Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Category: General knowledge

These people can see sounds and taste words

March 7th, 2018 by The Hello Doctor Team

Imagine seeing swirls of colours when you listen to music and tasting different flavours when you see shapes or objects. It might sound impossible, but this is a reality for a synesthetic person.

Synesthesia is a neurological condition that causes your brain to process information in such a way that you’d experience senses like tasting, smelling, hearing and seeing simultaneously. It may sound like hallucination, but the sensations that synesthetes experience are consistent.

For example, a person with synesthesia may associate the musical note “F” with a shade of red, number three with the colour pink and the word “truck” with the colour blue. For those who taste words, saying the word “table” may taste like apricots, and perhaps saying the word “book” would taste like chocolate.

According to the American Psychologist Association, one in 2 000 people have synesthesia. The condition is common among creatives like artists, writers and musicians and approximately 20 to 25% of people in these professions have the condition.

Examples of famous artists with synesthesia include singers Lorde and Pharrell Williams, violinist Kaitlyn Hova and painters Wassily Kandinsky and David Hockney. Others include writer Vladimir Nabokov and composer Olivier Messiaen.

Types of synesthesia

  • Seeing colours in the air when music plays (music-colour synesthesia).
  • Tasting words (lexical-gustatory synesthesia).
  • Smelling specific scents when hearing sounds.
  • Feeling certain textures causes emotions (tactile-emotion synesthesia).
  • Seeing different colours when experiencing emotions (e.g. seeing red when you’re angry).

How does it happen?

A conclusive reason for synesthesia hasn’t been found, but studies have revealed several theories. A researcher at the University of Cambridge, Simon Baron-Cohen suggested that synesthesia is caused by extra connections and cross-wiring in the brain.

Usually, senses are assigned to different parts of the brain and there’s minimal communication between senses. For those with synesthesia though, the barriers are broken down and the senses communicate more freely.

Peter Grossenbacher, a psychologist from the Naropa University in Colorado, found that synesthesia happens when single sense areas of the brain receive information from multisensory areas. This causes more than one sense to be experienced at once.

Other researchers have proposed that synesthetic perceptions can be absorbed and are created to enhance learning. They’ve taken into account that letters, numbers, words, days of the week and months (concepts synesthetes associate certain senses with), are all concepts that are important to memorise and synesthesia can help with the process.

Concept and sense association

The pairs that synesthetes make with concepts and senses come from internal and external sources. For example, because of their personal preference, a synesthete might choose to associate light colours with high-pitch sounds and dark colours with low-pitch sounds in music.

Eventually, their choice becomes a default perception that they would experience whenever they come across certain concepts (shapes, sounds etc.) Externally, they might see number fridge magnets that are a certain colour and they would unconsciously begin to associate other numbers with the same colour over time.

Getting diagnosed

An official method for diagnosing synesthesia hasn’t yet been found, but leading synesthesia researcher,
Dr Richard Cyptowic found characteristics that help identify it in people.

  • Sensing things involuntarily.
  • Sensations outside of the mind like seeing colours floating in the air when listening to music.
  • Linking emotions or feelings with certain perceptions.
  • Having generic perceptions, like seeing certain shapes in response to certain sounds, but nothing beyond that.
  • Having perceptions that are always the same (e.g. always seeing the colour yellow when seeing a certain number).

References:

5 celebs with chronic illnesses

February 28th, 2018 by The Hello Doctor Team

From the outside looking in, celebs have the perfect life, right? But not quite. Look beyond the admirable bank accounts and luxury lives; and they may be more human than we think.

Celebs get sick too. In fact, some are living with chronic conditions.

Here are five celebrities faced with chronic conditions.

HIV

HIV can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids. HIV destroys one type of the immune system cell, called T cells; which makes it difficult for people with the virus to fight off infections.
Charlie Sheen is a popular actor, most noticeably from the sitcom Two and a Half Men. He made headlines in 2015 after he announced in a TV interview that he was HIV-positive.

Epilepsy

This neurological condition that’s characterised by unusual electrical activity in the brain that causes unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy with a known cause is called secondary epilepsy, or symptomatic epilepsy. The causes could be brain damage from injuries that resulted in a loss of oxygen or trauma during birth and a low birth weight.
Celebs with a history of epilepsy and seizures include rapper, Lil Wayne.

Prostate cancer

The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. The risk increases with age. It rarely affects young men but is more common in older men. It’s diagnosed between the ages of 65 and 69. A diet filled with too many saturated fats, a high dairy intake and obesity increases the risk too. If there’s a history of prostate cancer in your family, you’re at an increased risk of developing it.
The actor, Robert De Niro was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. Luckily the cancer was detected early, and could be treated.

Psoriasis

Is an autoimmune disease. The skin disorder appears as raised red patches with thick, silvery scales. The disorder ranges from a mild skin rash to a weakening condition and can flare up for a few weeks or months, but also subsides for a long period. Psoriasis is known as a skin condition, but research suggests that the inflammation associated with psoriasis can be found in other parts of the body, and may have an impact on your heart health. The symptoms are treatable, but there’s no cure for it.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians star and businesswoman, Kim Kardashian was diagnosed with psoriasis on an episode of her family’s TV show.

Clinical depression

Is the persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterises major depression. It leads to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide. Suicide risk factors include mental health conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychotic conduct, and anxiety and substance abuse disorders. This also includes chronic health conditions or pain, prolonged stressful factors and a family history of suicide attempts. The exposure to someone else’s suicide and lethal weapons can be triggering too. Always offer help and support and encourage the person to get professional help.
Local actress and The Afternoon Express host, Bonnie Mbuli, shared in her autobiography, Eyebags & Dimples, of her experience with clinical depression.

References

Saliva – your body’s amazing fluid

January 5th, 2018 by The Hello Doctor Team

No-one wants to think of saliva. It’s gross, right? But we’re about to blow your mind. This body fluid is incredible, and for many good reasons.

Commonly known as spit, saliva is approximately 98% percent water with the other two percent made up of mucous, which includes electrolytes, antibacterial compounds and different enzymes which all work together to help with digestion.

Your salivary glands secrete saliva 24 hours a day – nearly two litres every day! Besides its normal duties of keeping your oral health in shape, saliva is also a window to your health, often used to check if you’re sick.

Juicy facts

  • It helps fight off germs in your mouth, keeps your breath fresh, and fends off tooth decay and gum disease with its proteins and minerals.
  • It makes use of enzymes during digestion to break down the food in your mouth.
  • It helps keep the inside of your mouth clean by constantly rinsing it.
  • It maintains balance in your body, so a change in saliva could mean that you’re sick. For example, look out for changes in the colour, consistency or amount of saliva you secrete per day.

Too little, too late?

Producing too much or too little saliva shouldn’t have you stressed – but you shouldn’t ignore it either. Too much saliva is usually due to an overactive salivary gland or a sign that you’re swallowing too much. If you aren’t secreting enough saliva, it could be because you have dry mouth.

Dry mouth is when your salivary glands aren’t able to produce enough saliva, making swallowing difficult. Your mouth may feel sticky, causing that dreaded bad breath. This condition is triggered by:

  • dehydration
  • certain medications
  • ageing
  • radiation therapy for cancer treatment.

Keep a healthy flow

  • Drink lots of water every day and chew on sugar-free gum to keep your salivary glands in shape.
  • If a dry mouth persists even after you’ve had enough water, talk to your doctor.
  • If you have too much saliva to the point where you’re drooling, check this with your doctor.
  • If you have pain or swelling in your neck and trouble swallowing in addition to dry mouth, you may have a salivary stone. This is caused by a build-up of too much calcium in your salivary ducts. Speak to your doctor about this condition.

References:

What happens when you sneeze?

August 28th, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Everyone sneezes. In fact, the average healthy person does so up to four times a day. But why, exactly, do we sneeze?

The mechanics of sneezing

Part of your nose’s job is to make sure the air you breathe is clean, and free of dirt and bacteria. Your nose traps dirt and bacteria in mucus, but sometimes debris can enter your nose and irritate the sensitive mucus membranes inside your nose and throat.

When these membranes become irritated, a message is sent to your brain to sneeze. Sneezing is your body’s way of removing an irritation from your nose.

Your brain then sends a message to the muscles involved in creating a sneeze, including the muscles in your abdomen, chest, diaphragm, and throat. These muscles have to work together, and in the right order to send the irritation out of your nose.

Before you sneeze, you take a deep breath and hold it. The muscles in your chest tighten, and the pressure of air in your lungs increases. Your eyes close, your tongue presses against the roof of your mouth, and suddenly your breath comes out quickly through your nose.

“Achooo!”-triggers

Common causes of sneezing include:

  • Allergens like pollen, dust and animal dander.
  • Viruses like the common cold or flu.
  • Environmental irritants like smoke, pollution and mould.

Injury inside your nose, and breathing cold air can also irritate the inside of your nose and set off a sneeze.

Stop the sneeze

  • Avoid your sneeze triggers. Make simple changes in your home to reduce your exposure to irritants. Open the windows and doors to improve indoor ventilation, or get an air filtration system to clean the air in your home. Vacuum and mop up regularly to get rid of dust. Wash your bed sheets and other linens in hot water to kill dust mites. If you have pets that shed, cut their hair or remove them from your home.
  • If an allergy is causing you to sneeze, avoid it. Ask your doctor to help you recognise the allergen and how to treat the cause. Over-the-counter and prescription medications antihistamines may help to relieve your symptoms. If you have severe allergies, your doctor may recommend allergy shots. These contain the extracts of purified allergens. Exposing your body to allergens can help keep your body from reacting to allergens in the future.
  • If you have an infection like the common cold or flu, use a nasal spray to help relieve a congested or runny nose. Nasal sprays that have a corticosteroid in them can reduce inflammation in your nasal passages and decrease the likelihood of sneezing. To speed up your recovery and put an end to sneezing, take an antiviral medication, rest up and drink lots of fluids.

Is sneezing healthy?

It may be annoying, but sneezing is good for you. It’s an important part of your immune process, and helps protect your body against bacteria and viruses. So, the next time you feel a sneeze coming on, let it out. It’s your body’s way of keeping you safe.

Holding in a sneeze can be dangerous. A sneeze is so powerful that keeping it in can rupture your eardrums, cause your nose to bleed, or damage the blood vessels in your eyes and brain.

Fun facts about sneezing

  1. A sneeze can travel about 160 km per hour. That’s faster than your car!
  2. You can’t sneeze with your eyes open. When your brain receives the signal to sneeze, it also signals your eyes to automatically close.
  3. You can’t sneeze in your sleep. While you’re sleeping, the nerves involved in sneezing are resting too.
  4. Your heart doesn’t stop when you sneeze. When you sneeze, the pressure in your chest changes and alters your blood flow. This can change the rhythm of your heartbeat, but doesn’t cause your heart to stop.
  5. The longest sneezing spree ever recorded lasted a total of 978 days. The record was set by Donna Griffiths of Worcestershire, England, who sneezed continuously from 13 January 1981 until 16 September 1983.

References

This is better than Googling your symptoms

August 27th, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

You know the scenario: you have an odd rash, twinge of a stomach ache, or an intermittent cough. You contemplate a doctor’s appointment – for about a minute – and then immediately hit the keyboard. Before you know it, you’re sucked into the vortex of search results. “I knew it! I have cancer!”.

Tip: Instead of consulting Google, why not just ask our doctors? We’re just one click away.

Reasons to log off

Besides the paranoia and fear we create for ourselves, there are legitimate reasons to leave the Internet alone and go straight to those in the know. And no, it’s not (just) because they want the money.

  • Medical professionals are trained to diagnose you. They’re aware that you might be missing vital information about what you may possibly have. Your Internet browser, on the other hand, can’t pick up on the things only a human doctor can suss out. A doctor might find something else besides just your obvious symptoms. You’re simply not going to get the full story from an inanimate object.
  • You could make things worse. If you simply follow the online treatment advice, based on your self-diagnosis, you might make your condition worse, by not tackling the root of your symptoms.
  • The internet doesn’t know you. While you might have a digital footprint all over the Internet because of your social media presence, Google knows nothing about you and your family’s medical history. This is a key part of the doctor’s consultation, to get to the most accurate diagnosis.

The odds are not in your favour

A study published in the British Medical Journal looked at 23 websites around the world that gives information on diagnosis. The study found that these websites only came up 34% of the time.

Another study published in the American Journal of Medicine has found that diagnosis by medical professionals have a much lower chance of being wrong than diagnostics through apps, phone calls or websites. And a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research said that patients, especially older adults who typically have complex health care needs, risk misinterpreting symptoms via online self-diagnosis.

Read responsibly

Not everything online is ineffective, though. Use the Internet for research, not for diagnosis. Educate yourself more about your condition. Reading forums with comments and feedback from others who suffer from something similar might be helpful. But only consult the Internet for research after you’ve had a proper diagnosis from your doctor.

Stop the panic

  • If you’re worried about a condition and you need an answer straight away, go to the doctor.
  • Stick to well-known medical sources, where the information is reviewed by medical professionals.
  • Keep calm and be realistic about what you’re experiencing. Chances are, your sore throat might really only be a common cold and not cancer.
  • Even if you fear the worst, you can’t do anything about it without the opinion of a medical professional.
  • Online forums can be great support structures if you don’t have access to physical support groups or resources. They’re especially beneficial for stigmatised illnesses like depression.

So don’t Google you symptoms, just Hello Doctor it! Simply sign up on our website. download the free Hello Doctor app from the Google Play or iTunes store. Then you can ask our doctors a question via text or call, anytime, anywhere!

References

How to live twice as long as everyone else

August 23rd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Okay, maybe not all of you, but most of you.

These days you can donate everything from your skin to your corneas. You can save up to 7 lives by donating your organs, and up to 50 people by donating your corneas, skin, bone, tendons and heart valves. There isn’t much you CAN’T donate. It turns out that once you’re gone, all the bits and pieces that kept you going all those years can keep going, with or without you!

If you’ve been a couch potato all your life, maybe your heart would finally get the chance to run a marathon, or walk the Great Wall of China! Your lungs could experience what skydiving feels like (your heart might disagree, but would be outnumbered), and your kidneys could experience the freshest water from the top of Kilimanjaro. Your skin could feel snow for the first time and your blood cells could pulse through the vessels of a newborn baby.

Make your pancreas famous

Not only that, but if you sign up today, there is a chance that one of your organs will be used to save the life of a celebrity, or even someone who could change the course of history. Here are some well-known people who received organ donations:

  • Steve Jobs, who received a liver transplant in 2004. If you’re reading this on your Mac or iPhone, let that sink in for a minute
  • Sarah Hyland (Hayley) from Modern Family. received a life-saving kidney from her dad when she was 21.
  • Death-defying motorbike stuntman, Evel Knievel, received a liver transplant in 1999 after he almost died from Hepatitis C. Imagine being that liver!
  • The star of the original Law and Order (who you might also know as the dad on Dirty Dancing) was on the other side of two organ transplants. Orbach had perfect 20/20 vision all his life, and so he requested that his eyes be donated after his death. His corneas saved the eyesight of two different people.

So how do you sign up for this opportunity of an extended lifetime? Glad you asked. It couldn’t be simpler. Just go to www.odf.org.za. Click on “Register as an organ and tissue donor” (you really can’t miss this, it’s that big green block on the top of the page), type in a few details and you’re done!

If you’re not yet convinced, spend some time on the site reading more about the ins and outs of being an organ donor and how you can save lives, and live on in the body of someone else!

Will eating human brains make you smarter?

August 19th, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

If this question hasn’t crossed your mind yet, just wait: the horror movies of Halloween can trigger all kinds of strange ideas. So, just to be safe: No! Eating human brains will not make you smart. In fact, it will make you very sick. Just ask the Fore tribe.

Contemporary cannibalism

For this tribe in Papua New Guinea, flesh-eating is a longstanding, tried and trusted tradition, called “mortuary feasts”. It involves eating the dead from their community at funerals as a sign of respect for their lost loved ones.

Yes, it sounds macabre, and while cannibalism is not a common universal practice, it still persists, and not even far away. Recently, right here at home, a human arm and leg were found at a traditional healer’s home after a man turned himself in at a local police station, confessing to be “tired of eating human flesh”. On the heels of this, hundreds of other people came forward to reveal they’ve knowingly been eating human flesh.

So, in fact, cannibalism is not an outdated practice. It seems, in the year 2017 this macabre ritual is still prevalent.

Humans for lunch?

Eating of human flesh by another human being is called cannibalism. Various groups around the world have practised cannibalism for many reasons. Some claim to gain “strength and power” from eating certain body parts.

Eating of human flesh and brains sparked controversy after Reza Alan, an American author and academic featured the Aghori tribe from India on his series. The Aghori are notorious for uncommon and grisly rituals that involve eating human flesh, faeces and engaging in taboo sexual practises. They don’t however kill humans, but rather feed off corpses they find in the sea. They also cover their bodies with the ashes of cremated corpses to ward off diseases and wear the human skull as jewellery around their necks.

Step away from the brains

Humans are multifaceted interesting beings, but we’re not really that great for nutritional value! Cannibalism almost died out in recent years, linked to “kuru”, a fatal and rare neurodegenerative disorder. Think of the mad cow disease but in human form, which is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

One of the causes of this disease is believed to be eating beef products contaminated with the central nervous system tissue, the brain and spinal cord, and from cattle infected with mad cow disease. There’s no effective treatment to cure the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In fact, in the 20th century, the disease almost wiped out said cannibals in Papua New Guinea.

It’s a dangerous disease that once it takes hold, leads to a speedy deterioration in your health. Researchers in the 1950s found that the Papua New Guinea tribe had trouble walking, lost control over their limbs and even emotions and mental state. Within a year, they were almost completely immobile.

It’s a rapid mental destruction which includes:

  • Memory loss
  • Depression
  • Problems concentrating.
  • Impaired thinking.
  • Insomnia.
  • Numbness.
  • Difficulty speaking and swallowing.
  • Anxiety.
  • Personality changes.
  • Hallucination.
  • Overactive reflexes.
  • Jerky muscle spasms.

We’d happily leave human flesh for Hannibal Lecter’s menu, while we dig into some delicious rump and potato!

References

 

Psoriasis, sclerosis and scoliosis: Know the difference

June 23rd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Confused about these medical tongue-twisters? Although the names sound similar, they are very different condition. Don’t get them confused!

Psoriasis affects the skin

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition which causes your skin cells to build up faster than normal, forming red, scaly patches on the surface of your skin. Psoriasis typically develops on your knees, elbows, and scalp, but can also develop on your hands, feet, neck, scalp, and mouth.

The causes

The exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, but these two key factors may be linked to its development:

  • Genetics. If someone in your family has psoriasis, you have a high risk for the condition.
  • Immune system. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the body attacks itself. In the case of psoriasis, your immune system mistakes your skin cells for intruders and attacks them. This causes new skin cells to develop too quickly, and build up on the surface of your skin as red, inflamed patches.

Psoriasis can also be triggered by a number of environmental factors, including:

  • Stress.
  • Smoking.
  • Heavy alcohol consumption.
  • Infections like strep throat or thrush.
  • A skin injury, e.g. a cut, scrape, or sunburn.
  • Certain medications, including those used to treat blood pressure, malaria, and bipolar disorder.

How it’s treated

There’s no cure for psoriasis, but topical creams and ointments can help. Your doctor may prescribe the following medications:

  • Biologics to alter your immune system and prevent interaction between your immune system and inflammatory pathways.
  • Cyclosporine to prevent your immune system’s response.
  • Methotrexate to suppress an overactive immune system.
  • Retinoids to reduce skin cell production.

Light therapy can also help ease psoriasis symptoms. This treatment uses ultraviolet or natural light to kill the overactive white blood cells that are attacking healthy skin cells.

Lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, drinking less and managing stress may also help.
Scoliosis affects the spine

Scoliosis is a condition that causes your spine to curve sideways. The letters “C” and “S” may be used to describe the curve. Scoliosis can affect any part of your spine, but most commonly the chest area and lower back. Scoliosis usually develops during the growth spurt before puberty.

The causes

  • Cerebral palsy, a group of neurological conditions that affect movement, motor skills, muscle tone, and posture.
  • Muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic disorders that cause weakness and loss of muscle mass.
  • Birth defects affecting the development of the bones of the spine, e.g. spina bifida (the incomplete development of the spinal cord).
  • Genetic conditions like Marfan syndrome (a disorder of the body’s connective tissues) and Down syndrome (a chromosomal disorder that causes developmental delays).
  • Injuries or infection of the spine.

How it’s treated

Most cases of scoliosis are mild and don’t need treatment. In severe cases, a back brace or surgery may be necessary to reverse or prevent the condition from worsening. Stretching exercises and physical therapy can also help improve flexibility and strengthen the back muscles.

Sclerosis affects the inside

Sclerosis is a general medical term used to describe the hardening of tissues, vessels, or organs from inflammation, overgrowth of connective tissue, or an increase in interstitial tissue. 

Types of sclerosis

Common conditions involving sclerosis are:

  • Multiple sclerosis: an inflammatory disorder that eats away at the protective coating of the nerves. This lifelong and often disabling disease attacks your central nervous system, affecting your brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a progressive and degenerative nervous system disease that destroys nerve cells, weakens muscles, and causes disability.
  • Systemic sclerosis: an autoimmune disease where there’s abnormal growth of connective tissue. This chronic disorder causes the skin and connective tissues to tighten and harden.
  • Tuberous sclerosis: a rare genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumours to develop in your brain and on other vital organs.
  • Lichen sclerosis: a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes thin, white patches of skin, mainly in the genital area.

References:

What the smell of your sweat means

June 23rd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

It’s hot and humid and as hard as you try, beads of sweat are trickling from your body. Horrors: even you can smell your own not-so-sweet fragrance! Why does sweat smell and what does it mean for your health?

Your own air conditioner
Sweat is a normal bodily function that starts just a few months after birth. Think of it as your body’s built-in cooling system. Thermoregulation (regulation of your body-temperature) happens when you secrete a water and sodium solution through glands all over your body. When wind blows over the sweat, it cools your skin, which cools down your body. This is a natural process that happens at any time, even when you’re sleeping. Your body can produce up to a litre of sweat per day, or up to 10 litres on hot days or when you’re exercising!

Sweat offenders:
What if it’s not hot and humid? Why do we sweat when we don’t have to cool down? Here are some of the main triggers that trigger your body’s sweat-response:

  • Hormonal changes due to puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.
  • Spicy and hot foods Spices trigger certain nerve-receptors that tell your brain “it’s hot”. It basically fools your brain into thinking you’re warm, triggering a “cool-down” process.
  • Emotions and stress: You body’s fight or flight system is activated. A rush of hormones is sent through the body that triggers the heart rate and blood flow. Sweating occurs and this helps in cooling the body from the energy. If this process didn’t happen, you would over heat and damage your body.
  • Physical exercise and general movement: This raises the body’s temperature, and sweating happens to decrease the heat.
  • Medication or surgery side-effects: Certain medications cause sweating as a side-effect, as they may alter the hormones in your body.
  • Obesity: There are more fat cells in the body and too much stored energy that triggers heat.
  • Low blood sugar: This is called secondary hyperhidrosis, a condition which causes excessive sweating not necessarily due to exercise or higher temperatures, but due to the metabolic changes in your body.

Sweat itself has no smell. It’s when it comes into contact with your natural bacteria, that an odour becomes obvious. This smell contains certain clues about your health too…

  1. Salty sweat: a lack of sodium in your body.
  2. Ammonia sweat: a lack of carbohydrates.
  3. Vinegar sweat: diabetes, menopause, hormonal disturbances and schizophrenia are linked to this odour.
  4. Fruity sweat: may be a sign of diabetes.
  5. Bleach sweat: you might have a liver or kidney disease.

Read here if you feel you sweat too much, or speak to one of our doctors if you notice changes in your body odour. If you respond to the clues your body gives you, your scent may just save your life!

References

5 personality quirks that are medical conditions

May 3rd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Do you have one of these strange personality quirks?

We all have that small tic or odd habit that makes us unique. But yours may, in fact, be a medical disorder. Read below and find out whether you check any of these boxes!

1. Paruresis

You’re standing next to another guy at the urinal, and…nothing. You start feeling self-conscious, try to relax, but still: nothing. Your bladder has stage-fright, also known as paruresis.

Paruresis is also called ‘shy bladder syndrome’, and it means that you’re not able to urinate when people are around. This has nothing to do with your urinary system. It’s social anxiety that causes your sphincter muscles to lock up when others are nearby.

Paruresis is more common in men, but can also happen in women. It can be triggered by a lack of privacy or being surrounded by people you don’t know. Anxiety, fear, or a sense of being pressured can also make it difficult to go.

2. Onychophagia

This fancy term describes good old basic nail biting. It’s one of the most common medical conditions in the world.

The medical term for nail biting is onychophagia, and is classified as an impulse control disorder. This means that those with the condition can’t control their urge to bite their nails. Onychophagia can affect anyone of any age, but most often develops during puberty.

Onychophagia can be triggered by stress, boredom, or nervousness. It can cause your fingertips to become red and sore, and your cuticles to bleed. In the long run, it can increase your risk for infection and may interfere with normal nail growth.

3. Misophonia

Loud chewing, gum snapping, pencil tapping: do these sounds drive you up the wall? Chances are you have misophonia, a strong dislike or hatred for normal, generally inoffensive sounds.

Misophonia, also known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome, usually starts between the ages of nine and 13 and is more common in girls. People with this lifelong condition have specific triggers, and are sensitive to certain sounds. When they hear these sounds, they become irritated, agitated, enraged, anxious, or panicked.

There is no known cause for misophonia. It has nothing to do with your hearing, but it could be related to how sound affects your brain and sets off automatic responses in your body.

4. Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder

Your best friend’s mother just passed away, but you can’t resist laughing at the news. No, you’re not insensitive or crazy: You have Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED).

IEED is when you have the opposite response to what is expected. People with this condition have episodes of crying, laughter, or anger that’s out of line with their present mood. For example, you may giggle during an argument or feel sad when something good happens.

IEED is caused by an injury to the neurological pathways that control your emotions. It’s common in people who have had a stroke, sustained a traumatic brain injury, or have a neurological disorder like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or dementia.

IEED is underdiagnosed and undertreated as it’s often confused with other mood disorders like depression.

5. Alexithymia

Does your partner accuse you of being distant or emotionless? Alexithymia may be the reason for your seemingly lack of feeling.

Alexithymia is the medical term for not being able to understand and express your emotions fully. Everyone has some level of alexithymia, but it can become frustrating if yours is severe. Not knowing how to verbalise your feelings may cause people to think you’re lying or hiding something.

Alexithymia is more common in men. It’s often considered a personality trait, but has also been linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic childhood events like abuse.

References:

Why you can’t get that annoying song out of your head

March 22nd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Have you ever found yourself getting annoyed at someone for singing a song on an endless loop, only to find yourself humming the same song later? Research suggests that even if you find a song annoying, if it’s catchy, it will stick in your head.

Listening to music triggers the part of your brain called the auditory cortex. This is the part that processes information that you receive through hearing. It’s found in your temporal lobe which receives signals from your ears, like pitch and the volume of sound.

Songs that are most likely to get stuck in your head are called earworms, because just like worms invade spaces, songs can sometimes invade your thoughts.

Why earworms?
When you hear familiar sounds your auditory cortex automatically fills in the rest. So in other words, even after you’ve gotten sick of a song, your brain continues to sing along.

Earworm triggers

Catchy songs
Certain things like tempo, lyrics, rhythm and volume all make a song catchy and earworms are often caused by your subconscious, which repeats songs like these on a loop.

Auditory memories
When you listen to a song, your brain records information surrounding it and the more you pay attention to it, the more intense the memory of the information will be. As well as recording information about the song, your brain will also form association type memories, like the place you first heard the song, or people you were with when the song was playing.

Trigger memories
Chances are you often hear a song on the radio and find yourself thinking of something or someone. Your brain associates certain songs with certain memories. For example, if you heard a song on your first date with your partner, your brain will link the memory to the song, so when you listen to it, you’ll remember that day and how you felt.

Repetition
Just like repetition helps us to remember information like study notes, constantly hearing a song could turn it into an earworm. You hear songs on advertisements, from a passing car, in the lift, as a soundtrack in a movie, on the radio and a thousand other places. If you hear a song all the time on different platforms, the repetition might turn it into an earworm.

Evade the earworm
Some earworms can be annoying, but there are ways to get rid of them.

  • Do activities that occupy your mind, like reading a book or watching a movie.
  • If a certain part of a song is stuck in your head, try listening to the whole song.
  • Try listening to other songs that you like.

References:

Four animals that can save your life

March 20th, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

When you see your pet lazing around your house, you’re probably not thinking that he could learn to feed himself, let alone detect diseases. Guess what? Your little critter might be able to sense illness and danger better than any human can!

Cats
Have you ever seen your cat cowering and then running to hide before a storm breaks? It’s not because your feline is a scaredy-cat; they actually sense an adjustment in weather patterns like atmospheric changes. A study from the National Tsing Hua University in 2011, reveals that a week before a magnitude 9 earthquake struck Japan, the cats began to act strangely (restless, scared and frustrated).

Dogs
Great news, your dog isn’t just your best friend – good old Fido may also be able to identify cancer. During a study done by the American Urological Association, dogs successfully sniffed out cancer with a 98% accuracy rate. Dogs have 200 million olfactory cells in their noses, so it’s no wonder that they can detect diseases, as well as find drugs during police raids.

Fruit flies
It’s hard to believe that flies are more than just annoying, but they may have a use. The antennae of a fruit fly are covered in receptor neurons, giving it a sense for unusual odours, like the difference between a healthy human without disease and a human who has cancer or other diseases. As fruit flies respond on a biological level and not a behavioural one, researchers believe that they could be excellent detectors of cancer.

African pouched rat
Research shows that they could be helpful in diagnosing TB (tuberculosis) in humans. The World Health Organization discovered that the African pouched rat can sense TB and other potential germs in human saliva. This discovery means that these little critters could help to diagnose future cases, as they can properly detect tuberculosis at an 86% rate. Although they might not be the go-to option for detecting diseases like TB, the African pouched rat could be helpful during times like war and in clinics that can’t afford high-end equipment.

References

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