Many women suffer changing emotions after giving birth.  One minute they can feel happy and excited and the next they can feel upset or depressed.  Some women experience sleeping problems and can lose their appetites.  These symptoms can be put down to the hormones present after giving birth and usually disappear within a few days but for some unfortunate women they don’t go away and it is necessary to get medical help.  Many women feel ashamed to admit to having postpartum depression so they will delay seeking medical help. The symptoms of postpartum depression can last for months if left untreated thus harming relationships between mother and child or mother and partner.

Postpartum depression can occur from between one month to one year after the child is born.    Symptoms of postpartum depression include, difficulties sleeping, tearfulness, loss of libido, sadness, guilt, depression and weight loss or gain.  In the worst cases though, the woman can suffer with feelings of paranoia, or wanting to hurt the baby or themselves.  They can find it difficult to bond with the baby and may require hospitalization.

Causes of postpartum depression can include, stress, extreme changes in hormone levels, fatigue, or responsibility involved in the care of the new child.  Postpartum can be treated with antidepressants or with counseling.

Postpartum Depression

Malaria is a disease that can be potentially fatal, and is caused by a parasite called plasmodium. It spreads via a bite from a female mosquito that has been infected. Once infected, an individual could suffer flu-like symptoms, fevers, diarrhea, fatigue or many other symptoms. If a person has any of these symptoms within a year of returning from an infected area (normally tropical or sub-tropical regions), then they should get tested immediately; if anything, just to rule out malaria.

As mentioned, malaria can have the tendency to be fatal, but if diagnosed and treated early enough, most individuals make a full recovery. The disease is usually treated by using anti-malarial medications, the type and length of any treatment depending on a variety of factors, including where the infection occurred, the type of malaria contracted, age of the patient, whether pregnant or not and the severity of the symptoms.

Five types of drug are usually used to treat the disease and depending on what type of malaria is present, the doctor may prescribe a certain one, or combination of these drugs. These five drugs are atovaquone plus proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine and proguanil.

Mild cases of malaria can be treated at home once prescribed the medication, whereas more severe cases will require hospital treatment. Sometimes these drugs can be administered intravenously. All malaria treatments can make you feel tired and weak for several weeks.

Malaria

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune condition that affects the nerves located in the brain and spinal cord, giving rise to issues with muscle control, balance and vision. It can also affect memory as well as associated mood swings and emotions.

MS sufferers can find that their symptoms are different from other sufferers, while also varying from day to day. Sufferers often find that the symptoms can get worse with exercise or heat. In general though, the most common symptoms of MS are problems with the eyes (blurring and double vision); muscle weakness or stiffness; fatigue; loss of coordination; bowel and bladder issues; tingling or numbness of the skin; general pain; anxiety and depression; difficulty swallowing and talking; and sexual problems. Although these may appear to be many symptoms, a sufferer is highly unlikely to develop all of them and certainly not at the same time.

There are four kinds of MS: benign MS, relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS and primary progressive MS. The exact reasons that an individual contracts the condition are not fully understood at this present moment in time, although several different factors are thought to be implicated. Although it is not a hereditary condition, having specific genes may make a person more susceptible to it. There could also be some environmental factors involved – bacteria or viruses may trigger the immune system to attack its own body. Also, the place of residence may be an issue. It is known, for example, that MS is more common in countries further from the equatorial regions.

Although there are treatments available for the symptoms of MS, there isn’t actually a cure at present.

Multiple Sclerosis