Trichotillomania is hair loss from repeated urges to pull or twist the hair until it breaks off. People are unable to stop this behavior, even as their hair becomes thinner.
Symptoms most often begin before age 17. The hair may come out in round patches or across the scalp. The effect is an uneven appearance. The person may pluck other hairy areas, such as the eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair.
These symptoms are most often seen in children:
· An uneven appearance to the hair
· Bare patches or all around (diffuse) loss of hair
· Bowel blockage (obstruction) if people eat the hair they pull out
· Constant tugging, pulling, or twisting of hair
· Denying the hair pulling
· Hair regrowth that feels like stubble in the bare spots
· Increasing sense of tension before the hair pulling
· Other self-injury behaviors
· Sense of relief, pleasure, or gratification after the hair pulling
Most people with this disorder also have problems with:
Your health care provider will examine your skin, hair, and scalp. A piece of tissue may be removed (biopsy) to find other causes, such as a scalp infection, and to explain the hair loss.
Experts don't agree on the use of medicine for treatment. However, naltrexone and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been shown to be effective in reducing some symptoms. Behavioral therapy and habit reversal may also be effective.
Trichotillomania that begins in younger children (less than 6 years old) may go away without treatment. For most people, the hair pulling ends within 12 months.
For others, trichotillomania is a lifelong disorder. However, treatment often improves the hair pulling and the feelings of depression, anxiety, or poor self-image.
Early detection is the best form of prevention because it leads to early treatment. Decreasing stress can help, because stress may increase compulsive behavior.
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur in people who have been drinking heavily for weeks, months, or years and then either stop or significantly reduce their alcohol consumption.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin as early as two hours after the last drink, persist for weeks, and range from mild anxiety and shakiness to severe complications, such as seizures and delirium tremens (also called DTs). The death rate from DTs -- which are characterized by confusion, rapid heartbeat, and fever -- is estimated to range from 1% to 5%.
Because alcohol withdrawal symptoms can rapidly worsen, it's important to seek medical attention even if symptoms are seemingly mild. Appropriate alcohol withdrawal treatments can reduce the risk of developing withdrawal seizures or DTs.
It's especially important to see a doctor if you've experienced previous alcohol withdrawal episodes or if you have other health conditions such as infections, heart disease, lung disease, or a history of seizures.
Severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms are a medical emergency. If seizures, fever, severe confusion, hallucinations, or irregular heartbeats occur, either take the patient to an emergency room or call 911.
Heavy, prolonged drinking -- especially excessive daily drinking -- disrupts the brain's neurotransmitters, the brain chemicals that transmit messages.
For example, alcohol initially enhances the effect of GABA, the neurotransmitter which produces feelings of relaxation and calm. But chronic alcohol consumption eventually suppresses GABA activity so that more and more alcohol is required to produce the desired effects, a phenomenon known as tolerance.
Chronic alcohol consumption also suppresses the activity of glutamate, the neurotransmitter which produces feelings of excitability. To maintain equilibrium, the glutamate system responds by functioning at a far higher level than it does in moderate drinkers and nondrinkers.
When heavy drinkers suddenly stop or significantly reduce their alcohol consumption, the neurotransmitters previously suppressed by alcohol are no longer suppressed. They rebound, resulting in a phenomenon known as brain hyperexcitability. So, the effects associated with alcohol withdrawal -- anxiety, irritability, agitation, tremors, seizures, and DTs -- are the opposite of those associated with alcohol consumption.
In general, how severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms become depends on how much and for how long a person has been drinking.
Minor alcohol withdrawal symptoms often appear 6 to 12 hours after a person stops drinking. Sometimes a person will still have a measurable blood alcohol level when symptoms start. These symptoms include:
Between 12 and 24 hours after they stop drinking, some patients may experience visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations. These usually end within 48 hours. Although this condition is called alcoholic hallucinosis, it's not the same as the hallucinations associated with DTs. Most patients are aware that the unusual sensations aren't real.
Withdrawal seizures usually first strike between 24 and 48 hours after someone stops drinking, although they can appear as early as 2 hours after drinking stops.. The risk of seizures is especially high in patients who previously have undergone multiple detoxifications.
DTs usually begin between 48 and 72 hours after drinking has stopped, Risk factors for DTs include a history of withdrawal seizures or DTs, acute medical illness, abnormal liver function, and older age.
Symptoms of DTs, which usually peak at 5 days, include:
Disorientation, confusion, and severe anxiety
Hallucinations (primarily visual) which cannot be distinguished from reality
If alcohol withdrawal syndrome is suspected, your doctor will take a complete medical history and ask how much you drink, how long you've been drinking, and how much time has elapsed since your last drink. He or she also will want to know if you have a history of alcohol withdrawal, if you abuse any other substances, and if you have any medical or psychiatric conditions.
If you have mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms, your doctor may prefer to treat you in an outpatient setting, especially if you have supportive family and friends. Outpatient detoxification is safe, effective, and less costly than inpatient detoxification at a hospital or other facility.
However, you may require inpatient treatment if you don't have a reliable social network, are pregnant, or have a history of any of the following:
Severe withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal seizures or DTs
Multiple previous detoxifications
Certain medical or psychiatric illnesses
The goals of treatment are threefold: reducing immediate withdrawal symptoms, preventing complications, and beginning long-term therapy to promote alcohol abstinence.
Prescription drugs of choice include benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), lorazepam (Ativan), and oxazepam (Serax). Such medications can help control the shakiness, anxiety, and confusion associated with alcohol withdrawal and reduce the risk of withdrawal seizures and DTs. In patients with mild to moderate symptoms, the anticonvulsant drug carbamazepine (Tegretol) may be an effective alternative to benzodiazepines, because it is not sedating and has low potential for abuse.
To help manage withdrawal complications, your doctor may consider adding other drugs to a benzodiazepine regimen. These may include:
An antipsychotic drug, which can help relieve agitation and hallucinations
A beta-blocker, which may help curb a fast heart rate and elevated blood pressure related to withdrawal and reduce the strain of alcohol withdrawal in people with coronary artery disease
Because successful treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome doesn't address the underlying disease of addiction, it should be followed by treatment for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
Relatively brief outpatient interventions can be effective for alcohol abuse, but more intensive therapy may be required for alcohol dependence. If you have alcohol dependence, your doctor may prescribe other medications to help you stop drinking. He or she also may recommend joining a 12-step group -- such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous -- or staying at a comprehensive treatment facility that offers a combination of a 12-step model, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family therapy.
When people talk about a "drug problem," they usually mean abusing legal drugs or using illegal drugs, such as marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, crystal meth, and heroin. (Marijuana is generally an illegal drug, but some states allow doctors to recommend it to adults for certain illnesses.)
Why Are Illegal Drugs Dangerous?
Illegal drugs aren't good for anyone, but they are particularly bad for a kid or teen whose body is still growing. Illegal drugs can damage the brain, heart, and other important organs. Cocaine, for instance, can cause a heart attack — even in a kid or teen.
While using drugs, people are also less able to do well in school, sports, and other activities. It's often harder to think clearly and make good decisions. People can do dumb or dangerous things that could hurt them — or other people — when they use drugs.
Why Do People Use Illegal Drugs?
Sometimes kids and teens try drugs to fit in with a group of friends. Or they might be curious or just bored. Someone may use illegal drugs for many reasons, but often because they help the person escape from reality for a while. A drug might — temporarily — make someone who is sad or upset feel better or forget about problems. But this escape lasts only until the drug wears off.
Drugs don't solve problems, of course. And using drugs often causes other problems on top of the problems the person had in the first place. Somebody who uses drugs can become dependent on them, or addicted. This means that the person's body becomes so accustomed to having this drug that he or she can't function well without it.
Once someone is addicted, it's very hard to stop taking drugs. Stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as vomiting(throwing up), sweating, and tremors (shaking). These sick feelings continue until the person's body gets adjusted to being drug free again.
Can I Tell If Someone Is Using Drugs?
If someone is using drugs, you might notice changes in how the person looks or acts. Here are some of those signs, but it's important to remember that depression or another problem could be causing these changes. Somebody using drugs might:
· lose interest in school
· change friends (to hang out with kids who use drugs)
· become moody, negative, cranky, or worried all the time
· ask to be left alone a lot
· have trouble concentrating
· sleep a lot (maybe even in class)
· get in fights
· have red or puffy eyes
· lose or gain weight
· cough a lot
· have a runny nose all of the time
What Can I Do to Help?
If you think someone is using drugs, the best thing to do is to tell an adult that you trust. This could be a parent, other relative, teacher, coach, or school counselor. The person might need professional help to stop using drugs. A grownup can help the person find the treatment needed to stop using drugs. Another way kids can help kids is by choosing not to try or use drugs. It's a good way for friends to stick together.
Words to Know
Understanding drugs and why they are dangerous is another good step for a kid to take. Here are some words that may be new to you:
Addiction (say: eh-DIK-shen) — Someone has an addiction when he or she becomes dependent on or craves a drug all of the time.
Depressant (say: dih-PRESS-int) — A depressant is a drug that slows a person down. Doctors prescribe depressants to help people be less angry, anxious, or tense. Depressants relax muscles and make people feel sleepy, less stressed out, or like their head is stuffed. Some people may use these drugs illegally to slow themselves down and help bring on sleep — especially after using various kinds of stimulants. (See below.)
Hallucinogen (say: heh-LOO-seh-neh-jen) — A hallucinogen is a drug, such as LSD, that changes a person's mood and makes him or her see or hear things that aren't really there or think strange thoughts.
High — A high is the feeling that drug users want to get when they take drugs. There are many types of highs, including a very happy or spacey feeling or a feeling that someone has special powers, such as the ability to fly or to see into the future.
Inhalant (say: in-HAY-lent) — An inhalant, such as glue or gasoline, is sniffed or "huffed" to give the user an immediate rush. Inhalants produce a quick feeling of being drunk — followed by sleepiness, staggering, dizziness, and confusion.
Narcotic (say: nar-KAH-tik) — A narcotic dulls the body's senses (leaving a person less aware and alert and feeling carefree) and relieves pain. Narcotics can cause someone to sleep, fall into a stupor, have convulsions, and even slip into a coma. Certain narcotics — such as codeine — are legal if given by doctors to treat pain. Heroin is an illegal narcotic because it is has dangerous side effects and is very addictive.
Stimulant (say: STIM-yeh-lent) — A stimulant speeds up the body and brain. Stimulants, such as methamphetamines and cocaine, have the opposite effect of depressants. Usually, stimulants make someone feel high and energized. When the effects of a stimulant wear off, the person will feel tired or sick.
Трихотилломания – это психическое расстройство, при котором больной чувствует сильное побуждение вырвать свои волосы. Обычно, вырывают волосы на голове, ресницах и бровях.
Трихотилломания чаще всего бывает у девочек подросткового возраста. Однако поразить она может и детей, и взрослых всех возрастов и обоих полов.
Точная причинанеизвестна. Факторами, способствующими развитию заболевания, являются стрессовые события, злоупотребление наркотиков и химический дисбаланс в мозгу, встречающийся у людей с обсессивно-компульсивным расстройством.
Симптомы могут включать:
Очаги плешивости.
Ломкость волос.
Редкие брови и ресницы.
Непризнание факта выдергивания волос и попытки скрыть проблему.
Лечение обычно включает прием лекарств и психотерапию.
Синдром отмены – это дискомфортное физическое или психическое изменение, которое происходит, когда организм лишают алкоголя или наркотиков, к которым оно привыкло. Симптомы могут длиться несколько дней и могут включать тошноту, рвоту, потливость, беспокойство, неустойчивость и тревожность.
Симптомы синдрома отмены могут появиться только, если человек потребляет чрезмерное количество алкоголя и наркотиков.
Симптомы синдрома отмены алкоголя начинают проявляться через 4-12 часов после прекращения потребления алкоголя, либо через несколько дней после последнего распития. Чем сильнее алкогольная зависимость, тем сильнее симптомы синдрома отмены (так называемые белая горячка). Симптомами белой горячки могут быть зрительные и слуховые галлюцинации, замешательство и раздражительность, сильная дрожь и припадки. В редких случаях белая горячка, если её не лечить, может привести к смерти.
Симптомами синдрома отмены наркотиков (запрещенные наркотики и лекарства, отпускаемые по рецепту врача) различаются в зависимости от типа наркотика. Общими симптомами являются тошнота, рвота, боль в животе и припадки.
Для лечения при синдроме отмены алкоголя и наркотиков могут потребоваться лекарства и заместительная терапия. Во многих случаях при алкоголизме и приеме наркотиков рекомендуется реабилитация.
Нелегальные наркотики – это те, что не прописываются врачом или не покупаются в аптеке.
Некоторые виды нелегальных наркотиков – героин (транквилизатор); кокаин (стимулятор); ЛСД, мескалин, фенилциклидин, метамфинамин и псилоцибин (галлюциногены); марихуана и гашиш (конопля); и гамма-гидроксибутират.
Последствия нелегальных наркотиков могут быть непредсказуемы, так как:
Большинство наркотиков вырабатывают быстрое привыкание и зависимость.
Люди по-разному реагируют на одни и те же наркотики.
Действенность наркотика может быть неопределенной.
Они могут содержать неизвестные или неожиданные вещества. По нелегальным наркотикам не ведется контроля качества, которое требуется к наркотикам, отпускаемым по рецепту.
Они могут непредсказуемым образом взаимодействовать с другими наркотическими средствами или алкоголем.
