Rtiics Lansdowne Clinic

One of the best pleasures of life is to watch a child grow up and begin to learn and explore new things in the surroundings. However, children affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism may not be able to do this at the same pace as other kids. They are a little slow to respond and may not socialise very easily.

ASD is a collective term used for a range of symptoms, including poor verbal and nonverbal communication, poor social skills, repetitive behaviour, and impaired learning abilities. The onset and severity of symptoms also vary across children. While some show symptoms in preschool, others would be completely normal and start showing symptoms after a couple of years of schooling. The following are some symptoms that indicate the child could have autism.

1. Lack of babbling by 9 months of age
2. No response when called by their name even after 12 months of age
3. Not uttering single words by the age of 16 months, two words by 24 months
4. Lack of social skills including resistance to cuddling, not mingling with other kids
5. Self-injurious behaviour like banging head on the wall, hurting a toy, etc.

Homeopathy offers safe, effective remedy for children with autism. Treatment regime is highly customised based on underlying and accompanying symptoms of each patient. The following are commonly used ingredients; however, self-medication is best avoided.

1. Agaricus: The child talks and sings but does not respond. There is indifference, fearlessness, shouting, constant jerking of the head, difficulty reading, possible double vision and feels awkward physically and mentally.
2. Carcinosin: The child is obstinate and has compulsive obsessive tendencies. It is hyperactive, does not sleep, has addictive tendencies, and likes to drink milk which worsens the symptoms.
3. Androctonus: The child is destructive, suspicious, mischievous, but very quick to respond. The child behaves very well at times and can be very naughty at other times.
4. Helleborus: The child is generally weak, slow to respond, appears thoughtless, often stares into air, and looks depressed with involuntary sighing and habit of lip biting. Sight, hearing, and taste could be affected.
5. Cuprum Metallicum: The child is extremely tense, irritable, rigid, malicious, and very difficult to handle. Does not like to be touched or spoken to or played with. Can be aggressive with the parents, driving them to despair.

May have tics infestation on the scalp.
Another recent approach is the CEASE (Complete Elimination Autism Spectrum Expression) Therapy. This combines homoeopathy with orthomolecular medicines that provide the required nutrition for brain development (vitamins, minerals, Omega 3 fatty acids, etc.) This helps in overall brain development and restoring function in affected children. As noted, the right potency of these products will determine the response to treatment.

Myelopathy refers to any neurological deficit in the spinal cord. The three most common types of myelopathy are cervical myelopathy, lumbar myelopathy and thoracic myelopathy.

Here are the causes and symptoms of myelopathy.

Causes

1.        Injury
This is a very common cause of myelopathy. Any type of accident or even a traumatic event can cause myelopathy and perhaps even paralysis.

2.        Spinal stenosis
This is a condition in which the spinal cord narrows. It is one of the leading causes of myelopathy.

3.        Degenerative disc disorders
As you get older, these get more likely as well as other conditions which affect the spinal column such as osteoporosis.

4.        Tumor
It is a little known fact that tumors very often do cause myelopathy.

5.        Multiple sclerosis
There are many other diseases which may cause myelopathy and multiple sclerosis is one of them.

Symptoms

There are many indications that you are having a form of myelopathy and should consult a medical expert. Here are some of them.

1.        Changes in coordination
What this means is that all of a sudden you may find it harder to move certain limbs the way you want to. Sometimes, this can affect the whole body.

2.        Sudden muscle weakness
It is highly likely that if you have myelopathy then you will have sudden weakness in your muscles.

3.        Decreased hand-eye coordination
This is perhaps the biggest indicator of myelopathy since hand eye coordination is directly linked to your spinal cord and brain and if they are not functioning properly then hand-eye coordination will be worse.

These are just some of the symptoms of myelopathy, however the doctor cannot diagnose myelopathy until he does certain tests. These tests include MRI scans and other tests as well as a regular physical check-up in addition to a look at your medical history.

Loss or impairment of hearing can happen due to a variety of causes and may be temporary or permanent in nature, depending on the type and severity of the condition. One of the most common causes of hearing impairment is age. The degeneration of one's vital organs and senses becomes a reality for many people as the advancement of age happens, and the delicate insides of the ears are no different. Noise pollution, injury to the ear drum or any other part of the ear, as well as the movement of particles inside are only a few of the many reasons for loss of hearing. One of the many ways of dealing with long term hearing impairment is by using a hearing aid.

Read on to know how you can regain your hearing with hearing aids:

1. Long Forgotten Sound: A hearing aid will help you reacquaint yourself with long forgotten and subtle sounds that you may not have been able to hear for a long time. Many times, this kind of impairment also makes us forget to notice the fact that we do not hear so many normal sounds in our everyday lives - sounds that we probably did not notice even earlier. This may include the whirring of a fan, the whoosh of the air, the pitter patter of pets' feet and so much more. A hearing aid will help in bringing about an adjustment to these sounds that you will actually end up discovering again.
2. Technicalities: The hearing aid basically works by letting your hearing and ears readjust to the various volumes, intensity and vibrations that one feels when different sounds reach the ears. This helps in hearing better.
3. Amplification: A hearing aid is basically an electroacoustic device that fits in neatly behind your ear where it is tucked away from plain sight. This device helps in amplifying sounds so that you can catch them and hear them more clearly.
4. Modulation: The Audiologist, who are specalized in hearing assessment and diagnosis, will prescribe the type and detail of hearing aid based on your individual condition in terms of volume, size, power and circulation. These factors help in modulating the sounds in a certain way so that they reach the nerve pathways from the inner ear and travel to the brain in a proper and effective way. This is usually done in a customised way to cater to the specific type and cause of your hearing loss.

Using a hearing aid is a matter of retraining your hearing rather than restoring it completely. These aids will be helpful in regaining a better sense of hearing within the condition you are going through, rather than reversing the condition completely.

Multiple Sclerosis or MS is an ailment that is mainly caused due to the degeneration of nerves in the body. The central nervous system is the main area affected by multiple sclerosis and it has been diagnosed that it occurs more in women than men. The main areas that are affected include optic nerves, brain, and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis in other words also means scar tissues in multiple areas. There are 4 types of multiple sclerosis which include clinically isolated syndrome, relapse remitting, primary progressive, and secondary progressive.

Causes of Multiple Sclerosis

1. Multiple sclerosis is regarded as an autoimmune disorder and its exact cause is not known by the doctors. The disease causes demyelination of the brain cells and spinal cord.
2. People in the age group of 15-60 are the ones affected by this disease. According to scientists, the four main factors that cause this disease are virus, genetic, environmental and immunological.
3. It is a long-lasting disease that causes disturbances in the body functions.
4. The condition is examined by the doctors by checking the patient’s medical history, conducting neurological exams, and imaging scans.
5. The spinal fluid analysis is also a procedure that can rule out the possibility of multiple sclerosis.

Symptoms Caused by Multiple Sclerosis

• Some of the symptoms that are caused due to this disease include impaired coordination, pain, vision loss, and fatigue.
• The nerves in our body are coated with myelin sheath that protects the nerves.
• The myelin sheath also aids in the conduction of impulses all through the body.
• Inflammation is caused due to multiple sclerosis which eventually results in thinning and destroying of the sheath.
• The nerve without a coating is left with a scratch and this results in the nerve not functioning properly.
• Severe chronic symptoms are faced by patients so at times pain occurs in the eyes and back. In some patients the symptoms are mild thus the disease is not noticed in the early stages.
• The main symptoms include problems with thinking, memory, muscle weakness, numbness, and tingling. Many people even find trouble in walking due to multiple sclerosis.

Effects of Multiple Sclerosis

• The main effects of multiple sclerosis include problems like frequent urination or difficulty in emptying the bladder completely.
• It can also cause bowel problems, sexual dysfunction, vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, tremor, muscle spasms, depression, emotional changes, and inflammation of the optic nerve.
• The lesser known symptoms include swallowing problems, speech disorders, hearing loss, itching, breathing problems, and headache.
• It is an unpredictable disease and people are affected by this disease in different ways. In the early stages, it occurs as a subtle sensation for many people.

Dementia cannot be singularly regarded as a specific disease, but rather indicates a group of symptoms associated with your memory, cognitive thinking and social abilities, up to the point where daily functioning gets affected. In most cases, Dementia steadily worsens over time (progressive dementias). Dementia is not to be confused with memory loss alone; because it is natural with old people to experience memory loss, but that does not necessarily mean they have Dementia. If the reason is Dementia, then you may require medical treatment.

Causes

Dementias are generally caused either by damage to or changes in the nerve cells operating in the brain. The causes can be grouped differently based on the type of dementia experienced and the part of the brain affected. While some causes can be reversed with effective treatment, others, unfortunately, cannot.

The most common causes of Dementia which cannot be reversed include :

1. Alzheimer's disease
2. Vascular dementia
3. Parkinson's disease
4. Frontotemporal dementia
5. Dementia with Lewy (Dementia which is neurodegenerative and progressive in nature) bodies
6. Severe head injuries

Other irreversible causes which are relatively rarer than usual include :

1. Huntington's disease (breakage of the brain's nerve cells)
2. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (irreversible and fatal brain disease)
3. Multiple sclerosis or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
4. Infections like syphilis
5. Leukoencephalopathies (diseases affecting the brain's 'white' areas)
6. Brain injuries
7. Multiple system atrophy

Causes of Dementia which can be treated include :

1. Hypothyroidism
2. Heavy metal poisoning
3. Certain brain tumors
4. Chronic alcoholism
5. HIV/AIDS
6. Vitamin B12 deficiency
7. Medicinal side effects or abnormal drug reactions
8. Normal pressure hydrocephalus
9. Certain cases of encephalitis

Symptoms of Dementia include

1. Memory loss
2. Difficulty finding the right words
3. Difficulty exercising judgments, especially during emergencies
4. Inability to recall particular events or to recognize people and places
5. Depression or other mood disorders, in addition to symptoms like uncontrolled aggression or constant agitation