Q My mother is 69 years, last year we accidntally came to know that she has polycystic kidney disease. She never had any symptoms of this disease. When she went for an ultra sound scan for porlonged cough, doctor deteced PKD, then a nephrologist suggested to go in for continuous dialysis and we have been doing the same twice a week. She is normal now. Should we continue doing dialysis? She is not BP or Sugar patient

Whether to continue with dialysis or not will depend upon how well is the kidney functioning. Frequency of dialysis can be decided only by nephrologist considering her response to the treatment. Do regular consultation with your doctor and follow his advises.

Q Why do kids suck thumb? Does it mean that they are hungry?

Babies suck thumb because thumb sucking has a soothing and calming effect on them. No, it does not always suggest that the kid is hungry. Thumb sucking around the feeding time could indicate that the kid is hungry, but not otherwise.n Babies may suck thumb when they are lonely, bored, or sleepy too! This habit usually stops by the age of 3 to 6 years.n Some babies develop habit of thumb sucking right in the womb!

Q Does sex improve life expectancy?

Yes. Sexual intercourse not only increases bonding between the partners but also is beneficial for health. Every muscle in the body can be worked and toned, particularly the pelvis, buttocks, stomach and arms. There are man benefits seen for people having regular indulgence in sex. Sex has been proven to lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and increase circulation. Sex saturates the blood with an antibody called immunoglobulin A that is known to boost immunity. This protects body from infections. Sexual stimulation has been proven to be an analgesic or painkiller. Sex also helps to beat stress and helps to induce sound sleep. It is useful to burn excess fats in body so as to maintain weight. It definitely increses lifes expectancy.

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 My mother in law is suffering from TB and not able to take any medicine for that. What should be done ?

TB is a curable disease only if the treatment course of 6-9 months is completed. There is no other way to cure it. Why exactly is your mother in law not able to take medicines?

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 Body too thin...some diet tips

Weight gain depends upon your diet and exercise pattern. Include calorie and protein rich foods in your diet such as eggs, chicken, fish, milk and milk products, nuts, pulses etc. Every morning have a glass of milk with honey and 2 bananas. Consume handful of mixed nuts everyday. Weight gain should be healthy and hence you should limit your intake of junk food. Instead of 3 large meals have 5-7 small meals. Join a gym and practice weight training under supervision.

Q My 10 year old daughter continues to wet the bed. Not every night, but i thought it would stop as she grows but still hasnt. I wonder if there is something medically wrong.

If you daughter has nocturnal enuresis sometimes, it may need further evaluation, as this is not so common in teenagers. There are some factors that may affect urine control in teens. These include excessive intake of caffeine drinks like tea or coffee, deep sleep pattern which can be a normal for growing teen, excessive emotional stress or fear of something, inconsistent sleep timings etc. These things can be corrected in order to fix the problem. Other things to give consideration are certain medications, diabetes of other medical diseases, family history of parents having the same problem, urinary tract infection, etc. If she is having this problem since her childhood, then this can be considered as primary nocturnal enuresis and she can be out of 2% of girls who continues with this till they reach their teen. This thing can be improved with proper counselling to her. Making her to use bathroom before going to bed. Limiting her fluid intake before going to bed. She can be effectively treated with moisture alarms while asleep. It will be less likely that she will need medications for this. Proper counselling and educating her may motivate her to take initiation to cure herself. You may take her to physician to rule out underlying disease if any.

Q I have been suffering from hyper-acidity as a result of antibiotics. Please advice.

Hyper-acidity is a common side effect of most antibiotics. Most physicians will prescribe an antacid or a H2 blocker along with antibiotics to circumvent this side-effect. If your physician hasnt done so, please visit him and ask him to prescribe the same. If you are on long term antibiotics, a multivitamin will help. As a home measure, include plenty of cold milk and yogurt in your diet to counteract hyper-acidity.

Q Is any side effect of masturbatiion?

Masturbation is the self-stimulation of the genitals to achieve sexual arousal and pleasure. It is a natural and harmless expression of sexuality for both men and women. It does not cause any physical injury or harm to the body, and can be performed in moderation throughout a persons lifetime as a part of normal sexual behavior. Masturbation is only considered a problem when it inhibits sexual activity with a partner, is done in public, or if it is done compulsively and/or interferes with daily life and activities. Hence, it is advisable to indulge in masturbation only when you are sexually excited and not as a daily habit.