People who have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have constant thoughts, obsessions or compulsions that they cannot stop thinking about.  These obsessions or compulsions can cause great stress or anxiety and the symptoms of OCD can contrast between relatively mild to extremely severe.  Obsessive thoughts can cause tension and stress to the sufferer and they make act out certain compulsions in order to stop these traumatic thoughts or obsessions.

There are many forms of obsessions such as feeling that items are dirty or tainted, fear of making mistakes, arranging items in a specific way, fear of touching people who may be ill, or fear of causing an accident through leaving appliances turned on etc.  Similarly there are many types of compulsions which can disrupt a person’s daily life such as, routines like washing hands, cleaning work surfaces, arranging items in cupboards etc.

Compulsions are usually directly linked to the type of obsession a person has.  Many people with obsessive compulsive disorder feel that bad things will happen if they don’t fulfill their compulsions and doing so usually makes the sufferer feel better for a short while before the obsession returns.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Copyright ADAM)

OCD can appear as a result of a major event in a person’s life and it has also been shown to run in families.  There are treatments for OCD such as medicines and psychological help.  Relaxation therapies have also been shown to help symptoms.

Restless legs can affect movement and sleep.  A person with restless legs has an uncontrollable urge to move their legs; the condition is more common in women and it is also known to affect people more as they age.

The severity of symptoms can vary from person to person.  Symptoms can be quite mild or very debilitating although it is not life threatening. These can include an urge to move the legs, disturbed sleep or trouble getting to sleep, uncontrolled jerking of the legs or unpleasant feelings deep in the legs.

Symptoms usually occur at night when the body is at rest.  People have described feelings like prickling itching or tingling which can be relieved momentarily by movement.

The two types of restless legs syndrome are primary restless syndrome and secondary restless leg syndrome.  Primary restless legs syndrome can begin at any age but usually occurs in early adulthood.  It occurs naturally and is usually mild to begin with but symptoms can increase and become more severe in later life.

Secondary restless legs syndrome is normally a result of another condition such as kidney failure, alcoholism, pregnancy or iron deficiency anemia.  Antidepressants and antipsychotics have also been known to worsen the symptoms.

Restless Legs

Lifestyle changes can help with mild cases of restless legs syndrome but for more severe cases this can be treated with a mixture of lifestyle changes and medication. Lifestyle changes can include avoiding caffeine, tobacco and alcohol, increasing exercise early in the day, creating a regular sleeping pattern and avoiding any medication which can increase symptoms. Taking a hot bath in the evening can also help to relieve symptoms as can stretching the limbs.

Tuberculosis is a condition which primarily affects the lungs.  The bacteria which cause tuberculosis are slow moving bacteria and a person who has been infected might not have any symptoms for months or years afterwards.  The infection can spread to other parts of the body such as the nervous system or the bones.  Symptoms of tuberculosis include a cough that won’t go away, night sweats and weight loss but most of the time the immune system will kill off the bacteria and there will be no symptoms.  Sometimes, if the immune system cannot kill the bacteria it will build up a defense to the infection and it will stay in the body but no symptoms will be experienced, however, sometimes the body just cannot fight the bacteria and the infection spreads to the lungs and becomes known as active tuberculosis.  It can happen that in cases where the infection has lain dormant in the body in can become active at a later date.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis was a major disease many years ago and resulted in many deaths, but the introduction of antibiotics and vaccinations helped to reduce this.  In recent years though, tuberculosis cases have been increasing again, especially in ethnic minorities who have come from areas where tuberculosis is still widespread. Areas where the disease is widespread include countries of Africa south of the Sahara desert, Eastern Europe, Central America, South East Asia, and Russia.

If tuberculosis is not treated it can be deadly as it can result in the person not being able to breath properly. Treatment with antibiotics for tuberculosis usually involves taking a course for at least six months.