Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Is Eczema Curable? So What Can Cure Eczema

With the nights growing longer and the weather getting colder, it is safe to say that winter is well and truly upon us! But what does this mean for our psyche? Often these longer nights can lead to us feeling a bit down and cause us to lose interest in daily activities. This is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) aka ‘The Winter Blues’, the symptoms of depression and lethargy tend to be present between December and February. During spring and summer, you may feel better, but symptoms may resurface when winter returns.

The Main Symptoms of SAD are:

Persistent low mood
Loss of interest in daily activities and life
Feeling lethargic – slow and lacking energy
Sleeping more
Eating more, so gaining weight
Feeling irritable

What are the Causes?

The exact cause of SAD is not fully understood. It is thought reduced sunlight in the winter months is a contributing factor. Daylight can affect mood, appetite and wakefulness, which are processes that the hypothalamus (a structure in the brain) controls.

However, SAD does not occur at a higher incidence in northern regions compared to southern regions, so there may be causes other than reduced daylight exposure. It is possible there is a genetic component as some cases run in families.

Women of childbearing age are more commonly affected by SAD and it is approximately 3 times more common in women than men.

How do I know if I have SAD?

The best way to know if you have SAD is to visit your GP. They will assess your mental health state by asking various questions. These include asking about your mood, daily activities, eating habits, sleep and how these differ throughout the seasons.

What are the Treatment Options?

Therapy for SAD can be similar to depression therapy: self-help, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or counselling, or medications. There is also some evidence that light boxes can be helpful. You should discuss with your GP which treatment is the best option for you.

The Most Common Treatments Are:

Self-help

This involves continuing your daily activities and exercising regularly.
Trying to get as much daylight exposure as possible, perhaps take a morning or lunchtime walk.
Avoid overeating, try to eat more nutritious and fillings foods which are high in protein and fibre.
Talk to your friends and family about your mood so they can understand and support you.
Practice meditation and continue to do things that you enjoy and make you happy

Light Therapy

A light box may be used to provide the daylight you are missing out on in the winter. The light is similar to sunlight but the ones recommended for use are not harmful to the skin or eyes, as they have no ultraviolet radiation. It is thought the light helps the brain to make less of the hormone melatonin, reducing sleepiness, and more of the hormone serotonin, elevating mood. You should use the light box for 30 minutes to an hour each morning. If the light is working, an improvement is usually noticed within the first week of use. Lightboxes are short-term treatments meaning while you use them symptoms will improve but next winter your SAD may return.

If you have an eye condition or have increased sensitivity to light, this may not be a suitable treatment.

You will likely need to buy your own lightbox, so ensure you check the product is medically approved for treatment of SAD and how long you need to use the light for.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on changing the way we think about situations and how to deal with them. This is because the way we think can influence how we feel. A therapist will provide you with a programme of self-help depending on your goals.

Medication

Antidepressants are used to treat depression and can be helpful in severe cases of SAD where other treatments fail. There is evidence that it is best to take them before any symptoms appear, at the beginning of winter, and continue them until spring. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are preferred as any medications which can make you sleepy should be avoided. There is good evidence for the use of the SSRIs sertraline, citalopram or fluoxetine.

Dr Seth Rankin is Founder of London Doctors Clinic

talkhealth Blog

Eczema And Psoriasis Causes, Symptoms And Natural Home Remedies For Skin Disorder

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Is Eczema Curable? So What Can Cure Eczema

Eczema is a general term for rash-like skin conditions. The most common type of eczema is called atopic dermatitis, which is an allergic reaction. Eczema is often very itchy and when you scratch it, the skin becomes red and inflamed. Eczema affects adults and children, but it is most common in babies.

Symptoms of Eczema

Following are the major eczema symptoms:

1. Intense itching

2. Rash itches and burns

3. Inflammation on skin

4. Small bumps on forehead, neck and cheek

Causes of Eczema

Following are the major eczema causes:

1.Hereditary factors

2.Irritation with smoke, chemicals, detergents and solvents

3.Excessive stress

4.Emotional stress

5.Blood circulation problem

6.Deficiency of vitamin B6

Preventing Eczema or Dermatitis

1.Chlorine is an abrasive chemical so avoid swimming in chlorinated pools.

2.Keep away from substances that you are allergic or hypersensitive.

3.Avoid contact with detergents, use dishwasher and clothes washer, and for bathing use mild soaps.

Treatment of Eczema

1. Avoid frequent use of soaps, hot water, and other cleansing procedures (especially if you have a dry skin type) that tend to remove natural oil from the skin.

2. Topical corticosteroids , reduce inflammation in the skin and are usually safe and very effective in curing eczema when used correctly. Mild corticosteroids are generally used for children and on the face and flexures, eg crease of the elbow, behind the knees etc.

3. A very common treatment for treating eczema involves – applying lotions, creams, or ointments to keep the skin as moist as possible.

Home Remedies for Eczema or Dermatitis

1.Dab some witch hazel on the affected area with a cotton ball. Apply this on the affected area.

2.Application of spearmint leaf juice also helps reduce eczema.

3.Sun bathing is also helpful in curing eczema. It kills the harmful bacteria and thus treating the inflammation caused.

4.It is generally advisable to avoid using soaps, chemicals and other drying agents on the eczema affected area.
Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic (long-lasting) skin disease of scaling and inflammation that affects 2 to 2.6 percent of the United States population, or between 5.8 and 7.5 million people. Although the disease occurs in all age groups, it primarily affects adults. It appears about equally in males and females. Psoriasis occurs when skin cells quickly rise from their origin below the surface of the skin and pile up on the surface before they have a chance to mature. Usually this movement (also called turnover) takes about a month, but in psoriasis it may occur in only a few days. In its typical form, psoriasis results in patches of thick, red (inflamed) skin covered with silvery scales. These patches, which are sometimes referred to as plaques, usually itch or feel sore. They most often occur on the elbows, knees, other parts of the legs, scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of the feet, but they can occur on skin anywhere on the body.

Causes of Psoriasis

Following are the major psoriasis causes:

1.Due to abnormality in the mechanism in which the skin grows and replaces itself

2.Abnormality with the metabolism of amino acids

3.Use of certain medicines

4.Due to infections

5.Heredity factors are also responsible

6.Physical and emotional stress

Home Remedies for Psoriasis

1. In a small cup of olive oil, put 2 drops of calendula oil and 1 drop of oregano oil. Rub it on the pretentious area.

2. In 4 cups of water, boil 4 marigold heads, for about 2 minutes. Once cooled, massage the unguent into your scalp.
Then, wash the hair with a mild shampoo. Add lemon juice or cider vinegar to the rinse water to ensure a thorough rinse.

3. Mix a cup of freshly ready bitter gourd juice with a tsp of limejuice. Drink this mixture each day, on an empty stomach, for 4 to 5 days.

4. Mud packs are effectual in treating psoriasis. Take crushed Fuller’s earth and add enough water to form a paste.

Read more on Home Remedies for Eczema and Glowing Skin. Also visit on Natural remedies for Acne

Eczema and Psoriasis Causes, Symptoms and Natural Home Remedies for Skin Disorder

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Is Eczema Curable? So What Can Cure Eczema

Read more on Home Remedies for Eczema and Glowing Skin. Also visit on Natural remedies for Acne

Symptoms of Eczema

Following are the major eczema symptoms:

1. Intense itching

2. Rash itches and burns

3. Inflammation on skin

4. Small bumps on forehead, neck and cheek

Causes of Eczema

Following are the major eczema causes:

1. Hereditary factors

2. Irritation with smoke, chemicals, detergents and solvents

3. Excessive stress

4. Emotional stress

5. Blood circulation problem

6. Deficiency of vitamin B6

Preventing Eczema or Dermatitis

1. Chlorine is an abrasive chemical so avoid swimming in chlorinated pools.

2. Keep away from substances that you are allergic or hypersensitive.

3. Avoid contact with detergents, use dishwasher and clothes washer, and for bathing use mild soaps.

Treatment of Eczema

1. Avoid frequent use of soaps, hot water, and other cleansing procedures (especially if you have a dry skin type) that tend to remove natural oil from the skin.

3. A very common treatment for treating eczema involves – applying lotions, creams, or ointments to keep the skin as moist as possible.

Home Remedies for Eczema or Dermatitis

1. Dab some witch hazel on the affected area with a cotton ball. Apply this on the affected area.

2. Application of spearmint leaf juice also helps reduce eczema.

3. Sun bathing is also helpful in curing eczema. It kills the harmful bacteria and thus treating the inflammation caused.

4. It is generally advisable to avoid using soaps, chemicals and other drying agents on the eczema affected area.
Psoriasis

Causes of Psoriasis

Following are the major psoriasis causes:

1. Due to abnormality in the mechanism in which the skin grows and replaces itself

2. Abnormality with the metabolism of amino acids

3. Use of certain medicines

4. Due to infections

5. Heredity factors are also responsible

6. Physical and emotional stress

Home Remedies for Psoriasis

1. In a small cup of olive oil, put 2 drops of calendula oil and 1 drop of oregano oil. Rub it on the pretentious area.

3. Mix a cup of freshly ready bitter gourd juice with a tsp of limejuice. Drink this mixture each day, on an empty stomach, for 4 to 5 days.

4. Mud packs are effectual in treating psoriasis. Take crushed Fuller’s earth and add enough water to form a paste.

Read more on Home Remedies for Eczema and Glowing Skin. Also visit on Natural remedies for Acne

Could An Allergy ‘Cause’ An Eating Disorder?

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Is Eczema Curable? So What Can Cure Eczema

People who grow up with food allergies typically have a different relationship to food than those who grow up allergy-free. While this by no means indicates that an eating disorder will naturally develop (far from it!), it is worth noting that someone who has experienced a frequent adverse reaction after eating will typically think a bit more about what they put into their mouths than those who have not. To the casual observer, such ‘finickiness’ may look like a disordered eating pattern, when in fact it is simple self-preservation. Being aware of what is and what is not good for you is far from an eating disorder. An allergy is a physical reaction, in which the body itself rejects a substance it deems to be harmful. An eating disorder is a mental health condition, in which the subject develops a mentally pathological relationship with food. The former tends to be related to internal physiology, the later to psychology (body image tends to play a large part in the development of eating disorders – not feelings of physical illness following eating). In general, the two are mutually exclusive. In certain circumstances, it is not inconceivable that bad experiences with food as a child may lead to disordered eating as one grows older – meaning that people with serious food allergies may in some cases be vulnerable to eating disorders – but in general the causal mechanisms behind each are entirely separate.

‘Allergies’ As An Excuse For Disordered Eating

Perhaps more problematically, some people who have a psychologically difficult relationship with food may convince themselves that they are allergic to certain foods, or even (more deceptively) use ‘allergies’ as an excuse to exert extreme control over their food intake. It’s easier to tell someone that you’re allergic to the meal they’ve cooked than to refuse it on the grounds that you no longer like to eat at all. Some eating disorder survivors have come forward and stated outright that they either used faux allergies as a ‘veil’ behind which they could effectively hide their eating disorder, or adopted diets recommended for people with allergies in order to lose weight and control their diets to an obsessive degree. While these kinds of tactics do, to some people, appear to support the view that food allergies are pathological rather than physical, those who use these tactics should not be blamed for doing so. They are, after all, mentally ill, and often struggling to manage their conditions in an incomprehending (and often enabling) society.

‘Clean Eating’, Allergies, And Disorders – A Very Gray Area…

In the centre of the allergies/dietary control/eating disorders venn diagram is Orthorexia Nervosa. This is a condition which involves people becoming so obsessed with ‘clean eating’ that they develop serious complications, often akin to those found with anorexia, but with a slightly different mental cause. Rather than obsessing about losing weight (although this may be one aspect of the condition), orthorexics become so fixated upon ‘clean eating’ (which can be a very good thing if not taken to unhealthy extremes!) that they cut out many essential food groups and restrict their diets to an inordinate degree. Sometimes, these people may convince themselves that they are allergic to certain food groups, when the truth is in fact nothing of the kind. Again, orthorexics are not to be blamed for their faux allergies -they do, after all, genuinely believe that they are allergic to these things. Rather than playing the ‘I’m more allergic than you’ game, we can perhaps instead reduce the preponderance of ‘allergies’ in eating disorder sufferers by making it clear just how un-glamorous and nasty allergies really are. By telling the truth of allergies, we can perhaps make it clear that what an orthorexic THINKS is an allergy may simply be a psychological method of dietary control – and thus help them to gain a better perspective of their motivations for eating in the way that they do.

Special thanks to Helen Hilton for this guest blog.

Ed: I have just this week heard of the term ‘Orthorexic’, just days before this guest blog came into my inbox. It’s something I will be looking into more over the coming weeks and month as it really intrigues me.

I can state for a fact that allergies are not all in MY mind. I will have an allergic reaction to the foods I am allergic to even when I am unsuspecting that I’ve consumed them. It’s instant. It is my body reacting. However, if I am having trouble with the my skin or experiencing repeated unexplained reactions or even known explained reactions… I become very wary of food. In fact my appetite almost disappears. This can last for days, sometimes weeks, which is not normal for me. I love food and have a a healthy appetite. But what part is the mind playing for many of us? Do some of my milder reactions have more to do with my mind being in control? or is there a real reaction taking place?

A fascinating subject and I’d love to hear your reactions and thoughts on this.