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 After what age children can drink coffee?

Children under 12 are generally recommended to avoid caffeine or to limit its intake. Because, Caffeine is absorbed very quickly into the body and then passes into the central nervous system. In low doses caffeine can affect the body causing decreased appetite, increased urination, hyperactive behaviour and difficulty sleeping. The harmful effects may occur when a child consumes more than 4.5 mg of caffeine per pound of body weight.

Q Hello doctor, my grandfather was diagnosed with an alzheimers dementia; could u give me more info about this disease? What is the cause? Is it hereditary? Any treatment for the same?

Alzheimers disease is the most common form of dementia, a serious brain disorder that impacts daily living through memory loss and cognitive changes. Alzheimers is a degenerative disease, progressing from mild forgetfulness to widespread neurological impairment and ultimately death. nAlthough a direct cause of Alzheimers is not known certain common factors are found in the clinical picture of sufferers. These include; prior personality organisation of the individual and stressfulness of their life situation. You are at higher risk, if family history of this disease is there.nAlthough there is no cure for Alzheimers, and various psychotherapies appear to be ineffective, there are ways to treat some of the symptoms of the disease: Use of medications to treat cognitive decline and memory loss. Also appropriate activities such as exercise, recreation, and adult day care services appear to assist in the management of the patient.

Q Is it advisable to go for cosmetic plastic surgery during pregnancy ?

Pregnancy usually brings in major alterations in overall body weight including the face which in turn changes the appearance of wrinkles. She should wait for at least 3 to 4 months after delivery in order to regain her pre pregnancy weight. Later on, she can opt for the plastic surgery.

Q Are anabolic steroids addictive?

Anabolic steroids are synthetic version of male sex hormone testosterone. It is prescribed in several medical conditions where there is muscle loss. However it can be abused by athletes and bodybuilders to enhance their performance. Thus they have the potential of being addictive.

Q What is histrionic disorder?

Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behavior and extreme emotionality. Someone with histrionic personality disorder wants to be the center of attention in any group of people, and feel uncomfortable when they are not. While often lively, interesting and sometimes dramatic, they have difficulty when people arent focused exclusively on them. People with this disorder may be perceived as being shallow, and may engage in sexually seductive or provocative behavior to draw attention to themselves.

Q I am having chest pains every day multiple times. Should I be worried? I am 17 years old. They hurt a lot and last from 20 to 45 seconds. I cant move or do anything or it ll hurt.

Having chest pain multiple times may be something you should take it seriously, whatever is the cause. It is advised to consult the physician as early as you can, to rule out the cause. Some of the causes for repeated chest pain include- muscular pain, any injury or trauma, heart burn etc. It is less common to have any underlying heart disease at this age but, the probability is there.

Q What about soy and thyroid health?

The available research suggests that soy may not affect thyroid function, especially in those who have a normal thyroid. Those who have an existing thyroid problem and take medications for their thyroid must avoid it or consume after an interval. The reason being, soy may affects the absorption rate of the medicine is the GI tract.

Q Suffering from fibromyalgia since last 12 years fade up of that now please suggest solution

We can understand your despair about your condition. Fibromyalgia syndrome is characterized by generalised pain, hypersensitive and painful response to pressure, joint stiffness, chronic fatigue and sleep disturbances. Also it is commonly associated with psychological disorders like depression. As it is a complex syndrome and has no specific cause, it is one of medically not fully understood syndromes, as a result there is no universally accepted permenant cure for this condition. The aim in management of it is to alleviate the pain and other associated symptoms of this condition. This include various methods that collectively will give relief from symptoms. The methods include cognitive behaviopural therapy, prescribed medicines, exercise(specially aerobic). FM is not a fatal condition and is not prograssive. So, if you maintain healthy lifestyle including exercise, eat healthy and balanced diet, get an adequate sleep, and stay away from stress and depression, it can get better over a time. Trying complemetary or alternative therapies is definitely a thing to consider. You can choose any from a variety, like Ayurveda, Homoeopathic, Accupressure or accupuncture, massage therapies, physiotherapy, herbs etc. These are proved to be effective in many such patients.

Q Diagnosis of high cholesterol

The diagnosis of high cholesterol levels is based on a simple blood test. Usually a complete Lipid profile is advised to test the levels of different components of cholesterol and triglycerides. Total cholesterol levels should be less than 200 mg/dl. LDL levels less than 100 mg/dL ( 2.6 mmol/L) are considered optimal. An acceptable HDL range is between 40- 60 mg/dL (1.04-1.56 mmol/L). Triglyceride levels should be maintained less than 150 mg/dl. High levels of HDL have a protective effect against heart disease whereas high levels of LDL and triglycerides increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.