Q How do drugs affect driving?

Driving requires skills, such as information processing and psychomotor skills, which may be impaired by the use of drugs. The effect of drugs vary according to the individual, drug type, dosage, the length of time the drugs stays in your body, or if the drug has been taken with other drugs or alcohol. Drugs affect your ability to drive in different ways like - poor concentration and coordination, blurred vision, nausea, hallucinations, decrease the reaction time etc. A driver who is impaired through any drug is at risk of having an accident which may be life threatening in rare cases. And note that, driving under the influence of a drug is illegal.

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 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 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 What are low-glycemic index foods?

Foods that are very slowly absorbed are said to have low glycemic index. These don~t affect blood sugar levels much.

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 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 When is herpes contagious? I have not had an outbreak of genital herpes in years but i do take valtrex if i feel an outbreak may be coming on. If i take valtrex as needed and i do not have an outbreak, am i still contagious?

Genital herpes is the most contagious when the lesions are active and a few days before that. However, an infected person can potentially be shedding the virus all his life. Since, the virus is spread by direct skin to skin contact, it is very easy to spread it through intercourse or oral sex. Thus, protect your partner by always using a condom.

Q What is "Selective Mutism"?

Selective mutism is a condition in which a person who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations or to specific people. Selective mutism usually begins in childhood. It usually co-exists with shyness or social anxiety. Its important to understand that when the mutism happens, the child is not voluntarily refusing to speak but is literally unable to speak, feeling frozen. In time, they learn to anticipate the situations that provoke mutism and do all they can to avoid them. Example: selective mutism while interacting with the opposite sex. Other attributes of children or adults with selective mutism are nervousness, socially awkward, clingy, excessively shy or withdrawn, stubborn or aggressive. Behavioral therapy forms the mainstay of treatment with medications used in a few older patients. Most children will work their way through SM with sympathetic support, although they may remain reserved and anxious in social situations.

Q Who should I consult to help my child if I am concerned about their mental, behavioral, or emotional symptoms?

You should consult a pediatric psychologist or child counselor to solve problems related to your childs mental, behavioral and emotional symptoms.