Sleep disorder is a medical condition that adversely affects your regular sleeping pattern. It has a direct impact on your health and the quality of sleep. This, in turn, paves the way for several other health problems and makes it difficult for you to go about your day-to-day activities.
Types of sleep disorders
- Insomnia
This is a condition in which a person finds it difficult to fall asleep at night or during other hours. - Sleep apnea
It is a condition in which a person suffers from irregular breathing patterns when they are sleeping. There are different types of sleep apnea. - Restless legs syndrome
It is a form of sleep disorder that is also referred to as Willis-Ekbom disease. It causes an unnatural and discomforting sensation in the legs. You also feel an uncontrollable urge to move your legs when you are trying to sleep. - Narcolepsy
This is a condition in which a person feels tired and sleepy throughout the day.
Symptoms of sleep disorder
- Finding it difficult to sleep
- A sense of fatigue during the day
- Feeling a strong urge to sleep during the day even after sleeping for a good number of hours in the night
- Feeling irritated
- Suffering from anxiety
- Not being able to concentrate
- Suffering from depression
Causes of sleep disorder
- Allergies
Different kinds of allergic reactions, like cold and sneezing, make a person uncomfortable while sleeping. If you are suffering from any allergy, it is important that you seek treatment for it. - Respiratory problems
When a person is suffering from respiratory problems, they may find it difficult to breathe. It would be impossible to catch up on some sleep when you are gasping for breath. - Nocturia
Nocturia is a condition in which you feel the need to urinate frequently. This could be a result of hormonal imbalance or some urinary tract-related diseases. When you suffer from nocturia, it will, invariably, cause a sleep disorder and make you feel drowsy in the morning. - Chronic pain
If you are feeling a sharp pain in any of your body parts, you will find it difficult to sleep peacefully. Some of the most commonly observed causes of chronic pain are arthritis, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, headaches, and persistent pain in the lower back. - Stress
Stress is one of the most common causes of sleep disorder. If you are suffering from high-level stress or anxiety, you must consult a therapist and engage in relaxation techniques like meditation to seek relief from it.
Risk factors
- Heart disease
Sleeping for much longer than necessary regularly can put a person at a high risk of suffering from different kinds of heart diseases. Women are found to be at a higher risk. - Obesity
Being overweight or suffering from obesity is one of the direct effects of sleeping excessively. People who sleep a lot tend to do less physical work, which makes them gain weight. - Diabetes
Sleep disorders may result in an increase in the blood sugar level and increase the chances of a person suffering from type-2 diabetes.
-
3 common treatment options for head and neck cancer
Read moreHead neck cancer can be treated effectively and completely cured if they are diagnosed early. The primary goal in most of the head neck cancer treatment options is to eradicate cancer, but it is also critical to be able to preserve the functioning of the associated nerves, tissues, and organs. While this is not impossible to do, it is probably the most challenging part of the treatment.
The treatment of head neck cancer will greatly depend on several factors:
- One of the main things that will determine the course of the treatment is the stage of the head neck cancer. The other thing that is of relevance is the type of cancer.
- Secondly, what is important to consider at this point is the kind of side effects that can occur with various treatments.
- Finally, the patient’s overall health and the choices regarding the treatment plan play a key role. Head neck cancer has many treatment options.
The aim of any surgery that is conducted for head neck cancer is to remove all the cancerous tissues and a portion of the healthy tissue around the damaged tissues as well.
- Laser Surgery: This kind of surgery is done when the patient has cancer in the larynx, and such a surgery is conducted to eliminate the tumor at an early stage.
- Excision: Typically, excision involves the removal of the tumor along with healthy tissue surrounding the area. If the cancerous tissue is small, then an excision can be carried out followed by radiation or chemotherapy.
- Dissection of the neck: If the oncologist feels that cancer has spread and it is essential to cover a larger area around the neck, then a dissection is conducted where the lymph nodes around the neck area are removed.
All or some of the above may be employed to treat cancer, but this is strongly dependent on the extent to which cancer has spread. Associate surgeries to help recover some or all the functions of the affected organ may have to be undertaken as well.
-
Causes of thrombosis
Read moreThrombosis can sometimes occur for no apparent reason at all. However, the risk of developing thrombosis is increased in certain circumstances or lifestyle.
Inactivity of the body tends the blood to collect in the lower parts of the body, usually in lower legs. There is nothing to worry about if this happens normally as when you start to move, the blood flow increases and circulates evenly in the body. However, if you are unable to move after a longer period of time, such as before and after an operation or during an illness or an injury or during a very long journey, the blood is forced to slow down considerably. This is when the chances of formation of blood clots increases.
While in hospital, during the operational procedure, the risk of getting blood clot increases. The chances of developing thrombosis increases if an operation takes longer than 90 minutes and if it involves leg, hip and abdomen. If the operation is to treat inflammatory or abdominal condition such as appendicitis the chances of thrombosis may increase. When admitted to hospital, you will be assessed for your risk of developing a blood clot and would be given necessary preventive treatments for the same.
The wall of the blood vessel can become narrowed or blocked and can cause blood clot to form if the blood vessel is damaged. Blood vessels can get damaged during operational procedures and form internal blood clots which are nothing but thrombosis.
Pregnancy is also one of the causes of a certain type of thrombosis called Venous thromboembolism or VTE. Although chances of getting affected by the same is about one in 100,000 women of childbearing age. Other factors that can cause thrombosis during pregnancy include being over 35 years old and pregnant, expecting two or more babies, having a cesarean delivery, smoking and dehydration.
In case of women, combined contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy both contain female hormone estrogen. This increases the chances of internal clotting. Although there are no risks involved in taking progesterone-only contraceptive pills.