Archives for March 1, 2008

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Sleeplessness and Homeopathy

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 4 Comments

Insomnia and Homeopathic Treatment  Dr.Vikas Sharma

A few decades ago sleep was thought to be an insignificant activity in our daily life. But with recent advances in medical research, we now know that it is an active process and affects our physical and mental health in many ways.

Sleep is extremely essential for our nervous system to work properly. Some experts believe that sleep is more important for our nervous system. Unlike other organs, the nervous system cannot replace the neurons (nerve cells), so it shuts down during sleep and gives neurons (nerve cells) time to repair and remove the byproducts of their cellular activity.

A good sleep is not only defined by the hours one sleeps but by the quality of sleep too. An individual is said to be suffering from insomnia (sleep disorder characterizing inadequate sleep) when one or more of the following are present: difficulty in falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night with difficulty in returning to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, unrefreshing sleep.

Insomnia can be classified as transient (short term), intermittent (on and off) and chronic (constant). Chronic insomnia can result in a combination of physical and mental disorders. Depression is the most common cause, although physical causes such as night pains caused by arthritis, kidney and heart disease, restless legs syndrome, Parkinson’s disease and hyperthyroidism can also be the causative factors for insomnia. In addition, some other factors also have a role in insomnia: excessive caffeine (tea, coffee) intake, taking of alcohol before bedtime, smoking cigarettes before bedtime, disrupted sleep schedules and excessive sleeping in the afternoon. At times it is the worry of having difficulty in sleeping that causes it. Though insomnia is found in both sexes, it seems to be more pronounced in women after menopause. It is also more in the elderly

Treatment

Whereas the conventional system treats this disease by giving drugs to induce artificial sleep, which frequently may cause side-effects or addiction, the homoeopathic approach is totally safe and natural. It treats insomnia by giving a tiny dose of a substance that in large doses may cause sleeplessness in a healthy person. This tiny dose helps in optimising the sleep regulatory mechanism in the body.

Coffea Cruda is a homoeopathic medicine that is most often used for treating insomnia of acute origin. As the name suggests, it is made from coffee beans. It is indicated when insomnia is due to the mind being overcharged by an excessive inflow of thoughts and ideas at the time of sleep. Nux Vomica is more suited when insomnia is due to the abuse of stimulants, e.g. alcohol, coffee, smoking, etc.

Chronic insomnia needs to be treated according to the cause and also evaluated on the constitutional scale. The high efficacy homoeo-treatment for depression needs a special mention as it is the most common cause for chronic insomnia.

Fighting sleeplessness

The underlying cause: The key is to find out what’s causing insomnia so that it can be dealt with directly. Simply making a few changes in the sleep habits helps many people.

Set a schedule: It is important to set a schedule for sleeping. Sleeping and waking according to a set schedule can help in overcoming insomnia.

Relaxation: Make restful activities a part of your bedtime habits. Any activity – such as bathing, reading and music – which relaxes you should be made a bedtime ritual.

Regular exercise: Set a regular exercise schedule, and for maximum benefits exercise 5-6 hours before sleep time.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine: Caffeine drinks – coffee and tea – should be avoided after evening hours. Alcohol and smoking before bedtime should be completely avoided

Wake up with the sun: Make sure that you get up with the sun. Let enough sunlight enter your bedroom in the morning as sunlight helps set the body’s internal biological clock each day.

Don’t lie in the bed awake: If after 30 minutes of lying in the bed you are not able to sleep, it is better that you do something else till you feel sleepy.

Call Dr. Sharma's Clinic - From United States and Canada call 703-659-0873. Patients From rest of the world and India call +91-6283487321

Pigmentation and Homeopathy

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 452 Comments

Protecting our skin from sun
Dr.Vikas Sharma

Come summer, and sun begins to take its toll on Indians, their skin to be precise. As the temperatures soar to 44`B0C in the season, several people complain of skin-related disorders, all caused due to exposure to sun. While an exposure to sun harms people across all age groups, those with highly photosensitive skin and children are most susceptible to skin damage during summers.

The strong rays of the sun are undoubtedly damaging to human skin while its ultra-violet radiation is all the more harmful to us. Cases of dryness of the skin, spotting or pigmentation, itching, more non-painful acne on the face are common ailments people have been complaining about after an exposure to sun. Patients particularly complain of freckles, skin pigmentation, sun tanning, appearance of reddish elevated patches on the exposed parts and lip pigmentation. Photodermatitis is the most often noticed outcome. Photodermatitis is an abnormal skin response to ultraviolet (UV) rays, particularly sunlight. It can be acute or chronic. Signs and symptoms of photodermatitis are itchy bumps, blisters, or raised areas. Lesions that resemble eczema, hyperpigmentation, darkened discoloration compared to one’s normal skin tone, outbreaks in areas of the skin exposed to sunlight, pain, redness and swelling.

 

Who is most at risk? (1) Skin type may influence the likelihood of a photodermatitis reaction. Those with fair to light skin, or those with red or blond hair, and green or blue eyes tend to be most sensitive regardless of their racial or ethnic background. This is categorised as the skin type I. (2) Exposure to UV rays for 30 minutes to several hours increases the risk of photodermatitis. (3) Exposure to UV rays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. also increases the risk of photodermatitis since 50% of UV radiation is emitted during this time.

 

The treatment

 

Today we find ourselves being cautious and protective of everything around us. There are some effective and natural ways to eliminate the worries of summer time. Homoeopathy is one of the safest forms of the first-aid available. It uses a unique approach to health and healing by addressing both the symptoms of the problem and the person concerned. It also has a unique ability to treat chronic as well as acute skin disorders very effectively. Homoeopathic medicines do not suppress these skin conditions but try to treat them from its source, thereby annihilating the disease in totality

Burning sensation on the skin is one of the first symptoms of sun-induced skin disorders and should be attended to at the earliest, lest it manifests into other skin disorders. The initial reddening of the skin might further lead to pigmentation and stay until one takes medication. Homoeopathic medicine Belladonna is very beneficial for treating the initial stages when burning starts. 30 c potency of Belladonna can be used internally three-four times a day when such sun-induced skin disorder starts till a substantial relief has occurred.

If blisters form, then homoeopathic medicine Cantharis 30 c should be used. Sulphur is a very important homoeopathic medicine when skin disorder results from an exposure to sun. It is also very helpful in chronic skin disorders like eczema, psoriasis, etc, which aggravate in summers. But for Sulphur to be used in acute and chronic cases of photodermatitis, an evaluation by a professional homoeopath is a must.

Call Dr. Sharma's Clinic - From United States and Canada call 703-659-0873. Patients From rest of the world and India call +91-6283487321

IBS AND HOMEOPATHY

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 216 Comments

Treating IBS with Homeopathy   Dr. Vikas Sharma

If you have frequent bloating of abdomen, recurrent pain in your belly, and if you get loose stools or get constipated very often; then there are good enough chances that you could be suffering from IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the intestines; this means that it does not cause physical changes in your gut, but only affects the functioning of the intestines. Though it is a functional disorder, but it can seriously affect ones quality of life. Homeopathy offers a very effective solution to deal with ibs and can completely eradicate it from the body.

So what exactly is IBS and what causes it? IBS is referred to a condition when one or more of these symptoms are present in an individual. The main symptoms are abdominal pain or cramping, a bloated feeling, Gas (flatulence), Diarrhea or constipation (sometimes alternating with each other) and mucus in the stool .The symptoms in IBS can vary a great deal from an individual to an individual. Mostly IBS affects individual in a mild to moderate way, but in some patients, severity of symptoms can completely jeopardize their day to day life. For most of the people, IBS (when untreated) is a chronic condition although it may vary in intensity from time to time.

Although the cause of IBS is not very clear but it is widely believed that IBS is caused by disturbances in the nerve ending in the wall of the intestines, which control the muscles of the intestinal wall. Under normal circumstances these muscles in the walls of the intestines contract and relax alternatively to push the digested food forwards towards the rectum (terminal part of the intestinal canal). These muscles work in a rhythmic and a coordinated way. But for those who have IBS these muscles start working in an erratic fashion. The muscles may suddenly start contracting in a very strong manner casing the digested food to move out in a very speedily manner leading to diarrhea and cramps. On the other hand if the contractions become slow the bowel movements become constipated. Bloating is thought to be caused by the heightened sensitivity of the intestinal wall. Even small amounts of gas can give a feeling of distension (‘full of gas’ feeling in abdomen) due to the heightened sensitivity when intestinal walls are stretched even slightly by gas.

People suffering from IBS can have their symptoms triggered by external as well as internal factors. External factors are food substances like milk, alcohol eggs carbonated drinks etc. Stress is a major internal factor for triggering and affecting the symptoms of IBS. Trigger factors can hugely vary from an individual to individual.

Homeopathic medicines are very effective in managing and curing IBS. They work by using body’s own restorative abilities to counter the disease thus giving a gentle and a permanent cure .The treatment is best handled by a professional homeopath as choosing the right homeopathic medicine for IBS can be a very challenging job. This is because; homeopathic prescribing in such disorders is dependent upon the physical symptoms as well as the psychological aspect of the patient. Homeopathic medicines that have been found to be most effective in treating IBS are Asafoetida ,Colocynth, Argentum Nitricum ,Nux Vomica , Lycopodium and Carbo Vegetablis .

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