Individuals who suffer from recurring panic attacks suffer from a condition called panic disorder. This condition can very often lead to agoraphobia (fear of open or public places). Having a panic attack means suffering an attack of fear or anxiety which comes on very suddenly for no apparent reason. As well as anxiety, panic attacks can be accompanied by the following symptoms: thumping heart or palpitations; sweating; chills or hot flashes; shortness of breath; feeling sick; chest pains; dizziness or feeling faint; fear of dying; fear of going mad; pins and needles or numbness; and, feelings of detachment.

Any physical symptoms associated with an attack do not indicate a physical problem with the chest, heart, abdomen, etc – they usually occur due to a rush of nervous impulses originating in the brain which go to various parts of the body during the attack.

It is known that at the very least, one in ten people have had an occasional panic attack, but to have a panic disorder means to have recurring panic attacks, the frequency of which varies in different people.

No treatments are usually necessary for the occasional panic attack, but for those who have a panic disorder the aim is to try and reduce the severity as well as number of panic attacks that occur and the main types of medication for these are antidepressants.

Panic Disorder

Psoriasis is a skin condition which can start at any age but usually starts after puberty. Skin cells are produced by the body and as new cells are produced the older ones on the outer layer of the skin die and flake off.  This process usually takes between 21 to 28 days, but for someone with psoriasis, the process is accelerated and can occur in as little as six days.  This results in an excess of skin cells building up on the surface of the skin which are then shed easily.  Psoriasis can occur anywhere on the body and appears as red, crumbling patches of skin.  The most common places on the body where psoriasis is found are the scalp, knees, elbows or lower back.

There are many treatments for psoriasis but no cure.  Symptoms can be mild in one person but extremely severe in others and can cause distress.  Psoriasis can be mild at some times and then flare up.  There are different types of psoriasis and most people only have one type at a time but find that one type can develop into another type.  The most common types of psoriasis are plaque psoriasis, nail psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, scalp psoriasis and inverse psoriasis.  There are rarer forms of psoriasis called pustular psoriasis and erythrodermic psoriasis.  Pustular psoriasis causes pus-filled blisters to appear on the skin, while erythrodermic psoriasis causes a rash to appear all over the body and can result in the body losing proteins and fluids.

Psoriasis

There are some factors which can trigger a flare up of psoriasis symptoms such as smoking, stress, alcohol, and some medicines.  There are three types of treatment for psoriasis and these are creams and ointments, lights which the skin can be exposed to and oral or injected medication.

Acute abdominal pain is when there is sudden pain about the stomach region that gets worse rather quickly but only lasts a relatively short time (usually under three days). The abdominal area of the body is found between the hips and the chest, and contains those organs that are responsible for digestion, i.e. the bowel, the stomach, the liver, the pancreas, the gallbladder and the spleen.

There are different kinds of acute abdominal pain. These include visceral pain, which is the pain felt if the internal organs are swollen or damaged and can be described as a burning or “crampy” pain that can build slowly and is usually felt in the middle of the stomach.

Parietal pain is the pain felt after an injury, the result of which can mean contents like pus, urine or bile leaking into the abdomen and hurting the lining. The pain associated with this is quite sharp and can start all of a sudden, with the patient knowing exactly where it’s found in the abdomen area.

Referred pain can be due to a damaged or pressed on nerve and is actually felt in another area of the body, away from the cause.

Although in a few cases acute abdominal pain has no obvious cause, there are times when one of the subsequent conditions could be to blame: a bowel blockage, inflammation of an abdominal organ, kidney stones, or a blood disease of some sort.

Acute Abdominal Pain