Dr.Shantanoo Joshi (Palkars Polyclinic)

Financial issues can crop up between a couple, and if not sorted out in time, it has the potential to disrupt marital bliss. From the 19 th century to the 21 st century, the financial dependence of women on men has had a gradual transformation to financial independence. Yet financial issues between couples have not ebbed.

Having Different Spending and Saving Habits

The most common thread of discord among couples relates to spending habits. Sometimes it is the woman who likes to splurge on clothes and accessories, while the man likes to save every penny. Sometimes it is the man who likes to spend on booze and gambling and the woman likes to save. Sometimes both of them may be splurging on the stuff of their liking and they blame each other for not saving enough.

Debt Positions

Most people live with loans, be it credit card loans, car loans, home loans or something else. As couples discuss each other’s debt position, sparks may start flying if one has an awful record of taking loans and repayments.

Financial Obligations

Most often, while discussing financial matters, couples don’t take into consideration each other’s obligations. If one has inherited a debt from his/her late parents, one may have to repay it. This is an obligation that people have to meet if they don’t want to let go of the property which had been mortgaged to secure the loan. However, the wife may not try to understand this obligation on her husband’s part. Sparks may fly
between those couples regarding such financial obligations.

Power Play

Power play between partners can arise when one earns and the other does not. It may also arise when one of the partners does not have a job or one earns considerably more than the other. If one of the partners hails from a rich family and the other has a modest financial background, it may also cause power play between them. In all these cases, one with more income, a rich family background or the sole earning member may want to dictate spending or saving terms. This can cause friction between the partners.

Expenditure Related to Children

Having children is bliss, but raising them is expensive. It can cause friction between the partners if one wants to have more children than the other. If one partner wants two or more children, but the other is worried about the cost of raising more than one child, it may cause a squabble between them. At the end of the day, it boils down to being a financial issue.

Caring for Extended Family

One may need to take a loan to provide medical aid to his/her parents or to help his/her brother who has lost his job. However, the other partner may be upset with that person for this. It may result in bickering.

Whatever the case might be, it is important for partners to resolve any financial issue that may arise. And in case they are not able to resolve it themselves, they can get in touch with an experienced Psychologist to get a professional resolution.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological, irreversible, progressive brain disorder. It is a chronic neurodegenerative dementia that causes the death of brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. It affects a person’s thinking and behavior. The symptoms develop slowly and get worse as time passes.

Causes:
As it is a kind of dementia, Alzheimer’s is caused by the death of brain cells. Over a course of time, brain cells die progressively and at the end, the tissue is left with fewer nerve cells and connections. As a result, the total brain size shrinks. Tiny inclusions called plaques and tangles can be seen in the postmortem. These cannot be seen or tested in a living Alzheimer’s affected brain. These plaques are given the name “amyloid plaques” because they are found among the dying cells of the brain when a protein called beta-amyloid builds. The tangles stay in the neurons; they are formed from a protein called tau.

There are several reasons behind all this, some of which are listed below-

1. Anti-anxiety medications
2. Hitting on the head too many times
3. Regularly sleep-deprived
4. Loneliness
5. Diabetes in the brain
6. Old age
7. Genetic line
8. Down’s syndrome
9. Cardiovascular diseases

Symptoms:
Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain, so the clinical signs and symptoms begin to show very early. The symptoms are-

1. Memory loss
2. Agitation and mood swings
3. Poor judgment
4. The trouble with money calculations
5. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
6. Trouble in planning or solving a problem
7. Confusion with time and place
8. Difficulty in communicating
9. Loss of motivation
10. Inappropriate behavior
11. Aggressive personality
12. Childlike behavior

Preventing Alzheimer’s disease:
Alzheimer’s disease ultimately results in death. Even if there are treatments, they cannot fully cure it. So it’s better to try to prevent it before it happens. Ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease are-

1. Eating more fruits and vegetables.
2. Eating berries every day.
3. Increasing omega-3 fatty acids.
4. Taking folic acid supplements.
5. Drinking grape juice or red wine with evening meal.
6. Doing the Mediterranean style diet.
7. Controlling the blood pressure.
8. Having strong social support.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease:

1. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is a long time process.
2. First of all, doctors perform a physical exam to check the overall neurological health. By this, they check muscle strength, reflexes, walking ability, sense of sight and hearing, coordination and balance.
3. Then comes the blood test to find the cause of confusion and memory loss by checking the thyroid disorder and vitamin deficiency.
4. Then they perform the neuropsychological test and check the mental status.
5. Then there are other tests, like MRI, CT, and PET.
6. After all this, drugs are given and a safe and supportive environment is created with proper exercise and nutrition.

Alzheimer’s disease is undoubtedly the worst kind of disease. Hence, it is highly recommended to contact a doctor as soon as any symptom is noticed.

Neurology is the branch of science and medicine dealing with the central and peripheral nervous system. The nervous system is made of the brain and spinal cord. The disorders, illness or injuries of the nervous system can become problematic for people suffering from them. One of the worst diseases of the nervous system is Parkinson’s disease.

It is a progressive disorder affecting the central nervous system that leads to slowing down of movement and slurring of speech over a period of time. It is a condition where the nerve cells in the brain producing dopamine (a neurotransmitter) are affected.

Some of the early signs of Parkinson’s include:

1. Tremor: If you have noticed a slight shaking of your hands or limbs, then Parkinson’s might be the cause. The trembling can range from mild to severe as the disease progresses. The back-and-forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger is known as pill-rolling tremor. One of the most prominent signs is your hand shaking even when it is rested.
2. Bradykinesia (slow movement): As the disease progresses, you may find it difficult to move your hands or legs or going from one place to another. Even making the smallest movement will require an increased effort on your part.
3. Rigid Muscles: The muscles in your body can become stiff causing you pain and making it difficult to perform physical activities.
4. Masked Face: Your face may experience spasms or become stiff periodically. It can also lead to complete paralysis on one side of the face.
5. Stooping or improper balance: Having Parkinson’s disease can make your body posture imbalanced resulting in stooping or hunching over.
6. Decreased Automatic Movements: You may experience difficulty in smiling, blinking or swinging your arms while walking.
7. Alteration in voice or speaking: Your voice can become soft or you may slur while talking. You can also experience a monotonous voice.
8. Writing may become small: You can experience changes in your handwriting as it becomes small and crowded.
9. Loss of Smell: The smell of food sitting right in front of you may not register in your olfactory resulting in loss of appetite.
10. Constipation: Having Parkinson’s disease can lead to patients experiencing irritable bowel syndrome.
11. Have Trouble Sleeping: It might be difficult to fall asleep for people suffering from Parkinson’s. Also, there are sudden movements during the sleeping process.
12. Dizziness: People suffering from Parkinson’s may faint from time to time.

These were some of the symptoms and signs by which you can tell whether a person has Parkinson’s or not. However, as of now it is not curable and can only be treated with medicines. But, early detection can definitely help in preventing it from affecting the whole body.