening. Please do not take any unnecessary risk. Either use a condom or stay as far from the vagina as possible.

Q What is multiple personality syndrome?

Dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder is a very rare mental disorder. It is characterised by at least two distinct and relatively enduring identities or dissociated personality states that alternately control a persons behavior, and is accompanied by memory impairment for important information not explained by ordinary forgetfulness. It is one of the most controversial psychiatric disorders with no clear consensus regarding its diagnosis or treatment.