Perfectly healthy adults, with no previous incontinence problems, have been known to urinate when in extreme fear. There is also a connection between incontinence and depression - depressed women are more likely to be incontinent, and incontinent women are more likely to be depressed, though the causal link is not clear.

We don’t know yet how this happens: the walls of the bladder are normally relaxed and the sphincter (the ring-shaped muscle leading out of the bladder which dilates to allow urine to flow out) closed in the ‘fight or flight’ response to stress or fear. In extreme cases, though, it seems the digestive system in effect ’shuts down’, and a person will have an urge to urinate, or feel as if he has an attack of diarrhea.

The mind-body connection works the opposite way too. So if you suffer from incontinence, some mental training can help. A study by the Loyola University Health System, reported in the April issue of the Journal of Urology, showed that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and meditation helped ten patients (mean age: 62) reduce their episodes of incontinence to almost one-fourth of what it was before the therapy.

So should those who suffer from incontinence choose meditation and CBT over the many other surgical treatments, exercises, and drugs available for urinary incontinence? Is it a sign of mental strength? Not necessarily - some people try CBT and meditation and if they are not successful look for other options.  Others find surgery and drugs have not helped so much, and try out meditation and CBT as their final desparate resort.

It’s a cliche, but it’s true: combining positive mental imaging, CBT, bladder retraining (learning how to predict and control urination, for example, through keeping a bladder diary), pelvic-floor exercises, and if necessary drugs and surgery, will help you most.

Susan Vinodh Pandian

Read more about it:

1. Urinary incontinence calculator for women

2. For women with incontinence: keeping a bladder diary

3. Stress incontinence

4. Scientists try to identify mechanism of mind-body connection

Things that increase risk of mental illness:

• Physical factors: having older parents increases the risk of Down Syndrome (old mother) and autism and schizophrenia (older father).
• Some infections like syphilis and meningitis can cause dementia, as do other diseases like pellagra (vitamin B3 deficiency) and head injuries.
• Alcoholism and substance abuse.
• Family history of psychotic illness.
• Breakdown and conflict in the family or at work.
• Emotional trauma, being a victim of violence.
• Poverty.

Things that protect from mental illness:

• Strong family ties or ties with other people in religious or social contexts.
• Parents who are functioning well in the family and at work, who are loving and supportive.
• At least one person to connect with and who is dependably around.
• Good relationship with peers and other adults outside the family.
• Personal resilience and emotional skills.
• Religious faith.
• Economic security.
• Good physical health.
• Success at school and work.

Susan Vinodh Pandian

Read more about mental illnesses:

1. About mental health on Medindia

2. Understanding mental illnesses through gene-environment interactions

3. Twenty million Indians have serious mental disorders

4.  Support groups for mental illnesses and addiction

The baby born today will live to be 66 years on average. In 1900, he could live to be 30.

In the beginning of the  last century, 10% of babies died before they were one year old. Today, the figure is 0.7%.

In the beginning of the twentieth century,  ten mothers died for every 1000 babies born. Today, the figure is just 1% of that, <0.1 death per 1000 births.

Almost one person in three was infected with smallpox in 1900, and of those infected one in three would die. Today, smallpox is eradicated. Many other infectious diseases like polio and  guinea-worm disease are much less common than they used to be. Seventy percent of people infected with cholera would die because of fluid loss due to diarrhea in the nineteenth century. Today, with oral rehydration therapy, less than 3% die.

Let’s give credit where credit is due.  A lot of this is due to modern medicine and its practitioners, and public health measures spearheaded by them.

Susan Vinodh Pandian

Read more:

1. Health facts

2. Top ten facts about senior health

3. AIDS statistics

4. Understanding epidemics using statistics

Welcome to the world of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)!

CFS has finally managed to garner enough support and harness the recognition it deserves.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, now recognizes the fact that 1 million to  4 million Americans are affected by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome( CFS). However, only half these numbers seek medical attention for their illness.

What triggers this condition still remains a mystery. Epstein –Barr virus, anemia, allergies and other factors have been implicated.

As can be guessed by the name, CFS causes severe fatigue in the sufferers to the extent that their normal life is seriously impaired. Pain (non specific) and debilitating fatigue are common hallmarks of this condition. A wide range of symptoms  have been listed including flu-like symptoms and memory loss. The vast majority of CFS patients are women and no one knows why!

Depression in these patients is quite common as the current medicines are unable to relieve the pain. However anti depressants and anti histamines are used to treat this condition. Alternative therapies, like acupuncture, are  known to relieve the pain.

Dr. Reeja Tharu

Related Links

1. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- An Overview

2. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Calculator

3. CPAP Treatment Improves Complaints of Fatigue and Tiredness in People With OSA

Among the many illnesses plaguing the ailing star was a condition called the alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a debilitating genetic disease that  predisposed the singer to lung and liver malfunctioning.

This A1A deficiency is brought about by a mutation in the SERPINA 1 gene. The normal form of this gene is required to produce the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin. This protein is required to control the activity of the enzyme neutrophil elastase which normally fights infections but which also has the propensity to attack normal cells. Alpha-1 antitrypsin keeps this enzyme in check.

The signs and symptoms of the lung disease brought about  by alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency initially appears around   20 – 50 yrs.

The earliest symptoms include-

• Shortness of breath / decreased ability  to exercise / wheezing.
• Sudden weight loss,
• Recurring respiratory infections,
• Fatigue/ palpitations
• Vision-related complications 

With time, the disease could lead to emphysema  which in turn could completely damage the lungs.

Jackson had to be administered alpha-1 antitrypsin injections each day. His voice was reduced to a mere whisper in recent times.

The arena in London, where he was to have kick- started the concert,  boasted of the best lip synching technology in the world – an arrangement that the trouble- riddled  star heavily depended on. He was forced to go through these ‘performances’ due to his mounting debts.

But Death had it otherwise- it released him from further embarrassment and provided him with much- required respite.

Needless to say, fame and tragedy are two sides of the same coin!

Dr. Reeja Tharu