Q What is the true cause of trichotillomania aslo known as severe obsessive compulsive hair pulling?

The cause of trichotillomania is unclear. But like many complex disorders, trichotillomania probably results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Also, abnormalities in the natural brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine may play a role in trichotillomania. While the underlying biology is not clearly understood at this time, we do know that people with trichotillomania generally have a neurologically based predisposition to pull their hair as a self-soothing mechanism. The pulling behavior serves as a coping mechanism for anxiety and other difficult emotions. It does not hurt and they are not trying to damage themselves. While the average age of onset is 11, trich can be found in children as young as one year old. Onset of trich can be triggered by simple sensory events, such as itchy eyelashes, or by stressful life events, and it can occur quite suddenly. For example, it may be a tingling feeling that can only be relieved by pulling. ny relief that comes with hair pulling usually only lasts for a moment. The urge almost always returns. Thats because when the mind becomes used to giving in to the powerful urges that go with compulsive behaviors, the behavior is reinforced, and then becomes a habit. The mind gets trapped in a cycle of expecting to have the urge satisfied. The longer this goes on, the harder it can become to resist the urge.

Q my right testicle became loose and is hanging......with dis my right side body is becoming fat than left side body.......what should i do...?

There is absolutely no problem with you. It is normal for one testes to hang lower than the normal. The position of the testes has no effect on the fat accumulation on the body. It is also normal for the dominant side of the body to be slightly different in proportion. For eg: if you are right hand person your right hand biceps measurement may slightly vary form left hand.

Q Do childhood earaches cause hearing loss later in life?

The ear ache in childhood has different causes either related to ear or some other parts like teeth, head, mouth etc. In most of the cases, it is related with the hearing loss in later life. But, the deafness has many other serious conditions in adult life which are not related with the childhood earache.

Q My 11 years old girl used to get sick 5-6 times a year, most probably its flu or cold or sore throat with a high fever although she is a swimmer, she swims 2-3 kilos daily, shall I think about reducing her swimming or how can I improve immunity?

I would recommend that she should continue swimming because it will help her to build immunity. Ask her to avoid swimming on the days when she is ill. Apart from this make sure she has a well balanced diet, adequate hydration and regular sleep for 7-9 hours. Also if the incidence of her falling ill has started after she started to swim than you should consider changing the place where she swims and see if there is any difference in her frequency of falling ill.

Q Can dark circles be treated completely with laser?

There are very effective modern laser and light treatments that can permanently remove the dark circles under your eyes.However, these dark circle treatments must be directed at the underlying medical cause of the dark circles for removal to be effective. Always consult a good doctor and ensure that he knows what he is doing. Since the skin under the eyes is delicate, a wrong laser treatment may cause serious damage to the eyes. You may also consult a dermatologist to recover from dark circles.

Q can inhale not exhale,cough only during night feeling lack of energy

The symptom you have descrirbed may be due to pathologies related with respiratory system and the organ involved is trachea, lung or diaphragm. It may be due to an infection with bacteria or virus and it may acute or chronic. You require physical examination by a consultant to rule out the cause. A diet lacking certain nutrients can also contribute to a chronic cough. If your body has deficiency of iron, swelling and irritation in the back of your throat could be a symptom, which can lead to coughing at night. The condition is also associated with weakness many times. An iron supplement may be all you need in this case.

Q What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is a sudden onset of intense fear or apprehension without any known cause. A panic attack comes suddenly lasts for few minutes and may disappear of its own without any medicine. Sometimes, panic attacks can be very frightening. Some of the symptoms you may experience during the panic attack include - palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, a choking sensation, chest pain and feeling sick etc. If the attack is recurrent, it is advised to consult the physician to get the best possible treatment.

Q Does stress really cause heart disease?

Stress is a normal part of life. But if left unmanaged, stress can lead to psychological and physical complaints. Stress by itself does not cause heart disease but it increases the risk of developing heart disease. Stress is known causative factor for hypertension, high cholesterol levels, binge eating, alcohol abuse, excessive smoking. All these in turn can lead to heart disease.

Q Can local honey cure seasonal allergies?

Honey contains powerful antioxidants, antiseptic and antibacterial propertise. It is said to cure some allergies particularly localised honey to that area can cure seasonal allergy as the bees feed on pollens of that area which finally form honey. At the same time there are studies showing that its effect is nothing more than a placebo.

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.