If you are young chances are you aren t worried about this particular neurodegenerative disease, and rightly so since the only people afflicted by it are above the age of 50. Although, there are a lot of cases where it develops in the younger age bracket, so you need to be careful and examine the signs of early onset Parkinson s and be wary if any of these symptoms apply to you.

Parkinson s is a neurological disorder wherein the dopamine-producing neurons are affected in a particular area of the brain. It can cause tremors and balance problems, eventually worsening over time. Here are some signs that you should keep an eye out for:

Tremors: If you are experiencing tremors, while at rest, in your hands, arms, fingers or your jaw then it is a sign that you need to be aware about. In an excitable or stressful situation, the tremors may even worsen.
Micrographia: Your hand movements become restricted and, as a result, your handwriting may become cramped and the words smaller in size. Examine your handwriting from the past with your present one, if you find a noticeable difference in the size and positioning of the letters and if you feel like the sentences are extremely crowded together, be wary.
Olfactory issues: One of the symptoms of early onset could be the loss of the sense of smell. If you feel like you can t sense stronger aromas like that of spices and pickle or even bananas as well as others and it isn t because your nose is blocked then you need to be on the lookout.
Sleeping troubles: There are times when you feel restless in bed while trying to sleep. If this becomes a routine then it could be a sign that you are prone to Parkinson s. Sudden movements and jerking while sleeping is a bad sign.
Stiffness: If your arms and joints feel stiff without reason, and you feel like free body movement is restricted or limited if you feel like you can t swing your arms or move your fingers freely, it is a definite sign that you might have Parkinson s. Stiffness can even lead to muscle pain in various parts of the body. Bradykinesia or slowness of movement is common with the stiffness of the body.
Constipation: If every time you have to defecate you have to strain yourself and put a lot of pressure on your bowels, and bowel movement does not come naturally or easily, even with the inclusion of roughage in your diet, it is a symptom.

6 Signs Of Early On-Set Parkinson's That You Need To Look Out For

Leading a life with peripheral neuropathy is quite similar to riding a roller coaster. Managing the pain can be frustrating at one time and overwhelming on the other as patients can experience alternating symptoms with debilitating pain. So you should learn about the various treatment options as they can help you go a long way in managing the pain.

The peripheral nerves are considered the longest in the body which extend from the hands to feet. When these nerves are damaged, you may feel some sort of pain, tingling in the hands and feet and even numbness, and these symptoms can even get worse and you may experience stabbing pain with increasing weakness. 

There are many things that you should know about peripheral neuropathy as they would help you to manage the condition much more effectively.

Diabetes is the leading cause of neuropathy: More than 70% of diabetics develop symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. So you should keep your blood sugar within optimum levels as a means of reversing diabetic neuropathy.
A melange of causes behind neuropathy: Though diabetes is the number 1 cause of peripheral neuropathy, other causes include deficiency of vitamin B12, alcoholism, traumatic injury, chemotherapy and exposure to toxic substances. Physicians may find it difficult to pin-point the cause and when this happens. This is often termed as  idiopathic neuropathy .
Medications causing neuropathy: If you are suffering from diabetes and being treated with the drug named metformin, you may develop peripheral neuropathy.
Preventing neuropathy is the most recommended way: While it is the fact that some nerves may potentially get damaged from certain surgeries or injury, peripheral neuropathy can be potentially prevented or sometimes stopped from spreading. As diabetes is a major cause of diabetes, being watchful about your diet and exercising regularly can help you go a long way to prevent diabetes as well as neuropathy.
Pain is not simply confined to a tingling sensation: Though pain and a tingling sensation is the commonest and easiest way of recognising the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, each of your sensory, motor and autonomic nerves can show different set of symptoms that you should be watchful of.
A diet may make the symptoms even worse: You can either help or hurt your nerves with your choice of foods. For improving symptoms, you should avoid food with excessive sugar, refined grains and artificial sweeteners as they may strain your nerves and irritate them further.
Whether you are recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy or living with it for many years, understanding a few conditions would help you make informed decisions about your well-being.

Peripheral Neuropathy - 6 Things You Should Know!

If there is anything other than food and a healthy living that sustains us, it is sleep. Sleep is the basic necessity of our lives. It is the battery that keeps our body clock working. Nowadays our lives are fast-paced with competitions to meet and targets to reach where stress takes a toll on our body. A good night s sleep would be enough to feel rejuvenated, you think? Well, you think it right but what if it is the sleep that causes the problem? What if your sleep is imbalanced?

According to Ayurveda, there are 3 different types of sleep imbalance, arising from Vata, pitta and Kapha dosha.
Vata: Sleep becomes imbalanced when your mind stays awake despite you being tired. Your mind is occupied with thoughts and worries which do not let you fall asleep.
Pitta: It is the dosha which is one of the most common disorder found in the elderly people where you have a perfect sleep but wake up in the dawn or wee hours and are unable to go back to sleep resulting in the tossing and turning in the bed and ultimately giving up.
Kapha: When you sleep well for a long time but yet you wake up feeling tired and fatigued instead of being fresh, is when Kapha dosha occurs.

Ayurvedic tips for a good sleep
There are many people around us who go through at least one of these three imbalances in sleep. Ayurveda has come up with several easy and natural tips to have a good sleep. There 4 great tips among many, following which you will get a quick result.

Oil Massage: Oil is said to soothe our nerves if massaged properly. Warm oil works best on the scalp and on the soles of our feet. Any oil, from jojoba to jasmine, almond to coconut with a few drops of lavender oil could be used for massage. Applying this daily will soothe one's nerves and induce a good sleep.
Warm milk: Drinking a glassful of warm milk 10 minutes before going to sleep will help in having an uninterrupted sleep.
Routine bedtime: Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise . Note the use of the word  healthy  in this nursery rhyme. We have been taught this since our childhood days, only if we could follow. Sleeping on time plays an important role here because inadequate sleep due to long working hours often cause sleeping disorders.
Morning Exercise: After waking up early in the morning, Ayurveda suggests exercising as early morning exercise will help you fall asleep at night easily. You must not indulge in an exercise later in the day because it would make you more active instead of inducing sleep.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is what we all look forward to and that is why sleeping on time and doing the right things like following these simple tips from Ayurveda will lead us to a healthier living.

4 Great Ayurvedic Tips That Promote Good Sleep!

Multiple sclerosis or MS is an autoimmune disease where the protective cover around the nerves is lost. This affects the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Symptoms commonly experienced by patients suffering from this condition include partial or complete loss of vision, weakness or numbness in one or more limbs, double vision, tremors, slurred speech, tiredness and lack of energy, and issues with bladder and bowel movements. In the early stages of this disease, these symptoms come and go. Allopathy has no cure for this disease but can help patients manage the symptoms and slow the speed at which the disease progresses.

What causes MS?
Damaged nerve signals can cause debilitating symptoms, including:

muscle weakness
walking problems
fatigue
vision problems
MS affects everyone differently. The severity of the disease and the types of symptoms vary from person to person. The exact cause of MS is still unknown. However, it is belived that the aforementioned factors may play a role in the development of the disease.

Symptoms-

Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs 
Partial or complete loss of vision
Prolonged double vision
Tingling or pain in parts of your body
Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements 
Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
Slurred speech
Fatigue
Dizziness
How Homeopathy Can Help?

Homeopathy is also a very effective way of managing the symptoms of this disease. This is a constitutional form of medication that takes into account the patient s overall physical and mental health, emotional state and symptoms being seen to prescribe a remedy. Unlike allopathic remedies, homeopathy not only addresses the symptoms being presented but it also addresses the root cause of the disease. It has negligible side effects and can be prescribed to children and adults of all ages. The goal of a homeopathic treatment for multiple sclerosis is to reduce the severity and number of flare-ups and slow down the disease s progression rate. It also seeks to improve the patient s outlook, attitude, and energy levels thereby improving his or her quality of life.

There is no standard homeopathic remedy for this condition. As mentioned earlier, a homeopathic doctor takes into account many different factors to prescribe a remedy. Thus, two MS patients may be given different remedies if they have different physiques, personalities etc. For this reason, it is not advisable to self-medicate with homeopathy. Homeopathic treatment also requires patience as it takes a while for the body s immune system to adapt. That said, it is important to note that homeopathy cannot be considered a miracle cure for patients suffering from advanced stages of multiple sclerosis. As with allopathic medication, the earlier a homeopathic remedy is prescribed, the more effective it will be.

In addition to following a homeopathic prescription or MS, the patient is also usually advised to make a few lifestyle changes. Stress is one of the biggest triggers for an MS episode. Hence, it becomes important for MS patients to de-stress and avoid high-stress events. A healthy diet and vitamin supplements can also help to strengthen the body.

Multiple Sclerosis And Homeopathy - How Does It Help?

When particular nerve cells in the brain don't function properly, it leads to epilepsy, which is a common brain disorder. There are several variants of epilepsy, and the one that you are suffering from would play a major role in the type of seizure you are likely to have. Here are the two most common type of seizures:

Common types of Seizures

Generalized seizures: This type of seizures take place when nerve cells on both sides of the brain start misfiring. They may lead to black out, fall or muscle spasms.
Focal seizures: It starts in a particular area of the brain, and the names of the seizure are based on the affected area of the brain. They may lead to both emotional and physical effects which may affect the way a person feels or sees or hear things that have no real presence. In particular cases, the symptoms of focal seizures are regarded of some other kinds of mental or nervous disorder.
Seizures are not considered an either-or thing since some people tend to have a particular type of seizure which gradually alters its course. It is not always easy to classify certain types of seizures which are called unknown-onset seizures and may lead to both physical and sensory symptoms. Both focal and generalized seizures can be categorized into various groups. The most common are listed below:

Subcategories of focal and generalized seizures

Simple focal seizures: It may change how the senses read the surroundings of a person. It can make a familiar taste or smell appear strange. Some people feel dizzy or visualize flashes of light or make the affected individual feel nauseated or sweaty.
Complex focal seizures: It normally happens when a part of the brain which controls emotion and memory gets affected. The affected person may feel awake even when he has lost consciousness. It can take several minutes for a person to come out of the problem.
Secondary generalized seizures: It starts when a part of the brain spreads to the nerve cells. They may lead to a few physical symptoms including muscle slackness and convulsions.
On the other hand, there are six variants of generalized seizures:

Clinic seizure: The muscles tend to have spasms which make a face, neck, and arms jerk rhythmically. It can last for minutes together.
Tonic-clonic seizure: These are the most notable type of seizures and leads to stiffening of the body, jerking and shaking along with the loss of consciousness. It can last between 1 to 3 minutes, and in case they go for a longer span, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. It may lead to breathing issues and may cause the person to bite his tongue or cheek.
Tonic seizures: When the muscled in the legs or arms or trunk tense up for more than 20 seconds, it is called a tonic seizure. If the affected person is in standing position, he or she may end up falling.
Other types of generalized seizure include atonic seizure, absence seizure and myoclonic seizure which are commonly seen in people who have epilepsy.

Seizures - Know The Common Types!

Pain related sleep disruption has affected a large number of people around the globe. Statistics has it that, in India, about 25% of the population suffers from pain-related sleep deprivation. Studies call it  the vicious cycle of pain and sleep  as pain affects your ability to sleep and lack of sleep makes the pain even worse.

Back pain and arthritis are examples of some common pain-related medical disorders. People with these types of chronic pains have reported persistent sleeplessness or have had immense trouble falling asleep.

The following are the primary sleep disorders associated with chronic pain:

Insomnia: It is a medical condition that is characterized by an inability to fall asleep no matter how physically exhausted you are. Insomnia can be acute (lasting for one night to a week) or chronic (that lasts for more than 3 weeks).
Hypersomnia: It is a condition wherein you tend to sleep excessively; in this condition, you will have trouble being awake throughout the day or can fall asleep at any point of time.
Sleep Apnoea: This is a sleep disorder wherein breathing pauses and resumes repeatedly. Risk factors include obesity, age and gender; it is more commonly observed in men. This condition can be chronic with symptoms such as snoring loudly or feeling very tired even after one has had a night s sleep.
Restless leg syndrome: It is a sleep disorder wherein you continuously move your legs while sleeping. However, this condition can also cause you to move your legs even if you aren t sleeping.
Some of the causes of sleep disorders due to chronic pain are:

Pain
Worry and anxiety
Sweating at night
Depression and other mental disorders
Treatment

A pain and sleep disorder should be simultaneous as both the components of it, pain and sleep, are interrelated. Some of the ways people with chronic pain can still have a good night s sleep are:

Limiting caffeine intake
Abstaining from alcohol and smoking, as these disrupt the sleep cycles, thus aggravating the existing pain.
Practicing meditation and other relaxation techniques
Pain killers or sleeping pills can be administered, but only with the doctor s advice.
Hot water fomentation over painful area during night, for better sleep.

Back Pain and Bad Sleep

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