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 What is natural family planning?

Natural Family Planning ( NFP) is the term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancies. These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a womans menstrual cycle. Couples using NFP to avoid pregnancy abstain from intercourse and genital contact during the fertile phase of the womans cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy.

Q Is dotted condoms give more pleasure than plain condom??

Sexual pleasure is every ones subjective feeling. Nothing is universal when it comes to sex or sexual pleasure. But to see an average, it is true that variation in sexual intercourse like using dotted condoms increase pleasure for many women. Dotted condoms are made for more pleasure as they have rough texture which may increase the sensations while intercourse. But it will vary with a women whether she enjoys it or not. Some women can still enjoy plain condoms than any other variety.

Q How do I grow height? Im 14 from Canada and my height is 4 10"

Growth of height is determined by following factors : your genetic background , your overall nutrition level, tendency to fall repeatedly ill, etc. In males maximum height can be achieved by the age of 18-20 and in females up-to the age of 15-16. So you have a good scope of improving your height. Take care of following things to boost your height : Increase dietary intake of proteins like groundnut, soya beans, milk and milk products, eggs, chicken and fish ( if you are non vegetarian ). Have calcium rich foods like milk, spinach, yogurt, cheese, green leafy vegetables. Do some kind of physical activity. Cycling and swimming are best to increase height. Take enough rest, Stay well hydrated.

Q When do most girls start shaving their underarms?

It is completely a matter of personal choice and clothing preferences. You may start as soon as you notice a lot of hair growth. Most girls start doing around the onset of their first menstrual period.

Q Can stress cause weigh gain? How is stress related to weight gain? How to prevent it?

Yes stress is the major cause for weight gain! People turn to food for comfort whenever they feel stressed and tend to overeat. To make it worse, often we choose junk food. So, one, we eat unnecessarily without being hungry and two, junk food means much more added calories than needed.n Over a period, the caloric imbalance leads to weight gain and eventually elevates risk of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.n Now that you know, choose healthy alternatives like an apple or roasted almonds next time you feel stressed and are tempted to eat!n Moreover, try alternate ways like going for a walk or dancing to the tunes of some soothing music. This will not only relieve stress but will give bonus benefit by burning excess calories.

Q How can I improve my chances of becoming a father?

You must follow a regular exercise and diet plan in order to be fit and fine, and to increase the chances of being a father. It is necessary to have the intercourse during the ovulation phase of the female. Normally, ovulation takes place at 14th day after the last menses counting from the starting of the bleeding as Day 1. In irregular cycle, one can use the ovulation kit to get the ovulation period. If you are quite young and unmarried, avoid excessive masturbation and other things which make you feel arousal. Because, it may lead to less erection and early ejaculation which will affect your sexual life and some other problems related with general physical and mental health. Avoid multi-partner sex which may gives you any sexually transmitted disease.

Q Had anal warts which i got removed, now it has develop near penis, what is the reason?

Warts in genital area are caused due to infection with human papilloma virus infection. The virus is spread through skin to skin contact. Having sexual intercourse with multiple partners or with unknown person increases the risk of developing infection.

Q Hairfall after delivery is it common how can i deal with it?

A hair cycle consists of 3 phases: anagen (growing), catogen (stoppage of growth and blood supply) and telogen(resting) phases. Normally upto 90% of hair are in the growing phase, 10-14% in the resting phase and 1-2% in the falling phase. Pregnancy and childbirth are stressful events for the body which pushes a lot of hair prematurely in the resting phase (telogen effluvium). This results in a large quantity of sudden hairfall. However, dont worry, this condition is temporary. In six months, the hair reverts back to its normal growth cycle. In the meanwhile, make sure you eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and remain stress free.

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.