Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

Most people are reluctant to take drugs. The two reasons given for this are side-effects and dependence.
Side-effectsThere are very few medicines which are entirely free from unpleasant or harmful effects. If a drug works, it does so by acting on the body’s tissues, so that when taken in excessive amounts, it will necessarily be harmful. People vary in their reactions, and some are more sensitive than others. Even the most widely taken drugs such as aspirin produce unpleasant effects, e.g. vomiting of blood in certain individuals, and most are familiar with the side-effects of the most popular of drugs-alcohol.
DependenceMany drugs, particularly those having effects on the brain, such as sedatives and tranquillizers, have a reputation of dependence. This means that when the drug is stopped, the individual suffers from unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The most well-known and dramatic of these is seen in chronic alcoholics and morphine addicts who, when their drug intake is suddenly stopped, develop hallucinations and tremor.In chronic or recurrent disease, of which migraine is one example, it is particularly important to avoid dependence. The withdrawal symptoms seen after long-term administration of sedatives or tranquillizers are comparatively mild but can lead to insomnia, irritability, and depression.For these reasons drugs should be taken only when necessary; the indication in migraine is when attacks are severe and interfere with daily life. When attacks are frequent, drug therapy may be more effective if preventive (prophylactic) treatment is given rather than waiting for the attacks which, when started, may not be so easily remedied.Most people with migraine have mild attacks and the patients cope themselves without going to the doctor. It is only the severe migraine attacks, not controlled by the usual simple measures that prove to be a treatment problem.
*51/152/5*

Comments (0) Jul 04 2011

First I must explain what reflexes are. A reflex is a reaction of the body to certain changes that take place within the body. Let us see how in the following examples:1You touch something hot and automatically the hand is snatched away to prevent the fingers from getting burned. The nerve endings on the fingertips that feel heat send impulses via sensory nerves to the spine where a ‘process centre’ or ‘analysing centre’ in the brain promptly sends commands to the muscles via motor nerves to withdraw the hand immediately. This path from fingertips to the spine to the muscles of the arm is a reflex. It is almost like the rays of the sun being reflected by a mirror on to the wall.2You feel cold and the body responds to it in a certain way: you shiver to generate more body heat; you get goose pimples to trap a layer of air between ‘raised hair’ on the skin to prevent heat loss from its surface; your body mobilises reserve glucose and fat to release more fuel to generate heat. All these different responses (involuntary) come about because of the stimulation of cold ‘receptors’ or nerve endings on the skin. These receptors send messages to the subconscious brain which processes the information before sending commands to the autonomous (involuntary) nerve centres to shiver, create ‘goose bumps’ and release glucose. This is a complex reflex with a series of reactions to a single stimulus (cold).*79\330\8*

Comments (0) Jun 17 2011