Physical Disabilities  
Lyme disease  
Lupus

Chronic Diseases  

HIV/AIDS
Multiple sclerosis
Cystic fibrosis
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Fibromyalgia

Mental/Psychological Disabilities and Disorders  
Trichotillomania  
Munchausen syndrome
Capgras Syndrome

Sleep Related Disorders  

Restless Legs Syndrome
Kleine-Levin Syndrome

Developmental Disabilities  

Dyslexia

Other Disabilities and Disorders  
Hearing impairment
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Tourette Syndrome
Trimethylaminuria

Post edited at 2:41 am on Dec. 28, 2007 by bighead1991

-------
My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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WHAT DOES "AIDS" MEAN?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:

•Acquired means you can get infected with it;
•Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body's system that fights diseases.
•Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease.

AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will make "antibodies," special molecules to fight HIV.  

A blood test for HIV looks for these antibodies. If you have them in your blood, it means that you have HIV infection. People who have the HIV antibodies are called "HIV-Positive."  

Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don't get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi and bacteria that usually don't cause any problems can make you very sick if your immune system is damaged. These are called "opportunistic infections."  

HOW DO YOU GET AIDS?

You don't actually "get" AIDS. You might get infected with HIV, and later you might develop AIDS. You can get infected with HIV from anyone who's infected, even if they don't look sick and even if they haven't tested HIV-positive yet. The blood, vaginal fluid, semen, and breast milk of people infected with HIV has enough of the virus in it to infect other people. Most people get the HIV virus by:
•having sex with an infected person
•sharing a needle (shooting drugs) with someone who's infected
•being born when their mother is infected, or drinking the breast milk of an infected woman  
Getting a transfusion of infected blood used to be a way people got AIDS, but now the blood supply is screened very carefully and the risk is extremely low.
•There are no documented cases of HIV being transmitted by tears or saliva, but it is possible to be infected with HIV through oral sex or in rare cases through deep kissing, especially if you have open sores in your mouth or bleeding gums.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 million to 1.2 million U.S. residents are living with HIV infection, about one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection. Each year, there are about 40,000 new infections. Of these, about 70 percent are among men and 30 percent among women.  

In the mid-1990s, AIDS was a leading cause of death. However, newer treatments have cut the AIDS death rate significantly. For more information, see the US Government fact sheet at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/aidsstat.htm.  

WHAT HAPPENS IF I'M HIV POSITIVE?

You might not know if you get infected by HIV. Some people get fever, headache, sore muscles and joints, stomach ache, swollen lymph glands, or a skin rash for one or two weeks. Most people think it's the flu. Some people have no symptoms.  

The virus will multiply in your body for a few weeks or even months before your immune system responds. During this time, you won't test positive for HIV, but you can infect other people.

When your immune system responds, it starts to make antibodies. When this happens, you will test positive for HIV.

After the first flu-like symptoms, some people with HIV stay healthy for ten years or longer. But during this time, HIV is damaging your immune system.

One way to measure the damage to your immune system is to count your CD4 cells you have. These cells, also called "T-helper" cells, are an important part of the immune system. Healthy people have between 500 and 1,500 CD4 cells in a milliliter of blood.  

Without treatment, your CD4 cell count will most likely go down. You might start having signs of HIV disease like fevers, night sweats, diarrhea, or swollen lymph nodes. If you have HIV disease, these problems will last more than a few days, and probably continue for several weeks.  

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE AIDS?

HIV disease becomes AIDS when your immune system is seriously damaged. If you have less than 200 CD4 cells or if your CD4 percentage is less than 14%, you have AIDS.  If you get an opportunistic infection, you have AIDS. There is an "official" list of these opportunistic infections put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The most common ones are:
•PCP (Pneumocystis pneumonia), a lung infection;
•KS (Kaposi's sarcoma), a skin cancer;
•CMV (Cytomegalovirus), an infection that usually affects the eyes; and
•Candida, a fungal infection that can cause thrush (a white film in your mouth) or infections in your throat or vagina.

AIDS-related diseases also includes serious weight loss, brain tumors, and other health problems. Without treatment, these opportunistic infections can kill you.

The official (technical) CDC definition of AIDS is available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm AIDS is different in every infected person. Some people die a few months after getting infected, while others live fairly normal lives for many years, even after they "officially" have AIDS. A few HIV-positive people stay healthy for many years even without taking antiretroviral medications (ARVs).  

IS THERE A CURE FOR AIDS?

There is no cure for AIDS. There are drugs that can slow down the HIV virus, and slow down the damage to your immune system. There is no way to "clear" the HIV out of your body.

Other drugs can prevent or treat opportunistic infections (OIs). In most cases, these drugs work very well. The newer, stronger ARVs have also helped reduce the rates of most OIs. A few OIs, however, are still very difficult to treat.

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For more information, check out Aids.org

Post edited at 2:37 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From mayoclinic.com:

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 Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can target your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart and lungs. The great majority of people affected are women. For reasons that aren't clear, lupus develops when the immune system attacks your body's own tissues and organs.

Three main types of lupus exist — systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), discoid lupus erythematosus and drug-induced lupus. Of these, SLE is the most common and serious form of the disease, frequently causing swollen, painful joints, skin rash, extreme fatigue and kidney damage. In rare cases, mothers can pass antibodies to their babies during childbirth (neonatal lupus erythematosus), though the mothers themselves usually show no signs of lupus.

Symptoms of Lupus:
No two cases of lupus are exactly alike. Signs and symptoms may come on suddenly or develop slowly, may be mild or severe, and may be temporary or permanent.

Common signs and symptoms

•Rash. Although it only affects about one in three people with lupus, the skin problem most often associated with the disease is a butterfly-shaped rash (malar rash) that develops across the cheeks and bridge of the nose. A malar rash may be flat or raised and may be blotchy or completely red in the affected areas. Some people with lupus develop skin lesions (subacute cutaneous lesions) that initially resemble small pimples but that eventually turn scaly and itchy, whereas others have large, flat, itchy lesions with clear centers. Both types of lesions usually appear after exposure to sunlight. Still other people develop a crusty, red, raised rash (discoid rash) on the face, neck, chest or scalp. A discoid rash is usually thick and scaly, may last for days or years, and often leaves hypopigmented or hyperpigmented scars. This rash is the only symptom in people with the discoid form of lupus. In a small percentage of cases, people with discoid lupus may go on to develop a mild version of SLE.

•Arthritis. Most people with lupus eventually develop joint pain, stiffness and swelling, mainly in their fingers, hands, wrists and knees. The pain may shift from one joint to another or affect the same joint on both sides of the body. Lupus-associated arthritis can come and go quickly and usually isn't deforming, although the pain can be severe during a flare.
•Kidney problems. People with lupus are especially vulnerable to kidney damage — lupus can cause numerous types of glomerulonephritis, a condition that affects the kidneys' ability to filter toxins, leading to kidney failure. Although some people with kidney problems may develop frothy or tea-colored urine, swelling in their ankles or lower legs, or high blood pressure, kidney damage often occurs without any warning signs or symptoms.

•Sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitivity). People with lupus are often highly sensitive to sunlight, frequently developing severe rashes on sun-exposed skin. Sometimes even indoor lighting, especially fluorescent lighting, can cause the same response.

•Brain or central nervous system problems. Lupus can cause a range of serious problems related to the brain or central nervous system, including headaches, seizures, dizziness, vision problems, behavior changes or stroke.

•Heart problems. Lupus can affect all parts of the heart, including the sac surrounding the heart (pericardium), the heart muscle (myocardium) and the lining of the inside of the heart (endocardium). Pericarditis, which occurs when the pericardium becomes inflamed, is particularly common in people with lupus, causing shortness of breath and sharp chest pain that may feel like a heart attack.

•Lung problems. Lupus can cause a number of lung problems, the most common of which is pleurisy, an inflammation of the chest cavity lining that can produce sharp, stabbing chest pain. Less common lung conditions include pleural effusion, which is the accumulation of excess fluid in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall, and lupus pneumonitis, a lung inflammation. Occasionally, people with lupus develop high blood pressure in the blood vessels in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension).

•Mucosal ulcers. These generally painless sores develop in the mouth, especially the roof of the mouth or, less often, in the nose. You're not likely to notice mucosal ulcers unless you eat spicy food or experience recurring nosebleeds.

•Blood vessel disorders. Inflamed blood vessels can affect blood circulation. The inflammation may be mild and not require treatment or it can be quite severe.

•Fatigue. The fatigue that accompanies lupus is not the same tiredness you experience after a sleepless night or hard physical work. Instead, it's an ongoing, extreme exhaustion that's usually not relieved by rest.

•Fever. An unexplained fever, especially a chronic fever higher than 100 F may be an early sign of lupus.

•Raynaud's phenomenon. In this condition your fingers, toes, nose and ears turn pale and numb when exposed to cold temperatures.

•Swelling. You may have swollen glands or swelling in your legs or around your eyes.

•Digestive problems. These problems may include abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea and vomiting.

•Hair loss. Because lupus can affect the skin of your scalp, you may experience some patchy hair loss.

•Depression. People with lupus may also experience depression or difficulty concentrating, either because of the disease itself or because of the challenges of living with a chronic condition.

Causes

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means that instead of just attacking foreign substances, such as bacteria and viruses, the immune system also turns against healthy tissue. This leads to inflammation and damage to various parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels and brain.

Why autoimmune diseases occur still isn't well understood. But doctors believe that like many diseases, lupus results from a combination of factors, which may include heredity, environment and hormones. Although lupus isn't directly inherited, it's likely that inheriting certain genes makes you more susceptible to the disease, which then may be triggered by certain factors, such as:

•Infection. It appears that a viral or bacterial infection may trigger SLE in vulnerable people. In particular, lupus may be linked with recurrent infections with the Epstein-Barr virus, the same virus that causes mononucleosis.

•Certain prescription medications. One of the three main forms of lupus — drug-induced lupus — results from the long-term use of certain prescription drugs. Although many drugs can potentially trigger lupus, those most clearly linked with the disease include the antipsychotic chlorpromazine, high blood pressure medications such as hydralazine, the tuberculosis drug isoniazid and the heart medication procainamide. Beta blockers have also been associated with lupus, as have some drugs used to treat arthritis and ulcers, and certain antibiotics such as minocycline. It usually takes several months or years of therapy with these drugs before symptoms appear, and even then, only a small percentage of people will ever develop lupus. Unlike SLE, drug-induced lupus affects more men than women, primarily because men are more likely to develop chronic conditions that require long-term treatment. And unlike other types of lupus, symptoms such as joint pain and swelling, fever, and fatigue usually disappear after stopping the medication, although you may require short-term treatment with NSAIDs or corticosteroids.

•Sunlight. Exposure to the sun may bring on lupus skin lesions or trigger an internal response in susceptible people. Exactly why ultraviolet radiation has this effect isn't well understood, but scientists suspect that sunlight may cause skin cells to express certain proteins on their surface. Antibodies that are normally present in the body then latch onto these proteins, initiating an inflammatory response. Damaged skin cells also seem to die more frequently in people with lupus, leading to even more inflammation.

•Hormones. Because so many more women than men have SLE, researchers think that female hormones, particularly estrogen, may play a role in the disease. The exact mechanism isn't known, but some women with lupus report that their symptoms become worse during menstruation and pregnancy and with the use of birth control pills or hormone therapy. On the other hand, although the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment (SELENA) trial found a small risk of increased mild to moderate flares of the disease in menopausal women treated with hormone therapy, severe flares were rare. In addition, studies suggest that oral contraceptives are well tolerated by most but not all women with lupus.
Many other factors have been suggested as possible causes of lupus, including stress, certain foods, the artificial sweetener aspartame, silicone breast implants, mercury dental fillings, hair dye, and pesticides and other toxic chemicals. To date, no clear link has been found between these factors and lupus.

Treatment

The treatments for lupus can be as varied and individual as the disease itself and may change over time. But common-sense measures, such as rest, protection from sunlight, exercise, not smoking and a healthy diet are important for everyone with lupus.
Beyond this, medications can ease symptoms and reduce complications of lupus, but these drugs carry their own risks. In recent years, more judicious use of drugs has helped reduce some of these risks. The type of medication and length of treatment depend on which parts of the body are affected and the severity of symptoms. Yet because the course of lupus is so unpredictable, doctors may need to try several different drugs or change doses before finding an effective treatment.

Some medications used to treat lupus include:

•Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as naproxen sodium and ibuprofen may reduce joint pain and inflammation. Check with your doctor before taking NSAIDs because some have been associated with serious side effects in people with lupus. What's more, a medication you've taken may have caused drug-induced lupus in the first place and taking more drugs may make the problem even worse.

•Antimalarial drugs. Although there's no known relationship between lupus and malaria, these medications may be useful for treating skin and joint problems and the ulcers that some people develop in the mouth or nose. Antimalarials may also prevent flares of the disease. Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), the most commonly prescribed antimalarial, is sometimes used to control lupus in pregnant women because it appears to have fewer risks to the fetus than other medications used to treat lupus do.

•Corticosteroids. These drugs counter the inflammation of lupus, but can have serious long-term side effects, including weight gain, easy bruising, thinning bones (osteoporosis), high blood pressure, diabetes and increased risk of infection, already a major concern for people with lupus. The risk of side effects increases with higher doses and longer-term therapy. To help reduce these risks, your doctor will try to find the lowest dose that controls your symptoms and prescribe corticosteroids for the shortest possible time. Taking the drug every other day can also help reduce side effects. Corticosteroids are sometimes combined with another medication to help reduce the dose, and therefore the toxicity, of both drugs. Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements while using corticosteroids can reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

•Immunosuppressive medications. Drugs such as azathioprine (Imuran) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) work by suppressing the immune system. Other medications that may be used to treat lupus include methotrexate (Rheumatrex), chlorambucil (Leukeran), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) and mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept). Because immunosuppressive medications can have serious side effects, they're usually reserved for people with severe systemic disease or organ failure. Immunosuppressive drugs can cause anemia and a low white blood cell count, and increase your risk of infection and cancer.
Sometimes, even with the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, your kidneys may fail. In that case, you may need kidney dialysis or, if kidney failure is permanent, a kidney transplant.

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Post edited at 2:37 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From mayoclinic.com:

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Trichotillomania is a type of mental illness in which people have an irresistible urge to pull out their hair, whether it's from their scalp, their eyebrows or other areas of their body. Hair pulling from the scalp often leaves them with patchy bald spots on their head, which they may go to great lengths to disguise.

Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-ne-uh) is sometimes called hair-pulling disorder, trich or pulling. Although trichotillomania may seem like an obsession or compulsion, it's actually classified as a type of impulse control disorder — a disorder in which you can't resist a temptation or drive to perform an act that's harmful to you or someone else.  

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of trichotillomania include:
•Patchy bald areas on the scalp or other areas of the body
•Sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows
•Chewing or eating pulled out hair
•Playing with pulled-out hair
•Rubbing pulled-out hair across the lips or face
Most people with trichotillomania pull hair from their scalp. But eyebrows and eyelashes may also be pulled, as well as hair from the legs, arms, pubic area or other parts of the body. Hair pulling is usually done with the fingers. But sometimes tools are used, such as tweezers, brushes and combs.

For some people, hair pulling is intentional and focused. They're aware that they're pulling their hair out while they're doing it, and they may even develop elaborate rituals around hair pulling. But for others, hair pulling is so automatic or habitual that they may do it unconsciously — they don't realize that they're doing it.

Causes

Causes of trichotillomania are still being researched, and no specific cause has yet been found. Causes may include:

•Genes. In 2006, researchers reported finding mutations in a specific gene that may give rise to trichotillomania. This mutation may cause neurons in the brain to develop faulty connections that trigger an urge to pull out your hair. However, these gene mutations are thought to play a role in only a few trichotillomania cases.

•Neurochemical problems. Some studies suggest that abnormalities in the natural brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine may play a role in trichotillomania.

Treatment

There's little research about treatment of trichotillomania because it's only been formally recognized as a disorder since the late 1980s.

However, two main treatments stand out:

•Psychotherapy. Studies have shown that a form of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment for trichotillomania. CBT teaches you to become more aware of pulling, helps you monitor your pulling habits and helps you reverse the habit of pulling. You also learn about what emotions and triggers are involved in hair pulling. When you gain awareness of pulling, you can learn to substitute other behaviors instead.

•Medications. Medications such as antidepressants are sometimes used to treat trichotillomania. In particular, some studies have shown clomipramine (Anafranil) to be the most effective medication. Clomipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant approved to treat the obsessions and compulsions of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but it's often used to treat other conditions as well. Studies have shown that medications may work best when combined with cognitive behavior therapy.

Treatment of trichotillomania can be challenging. It can be difficult to overcome the urge to pull, but ultimately you may be able to regain control to reduce or stop your hair pulling.

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Post edited at 2:35 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From 4woman.gov:

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What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)?

A person with CFS feels completely worn-out and overtired. This extreme tiredness makes it hard to do the daily tasks that most of us do without thinking — like dressing, bathing, or eating. Sleep or rest does not make the tiredness go away. It can be made worse by moving, exercising, or even thinking.

CFS can happen over time or come on suddenly. People who get CFS over time get more and more tired over weeks or months. People who get CFS suddenly feel fine one day and then feel extremely tired the next. A person with CFS may have muscle pain, trouble focusing, or insomnia (not being able to sleep). The extreme tiredness may come and go. In some cases the extreme tiredness never goes away. The extreme tiredness must go on for at least 6 months before a diagnosis of CFS can be made.

What causes CFS?

No one knows for sure what causes CFS. Many people with CFS say it started after an infection, such as a cold or stomach bug. It also can follow a bout of infectious mononucleosis (mono), the “kissing disease” that drains your energy. Some people with CFS say it started after a time of great stress, such as the loss of a loved one or major surgery.

It can be hard to figure out if a person has CFS because extreme tiredness is a common symptom of many illnesses. Also, some medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, can cause extreme tiredness.
What are the signs of CFS?

The signs of CFS can come and go or they can stay with a person. At first, you may feel like you have the flu. As well as extreme tiredness and weakness, CFS symptoms include:

•forgetting things or having a hard time focusing
•feeling tired even after sleeping
•muscle pain or aches
•pain or aches in joints without swelling or redness
•feeling discomfort or "out-of-sorts" for more than 24 hours after being active
•headaches of a new type, pattern, or strength
•tender lymph nodes in the neck or under the arm
•sore throat

Many people with CFS report other symptoms too, ranging from a constant cough to feelings of depression. If you think you may have CFS, talk to your doctor.

How common is CFS? Who gets it?

Experts think as many as half a million Americans have a CFS-like condition. The exact number of people with CFS is not known. CFS can affect people of all ages, racial/ethnic backgrounds, and economic statuses.

More women than men are diagnosed with CFS. But, it is not known for sure that this illness affects more women than men. It may be that women talk to their doctors more often about things like tiredness and pain.

How would my doctor know if I have CFS?

It can be hard for your doctor to diagnose CFS because there is no lab test for it. And many signs of CFS are also signs of other illnesses or medical treatments.

If you think you may have CFS, see your doctor. Your doctor will:

•ask you about your physical and mental health
•do a physical exam
•order urine and blood tests, which will tell your doctor if something other than CFS might be causing your symptoms
•order more tests, if your urine and blood tests do not show a cause for your symptoms

How is CFS treated?

Right now, there is no cure for CFS. But there are things you can do to feel better. Talk to your doctor about ways to ease your symptoms and deal with your tiredness. You might also try these:

Lifestyle changes:

•Try to stop or do less of the things that seem to trigger your tiredness. For a week or two, write down what you do each day and note when you feel really tired. Then, look over this list to find out which activities tend to tire you out. An occupational therapist can help you by looking at your daily habits and suggesting changes to help you save energy. Your doctor can help you find an occupational therapist near where you live.
•Regular exercise can lessen body aches and joint and muscle pain and increase your energy level. Be sure to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise plan. Your doctor can help you create a plan that is right for you. Don't exercise too much. Too much exercise can cause more tiredness.  

Medications:

•Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Advil, Motrin, or Aleve can help with body aches, headaches, and muscle and joint pain.  
•Nondrowsy antihistamines can help with allergy symptoms, such as runny nose and itchy eyes.  
•Antidepressants can help improve sleep and ease pain.  

Some people say their CFS symptoms get better with complementary or alternative treatments, such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic care, yoga, stretching, or self-hypnosis. Keep in mind that many alternative treatments, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies claim to cure CFS, but they might do more harm than good. Talk to your doctor before seeing someone else for treatment or before trying alternative therapies.

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Post edited at 2:35 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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Hav ingdys lexiac anmake it hardtoread!

Translation: Having dyslexia can make it hard to read!

Writing that looks just fine to you might look like this to someone who has dyslexia.

Dyslexia (say: dis-lek-see-uh) is a learning problem some kids have with reading and writing. It can make words look jumbled. This makes it difficult for a kid to read and remember what was read.

So what's going on inside the person's brain? Well, it doesn't mean the person is dumb. In fact, some very smart people have had dyslexia. How smart? Well, some people say Albert Einstein was dyslexic.

The problem does occur in the brain, though.

Sometimes the messages the brain is sending get jumbled up or confused. A kid who has dyslexia might get frustrated and find it hard to do schoolwork. But the good news is that dyslexia doesn't need to keep a kid down.

What Is Having Dyslexia Like?

A kid who has dyslexia might start out doing fine in school. But gradually, it can become a struggle, especially when reading becomes an important part of schoolwork. A teacher might say that the kid is smart, but doesn't seem to be able to get the hang of reading. If a teacher or parent notices this, the best thing to do is to go to a specialist who can help figure out what's wrong.

A specialist in learning disabilities knows a lot about learning problems that kids have - and what to do about them. During a visit with a specialist, a kid might take some tests. But the idea isn't to get a good grade; it's to spot problems. Discovering a learning disability is the first step toward getting help that will make it easier for the kid to learn.

How Does Reading Happen?

Most kids begin learning to read by learning how each letter of the alphabet looks and sounds. Next, they start figuring out what the letters sound like when they're put together to form words. Reading is a little like riding a bike because you have to do a bunch of things at once. It's hard at first, but once you know how to do it, it feels easy and natural.

Reading means your eyes and brain have to do all these steps:

1.focus on printed marks (letters and words)
2.control eye movements across the page
3.recognize the way letters sound
4.understand words and grammar (the way words are put together)
5.build images and ideas
6.compare new ideas to what is already known
7.store the ideas in memory

Phew! You may know that certain parts of your brain do certain jobs. For reading, you need your centers of vision, language, and memory. And you also need a network of nerve cells to connect these centers. If a kid has a problem with any of the centers - or the connections between them - reading could be difficult.

What Can a Kid Do?

Kids who have dyslexia can get help from specialists who know how to make reading easier. They might learn new ways for remembering sounds. For example, "p" and "b" are called brother sounds because they are both "lip poppers." You have to press your lips together to make the sound. Thinking about the way the mouth needs to move to make sounds can help dyslexic kids read more easily.

Kids with dyslexia also might use flash cards or tape classroom lessons and homework assignments instead of taking notes about them. At home, kids may need to spend extra time doing homework. They may need parents or tutors to help them stay caught up. There are even special computer programs that help kids learn how to sound out words.

How Do Kids With Dyslexia Feel?

Kids who have dyslexia might get frustrated sometimes and they may not like that they are in a different reading group than their friends. But they can get help to improve their reading skills and go on to do great things in life - just like Einstein, Walt Disney, the actor Tom Cruise, and the long list of others who succeeded despite dyslexia.

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Post edited at 2:34 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From kidshealth.org:

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What Is Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder where a person has both motor and vocal tics. Doctors and scientists don't know the exact cause of TS, but some research suggests that it occurs when there's a problem with how nerves communicate in the brain. A disturbance in the balance in neurotransmitters — chemicals in the brain that carry nerve signals from cell to cell — may play a role in TS.

Tourette syndrome is not contagious. You can't catch it from someone who has it. Studies suggest that TS is a genetic disorder, which means it's the result of a change in genes that's either inherited (passed on from parent to child) or happens during development in the womb.

As with other genetic disorders, someone may have a tendency to develop TS. But that doesn't mean the person will definitely get the condition. Doctors and researchers are continually learning new information about TS and what might lead a person to develop it.
People with Tourette syndrome usually first notice symptoms while they're kids or teens. TS affects people of all races and backgrounds, although more guys than girls have the condition.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms?

The main symptoms of TS are tics. Motor tics can be everything from eye blinking or grimacing to head jerking or foot stamping. Some examples of verbal tics are throat clearing, making clicking sounds, repeated sniffing, yelping, or shouting. In rare cases, people with TS might have a tic that makes them harm themselves, such as head banging.

At certain times, like when a person is under stress, the tics may become more severe, more frequent, or longer. Or the type of tic may change altogether. (This is also true for people who have tics that are not part of Tourette syndrome.)

Some people may be able to suppress their tics for a short time. But tension builds, and it eventually has to be released as a tic. And if a person is concentrating on controlling the tic, it may be hard to focus on anything else. This can make it hard for teens with TS to have a conversation or pay attention in class.

In addition, many teens with TS have other conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Learning disabilities are common in people with TS. They also may have trouble sleeping.

What Do Doctors Do?

Some family doctors may refer a person with symptoms of TS to a neurologist. Before TS can be diagnosed, a person must have multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic at some time during the illness (though not necessarily at the same time). For doctors to diagnose someone with TS, that person should never have a tic-free period longer than 3 months, even if the tics happen off and on or not every day. The neurologist may ask a person to keep track of the frequency and kinds of tics he or she is having.

There isn't a specific test for TS. Instead, the doctor looks at the family medical history, the person's symptoms, and other clues to make a diagnosis. Sometimes, doctors use imaging tests like magnetic resonance imaging tests (MRIs), computerized tomography (CT) scans, electroencephalograms (EEGs), or blood tests to rule out other conditions that might have symptoms similar to TS.

Just as TS is different for every person, the treatment for it varies, too. There isn't a cure for TS, and no medication can control the disease itself — although some medications can help control tics if they are severe enough to interfere with a person's life.
TS is not a psychological condition, but doctors sometimes refer teens with TS to a psychologist or psychiatrist. Seeing a therapist won't stop tics. But a therapist can help people with TS deal what's going on, cope with stress better, and learn relaxation techniques.

Some research suggests that there might be a connection between strep throat infections and TS, but this is still being studied.

Dealing With Tourette Syndrome

Many people don't understand what TS is or what causes it, so they might not know what to make of someone who has TS. And if people stare, it can feel embarrassing or frustrating. People with TS might have to explain their condition a lot or have to deal with people thinking they're strange. Although it's not easy to have TS, there's good news — the tics usually get milder or go away during adulthood.

In the meantime, if you have TS, it can help to focus your energies on something else. Some of the things teens with TS can do include:

•Get involved. Some people say that when they're engrossed in an activity, their tics are milder and less frequent. Sports, exercise, or hobbies are great ways for teens to focus mental and physical energy. Some well-known athletes have TS.
•Give a helping hand. Dealing with TS often makes people more understanding of other people's feelings, especially other teens with problems. Use your special sensitivity by volunteering.
•Embrace your creativity. Creative activities such as writing, painting, or making music help focus the mind on other things. There's speculation that the composer Mozart had TS.
•Find support. The Tourette Syndrome Association sponsors support groups with others who understand the challenges of TS.
•Take control. People with TS can feel more in control of their lives by researching TS, asking their doctors plenty of questions, and taking an active role in their treatment.

Each person with TS will cope differently with its physical, emotional, and social challenges. Because TS doesn't usually restrict activities, though, people with the condition can enjoy themselves and pursue their dreams and goals in just the same way their friends do.

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For more information, check out: Tourette Syndrome on KidsHealth

Post edited at 2:33 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From mayoclinic.com:

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Munchausen syndrome is a serious mental disorder in which someone pretends to be sick or deliberately causes illness or injury in order to fulfill deep emotional needs. People with Munchausen syndrome may make up symptoms, push for risky operations, or try to rig laboratory test results in their effort to win sympathy and concern.  

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms of Munchausen syndrome revolve around feigning or producing illness or injury. People with Munchausen syndrome go to great lengths to avoid discovery of their deceit, so it may be difficult to notice that their symptoms are actually part of a serious mental disorder.

Munchausen syndrome isn't the same as hypochondria. People with hypochondria truly believe they are sick, whereas people with Munchausen aren't sick but they want to be. Munchausen also isn't the same as malingering, in which someone pretends to be sick in order to get out of work, win a lawsuit or otherwise benefit financially. And in Munchausen syndrome by proxy, someone makes another person ill — usually involving a parent harming a child — in order to win sympathy.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Munchausen syndrome may include:

•Dramatic stories about numerous medical problems
•Frequent hospitalizations
•Vague or inconsistent symptoms
•Conditions that get worse for no apparent reason
•Eagerness to undergo frequent testing or risky operations
•Extensive knowledge of medical terminology and diseases
•Seeking treatment from many different doctors or hospitals
•Having few visitors when hospitalized
•Reluctance to allow health professionals to talk to family or friends
•Frequent requests for pain relievers or other medications

Ways to fake illness

Because people with Munchausen syndrome become experts at faking symptoms and diseases or inflicting real injuries upon themselves, it's sometimes hard for medical professionals and loved ones to know if illnesses are real or not. People with Munchausen syndrome make up symptoms or cause illness in several ways, including:

•False histories. They may give loved ones, health care providers or even Internet support groups a false medical history, such as claiming to have had cancer or HIV.
•Faking symptoms. They may fake symptoms, such as abdominal pain, seizures or passing out.
•Self-infliction. They may induce illness or injury, such as injecting themselves with bacteria, milk, gasoline or feces. They may cut or burn themselves. They may take medications to mimic diseases, such as blood thinners, chemotherapy medications and diabetes medications.
•Aggravating conditions. They may interfere with healing, such as reopening cuts or making wounds worse.
•Tampering. They may tamper with medical instruments to skew results, such as heating up thermometers. Or they may tamper with laboratory tests, such as contaminating their urine samples with blood or other substances.

Causes

Many mental disorders arise from a complex mix of biology, genetics and life experiences. But to date, there's little evidence that biology or genetics plays a role in Munchausen syndrome. Researchers are still studying what causes someone to so strongly desire playing the sick role that they develop Munchausen syndrome.

Treatment

Treatment of Munchausen syndrome is often difficult, and there are no standard treatments for the condition. Because people with Munchausen want to be in the sick role, they're often unwilling to seek treatment.

Some research suggests that medical staff gently confront a person suspected of having Munchausen syndrome. This nonconfrontational intervention may help people with Munchausen who understand that they have a problem but need guidance on getting treatment. On the other hand, some people who are confronted simply switch doctors or move to a new town.

Although there are no standard treatments for Munchausen syndrome, treatment often focuses on managing the condition, rather than trying to cure it. Treatment generally includes psychotherapy and behavior counseling. If possible, family therapy also may be suggested. Medications may be used to treat other mental disorders that are also present, such as depression or anxiety. In severe cases, temporary psychiatric hospitalization may be necessary.

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Post edited at 2:29 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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Kleine-Levin syndrome is a rare sleep disorder, involving intermittent episodes of increasing drowsiness. People affected by this syndrome can spend 10 to 20 hours asleep (hypersomina) in bed. Episodes may last days to weeks and occur several times per year. The start and end of each attack is usually inconsistent and may be either rapid or gradual. Often there is confusion when waking.
This syndrome occurs mostly in young males and usually diminishes or disappears after the age of 40. The exact cause of Kleine-Levin syndrome is not known, however in some cases this syndrome has been preceded by a fever, stress, or overexposure to sunlight.  The start of this syndrome is usually spontaneous.

Kleine-Levin syndrome is also associated with compulsive overeating, lack of sexual inhibition and personality change. Sexual responses include inappropriate sexual advances and overt masturbation, especially in males. Compulsive overeating with rapid weight gain may occur. Personality changes may include irritability, depersonalisation, depression, confusion, occasional hallucinations and impulsive behaviour.

On recovery, total or partial loss of memory (amnesia) for what has happened is usual, although disgust at overeating is common. There may be a short period of depression, or sometimes euphoria and sleeplessness.

Between episodes, physical and mental health is usually normal. There appears to be no relationship between Kleine-Levin syndrome and other neurological disorders, such as epilepsy.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Disturbances in sleep may accompany a number of physical and psychiatric conditions. Assessment usually includes a search for contributing factors, including a detailed history of current and/or recent drug taking.
The person may be referred to various specialists, including a psychiatrist and neurologist. The neurologist will undertake an evaluation of the nervous system to exclude structural abnormalities of the brain. The psychiatrist will look at any underlying behavioural problems.

Currently there is no formal treatment for Kleine-Levin syndrome due to the lack of knowledge regarding its underlying cause. Amphetamines, which stimulate the central nervous system, have been claimed to reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. In cases of severe depression, anti depressant drugs may be prescribed.

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Post edited at 2:56 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

From Genetics Home Reference:

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What is trimethylaminuria?

Trimethylaminuria is a disorder in which the body is unable to break down trimethylamine, a compound derived from the diet that has a strong odor of rotting fish. As trimethylamine builds up in the body, it causes affected people to give off a fish-like odor in their sweat, urine, and breath. The intensity of this odor may vary over time. The strong body odor can interfere with many aspects of daily life, affecting a person's relationships, social life, and career. Some people with trimethylaminuria experience depression and social isolation as a result of this condition.

Although gene mutations account for most cases of trimethylaminuria, the condition can also be caused by other factors. A fish-like body odor may result from an excess of certain proteins in the diet or from an increase in bacteria that normally produce trimethylamine in the digestive system. A few cases of the disorder have been identified in adults with liver or kidney disease. Temporary symptoms of this condition have been reported in a small number of premature infants and in some healthy women at the start of menstruation.

How common is trimethylaminuria?

Trimethylaminuria is an uncommon genetic disorder; its incidence is unknown.

What genes are related to trimethylaminuria?

Mutations in the FMO3 gene cause trimethylaminuria.
The FMO3 gene provides instructions for making an enzyme that breaks down nitrogen-containing compounds from the diet, including trimethylamine. This compound is produced by bacteria in the intestine as they help digest proteins from eggs, liver, legumes (such as soybeans and peas), certain kinds of fish, and other foods. Normally, the FMO3 enzyme converts fishy-smelling trimethylamine into another molecule that has no odor. If the enzyme is missing or its activity is reduced because of a mutation in the FMO3 gene, trimethylamine is not processed properly and can build up in the body. As excess trimethylamine is released in a person's sweat, urine, and breath, it causes the strong odor characteristic of trimethylaminuria. Researchers believe that stress and diet also play a role in triggering symptoms.

How do people inherit trimethylaminuria?

Most cases of trimethylaminuria appear to be inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means two copies of the gene in each cell are altered. Most often, the parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive disorder each carry one copy of the altered gene but do not show signs and symptoms of the disorder. Carriers of an FMO3 mutation, however, may have mild symptoms of trimethylaminuria or experience temporary episodes of fish-like body odor.

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Post edited at 3:11 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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Capgras Syndrome, named for its discoverer, the French psychiatrist Jean Marie Joseph Capgras. The person's primary delusion is that a close relative or friend has been replaced by an impostor, an exact double, despite recognition of familiarity in appearance and behavior. The patient may also see himself as his own double. Also know as Delusional misidentification, illusion of doubles, illusion of negative doubles, misidentification syndrome, nonrecognition syndrome, phantom double syndrome, subjective doubles syndrome.

Delusions are false beliefs, sometimes with bizarre content, that are held with strong conviction even in the presence of contrary evidence. For persons suffering from Capgras Syndrome they typically believe they exist in a world of impersonators. This feeling in a delusional world of doubles can be so alarming that it drives the Capgras sufferer to psychotic behavior. The syndrome typically has the following characteristics:

The person is convinced that one or several persons known by the sufferer have been replaced by a double, an identical looking imposter.
The patient sees true and double persons.
It can extend to animals and objects.  

The person is conscious of the abnormality of these perceptions. There is no hallucination.

The double is usually a key figure for the person at the time of onset of symptoms. If married, always the husband or wife accordingly.

Associated Features:

Cerebral lesions caused by head injury, which are often located in the posterior area of the right hemisphere, where face recognition is performed.

Schizophrenic diseased conditions (paranoid-hallucinatory schizophrenia), but also in affective and organic-psychic disturbances.  

Affects both sexes, but prevalent in women.  

Cause:

It has been reported that the Capgras Syndrome and related substitution delusions, that 35% have an organic etiology. Some researchers believe that Capgras' syndrome can be blamed on a relatively simple failure of normal recognition processes following brain damage from a stroke, drug overdose, or some other cause. This disorder can also follow after accidents that cause damage to the right side of the brain. Therefore, controversies exist about the etiology of Capgras Syndrome, some researchers explain it with organic factors, others with psychodynamic factors, or a combination of the two.

Treatment:

Individual therapy may be best suited to treat the persons delusions. Persistence is needed in establishing a therapeutic empathy without validating the person’s delusional system or overtly confronting the system. Cognitive techniques that include reality testing and reframing can be used. Antipsychotics and other drugs have been used with some success.

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Post edited at 3:25 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, potentially debilitating disease that affects your central nervous system, which is made up of your brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis is widely believed to be an autoimmune disease, a condition in which your immune system attacks components of your body as if they're foreign.

In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord. This results in inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to the nerves that it surrounds. The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis). Eventually, this damage can slow or block the nerve signals that control muscle coordination, strength, sensation and vision.

Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 300,000 people in the United States and probably more than 1 million people around the world — including twice as many women as men. Most people experience their first signs or symptoms between ages 20 and 40.
Multiple sclerosis is unpredictable and varies in severity. In some people, multiple sclerosis is a mild illness, but it can lead to permanent disability in others. Treatments can modify the course of the disease and relieve symptoms.

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis vary widely, depending on the location of affected nerve fibers. Multiple sclerosis symptoms may include:

•Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, which typically occurs on one side of your body at a time or the bottom half of your body
•Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement
•Double vision or blurring of vision
•Tingling or pain in parts of your body
•Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain head movements
•Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
•Fatigue
•Dizziness

In some cases, people with multiple sclerosis may also develop muscle stiffness or spasticity, slurred speech, paralysis, or problems with bladder, bowel or sexual function. Mental changes, such as forgetfulness or difficulties with concentration, also may occur.

Treatment

If your attacks are mild or infrequent, your doctor may advise a wait-and-see approach, with counseling and observation.

Medications for relapsing MS

If you have a relapsing form of the disease, your doctor may recommend treatment with disease-modifying medications early in the course of disease.  (See website below for a list of medications)

MS treatments other than medications

In addition to medications, these treatments also may be helpful:

•Physical and occupational therapy. A physical or occupational therapist can teach you strengthening exercises and show you how to use devices that can ease the performance of daily tasks. Therapists are usually supervised by doctors (physiatrists) who advise and coordinate the therapy that you might receive. Therapists can assist you in finding optimal mobility assistance devices such as canes, wheelchairs and motorized scooters. These devices and exercises can help preserve your independence.
•Counseling. Individual or group therapy may help you cope with multiple sclerosis and relieve emotional stress. Your family members or caregivers also may benefit from seeing a counselor.
•Plasma exchange (plasmapheresis). Plasma exchange may help restore neurological function in people with sudden severe attacks of MS-related disability who don't respond to high doses of steroid treatment. This procedure involves removing some of your blood and mechanically separating the blood cells from the fluid (plasma). Your blood cells then are mixed with a replacement solution, typically albumin, or a synthetic fluid with properties like plasma. The solution with your blood is then returned to your body.
Replacing your plasma may dilute the activity of the destructive factors in your immune system, including antibodies that attack myelin, and help you to recover. Plasma exchange has no proven benefit beyond three months from the onset of the neurological symptoms.

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Post edited at 3:37 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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What Is Hearing Impairment?

Hearing impairment occurs when there's a problem with or damage to one or more parts of the ear.
•Conductive hearing loss results from a problem with the outer or middle ear, including the ear canal, eardrum, or ossicles. A blockage or other structural problem interferes with how sound gets conducted through the ear, making sound levels seem lower. In many cases, conductive hearing loss can be corrected with medications or surgery.

•Sensorineural (pronounced: sen-so-ree-nyour-ul) hearing loss results from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve. The most common type is caused by the outer hair cells not functioning correctly. The person has trouble hearing clearly, understanding speech, and interpreting various sounds. This type of hearing loss is permanent. It may be treated with hearing aids or, in severe cases, a cochlear implant.
•Mixed hearing loss occurs when someone has both conductive and sensorineural hearing problems.
The degree of hearing impairment can vary widely from person to person. Some people have partial hearing loss, meaning that the ear can pick up some sounds; others have complete hearing loss, meaning that the ear cannot hear at all (people with complete hearing loss are considered deaf). In some types of hearing loss, a person can have much more trouble when there is background noise. One or both ears may be affected, and the impairment may be worse in one ear than in the other.

The timing of the hearing loss can vary, too. Congenital hearing loss is present at birth. Acquired hearing loss occurs later in life — during childhood, the teen years, or in adulthood — and it can be sudden or progressive (happening slowly over time).

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, about 28 million Americans are deaf or hearing impaired. That's about 1 out of every 10 people. Another 30 million are exposed to hazardous noise levels on a regular basis. Hearing loss is also the most common birth anomaly.

What Causes Hearing Impairment?

The most common cause of conductive hearing loss in kids and teens is otitis (pronounced: o-tie-tus) media, which is the medical term for an ear infection that affects the middle ear. Ear infections cause a buildup of fluid or pus behind the eardrum, which can block the transmission of sound. Even after the infection gets better, fluid might stay in the middle ear for weeks or even months, causing difficulty hearing. But this fluid is usually temporary, and whether it goes away on its own (which is usually the case) or with the help of medications, once it's gone a person's hearing typically returns to normal. Blockages in the ear, such as a foreign object, impacted earwax or dirt, or fluid due to colds and allergies, can also cause conductive hearing loss.

People also get conductive hearing loss when key parts of the ear — the eardrum, ear canal, or ossicles — are damaged. For example, a tear or hole in the eardrum can interfere with its ability to vibrate properly. Causes of this damage may include inserting an object such as a cotton swab too far into the ear, a sudden explosion or other loud noise, a sudden change in air pressure, a head injury, or repeated ear infections.

Sensorineural hearing impairment results from problems with or damage to the inner ear or the auditory nerve. Its causes include:

•Genetic disorders. Some genetic (inherited) disorders interfere with the proper development of the inner ear and the auditory nerve.
•Injuries to the ear or head. Injuries such as a skull fracture can cause hearing loss.
•Complications during pregnancy or birth. Some babies are born with hearing impairment due to infections or illnesses that the mother had while she was pregnant, which can interfere with the development of the inner ear. Premature babies are also at higher risk for hearing impairment.
•Infections or illnesses. Certain conditions, such as repeated ear infections, mumps, measles, chickenpox, and brain tumors, can damage the structures of the inner ear.
•Medications. Certain medications, such as some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs, can cause hearing loss.
•Loud noise. A sudden loud noise or exposure to high noise levels (such as loud music) over time can cause permanent damage to the tiny hairs in the cochlea, which then can't transmit sounds as effectively as they did before.

How Do Doctors Diagnose It?

Hearing loss can be difficult to diagnose in infants and babies because they haven't yet developed communication skills. Often babies are screened before they leave the hospital to see if they have hearing loss. Sometimes parents may begin to notice that the baby doesn't respond to loud noises or to the sound of voices.

Certain symptoms in teens should prompt a trip to the doctor. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, you should let your parents or doctor know if:

•You feel that people mumble or that their speech is not clear, or you hear only parts of conversations when people are talking.
•You often ask people to repeat what they said.
•Friends or family tell you that you don't seem to hear very well.
•You don't laugh at jokes because you miss too much of the story.
•You need to ask others about the details of a class or meeting you attended.
•People say that you play music or your TV too loudly.
•You can't hear the doorbell or telephone.

The doctor will usually examine a person's ears and, if necessary, refer someone with these symptoms to an audiologist, a health professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating hearing problems. The audiologist will do various hearing tests that can help detect where the problem might be. For example, to test the function of the inner ear, the audiologist can put a special device behind the ear that transmits tones directly there. This helps to distinguish between inner ear and middle or outer ear problems.

A person may also need to see an otolaryngologist (pronounced: o-toe-lar-en-gah-luh-jist), a doctor who specializes in ear, nose, and throat problems.

How Is It Treated?

Treatment for hearing loss varies depending upon the cause of the hearing impairment. Treatment may involve removing wax or dirt from the ear or treating an underlying infection. If there is damage or a structural problem with the eardrum or ossicles, surgery may help to repair it. If the problem is with the cochlea or hearing nerve, a hearing aid or cochlear implant may be recommended.

Hearing aids come in various forms that fit inside or behind the ear and make sounds louder. They are adjusted by the audiologist so that the sound coming in is amplified enough to allow the person with a hearing impairment to hear it clearly. Sometimes, the hearing loss is so severe that the most powerful hearing aids can't amplify the sound enough. In those cases, a cochlear implant may be recommended.
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices that bypass the damaged inner ear and send signals directly to the auditory nerve. A small microphone behind the ear picks up sound waves and sends them to a receiver that has been placed under the scalp. This receiver then transmits impulses directly to the auditory nerve. These signals are perceived as sound and allow the person to hear.

Depending upon whether someone is born without hearing (congenital deafness) or loses his or her hearing later in life (after learning to hear and speak, which is known as post-lingual deafness), medical professionals will determine how much therapy the person needs to learn to use an implant effectively. Many people with implants learn to hear sounds effectively and even use the telephone.

More than 65,000 people around the world have received cochlear implants and about one third of them are children.

Some patients with hearing loss and their families may decide not to restore hearing. This is particularly true of children whose parents are hearing impaired and want their children to be able to function in the deaf community. The language of the deaf community is American Sign Language (ASL). ASL is a system of gestures many deaf and hearing-impaired people use to communicate.

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For more information, check out: Hearing Impairment

Post edited at 4:10 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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What Is CF?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease that causes the body to make thick, sticky mucus (say: myoo-kus). This causes problems in two major areas: the lungs and the digestive system.

Healthy lungs produce mucus, which protects the airways and makes it easier to breathe. But for a person with CF, the mucus is thick and sticky and can clog up the lungs. This creates a place where bacteria can easily grow - and bacteria cause infections.
And it's not only the lungs that are affected in a person who has cystic fibrosis. Mucus-producing cells line the digestive tract, including the stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas. The pancreas produces enzymes that help digest food and hormones that help absorb sugar. When thick mucus in the pancreas clogs up the narrow passageways, it can make it difficult for people to digest food and get all the vitamins and nutrients they need.

Cystic fibrosis affects more than 30,000 children and young adults in the United States. It can be mild or severe, depending on the person. To make normal mucus, the body needs a special protein. This protein is defective in cystic fibrosis, producing the thick, sticky mucus that causes problems for people with CF.

What Causes CF?

CF is an inherited disease, which means that it's passed down from parent to child. Someone who has CF was born with it. Maybe you've heard someone say, "It's in your genes." They don't mean your blue jean pants. Genes make up the blueprint each of your cells follows to make you a unique individual.

Genes determine your eye and hair color and also are responsible for certain health problems. People with CF got the disease because their moms and dads each had a gene for CF. You need two CF genes (one from mom and one from dad) to have cystic fibrosis. Most people don't know that they carry the gene for CF until they have a child who has the disease because carriers of the CF gene do not have the disease themselves.

How Is CF Diagnosed?

Although someone with cystic fibrosis is born with it, it isn't always obvious at birth. It may take a while for symptoms to develop. Doctors may suspect that a baby has CF if he or she coughs a lot and gets a lot of lung infections. The baby also might have unusual large, bulky bowel movements or may not gain weight as expected.

To know for sure, the doctors can do a simple test that doesn't hurt. Kids with CF have more salt in their sweat than other kids, so by simply collecting a sample of sweat and testing to see how much salt is in it the doctors can determine if a person has CF. Other tests may be done, including one that looks for the gene that causes CF.

How Is CF Treated?

The aim of CF treatment is to keep the lungs clear of mucus and free of infection. It's also important for someone with CF to eat well.

A kid with CF would work with a medical team, including doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physical therapists, social workers, and respiratory therapists. A respiratory therapist knows a lot about breathing and how the lungs work. He or she can teach a kid with CF to do special breathing exercises that help get rid of extra mucus. Breathing treatments also help by adding moisture and delivering medicine into the lungs.
Even if everyone does everything right, kids with CF will still get respiratory infections and need to take antibiotics, which kill bacteria. Kids with CF also may need to stay at the hospital for a while. The good news is that newer medicines are more effective and help kids with CF recover more quickly.

Kids with cystic fibrosis have to work a little harder to breathe, and this burns more calories so it's important that they get enough to eat. Even if a kid with CF eats healthy foods and gets plenty of calories, he or she may still have trouble growing and gaining weight.
The problem is that the pancreas is not working and can't deliver the enzymes needed to break down food into protein and fat. Kids with CF may have more frequent bowel movements (poop) because they are not absorbing the protein and fat that they are eating. Most kids and teens with CF take medicine that helps digest food but may also need to take a vitamin and mineral supplement.

A dietitian can help kids figure out which foods to eat and provide special recipes packed with nutrients and calories. Along with eating right, it's important for a kid with CF to get regular exercise to make their lungs as strong as they can be.

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Post edited at 4:22 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.

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Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects in the United States.

When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price — in mental and physical deficiencies — for his or her entire life.

Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol. It's estimated that each year in the United States, 1 in every 750 infants is born with a pattern of physical, developmental, and functional problems referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), while another 40,000 are born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE).

Signs and Symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
If you adopted a child or consumed alcohol during pregnancy and are concerned that your child may have FAS, watch for characteristics of the syndrome, which include:

•low birth weight
•small head circumference
•failure to thrive
•developmental delay
•organ dysfunction
•facial abnormalities, including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove between the nose and the upper lip)
•epilepsy
•poor coordination/fine motor skills
•poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups
•lack of imagination or curiosity
•learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills
•behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety

Children with FAE display the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree.

Diagnosis and Long-Term Effects

Problems associated with FAS tend to intensify as children move into adulthood. These can include mental health problems, troubles with the law, and the inability to live independently.

Kids with FAE are frequently undiagnosed. This also applies to those with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), a recently recognized category of prenatal damage that refers to children who exhibit only the behavioral and emotional problems of FAS/FAE without any signs of developmental delay or physical growth deficiencies.
Often, in kids with FAE or ARND, the behavior can appear as mere belligerence or stubbornness. They may score well on intelligence tests, but their behavioral deficits often interfere with their ability to succeed. Extensive education and training for the parents, health care professionals, and teachers who care for these kids are essential.

How Much Alcohol Is Too Much?

It's clear that abusing alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous, but what about the occasional drink? How much alcohol constitutes too much during pregnancy?
No evidence exists that can determine exactly how much alcohol ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women process alcohol differently. Other factors vary the results, too, such as the age of the mother, the timing and regularity of the alcohol ingestion, and whether the mother has eaten any food while drinking.

Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol use during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only occasional or binge drinking.

Because alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the fetus is less equipped to eliminate alcohol than its mother, the fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol, which lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.

Mothers who drink during the first trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe problems because that is when the brain is developing. The connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly when alcohol is present. Of course, in the early months, many women don't even know they're pregnant.

It's important for women who are thinking about becoming pregnant to adopt healthy behaviors before they get pregnant.

Women who abstain from alcohol in early pregnancy may feel comfortable drinking in the final months. But some of the most complex developmental stages in the brain occur in the second and third trimesters, a time when the nervous system can be greatly affected by alcohol. Even moderate alcohol intake, and especially periodic binge drinking, can seriously damage a developing nervous system.

Prevention Is the Key

FAS can be completely prevented by not drinking any alcohol during pregnancy.

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Post edited at 4:39 am on June 17, 2007 by sarah mae

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My best friend Anna comes today and the Remedy Drive concert is tonight!
Goodbye Livewire. It's been fun.