Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

The history of ADHD’s “evolution” is both fascinating and lengthy. It’s not a new ailment, but it’s taken doctors and researchers quite a long time to understand what it is and how to effectively treat it.
The first description of ADHD in the medical literature was made in 1902 by an English doctor named George Still, who described a group of young patients stricken with extreme hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. Not surprisingly, the group consisted of three boys for every girl, and in each case the problems manifested themselves before age eight. From his report, it’s apparent that Still was dealing with almost textbook examples of ADHD. Based on the fact that most of the children in his study came from good, loving homes, Still theorized that their condition was biological rather than environmental and might even have a genetic component.
It’s interesting to note that during that period, disruptive children were generally viewed as simply poorly disciplined, and much of the responsibility for their behavior was placed on their parents’ shoulders. Parenting books and even many medical texts advocated spanking and other forms of corporal punishment as the answer to hyperactivity and inattention. Now, of course, we know that corporal punishment does nothing to eliminate the symptoms of ADHD, and can, in fact, make them worse.
A 1917 encephalitis outbreak in the United States stimulated still more interest in attention deficit syndromes because many children stricken with the disease developed problems strikingly similar to ADHD, including hyperactivity and attention deficit. Doctors reasoned that the virus responsible for encephalitis damaged the same parts of the brain suspected to be immature in ADHD children. By the 1940s, the term minimal brain damage was used to describe this disorder. However, once it was determined that these children often had no evidence of brain damage, the term was changed to minimal brain dysfunction.
Hyperactivity became the focus of study in the 1950s, when doctors started referring to the condition as “hyperkinetic impulse disorder.” It was during this period that Ritalin and other stimulants became the treatment of choice for children with ADHD, though the number of prescriptions then was dramatically lower than what we’re seeing today.
During the latter part of the 1960s, doctors and researchers began to realize with greater certainty that the symptoms that make up ADHD are biological and possibly genetic in origin— not the result of poor parenting, environment, or children just being “bad.” The use of stimulants, particularly Ritalin, became increasingly common as parents looked desperately for an effective treatment.
The 1970s saw greater research into both the causes and effects of ADHD, with strong emphasis on impulsivity and distractibility. Scientists became increasingly convinced of a biological and probably genetic cause, although they couldn’t prove it. As studies attempted to understand the underlying deficient cognitive operations that result in the syndrome, the name given to the disorder changed. Thus the term attention deficit disorder reflected the conviction, largely following the work of Virginia Douglas in the 1970s and 1980s, that a deficit in attention was the primary underlying disorder. In DSM TV, hyperactivity was added to the nomenclature, so that now the syndrome is referred to as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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This affliction of college-age students is often jokingly referred to as the “kissing disease.” The symptoms of mononucleosis, or “mono,” include sore throat, fever, headache, nausea, chills, and a pervasive weakness or tiredness in the initial stages. As the disease progresses, lymph nodes may become increasingly enlarged, and jaundice, spleen enlargement, aching joints, and body rashes may occur.
Theories on the transmission and treatment of mononucleosis are highly controversial. Caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, mononucleosis is readily detected through a monospot test, a blood test that measures the percentage of specific forms of white blood cells. Because many viruses are caused by transmission of body fluids, many people once believed that young people passed the disease on by kissing. Although this is still considered a possible cause, mononucleosis is not believed to be highly contagious. It does not appear to be easily contracted through normal, everyday personal contact. Multiple cases among family members are rare, as are cases between intimate partners.
Treatment of mononucleosis is often a lengthy process that involves bed rest, balanced nutrition, and medications to control the symptoms of the disease. Gradually, the body develops a form of immunity to the disease and the person returns to normal activity.
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Measles have been one of the most frequent of the childhood diseases. The condition is quite infectious, and is accompanied usually by a rash, with fever, cough, and inflamed eyes. Measles are caused by a specific virus which spreads easily from one person to another.
From ten to fourteen days after a child has been in contact with another who has had measles, symptoms like those of a severe cold develop. The child becomes drowsy and irritable. The eyes water and look red and the child avoids light. The appetite is poor. By the end of the third or fourth day the rash appears with individual spots that are at first pinhead size and pale red but then enlarge, become elevated and a darker red. The eruption is seen first usually on the face, scalp, and behind the ears, but then gradually covers the whole body. The fever increases as the rash breaks out. After the second or third day the rash begins to fade, the temperature falls and after seven days, usually, the patient is on the way to complete recovery.
During the first few months of life the child often has immunity from measles by antibodies derived from its mother. As the immunity wears off the child becomes susceptible, and most cases occur in children three or four years old. The child may be injected with globulin which provides immunity against measles. In 1962 a vaccine useful to prevent measles was developed by Dr. John Enders based on isolation of the measles virus.
Since the development of antibiotic drugs secondary complications of measles are more easily controlled. During the acute illness the child is kept at rest, given plenty of fluids, such as citrus drinks, a soft diet and good nursing. For itching of the skin a calamine lotion is used. The eyes are protected against irritation. For more severe cases convalescent serum or gamma globulin may be used. Measles are not a serious disease except for very small babies. Prevention and control of pneumonia at the earliest sign is most important.
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The basic concept is that there are three stages in stress breakdown, each stage with its characteristic symptoms.
The symptom of the first stage – anxiety.
The two extra symptoms of stage two are loss of emotional control, and loss of self-motivation.
The three major symptoms of stage three are intolerance of sensory stimulation, inability to tolerate things previously tolerated and apparent change in priorities and attitudes.
You may find that you suffer from some of these symptoms some of the time, or perhaps all of them some of the time or some of them all of the time. People vary quite a lot in how often they slip in and out of these stages I have described when they are experiencing stress breakdown.
What to do about your stress breakdown symptoms? The quick answer is always rest, relief of stress and a lot more sleep. There are other things to consider, such as eating properly and avoiding alcohol and stimulants.
Let us look at what practical steps we might take when experiencing significant stress, to prevent stress breakdown. We will look first at the situation where a person is beginning to experience anxiety symptoms while under stress.

Symptom check-list
Firstly, we must make sure that what you’re suffering from is in fact anxiety. Let’s check the symptoms out. Do you experience any of these symptoms?
1.      A vague but urgent feeling of unease or dread, as though you are expecting something to go wrong, but you don’t know what it is.
2.      A feeling of being ‘wound up’, ‘up-tight’, ‘tense’ and of feeling jumpy, more easily startled, for example if the telephone rings unexpectedly.
3.     Are you having a little bit of difficulty unwinding get off to sleep easily at night?
4.     Do you suffer from three or more of the following symptoms?
Palpitations or rapid pulse rate.
Headaches.
Lower backache.
Feelings of heaviness in the chest.
Sharp chest pains, coming from sore spots on the chest wall.
Discomfort in the upper part of the abdomen.
Increased frequency of passing urine.
Tremor or shakes of the hands.
Sweaty palms of the hands.
Stiffness of back and shoulder muscles.
Over-breathing and feelings of panic from time to time.
If you answered ‘yes’ to the first three questions, and ‘yes’ to three or more of the symptoms in question four, then you have most probably been suffering from symptoms of anxiety, which is the alarm signal that lets you know that your nervous system is having difficulty coping with the tasks it has been set.
However, you could possibly be suffering instead from some medical illness, the symptoms of which resemble anxiety, such as those of low blood calcium, or some medical disorder which causes increased release of adrenaline and therefore produces some of the body symptoms of anxiety itself.

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The dust in your house is the sum of your environmental accumulations. It is a mixture that can include dried food particles, outside dust, pollen particles, mold spores, fibers, insect parts and droppings, pesticides, hair, shed skin cells, and dried saliva and urine from indoor pets.

What Is It In House Dust That Causes Allergies?
In laboratories around the world a debate has raged for years: Is there an allergen in house dust that is unique to dust, or are the symptoms caused by an allergy to one of the already – recognized agents comprising the dust – the most commonly suggested culprit being the house dust mite? Although the answer is not completely resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, it appears that most allergic reactions to dust are due to an allergy to one of its constituents, most commonly the house dust mite. However, any of dust’s constituents can be the cause of your symptoms: other insects and their droppings (most notably those of the cockroach), as well as animal (cat and dog) dander particles. Unfortunately, many allergic people are genetically disposed to react to more than one component of their house dust. They may, for example, react to mites, mold spores, pollens, and cat saliva.

How To Tell If You Are Allergic To House Dust
If when you vacuum, sweep, dust, and clean (or are present when this is done) you get a runny, itchy, stopped-up nose and a sneezing spell, you are probably allergic to something in house dust. The exact dust components causing your allergy can be determined by allergy testing, either of your skin or your blood serum.
If you are allergic to house dust, your symptoms tend to occur both in and out of the pollen seasons, are worse inside your home than outside, and seem to be more of a bother the longer you are indoors. It is common for dust-allergic symptoms to be worse on awakening in the mornings. Sleeping in a dusty bed or with a dusty pillow or bedding can contribute to your symptoms, as can the ceiling or oscillating fan that keeps the dust in your room suspended in the air while you sleep. Symptoms caused by something in house dust frequently lessen or clear when you go on vacation, then worsen when you return home.
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I just found out that I’m allergic to elm pollen. Does that mean that the other tree pollens will trigger my allergy symptoms?
Elm pollen is unique and is unable to cross-react with any of the other tree pollens. As a result, other tree pollens will not cause symptoms because of your allergy to elm. If you begin having symptoms at times when elm pollen is not in the air, re-consult your allergist, as it is likely you have become allergic to another tree or to other types of pollen.

My friend says that she can’t go to San Antonio from December through January because of the mountain cedar pollen. I didn’t think that trees pollinated at that time of the year in Texas or anywhere else. Who is correct?
Your friend knows a lot about pollen. Although, in general, trees pollinate from the early spring to midsummer, in south central Texas, mountain cedar pollinates during December and January -and does so with a vengeance. This is an exception to the general rule that trees pollinate only in the spring.

I’ve heard that if you are allergic to grass, you shouldn’t eat breakfast cereals (barley, oats, corn, wheat, rice), because these cereals are in the grass-family and cross-react with grass pollen. Is this correct?
While cereals are in the grass family, breakfast cereals do not bother people who are grass allergic. Being allergic to pollen from the cereal plants does not necessarily mean that you will be allergic to the food grains produced by the plant. The situation is the same for pecans and pecan tree pollen. You can be allergic to the pollen and still enjoy the nut.

My hay fever is a problem just about the time that the goldenrod begins to pollinate, but my doctor told me that I couldn’t be allergic to goldenrod. I don’t understand.
In all likelihood you are actually allergic to ragweed pollen, which is the major airborne pollen at the time that goldenrod pollinates. You may not have noticed that the ragweeds are also pollinating at the same time as the goldenrods. They do not take on the bright gold color of the goldenrods so their pollen status is not as obvious. However, your doctor may be only partially correct. Ragweed and goldenrod are very closely related. If you are allergic to ragweed, it is highly likely that you will exhibit allergic symptoms if you are exposed to goldenrod. Still, because goldenrod pollen is quite heavy, it is normally carried by the wind only a few feet from its plant. Therefore, you would almost have to physically bump into the goldenrod plant to expose yourself sufficiently to its pollen to have symptoms. Although this seems unlikely, it can happen, as many a hiker and hunter can tell you.
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Whereas the psychosomatic symptoms of stage one have predictability about them, the psychosomatic symptoms of stage three are unpredictable. The symptoms of stage one, either symbolic symptoms or symptoms resulting from a predictable response to anxiety, are produced by the normal functioning of the body’s warning mechanisms and by normal patterns of adaptation to the anxiety response.
However, the psychosomatic symptoms of stage three are due to malfunction of conditioned reflexes and the symbolic symptoms of stage three are due to malfunction of the brain’s self-protecting mechanisms.
Because the psychosomatic symptoms of stage three arise as the result of malfunction of conditioned reflexes, the body’s functions may be seriously hampered, and the person in stage three stress breakdown can become seriously ill.
Let us look at stage three symptoms in these two categories.
1.  Symptoms due to malfunction of conditioned reflexes.
2.  Symptoms due to conversion.

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