Hormones, such as thyroid pills, have little effect unless taken in excessive amounts. Pep pills, such as amphetamines, reduce the appetite, but are dangerous, not only because of the hazard of addiction, but also because of the effect on blood pressure and mental activity.
Yes. If obesity is caused by anxiety or depression, treatment with tranquilizers and antidepressant drugs can be a great help in reducing compulsive eating. Diuretic drugs, however, help to lose only two or three pounds of water from the body.
Question: Should vitamins be taken while dieting?
No. there should be no need for supplementary vitamins if the person is in good health and keeps to a sensible, balanced new diet.
Question: How can people help themselves if their weight is normal and they are dissatisfied with their shape?
Regular exercise helps to increase muscle tone and decrease waist measurement, while also producing a slight slimming of the thighs. Weight may increase slightly due to extra muscle, but the figure will improve.
Question: Can disorders reduce body weight?
Yes. Any long-term illness, such as tuberculosis, sprue, untreated diabetes, or cancer, is accompanied by loss of weight. Fevers, operations, or accidents cause an increase in metabolic rate. Thus, the body tissues are used faster than they can be replaced, and there is a loss of weight. Another cause of increased metabolic rate is hyperthyroidism.
Question: Can any disorders produce an increase in weight?
Yes. Heart, kidney, and liver failure are accompanied by retention of fluid in the body (edema), and this results in a weight gain. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) is often accompanied by an increase of weight.
Drug treatment of some mental disorders may be associated with a weight gain because of an effect on the hypothalamus.
Hospitalization - Admission Procedures
The procedures you follow on admission to a hospital vary from one hospital to another, but basically the process is the same in most institutions in the United States.
Care of the Dying - Reaction of Children
A child's reaction to death depends on many factors. A child's first experience with death is often the death of a pet. A child under the age of eight cannot understand that death is irreversible and may expect the mother or father to bring the pet back to life. After the age of eight or nine, the child's understanding is usually as rational as an adult's understanding.
Care of the Dying - Moment of Death
Do not be alarmed if the patient's breathing makes a groaning or croaking sound. It does not mean that he or she is in pain. When a dying patient slips into a coma, the position of the neck and body produces the noise, which can be reduced by gently turning the patient's shoulders or body.
