Q What do you mean by Social Phobia? How it is expressed?

Social phobia is a strong fear of being judged by others, and of being embarrassed. This fear can be so strong that person start worrying about the things he is going to do in front of others weeks before, or it may restrict him from going into public places/school/work etc. Person will have overwhelmed fear that others will judge him wrongly or make fun of him. He might be afraid of eating or drinking in front of others, using public restrooms, going in social functions, performing anything in front of a crowd etc. This may end up with staying away from such situations or completely avoiding them. For some, it is a problem only in few situations, but some may have this fear constantly. This fear can express itself in the form of difficulty in getting acknowledged with others, talking with other people, high level of self-consciousness when in public, worries excessively before weeks or days of any upcoming social function, difficulties in making friends and becoming friendly with others, physical symptoms of fear may appear like sweating, trembling, blushing, palpitations, nausea, etc.

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 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.

Q What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects the way a person acts, thinks, and sees the world. People with schizophrenia have an altered perception of reality, often a significant loss of contact with reality. They may see or hear things that dont exist, speak in strange or confusing ways, believe that others are trying to harm them, or feel like theyre being constantly watched. With such a blurred line between the real and the imaginary, schizophrenia makes it difficult even frightening to negotiate the activities of daily life. In response, people with schizophrenia may withdraw from the outside world or act out in confusion and fear.

Q What are the symptoms of HIV and when do they appear?

Most people who are infected with HIV experience a short, flu-like illness that occurs two to six weeks after infection. After this, HIV often causes no symptoms for several years. Its seen that most of people who are infected with HIV experience this illness. The most common symptoms are fever (raised temperature), sore throat, body rash. Other symptoms can include tiredness, joint pain, muscle pain, swollen glands (nodes).

Q Today i feel pain in my lower back and abdomen. After taking an injection now its good. this is the second time in last 6 months but feel a little pain from last one year. In may 2012 doctor suggest to USG W/A but the report was normal. Some times pain and itching in Penis. Please help me doctor why this happen??

The lower back pain may be a radiating pain caused due to abdominal problems. There are problems like interstitial cystitis, chronic prostatitis that can cause pain radiating down the urethra of the penis. First a structural problem needs to be ruled out by a cystoscopy. This may need examination for urethral stricture or bladder problem. Urine analysis, urine culture and urethral swab would rule out a bacterial or sexually transmitted infection. Kindly consult a urologist for diagnosis.

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 Small penis size medicine.

There are no natural means to increase the length of the penis. However, the length of a penis is not indicative of its performance. If your erect penis measured from base to tip is 3.5 to 4 inches long, then your penis is of normal size. Only the first 1 inch of a womans vagina is sensitive to sexual pleasure, hence even a 2 1/2 inch penis is adequate for intercourse. Most women are not concerned about the size of the penis. You should focus on increasing your sexual skills.

Q My son fears animals a lot and continuously cries. What can I do?

The fear for large animals is obvious but if the child has got it for smaller pets you need to put some positive efforts. You can help your child to overcome the fear of animals by gradually introducing your child to small animals. Show your child pictures of animals in which they are playful. Take small steps at a time and do not rush things or it may back fire.

Q Please guide me proper veg diet chart for gain weight

In order to make a proper vegetarian diet chart more details are required such as your age, gender, height, current weight and physical activity level. Following is a general vegetarian diet chart to gain weight: Meal 1-8 am: Whole wheat bread and paneer sandwich and 1 cup milk. Meal 2-11 am: 1 Banana. Meal 3-2 pm: Roti, sabji and curd. Meal 4- 5 pm: Handful of roasted nuts and 1 cup milk. Meal 5- 8 pm: Roti, Sabji and dal or Rice, Sabji and dal.