Overview

Hypochondriasis (or hypochondria, sometimes referred to as health phobia) refers to an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. Often, hypochondria persists even after a physician has evaluated a person and reassured him/her that his/her concerns about symptoms do not have an underlying medical basis or, if there is a medical illness, the concerns are far in excess of what is appropriate for the level of disease. Many people suffering from this disorder focus on a particular symptom as the catalyst of their worrying, such as gastro-intestinal problems, palpitations, or muscle fatigue.

Hypochondria is often characterized by fears that minor bodily symptoms may indicate a serious illness, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis, and a preoccupation with one's body. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis, and report that doctors’ reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition is unconvincing, or un-lasting. Many hypochondriacs require constant reassurance, either from doctors, family, or friends, and the disorder can become a disabling torment for the individual with hypochondriasis, as well as his or her family and friends. Some hypochondriacal individuals are completely avoidant of any reminder of illness, whereas others are frequent visitors of doctors’ offices. Other hypochondriacs will never speak about their terror, convinced that their fear of having a serious illness will not be taken seriously by those in whom they confide.

Alternative Therapy Of Liver Diseases

Posted by glos Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Inherited genes are found to be one of the reasons for liver diseases. Inherited liver diseases may affect children of parents who do not have any symptoms of liver disease. But the disease could have been passed down from grandparents.

Treating liver diseases with gene therapy would be one of the ways of dealing with liver diseases. These gene therapies would play an important role in future treatments and might replace surgeries and drugs that are currently used to treat liver diseases.
The developments in molecular biology will play an important role in the future treatments of the liver diseases. Diagnosis of patients using methods like polymerase chain reaction is making changes in the way liver diseases are diagnosed.

Defective genes that are the root cause of inherited liver disease are detectable. Recombinant DNA technology is used for identifying the defective genes to prepare medicines and drugs for treating patients with liver diseases.

Mutations are identified now earlier than just a few years ago and appropriate methods can be used earlier for more effective treatment. Preventive treatment using such DNA technologies is possible and this will be used more frequently in the future. Apart from Gene therapy, nucleic acid based therapies will likely be used in the future for treating patients with liver diseases.

SIR-Spheres method

Another type of treatment that would gain popularity in the future is the SIR-Spheres method. This is one of the new methods of treating patients using radiation. In this method microscopic spheres are injected into the liver. These spheres have radioactive materials that are used to treat liver diseases.

Usually the radioactive material is Yttrium-90. Using this method, the radiation that is given to the liver is increased many times more than by using ordinary radiation therapy. It is estimated that up to 40 times more radiation can be given using this SIR-Sphere method. The treatment time is also reduced using this method.

The immune cells in the liver are called macrophages. It has been found that these macrophages are responsible for causing scarring and eliminating scarring in the liver.

There are two types of macrophages, one which causes scarring and the other which eliminates scarring.Research is going on to study the macrophages. Extensive research in this area might lead to dramatic changes in the liver treatments of the future. If the mechanism by which the scarring is eliminated is understood, it has a great potential to change the way the liver diseases are treated in the future.

Homeopathic medicines are also used by many to treat the symptoms of their liver diseases. The most common homeopathic remedies that are used to treat liver diseases are Bryonia, Mercurius, Podophyllum, Chelidonium, Digitalis, Myrica cerifera, Nux vomica, Lycopodium, Carduus marinas, Sculpture, Phosphorus, and Taraxacum.

Each one of these remedies is used to cure liver diseases and its symptoms are only used under specific conditions.

The homeopathic medicine Byronia is used to treat liver disease patients who have pain in the right hypochondria. The other homeopathic remedies that can be given to patients for treating pain are Kali carbonicum and Chelidonium.

Mercurius is the other homeopathic remedy that is used to treat children with jaundice. Persons who have abused quinine and acquired a liver disease can also be treated with Mercurius. Although it is most often patients who have abused quinine, Mercurius is also widely used for treating children with simple jaundice.

Podophyllum is another homeopath that is used for treating liver diseases and is similar to that of Mercurius. Chelidonium is used for jaundice and biliousness and also in hepatic congestion. Some people may get jaundice due to certain heart diseases. For such patients, Digitalis would be the right kind of homeopathic remedy. The worst cases of jaundices are often treated with Digitalis effectively.

Nux vomica, also called poison nut, is touted by many as one of the best and the first herbal remedy given to patients who acquired liver disease due to alcoholic addiction or quinine. If anger is the main cause of jaundice, then Nux vomica is said by many to be the best option to start with for treatment Consult a homeopathic practitioner for the usage of other homeopathic remedies for treating liver diseases as many of these herbal remedies can be posionous if taken wrong. And as always, consult your physician who is always the ultimate authority on your health care strategies.



Autor: Alvin Soong

Alvin Soong is a Chartered Financial Planner in for more than 5 years. He dedicated his blog to his clients and share with them knowledge on Insurance, Investment and Wealth Management. His website (http://www.skcagency.com) serves as a bridge for investors and his family group of agents. Click here to find out more: http://www.skcagency.com/blog


Added: April 30, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

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