The Self-Diagnosis of Health Issues - Essay Example

I.D. Number: Project Evaluation 31 The Science of Health (SCIH 011 055 What are three dangers of using Internet sites for the self-diagnosis of health issues? Online self diagnosis by individuals has continued to pose serious health risks among the users who are can be termed to be cyberchondria. This is because the human body is sophisticated and its physiological diagnosis via the internet can have adverse effects. Online self diagnosis can lead to failure in proper diagnosis of a diseases that otherwise would be a serious case. In doing a web-based diagnosis, the user may diagnose a fatal condition to be a simple fever or flu that possesses multiple etiological backgrounds. Web-based self diagnosis can provide exaggerated outcomes and conditions that one does not have. The consequence of such an extreme position and diagnosis can lead to anxiety and worry to the internet user. Such people termed as hypochondrias overlook the minor ailments and tend to dwell and focus on more serious conditions. In such a state, the person suffers a great deal of depression and anxiety. Self diagnosis over the internet does not put into consideration all the signs and symptoms and as such it provides limited signs because the patient is not sure about what he or she is exactly looking for. Diagnosis carried out by a medical doctor takes a series of sequential processes as opposed to self diagnosis. 2. How do people do self-diagnosis using the Internet differently from the way they diagnosed themselves in the past? Self diagnosis over the internet has totally changed the perspective in health related matters especially pertaining to past and modern diagnostics platforms. Self diagnosis over the internet lack the aspect of physical presence or consultation compared to conventional methods of diagnosis. In conducting self diagnosis over the internet, the patient enters his or her signs and symptoms in a search query which provides a list of possible conditions. Another perspective of self diagnosis on the internet focuses on the outcome presentation and the extent of details. A common course of action is to find the disease and look for major signs associated with it. Alternatively, the user may search and do a comparative analysis of signs and symptoms. Ideally, all these strategies have a tendency to provide a robust outcome of all possibilities. A major hindrance on this type of diagnosis is the lack of these databases to provide details on which symptoms are significant. 3. Explain how you can determine if a web site contains medically accepted health information? List at least 3 ways. A website containing medically accepted health information provides the source of the health information which has been consented by medical practitioners and experts. These websites offer information on the basis of medical research and backed with reliable references. One needs to avoid blogs or forums which lack reliability. For undertaking a self diagnosis one needs to use reputable sites such as Mayo clinic and National Institutes of Health. Another different way of determining a website contains medically accepted information is by browsing through various organizations that offer specialty care for different the conditions such as cancer or cardiac related illnesses. Such websites only provide information and does not carry out any side information or advertisement. The websites provide information about its web administrators and contacts. Part B (15 points possible) 4. Number the steps of the decision-making model identified in Lesson 1 of your course in the correct order. 5 Assess and choose the best choice. 1 Give thought to the problem. 2 Think it over afterward. 4 Review your choices 3 Evaluate the consequences of each choice. 5. Sara’s family recently moved and she is now attending a new school. She has trouble making new friends and today, one of her classmates, Eva asked Sara of she wanted to walk home from school with her. Sara said yes, hoping that she could become friends with Eva. On the way home, Eva pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. She offered Sara a cigarette. a. What problem does Sara face? Sara is faced with two problems. The first difficulty being her inability to make friends. Secondly, Sara is faced with a problem of making decision whether or not to reject or accept the cigarette offered to her by Eva. b. What are Sara’s choices? Sara opts to accompany Eva on their way from school by saying yes bearing in mind that she had a problem in making friends and that this choice would develop her to be friends with Eva. Another choice Sara has to make is to reject the cigarette offer from Eva. c. What are the possible positive and negative consequences of each choice? In agreeing to accompany Eva home from school, Sara tries to make new friends her agenda. On a negative note, she Sara seems to have a personality disorder because she is not able to easily nurture friendship. In rejecting to take the offer of cigarettes by her friend, Sara shows a sense of personal values that otherwise would turn her behavior into an addict or drug user. A negative consequence on her choice would certainly be the termination of friendship or rejection from her friend Eva. d. Sara weighs the options and decides not to take the cigarette. What could she say to Eva if she still wants to be friends with her, but not smoke? Sara would offer advice to Eva not to continue with the smoking habit and that she will be willing to assist her get rid of the vice. e. Did Sara make a responsible decision? Explain your answer. Sara made a responsible decision by rejecting the offer because considering she was new in the area, she did not have an idea about her newly made friend. Additionally, it seems that Sara possessed her personal values and principles by not being swayed due to peer influence. Part C (15 points possible) Wellness can be considered part of a continuum—from illness and risk of early death to optimal health and likelihood of long life. On this continuum – 1 is illness, 5 is average health, and 10 is optimal health. 1 - Illness 5 - Average Health Optimal Health-10 Adam and Marcia are teenagers. Adam likes to watch T.V. and snack on soda and chips when he gets home from school. If his parent’s aren’t home, he sometimes sneaks liquor from their liquor cabinet and adds it to his soda. He has also started smoking with his friends. Marcia likes to ride her bicycle to school, and take long bike rides on the weekend. She, however, does not wear a helmet. She sometimes enjoys soda and chips, but she usually chooses to snack on fruits or vegetables. Marcia often stays up late, making it difficult to get up in the morning. As a result, she often has to hurry, so she skips breakfast and is hungry and tired by her second class of the day. 6. Where does Adam fall on the health continuum? why? His health continuum is certainly 1 depicting illness and risk of early death. This is because Adam is fond of habits that pose a serious health challenge to his wellbeing, this is because the activity of watching television frequently poses a challenge on his health with regard to vision an normal functioning of the body considering there is no metabolism taking place. In taking snacks, chips and soda, Adam risks acquiring non-communicable diseases of diabetes, obesity and even life threatening cancer. These foods have adverse effects on the normal functioning of the body as for instance; chips possess fats that may clog the heart venules hence cardiovascular related conditions. Additionally, the habit of taking liquor and cigars may influence his neurobehavioral activities. In a broader sense, these substances contain stimulants that may also lead to acute conditions such as liver cirrhosis or lung cancer. The overall effect will be a decline in psychomotor coordination hence a decline in memory thus poor school performance as well as an immune compromised body system. 7. Where does Marcia fall on the health continuum? why? Marcia falls on the health continuum number five which is average health. This is because she does exercises by riding bicycle. This increases the distribution of energy throughout her body and metabolism within her system is effectively achieved. Marcia checks her diet by eating fruits and vegetables which possess high vitamin and mineral contents that boost the immune system. Additionally, these foods have naturally occurring compounds like lycopenes and anti-oxidants that fight cancer. However, in missing breakfast, she deprives her body of fundamental component of dietary need which may have a consequence in her all day performance in school. 8. What changes could both Marcia and Adam make to move them closer to a 10? Adam should engage in sporting or physical exercise activity, stop substance abuse and even change his dietary components. He should have fruits and vegetables as a paradigm shift from fast foods that may have long-term effects. Marcia on the other hand should get enough sleep for normal body and brain functioning during the day. Additionally, this will help her in getting up on time to have time for taking breakfast, the most important meal of the diet. Part D (40 points possible) 9. For this part of your project, you will create an informational brochure or website (like you might find in a nurse’s office or health clinic) about one of the following disorders: major depression ADHA panic disorder phobias obsessive-compulsive disorder post-traumatic stress disorder eating disorders hypochondria bipolar disorder schizophrenia Include in your brochure the causes of the disorder, symptoms, and ways it can be treated. The content of your brochure should contain at least 250 to 300 words and can include graphics, website URLS for more information, and other elements that you think a person who is interested in the topic you choose might find interesting. You can either compose your brochure as the last page or two of this document, or you can create a website for your brochure (making it an online resource). If you choose to create a web site, be sure to put the URL and any other access information necessary in the space that follows. Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder is a brain condition which leads to abnormal change in mood, activity and energy levels as well as ability to undertake daily tasks. This condition is also called manic-depressive illness in medical terms. The etiology of bipolar disorders has been reported to begin during late teenage and early adulthood. It has been reported that at least half of such conditions of the brain occur under the age of 25 years. Causes of Bipolar Disorder The etiology of this condition continues to a major subject in modern science and research. Through this studies and research, scientists have been able to identify factors that are responsible for this condition. An important risk factor for the presence of bipolar disorder in affected individuals is genetic predisposition. This condition has been vastly studied and reports that it runs through ones lineage supports its etiology. By studying functional genomics of the relevant genes, scientists study familial traits such a as psychiatric history, age at first attack and the frequency of the episodes. Another important cause or risk factor is the brain’s morphology and functionality. In employing modern diagnostic platforms of functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography, researchers are able to monitor brain activity (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 48). Signs and symptoms Bipolar disorder is not easy to detect during its onset period. However common denominators of this manic depressive condition are characterized by mood episodes that arise due to extreme emotional phases. Such states can be termed as manic depicting an overexcitement or depressive indicating a sad state. In some circumstances, both depressive and manic phases merge to form a single state known as a mixed state (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 51). These changes in phases are coupled with exaggerated disparities in energy level, activity, behavior or even sleep. Unstable mood swings are common in persons with bipolar disorder rather than manic or depressive states (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 47). An occurrence of bipolar disorder is evident when a person has showed periods of manic or depressive states ranging from an hour in a day to several weekly hours. Essentially, bipolar disorder symptoms can be broadly categorized as mood and behavioral changes which are dependent on the two states of the brain (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 73). Additionally, bipolar disorder may lead to three states of moods elucidated such as severe, moderate and mild low depression. Moderate depression in this disorder is responsible for non-fatal symptoms while mild low form also called dysthymia can have long-lasting effects. On the extreme is the severe depression which is also referred to ad hypomania which is characterized by elevated energy levels and activities just like in the case of a typical mania episode. In missed states, a combination of depressive and manic sessions, the person feels agitated, difficulties in sleeping, appetite changes and suicidal tendencies (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 54). Treatment The cure for bipolar disorder has not been fully achieved up to date. However, relevant treatment regimens have been able to reduce the frequency of mood episodes among affected individuals. As it is a terminal and recurrent illness, individuals diagnosed with the condition must undergo lifelong treatment plans for control of the state. An efficient and reliable treatment undertaking for the condition includes psychotherapy to prevent recurrence and reduction in symptom extremity. This form of treatment may involve cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy administered by family members, social rhythm therapy and pyschoeducation. Additionally, the treatment entails medication normally administered by a psychiatrist or a medical doctor. Typical medications may include mood stabilizers that are in most cases anticonvulsants that treat imbalances in neuronal impulses. Examples of such medicines include Valproic acid, Lithobid and gabapentin. A different set of medication called atypical antipsychotic can be used I the treatment of the condition’s symptoms. Additionally, antidepressants can be administered to patients of bipolar disorder. It is imperative to note that there are side effects of the different categories of drugs (Walden and Grunze, 2004: 67). Bibliography Walden, J., & Grunze, H. (2004). Bipolar Affective Disorders: Etiology and Treatment. Stuttgart: Thieme. Read More